Every Independence season I reflect on what this milestone means to our country – 39 years later I still question how independent we really are.
I read with interest an article in Thursday’s Nassau Guardian, by William Wong entitled “Mega resorts can cause big problems”. A former President of the Real Estate Association, Wong cautioned Government to resist allowing foreign developers to construct inappropriate mega resorts in our Family Islands. I fully endorse this view.
We do not need towering monstrosities that require expensive artificial energy sources to litter our Family Island landscapes. Our ancestors solved those problems years ago by building shelters that were oriented to the natural breezes, that were raised from the ground to cool the floor and allow it to breathe, that pitched the roofs to drain off the torrential rain, that added porches, windows, shutters and trees to shade the structure and make them comfortable, naturally. The developers of Schooner Bay in Abaco have applied these lessons and more to produce a beautiful and sustainable community. I would urge the new government to arrange a visit there to see why persons from all over the world are flocking to invest in a community that reflects a way to life like we USED TO.
As the new government looks to provide economic activity on the Family Islands I trust that their former ‘anchor property’ mega schemes will be re-examined as the current global debate on living is now focused on the importance of sustainable development. As my former husband preached, our answers lie not outside of our country, but are intimately intertwined within it if we can only ‘see what we lookin’ at’ and embrace the lessons learned by our ancestors who have already done the work for us, having survived in harsh conditions by adopting commonsense solutions for their shelter, food, clothing and celebrating it with pride in our culture heritage.
Are we truly independent? Do we understand, appreciate, study and respect these same ancestors and learn from their valuable lessons? Or do we continue to let outsiders define who we are as a people and a country? If we truly respect and appreciate our past, we will not hesitate to make demands of those persons wishing to become a part of our wonderful archipelago to ensure that they abide by our rules and regulations, respect our heritage, adopt those practices that are best for our country, are suited to the scale of our country and reflect our sense of place.
If we are 39 years independent, colonialism is supposed to be dead. But is it? We will continued to be shackled in our mind if we continue to allow outsiders – just because they hold purse strings – to define us within their frames of reference and feel they have the power to dictate how and what we do in our country.
We can only be truly independent if:
1) We assess and acknowledge the abundant treasure inherent in the rich heritage of our past, present and future that is embedded within our people and our country;
2) We have pride in and respect who we are, where we came from, and what and why we do what we do first and foremost; which is achieved by
3) Truly studying our history and learning from its important lessons; which is achieved by
4) Embedding this crucial component into our educational system and showcasing it with pride all around our landscape on a continuous basis;
5) We are confident enough in our own sense of self and can articulate what this means so that we can ‘do for ourselves’;
6) We respect the expertise of our own people, listen to their advice, invest in them and provide opportunity for them to build the country;
7) We are prepared to ‘eat sardines and grits’ rather than prostitute ourselves to be dictated
to by others.
The fruits of this labour cannot be achieved overnight, nor within a political term – it is a long term, sustainable investment of time and energy in your own people that will take time and patience to develop and nurture.
Our elderly people with their wisdom and our artisans and artists with their creativity, hold the key to unlock the closed door of treasures that are lying dormant and dusty behind the door of disuse. I hope that the country will take this opportunity to unite us once again in a community of Bahamian-ness so that we move forward, upward and onward together.
Yours,
Pam Burnside
