Delray Beach – In the cramped prayer hall of Ebenezer Methodist Church, Samara Saunders found herself straddling two countries.
A native of the Bahamas, Saunders, 34, had driven up from her Miami home to attend Sunday’s anniversary celebration of the former British colony’s 32nd independence.
Then she chatted with the woman next to her and discovered she was the great aunt Saunders hadn’t seen since she was 6. Suddenly, Saunders was moored, having restored a piece of her history in a caring relative who has lived in Miami for more than five decades.
“It was the missing link in our chain,” said Dorothy Saunders, 73, the sister of Samara Saunders’ grandfather, Edmund Saunders. The families lost touch when Samara Saunders’ brother died in Nassau in 1978, a loss that led Saunders’ mother to sever most of her ties with her extended family.
“Now I feel like a normal person,” Samara Saunders said as she stood next to her great aunt, whose home she visited as a small child when her family traveled to Florida.
Saunders as an adult crossed “The Pond,” a moniker used by immigrants to describe the seas that separate them from their homeland. In Miami, she pursued a master’s degree and took a job in public administration. But she has never stopped calling Nassau home.
That is typical of the estimated 80,000 Bahamian-Americans who live in Florida and straddle both countries easily because of the islands’ proximity, said Sydney Stubbs, a member of the Bahamas’ parliament who spoke at Sunday’s event.
Stubbs said the country’s growing stature in Caribbean affairs marks this year’s independence anniversary.
“People are starting to see the Bahamas as a country of relevance. It’s pleasing to be able to come here and thank the Bahamian community here for their contributions to that reality,” he said.
Each year, 5 million tourists propel the country’s economy, which sustains a population of 300,000, Stubbs said.
“It’s more than a vacation spot,” said Renora Campbell Bridgett, 64, a Bahamas native who lives in Delray Beach. “The Bahamian people have achieved a lot in the past years.”
Community members celebrated those achievements in a church service that included speeches and rousing music, followed by a barbecued-chicken picnic.
Debbie Estime, 39, a singer known for her gospel music both in the local church community and in the Bahamas, said Bahamians have a special place among island exiles.
“We have a cohesiveness as Americans and Bahamians … All the things that make us Bahamian, our music, our clothing, our crafts, we hope to pass on to our American children,” said the Boynton Beach resident.
“Bahamians have a lot of drive and determination, and those values have been instilled in many of us,” said Bishop Ronald Howard, head of Ebenezer Methodist Church and a Florida native of Bahamian descent.
Nostalgia for a country that was once untouched by American resort culture tempered some remarks.
“With places like Atlantis, we’ve lost that antiquated sense we had as an island,” Estime said. “I guess that’s what they call progress.”
By Tal Abbady
Staff Writer
www.sun-sentinel.com
Tal Abbady can be reached at tabbady@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6624.
