My reason for writing this letter is because Iâve heard the news on television saying that crime has decreased, but has crime really decreased? This is the question.
Iâve spoken to a lot of people concerning this vexing question. Everyone I have spoken to said crime is increasing at an alarming rate. The crime in the Bahamas is at a very alarming high and something has to be done urgently to protect the people of the Bahamas and the reputation of the Bahamas, being a tourist-oriented destination.
Listed here below are a few listings of the news reported in The Tribune, The Nassau Guardian and The Punch, all reporting on the tremendous affect crime is having on the Bahamas and its people.
- The Tribune, April 27/12:
âANGER AS PLP SIGNS REMOVEDâ
Mr Davis said: âI do not know why they would take down the signs with the murder count on them. Thatâs a fact. The fact is there were more than 490 murders in this country. We cannot run away from that.â When asked if he thought the posters would scare potential tourists from visiting the country, Mr Davis said: âWe cannot hide the truth and we cannot suppress the facts, we have to address the issues of crime.â
Even the taxi drivers have also been complaining about the signs. We are a tourist-oriented country and tourists have been complaining to the Ministry of Tourism.
NOTE: Mr Davis, with all due respect, this action will do more HARM than good to the reputation of the Bahamas, and its people.
- The Tribune, May 7/12:
Crime is the biggest problem facing the country today, PLP leader Perry Christie told Bahamians during a televised national address last night. Mr Christie lamented the 500 murders in the last five years and said: âAdd to that the hundreds upon hundreds of rapes, the thousands of assaults and armed robberies and the drugs and guns that are flooding across our borders and into our communities. Letâs make no mistake about it, we are a nation and people under siege.â
- The Tribune, May 11/12:
âMYSTERY SURROUNDS STRING OF MURDERSâ
Police are still unsure of the circumstances that led to the shooting deaths of five people within a 48 hour period.
- The Tribune, June 11/13:
âUS DIPLOMAT IS ROBBEDâ
A 74-year-old diplomat who police sources identified as Kathleen Cayer was attacked as she walked to church Sunday morning.
Two more tourists were victims of robbery in the area of Woodcock Primary on Hospital Lane yesterday.
âGOVERNMENT TO SEEK HELP TO DEAL WITH CRIMEâ
Dr Nottage in discussion with representatives from US Embassyâ
- The Tribune, August 2/13:
âUS EMBASSY OFFICIAL IS VICTIM OF ROBBERYâ
Less than two months after an attack on a senior US diplomat, another US official was robbed at the beach with his family last weekend by two men.
- The Tribune, October 25/13:
âBRANâS BROTHER IS MURDEREDâ
Kurt McCartney shot dead after âdeath threatâ
- The Tribune, November 20/13:
âGRENADE ATTACK ON NEWSPAPERâ
A live grenade was thrown through the front door of The Punch Publications.
- The Tribune, November 27/13:
âEIGHT SHOT IN 24 HOURSâ
- The Tribune, December 10/13:
âROBBED: APM BRAVE DAVIS AND WIFE WERE HELD AT GUNPOINT AND ROBBEDâ
- The Tribune, December 14/13:
âBAHAMAS CHRISTMAS CRIME WARNING FOR US CITIZENSâ
Alert sent out â âwarning against increased criminal activity in the Bahamas for US citizensâ
- The Tribune, December 18/13:
â7 SHOT, 1 KILLED AT PEACE PARTYâ
âBring the peace back in Bain Town party Monday night.â
- The Tribune, December 31/13:
âCRUISE SHIP CONCERN OVER CRIME â BUT NO ULTIMATUMâ
The entire cruise ship industry remains concerned about the safety of passengers and employees in the Bahamas, an executive at Carnival said yesterday.
- The Tribune, January 6/14
âPOLICE ALARM AT MURDER RATEâ
- The Tribune, December 28/13
âFOUR DEAD IN FOX HILL BLOODBATHâ
Three men and one woman were killed âexecution styleâ and four others were seriously injured in a drive-by shooting at Freedom Park in Fox Hill last night.
- The Nassau Guardian, December 28/13:
âMASS SHOOTING IN FOX HILLâ
4 shot â 7 injured
- The Nassau Guardian, December 30/13:
âCRIME: A PERSISTENT MENACEâ
- The Punch, December 30/13:
âCARNIVAL WARNS â FIX CRIME OR WE PULL OUT SHIPSâ
Carnival, the worldâs biggest cruise ship company has given the government a final warning on crime â fix crime by June or we will pull our ships out of the Bahamas.
âIn all fairness to Greenslade, his hands have been tied by the meddling Christie, Nottage and Deputy Police Minister Keith Bell. The politicians will not allow the police to implement the harsh measures that are needed to defeat the criminals.
- The Punch, January 2/14:
âMURDER COUNT FOR 2013 HIT 120â
Violent crime is so bad that we have been categorized as a conflict zone and one of the 10 most dangerous places in the world.
Now Carnival, the worldâs biggest cruise ship company is threatening to pull out its ships unless the government gets crime under control.
