A Letter to the Prime Minister from the Southern Bahamas

6
2032

The topic is “Is the government really serious about crime in Inagua”? The government of the Bahamas needs to stop lying to the nation and they need to stop fooling themselves about their approach to crime. Every time you watch the news they are always talking about “having a zero tolerance to crime” but for some strange reasons the criminals always walk free. Is it that the Police Officers are really that lousy in producing their evidence? Are the Police Officers untrained about doing investigations and taking evidence? Are the magistrates collecting under the tables? Is it that the magistrates and lawyers from both sides working together? Or it just boils down to who you mark your X for?

To top it off the government of the Bahamas does not have a clue as to what goes on in the archipelago of the Bahamas when it really comes down to crime in the family islands. Mr. Prime Minister please wake up! Mr. Police Commissioner you aware that serious crimes not only happen in the big cities like New Providence and Grand Bahama but it is even more rampant in the family islands because too much covering up going on and because it boils down to who know who. How can the government say they serious about crime when some of the family island police afraid of their own shadow. In other words these same police hang out with some of the people who they later have to arrest but because they close they can’t do their job and they don’t want to mess up the friendship. Another big mess up for the police is when they only hang with their set a people who voted for the same political party, it is a big shame on the police force this must stop! There is just too much slackness in the family islands, the police force on the islands need a big shake up or shake down. The head of the police force need to put police in the family islands who serious about they job. One of the secrets of THE BEST KEPT SECRETS is that the only time you really see the police is on plane day when the plane come in. I can’t speak for other islands but my island must be the only island the police station is locked up sometimes so if you need to make a emergency complain you have to wait till the station reopen and still the government say they serious about crime?

What is the government waiting on another big riot in my island to know they need to take a “zero tolerance against crime?
Mr. Prime minister the legal system is out a wack! This system look like it design to work for who you know and who know you! It is clear that when you live on the family islands you are treated like 2nd class citizens. My mistake I think that position is reserved for such islands like andros and exuma who always getting some attention. MY BEST KEPT SECRET is at the bottom of the archipelago and at the bottom of the government priority list. I now say hurricane was blessing because that’s when we get some national attention and when the Haitians come in town then that’s when the rest of the Bahamas and the government remember we exist. No offense to you Mr. M.P. but because your party not in power right now nobody listening to you. We Inaguans had to wait for over a year before another magistrate ‘visit’ us in April 2009 and when they did Mr. Chief Magistrate did not allow justice to prevail but only throw out most of the cases and give the criminals a slap on the wrist. Mr. prime minister this was a big insult to my people for too long we had to wait to have court and when it happen it was a mockery of the justice system. My people now saying it don’t make no sense to report anything and if your life in danger a man do what they got to do to defend themselves because the justice system only look like it work for some people. Could Mr. Chief justice please tell me how one man slap somebody and didn’t serve time when another man did the same thing and he was sent to prison for 3 months? I want to know why the government telling battered woman to leave the man who beating them and report it to the police then when it go to court the chief magistrate say “I will not send you to prison because I don’t want you loose your job….” And then the woman beater is allowed to walk free after the woman had to swallow her pride, go through the whole thing of reporting it, having to take embarrassing pictures show how she was beaten like a animal, in the meantime living scared of the man who almost beat her to death and at the end of the day Mr. Chief magistrate can only point out because the woman beater work at batelco the magistrate don’t want him “loose his job”. Tell me Mr. Prime minister where is the justice in that? Why is it a case from my settlement must get send to new providence for trial and the one on trial must now find the money for ticket on Bahamas air when we living in a time of recession? (my boy you know how stupid you look buying your own ticket to go get lock up in town? If they want jail you up let them deal with you home and they buy you ticket to and from town.)

Mr. Prime minister you people say that you all are here to serve the people of the Bahamas while spending the tax payers hard earn money but is like the people (especially the poor people) are the ones can’t get service only the short end of the stick. Mr. chief magistrate you look like a man of peace but if a man do the crime they should do the time. Mr. chief magistrate I think is time for you to step aside because you no longer can see right from wrong when it look like you willing to just sit there and let any lawyer railroad you without you getting to the real truth. Sir like I said you did only ‘visit’ THE BEST KEPT SECRET OF THE BAHAMAS but I don’t think you did your job.

Another problem the government running on about is the illegal gambling but Mr. Prime Minister you “say what you mean and mean what you say” when the number houses in the family islands making money from the regular people and civil servants? Now tell me Mr. prime minister is buying numbers really illegal when your civil servants are the main customers at the number house? I didn’t go off to school like some people but I still have sense to know right from wrong in other words again I ask is the government serious about crime?

You see Mr. prime minister is just too many secrets in THE BEST KEPT SECRET and is time that some of these secrets come out. Is time the government of the Bahamas made accountable for the state of affairs for the country and that mean for all the islands of the Bahamas not just a few. Is time the government take full responsibility and make the justice system work for all Bahamians. Is time for the government to truly serve the people and stop making decisions based on politics. Thank god for morton Bahamas because if we didn’t have we jobs at morton then the government was going to have a lot of other serious crimes to deal with because when people cant eat and feed their family then you will do anything to make a dollar.

