Dear Editor,
A unique way Bahamians try to suppress or prevent something from being said is simply to blame the messenger. That way the character or intentions of the speaker, not what was being said becomes the issue. This is exactly what recently happened to Algernon Allen whose office was recently the victim of a gun wielding culprit, when he suggested that Prime Minister Perry Christie appoint a “strong man” as the Minister of National Security. Persons such as Senator Paulette Zonicle and later Minister Allyson Maynard Gibson condemned Algernon Allen as sexist, chauvinistic, etc. Clearly, both of these politicians may have missed the point as “strong man” in the sense that it was intended had nothing to do with gender, but an attitude. History has demonstrated that around the world, many women such as Margaret Thatcher, Eugenia Charles, Golda Meir, Janet Reno, etc all fell into this category of “strong man.” Unfortunately, Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia Pratt’s greatest asset may also be the source of her greatest weakness. Virtually no one in our Bahamian society would disagree that DPM Pratt is the kindest and gentlest Parliamentarian today, with an overabundance of compassion for all. This opinion crosses all political parties, including the Independents. However, these fine qualities does not necessarily make her a great National Security Minister.
Minister Maynard-Gibson and Senator Zonicle should be aware of the state of terror that has the Bahamas paralyzed with fear. After all, at every rally or press release during Campaign 2002, promises were made by the PLP to wage an all out war on crime and to restore law and order. What has happened since then makes one wonder if there was in fact a plan to effectively reduce crime or was this all just political rhetoric, designed to fool an unsuspecting public. In fact, some crimes such as murder is on the increase and the Bahamas now appears to be a nation under siege. In fact, not only is murder on the increase, but the boldness and outrageousness of these acts themselves have gone to a new level. So much so, that despite reasonable efforts to secure persons and property, criminals still succeed in carrying out their evil act without any fear of consequences, to the extent that the nation is now paralyzed with fear. No segment of the Bahamian society seems to be immune from this evil plague as Bahamians wake up every day and wonder who will be next? Age, race, nationality, sex, religion, creed, etc all seem to be irrelevant factors in predicting who will be the next victim.
The Bahamas today is in such a state of fear that Jewish settlers on the West Bank or the Gaza strip probably feel more secure than the average person in Freeport or Nassau. After all, we now live in a country where a little boy is shot dead innocently sitting at home watching television. Or, the infants in bed who had their throats slashed. Or the old woman who is raped, beaten and then killed. Even the health care professional executing her duties to preserve life is shot down like a stray animal. From the illegal Haitian immigrant to the major international investor, from the jonsor in the bush to the professional, from the Anglican to the Baptist to the Rastafarian, all categories of persons have suffered at the hands of criminals. Enough is enough! The time has come for decent law abiding people to take back our beloved Bahamas.
However, for victory against crime and the unconditional surrender of the criminals, they must be defeated at their own game and on their own turf. It simply cannot be business as usual. What is needed is a Minister who will not play games or “footsies” with these undesirables, but someone who has the mentality of a Green Beret and will guerilla these hoodlums street by street until the whole country is declared a crime free zone. That individual must be prepared to go into the gutter and cesspits of society or wherever these scumbags are with the clear intention of flushing them out and making their lives a living hell. This is what happened in New York City with Mayor Juliani where a similar situation like that in today’s Bahamas existed. Today, Mayors and governments from around the world are now asking Mayor Juliani for his suggestions for fighting crime in their communities.
Finally, both Minister Maynard-Gibson and Senator Zonicle are obviously trying to protect their political colleague. Surely, they realize that criminals do not care about one’s politics. Therefore, no political party can claim to have the solution. For a better Bahamas, we must listen to each other on this matter and entertain different points of view.
Yours Sincerely,
Dr. Leatendore Percentie