NOTE: Referring to what The Punch said in the December 30/13 paper re: âGreenslade hands being tiedâ, the government should NOT interfere in the Commissionerâs job. Let the Commissioner do his job. Mr Greenslade is a professional, and a fine police officer. He knows what he is doing. When Mr Greenslade was in Freeport, Grand Bahama, he did a magnificent job there with the crime. If the government would stop interfering things might be different. Give him that courtesy and respect.
- The Nassau Guardian, January 6/14:
âARCHBISHOP PINDER DECRIES RISING CRIMEâ
There were 120 murders in 2013 and at least 4 recorded for the year so far. But Pinder said all is not lost.
- The Nassau Guardian, January 7/14:
âUS ATTORNEY RAISES ALARM OVER CRIMEâ
With calls from victims of crime in Nassau, the âmajorityâ of those received by his firm, a Florida-based maritime lawyer has claimed that Nassau may be âone gunshot awayâ from seeing cruise lines drop it from their cruising itineraries. (Jim Walker, partner at Walker & OâNeil, a Miami law firm).
- The Tribune, January 3/14:
âMAN GUNNED DOWN IN STREETâ
Victim is fifth to be killed in three days
- The Tribune, January 2/14:
âFOUR DEAD IN 36 HOURS OF VIOLENCEâ
Four men are dead and three others are fighting for their lives in hospital following six separate shootings in the capital between New Yearâs Eve and last night.
NOTE: With all the above reports, re: crime, the crime in Nassau and the Bahamas has not decreased but increased. A blind man can see that crime has not decreased.
I never thought that Nassau would come to this. Crime and the fear of crime. Nassau and the Bahamas was once a peaceful place, but now it has become a war zone. Bahamians are more afraid now for their safety than ever before. We need help and we need it now.
I was told by a security guard, who said he worked at the College of the Bahamas grounds, that the students are using the âFâ word all the time. He said the parents are not teaching their children good manners. They are very rude and they have no respect for anyone.
I was also a victim of crime. On Thursday, July 3/08, armed robbers held me at gunpoint in the office car park. I was in the car when three masked men held me up. One of them pointed the gun in my face, but he didnât fire. This was 1:55pm in the afternoon.
I wrote a letter in the paper July 15/08 pertaining to this. Almighty God protected me from these men.
Godâs word says in Isaiah ch.54 v17, âNo weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemnâ.
There is too much crime in this little island of New Providence. I wrote this letter for these three men to read. This is no way for you to go out and shoot, kill and hurt people. Too many people have died, families devastated and traumatised and the effects are forever.
Nassau used to be a peaceful loving place to live. Now there are too many rapes, too many murders, too many robberies, too many killings. What we need is a spiritual revival in this country before it is too late.
Jesus said: âSeek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto youâ.
The Lord God is a loving God, and He says in 2nd Chronicles ch.7 v.14: âIf my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their landâ.
If you continue to live by the gun, you will die by the gun. Stop your life of crime before itâs too late. Donât let the devil fool you.
âCrime does not pay.â
The US Embassy gave out a warning for US citizens, warning against increased criminal activity in the Bahamas for US citizens, reported in The Tribune December 14/13.
In The Tribune, December 31/13, the cruise ship concern over crime about the safety of passengers and employees.
Also in The Punch, December 30/13, Carnival warns fix crime or we pull out ships.
Also in The Nassau Guardian January 7/14, a US attorney raises alarm over crime in Nassau.
If the US Embassy puts a stop on US citizens coming to the Bahamas, we will be in serious trouble. It would affect taxi drivers, hotel employees, government employees, it would affect everyone in the Bahamas. If you think the crime is bad now, if this happens, God forbid, the Bahamas would sink and the crime will be worse than ever. Then you will see the Wild West in full force.
As the prime minister said in his address to the nation of the Bahamas reported in The Tribune, May 7/12: âLetâs make no mistake about it, we are a nation and people under siege. Crime is the biggest problem facing the country todayâ.
Dr Nottage was in discussion with representatives from the US Embassy for his government to seek help to deal with crime, reported in The Tribune, June 11/13 after a US diplomat was robbed going to church.
Dr Nottage asked the FBI and Scotland Yard for help. The Bahamas is at the crossroads. We need help now.
The cat-o-nine tails is on the law books, but never enforced. I was told that a certain member of Parliament said that itâs barbaric.
When vicious criminals gang rape women, rape little babies, young girls, elderly women, isnât this barbaric and their lives are ruined forever? If the cat-o-nine tail was applied to these vicious criminals, you will see the crime reduced. Do this in public. The world is watching the Bahamas.
I hope and pray that Almighty God for His continued help and to give wisdom to those in authority that they will do the right thing to stamp out this evil and protect the people and the reputation of the Bahamas.
The Bahamas was a sought-after vacation destination, however this is no longer the case.
Donât let these vicious criminals destroy the reputation of the Bahamas and its people. There have been too many rapes, murders, robberies, killings. Too many people have died, families devastated, traumatized, and the effects are forever.
We are supposed to be a Christian nation. Letâs live up to that name.
May God Almighty continue to bless and protect the Bahamas and its people is my prayer.
Sincerely in Christ,
Tony G Zervos
Nassau, Bahamas