So please Mr. prime minister and mr. police commissioner please, please, please deal with things the right way before it get worse. Please allow the full extent of the law to prevail so that injustice will be a thing of the past. The Haitians are running to our country for a better way of life but if things don’t change in my island we Inaguans will soon have to do the same because of the level of crime and the amount of people who always taking the law in their own hands.

Enough is just enough its time for us Bahamians to stop settling for mediocre service from the government and is time we have a voice. Remember Mr. prime minister we put you back in office to serve the people not the people to serve you. I agree with Mr. Obama when he say ‘YES WE CAN’ what it means is that yes we can as people demand change for the good of the country and yes we can or do have a right to a better way of life. We Bahamians talk too much is time to stop the talking and time for action! My Bahamians, my Inaguans YES WE CAN have a voice, one voice for change!

By a concerned Inaguan
one voice crying in the wilderness

6 COMMENTS

  1. This person is obviously not an Inaguan. Because for one being an Inaguan and living in Inagua all my live I have never heard any major crimes on my beautiful. When the chief magistrate was their in April if this person was in court listening they sould relize that most of the cases were droped by the persons themselves not the magistrate. Maybe about two or three of the cases that were pending for up to about 5-7 years were thrown out. As for the case with the batelco worker, she should appeal the case if she was not satisfied. See let me tell you someting about my people, we might fight amoung each other, when an intruder comes and try to disturbe the water (watch out) we unite. I dont appreciate any one coming to my island trying to make it out to be someting it is not, we may have our differences but we live well with each other and we learn to forgive and move on. Inagua has just under 1000 persons and God has been blessing us and yes we have some bad apples inthe bunch who sit around critize all day, but when you take it to this level thats a problem, If someone reads this letter who hasnt been to Inagua they would thing that Inagua is a crime invested Island which it is not. And the Police is must gove them credit for doing a good job. And as for the police hanging with the natives, that sounds so stipid the people of Inagua has some type of sickness that the Police cant mingle with them, maybe you need to segregate yourself from the community. And as for the number houses, no one is breaking the law and I am sure you sent your numbers in at one time or the other, and at least these persons are not on the street pushing or selling drugs

  2. This disgruntle social service worker Mis P.Forbes is trying to dis credit the community of inagua she is wright about two things in her colum she is not an inaguan and she does not have much education.Her and her coluge mr n.mullings who is the menus of inagua.Mrs forbes who is the social services worker here in inagua an a PLP needs to clean up her act while she is trying to be judge an jury all she is doing on this island is breeking up people homes she is a habitual sweethearte who is sweetharting the police inspector brown, dawson bain and bernerd ingraham so does she have any mouth to write to our primeminister

  3. It is obvious that this person( the author) has a cold heart or just plain silly because anyone who commits a crime and allowed to go free, must be a praying person. We also like to call ourselves a Christian nation, then when issues arise we are the first to scream “hang, them, hang them”. Where is your compassion? If God is a God of second chances, Who are you cold hearted brutal idiot talking about? Dont use the Lord name too loosely if this is the way you think, people should be treated. What if this was ur family member, would you feel the same? I thought so!

  4. Let me let you in on a little secret in tthe family island of Exuma. The Four Seasons Resort like Atlantis, the Bahamas government and the rest have prosetuted the Bahamian labour fource for years and now that they dont need the Bahamian they are firing them and with little or no severance while the ministry of labour sit by and do nothing. I was informed by a Senior Manager at the four seasons that when they reported to the immigration Dept that a senior manager work permit was expired and could not enter the country until it was renewed he told the executive who the fu$#% at any of them government department to refuse me entry those jack asses they have all sold out the Bahamian people and you know what I am even sick of hearing this same old line. Bahamian people are fursturated and tired. No one at the top seem to be looking out for educated Bahamians and this is a group that is mostly fursturated because these people beleive that yes we all are jack asses because no one demand what is right for our people from them and let them get away with paying the monkeys peanuts. Monkeys being Bahamian as we were referred to by Four Seasons Executives but I hope their name live up to the mark For a Seasons and they will soon be out of here.
    The are awful employers and Bahamians are powerless. Only God can help the Bahamas now.

  5. It’s obvious that THE BEST KEPT SECERET is coming out now.It is sad that it had to come to light in this manner,but it could have been worse.I pray that GOD will,be done on that island and justice be served.Mr Gray please stand up for your people they were there for you in 1997,2002,2007 and when ever HAI ring the bell.Please Mr GRAY,PLEASE be the voice for M.I.C.A. Let us not leave them behind GOD back bring them to the for front.

  6. To the concerned Inaguan: It’s not only your voice that is crying. This whole nation is suffering from top to bottom. You have people that are taking their own lives because they don’t know what to do. I think the problem is the government really doesn’t know what it is doing. Crime is affecting every corner of this nation. The judicial and legal system are failing the Bahamian public because there is simply no way persons should be on bail for murder, rape, robbery for the lengthy periods they are. It’s insane. But, the Lord knows all. I hope that things get better in Inagua and in the country as a whole.

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