Desperate and angry, Dennis robs for a living. He works by one rule: He robs only whites.

Dave is dejected. His bid for a truck licence has failed, signing the death warrant for his landscaping business.

Danny is in disbelief. A university graduate, he has lost out to a Canadian over a job he is qualified for.

The three Bermudians (their names have been changed) are black and have hit obstacles. But differences outweigh the similarities.

While Dennis has rejected society's rules, Dave dusted himself down. He took a job as a pot washer, later becoming a mechanic.

Danny, meanwhile, has had his notion of workplace equality threatened. He is now trying to strike out on his own.

To Bermuda's racism watchdog, Dr. Eva Hodgson, the three stories throw up challenges society must get to grips with: For example, why does Dennis react to setbacks with violence? "It was interesting that he defends his actions by saying `I rob only whites','' says Dr. Hodgson.

She adds: "It seems people have different value systems. An individual has perhaps developed his values from his family. He is certainly influenced by society.'' Danny's tale, says Dr. Hodgson, demonstrates how a generation of youngsters -- post-school integration -- bought into the idea of fairness, only to suffer a tremendous shock.

Dr. Hodgson has recorded the experiences of the three men as part of a massive Labour and Training Department exercise to understand the needs of young Bermudians and better tailor youth employment schemes.

She has already interviewed 30 Bermudians -- including Westgate prisoners and Bermuda Regiment soldiers -- but is well short of her target of 100 by the end of January.

Yesterday she appealed for 19 to 30-year-olds -- black, white, male and female -- to contact her.

"I get them into groups of five, eight or ten and get them to share their life experience to the extent they are willing.

"Some are very willing to talk about everything. In the process I'm also trying to find out their experience in employment or unemployment,'' she explains.

"The interviews can be at the Ministry or at churches or other venues and are done with the help of a questionnaire. They last about two-and-a-half hours.

"It is important to understand that what I'm doing is only one segment of an overall effort.'' She says her interviews spotlighted the inner strength of many Bermudians in overcoming adversity -- without resorting to violence.

Dr. Hodgson's report from her interviews will be used for a two-day "Open Space Technology'' conference, pencilled in for March 14 and 15.

Also presenting a report will be Bermudian Arnold Minors, one of the inspirations behind the conference. He will help to run it.

Mr. Minors, the first person of African heritage appointed to the Toronto Board of Health, has been a Bermuda Forwarders manager, biochemistry technician at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal and Organisational Effectiveness Consultant at Esso, based in Canada.

He has also been Co-ordinating Associate of Arnold Minors and Associates since 1984, a company providing services to public and non-profit sector organisations.

The services highlight how anti-racism and anti-sexism programmes contribute to success.

Government training officer Naomi Schroter hopes a broad cross-section of the community, from young people to employers and politicians, will attend the conference.

"We are talking about community solutions to community problems.'' She adds a report complete with recommendations will result from the conference.

"What we have asked Dr. Hodgson to do is really get young people to talk about themselves, so we can see things from their own perspective.

"We are looking at solutions and how we can utilise information to create more focused action.

"We want people to get involved and take advantage of the opportunity to provide some input.'' Ms Schroter stresses the conference will cover the needs of all young Bermudians, black and white.

Dr. Hodgson, co-founder of the National Association for Reconciliation, notes the Island has a long history of discussing problems faced by young Bermudians, particularly blacks.

She says public discussion of black males began in 1985 with Canadian consultant Dr. David Archibald's first report on drugs.

"In his report he drew attention to the fact that a large number of black males felt society was hostile to them and did not feel like participating nor an obligation to accept its values.

"It validated my own analysis of the society in finding that racism is much more destructive to black men than black women. In western society, men are supposed to be dominant, powerful and in control.

"It becomes a problem to black men when they find themselves at the bottom of the social structure because the power structure does not find black women as threatening as black men.'' She adds another person aware of the plight of young blacks was Marion DeJean, the first head of the Education Department's Time Out programme for disruptive students.

The controversial 11-plus exam also attracted her venom.

"Her concern was that it had been consistently destructive to black boys.

This has been an ongoing concern,'' she said. "The Government only began to respond to discussions on black men three or four years later.'' Dr. Hodgson says Gerald Simons as Education Minister asked her to write a report about how education could help black men.

"Nothing came of the report because I was seen as a subversive. Eighteen months later Mr. Simons established the Education Planning Team, which came out with the same recommendations.

"The point I'm making is that there has been a long history of discussion of the issue. Even now with these latest efforts nothing will come of it without a great deal of political will.'' Dr. Hodgson and Ms Schroter agree disputes about Bermuda's unemployment rate were pointless.

"It does not matter whether it is three or nine percent, because three percent of the people can be destructive.

"It also can feed people's anger and fury to hear others, such as foreigners, saying what a great and wonderful place Bermuda is.

"Those kinds of comments can inflame somebody who is out of work or feels he has no place in society.'' Anyone interested in being interviewed by Dr. Hodgson can contact her at home on 293-2423 or ring the Labour and Training Department.

SURVEY -- Dr. Eva Hodgson SURVEY SUR CONFERENCE CON