I must respond to Sir Arthur’s article and the opinions of others who have written to the editor concerning America/Iraq and her other problems.
I suggest very strongly you take a serious look at your own country’s serious problems.
In contrast to the Bahamas those parties who participated in the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq were prosecuted, and are serving lengthy sentences in a US military prison. What ﾠabout the felonious assault on Mario Vallejo the news reporter from Univision at the detention centre? We have heard nothing of that. What about the abuse of the two prisoners at the prison after the escape captured on a cell phone camera? What about the conditions at your squalid detention centre captured internationally after the mishandling of the two Cuban dentists? There have been several reports of abuse at both the prison and the detention centre but as far as is known none have been investigated.
How about your public school education mess? F+ is something to be ashamed of and will not be addressed properly. Your crime rate is escalating at an alarming rate. Much of this is the result of the failed public school mess. My father came here in the 50 and 60’s and there was not the crime there is ﾠtoday. By the way our crime rate has come down dramatically.
A Bahamian was on channel 12 last night and I heard her lamenting as to the out of control crime rate and she also drew comparisons to the 50’s and 60’s. Maybe this crime rate is symbolic of a government that spends $3.5 million on an airplane that its pilots cannot fly. No wonder they are sobbing and moaning over Mr. Rumsfeld’s decision to pull the air assets from here.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Why don’t you have the Chinese forgo the propaganda sports stadium and redirect the monies for education. The last thing the Bahamas needs is any more emphasis on sports, while the, education system fails and crime escalates.
This is far from a complete list. I strongly suggest Bahamians “look under your own hood” and recognize your own serious problems. It’s tough to criticise the most successful 230-year-old “experiment” in the history of mankind and you should enjoy our success as you have greatly benefited from it. I think many Bahamians forget that.
By: CARL CLEVELAND
Miami, Florida
