First published in The Tribune on Friday, September 28, 2007 under the byline, Young Man's View.
NASSAU’S flea market, I mean straw market, is an eyesore that has become a ghastly, national blemish which has irrefutably become a liability to our country’s tourism industry.
The destruction of the old straw market by fire in 2001 and the subsequent erection of a makeshift tent have further set the market on a downward spiral. The present straw market is a major blot on downtown Bay Street that has, itself, become a loathsome monstrosity.
In glory days, the straw market used to be a major tourist attraction. Today, it is nothing but a grubby, dusty zone where tourists are constantly harassed by overly aggressive vendors and a site where patrons could watch a live version of ‘Tom and Jerry’ as rats, roaches and other rodents are permanent residents. The straw market is nothing more than a condemned structure where health and environmental hazards are the order of the day.
These days, the so-called straw market is really a flea market with hardly any authentic Bahamian-made items. Frankly, it no longer reflects Bahamian culture, and the current “straw vendors” should be held partially responsible for the decline in our tourism product.
If anyone is in search of items made in China, Taiwan or the Philippines, the Bahamians “straw market” is the place to shop! The straw market, that is thought to be representative of Bahamian culture and lifestyle, is also an infamous depot for fake designer goods—ranging from Prada to Gucci to Fendi to Louis Vuitton and much more. Paris might be the fashion capital of the world, but downtown Bay Street (market) is a knock-off mecca around these parts.
Gone are the days when vendors toiled to create, and/or purchased native-made hats, bags and mats from Family Island suppliers.
According to historians Gail Saunders and Michael Craton, in days gone by:
“Women and children through the islands processed the palmetto straw and sisal fibre and wove plaits to send to Nassau. There, popular items were almost mass produced in workshops over-the-hill for sale in specialized stalls that outnumbered those selling fruits and vegetables.”
Growing up on Long Island, I watched my grandmother—Lenora Gibson—weave plaits to send to Nassau primarily to Elsie Knowles, who remains one of the premier straw and craft purveyors today. I gleefully recall being taught the plait patterns and vividly remember assisting my grandfather—Edward Gibson—as he went about cutting down top trees and himself occasionally plaiting as a past time (usually baskets used when catching crabs). So, what has happened to the straw vendors that actually cared to produce authentic goods?
In May 2003, the Bahamas was cited for copyright infringements and subsequently placed on a Priority Watch list. Earlier that year, Allyson Maynard-Gibson, the then minister responsible for Financial Services and Investments, gave assurances that her government was tackling copyright abuses because the patent and unbridled breaches of copyrights has cast a shadow over the Bahamas, giving the impression of a place where intellectual and property rights were neither respected nor protected. Although the Copyright Act was amended, and the Bahamas was thereby taken off of the Priority Watch list, the government has not yet implemented any aspect of those amendments.
The Bahamas faces sanctions and sobering ramifications (law suits and severe penalties) for violations of copyright laws. Bahamians should look no further than Nassau’s prized “straw market” to see some of the most serious breaches of international conventions and copyright laws, as vendors are nonchalantly flaunting and selling goods that they have no right to!
Why aren’t the police confiscating the counterfeit designer items that are brazenly pawned throughout the “straw market”? Why hasn’t the offending vendors been arrested?
This summer, two friends from Holland visited me for nearly a month. At some point, I took them to the straw market, where, upon entering the sweltering, inadequately lit and claustrophobic tent, we were immediately pounced on by extremely pushy vendors. I could see the frustration on my friends faces as vendors hassled them at every point in the market. They could not peacefully look at an item without some vendor calling them “sweetie”, “pretty lady” or “honey”. The brusque, improper behaviour of these sales persons reminded me of a national geographic scene where a pride of hungry lions ambush and attack a deer, then savagely tear the meats from its bones! Quite frankly, some of the straw vendors behaved like skilled beggars. I have never been so ashamed!
While in the market, a vendor also attempted to sell a fake designer bag to us. The initial price quoted was $80, but after discovering that I am a Bahamian and hearing my objections, she dropped her price to $50. This vendor also became very hostile when she discover that I would not have allowed her to “swing and swindle” my friends. In the end, we left without the bag and, upon hastily exiting the tent, the relief I saw in my friends’ faces and heard in their voices was undeniable.
In its present state, any visitor or patron to the straw market must brace themselves to face exorbitant prices and prepare to haggle—and they must be a skilled negotiator or barter king!
The area around the straw market is also a site where drug peddling bums roam. During the summer, as these same friends and I waited onboard a boat that was transporting us from the Prince George Wharf to a submarine, one of them was approached and audaciously asked if she wanted to buy “some weed or have a touch of the white lady (cocaine).” I was taken aback and embarrassed, and immediately thwarted his efforts to continue his sales pitch. There is an urgent need for a strong security presence around the straw market, the tour boats and on Bay Street. All suspicious characters and vagrants must be removed.
Bahamians are capable of incredible craftsmanship. Family Islanders continue to produce hats, bags, mats, broaches, cuff links, hair accessories, utensils and other items from shells, straw, wood and coconuts. BAIC chairman Edison Key and his team/associates should be congratulated and encouraged in their push to promote authentic Bahamian products. In addition to raising the level of their products, some straw vendors and crafts persons must learn good manners and the value of being courteous.
Works minister Dr Earl Deveaux is correct in stating that the government must build a market that not only addresses the immediate needs of a few hundred vendors, but also one that fits into the upgrades set to revitalize Bay Street and the overall tourism product. As the government moves to construct a state-of-the-art straw market, the vendors should quietly and graciously relocate to their temporarily accommodations at the Prince George Wharf facility, which will no doubt be safer and an upgrade from the present site.
Bahamian taxpayers should no longer be burdened with subsidizing straw vendors. When the new market is completed, it must be demanded that straw vendors not only pay rent, but also that most vendors are Bahamians and that all goods sold are authentic and made locally!
