Sidney Sweeting, DDS
On a recent talk show the Deputy PM was being criticized for issuing so many work permits to Haitians while so many Bahamians were looking for work. I applaud his reply when he said, in effect, that if the critics could find Bahamians who are willing to do the work that the Haitians do then he will accept their criticism.
My wife and I have had personal experience with this issue. We had one Bahamian gardener who was inebriated most of the time so we tried a company that would drop three or four men off and the housekeeper informed us that as soon as we left in the morning they would go under the dilly tree and sleep. Our gardening has been done since then by a Haitian whose work ethic could put most Bahamians to shame.
We have all seen the young teenagers who frequent the parking lots at malls waving their sheets of paper asking shoppers to "sponsor" them for a team trip to Andros, etc. A shop owner at Harbour Island was approached with a similar request and he asked the boy why he did not get a job and earn the money. He replied that he goes to school and the shop owner told him that when he was his age he worked in that very store afternoons to earn his spending money.
The Tribune lead story this morning (Saturday, July 17, 2010) reported that the Haitian children are doing better in school than the Bahamian children. Perhaps the Bahamian children are learning that sense of entitlement that their parents have had for so many years - the learning idea is not as important as having the latest cell phone and a lavish prom for "graduation".
