David Ben- Gurion, the first Israeli Prime Minister once said that “The test of democracy is freedom of criticism.”
These insightful words provide a globally relevant, historical context for our deliberations today.
Freedom of speech is a fairly new and recently acquired (realized) right in this country.
We are here today to further entrench the concept of freedom and to deepen our Bahamian democracy.
It is yet another step…
Beginning with the elimination of political victimization…. Which, Madame President, was the single greatest failure of the original PLP and which … still embraced by factions within today’s iteration (of the GOP of the Bahamas) has continued to be an albatross around the necks of the “new PLP.”
Since the dawn of our independence, countless Bahamians have been told to shut their mouths… to not speak out about injustices witnessed… corruption encountered or dishonesty or unethical behavior uncovered.
In the formative years of my life… shortly after establishing my own definition of my adolescent self, I can vividly recall being told … and hearing many other Bahamians being counseled “You can’t say nuttin bout dat publicly…” Less they find themselves jobless… Hungry… and ostracized. Unable to make a living… Or worse… to have their families hurt, reputations irreparably damaged or characters assassinated. Or labeled publicly and ceremoniously as “A liar.”
It was a dark time in our history… a time that we should have long passed… but which we have revisited far too recently and far too often.
Unfortunately, as a country… we have not eliminated the climate of political persecution (perfected by the PLP) that sends the message… toe the line and you will be well cared for.
Step over the line… and you are history!
Those older times were very dark days.
As an historical reality, they led to the emergence of a group of freedom fighters now known as the dissident eight. They created the movement that has done most… if not all of the finish work of the Bahamian democracy. And now has the distinction of doing not only the finish work … but installing most of the infrastructure of this modern Bahamas.
I consider myself fortunate… indeed blessed… to have experienced personally the Bahamian dream.
It is therefore an honor and a privilege to serve in a capacity that protects the interests, needs and concerns of other Bahamians who themselves struggle in pursuit of happiness, support of their families and ownership of a part of their birthright.
The building of a home … like the building of a nation takes place in stages.
The care and concern… the attention to detail… the integrity and honesty of the builder determines the overall quality of the home.
The rough work happens quite quickly… and it does not take long to get from a foundation to a roof. The home… like a fledgling nation can be designed, framed and put together fairly quickly. But it seems to take forever to get the finish work done… and to get it right.
That is because the really skilled laborers, the masons, and finish carpenters – exercise their skills as artists and produce a product of which we can all be proud.
They smooth the blemishes… correct the mistakes … solve the problems…
They create a finished home.
So it is…
So it has been in this sovereign Bahamas.
As we look forward to creating realistic solutions we must acknowledge from whence we came.
It is true that majority rule was introduced by a coalition of Bahamian patriots from the PLP, Labor and an independent force. In 1967, they ushered in an era which accomplished great things for Bahamians…But as monumental as the problems solved, were the problems left unsolved or made worse…Deep, serious problems – many of which we suffer from today.
They built this nation from its foundation…They did much good… but either created, ignored or allowed too much evil. I believe they got distracted…They sent incomplete messages…They lost focus….Instead of telling Bahamians that all honest labor was redemptive in god’s eye… they introduced a system of entitlement and created a nation that became expectant of political patronage. Instead of extolling the values of hard work… of any kind, Bahamians were not corrected when they rejected manual labor for the comfort of a white collar job. Instead of establishing a national commitment to Honesty – such “old fashioned ideals were lost to the relativism of “hustling to get ahead.”
Integrity of character was made subjective to domination by characters. Lawfulness was laid to waste by lawlessness. Discipline was sacrificed on the altar of opportunism. Tolerance was destructively defined as the approach to people who looked like most Bahamians, talked like most Bahamians, believed what most Bahamians believed…
Our fore fathers… and our people… all of us… allowed drug dealing, corruption, nepotism, bribery and scandalous behavior to become the norm…
So as not to derail the illusion of progress… they ruled with a benevolent iron fist.
As long as Bahamians shut up… they were well treated.
George Orwell in his famous book “Animal Farm” could very well have been describing the reality of ordinary, average Bahamians in the seventies and eighties who supported the vision of the early PLP … only to find that while all Bahamians were equal… some were more equal than others. And yet… with progress came a painful truth… The truth that the fundamental pillars of our democracy …
Legislature
Executive
Judiciary
Press
… The foundational elements that would ensure the realization of the dreams of so many Bahamians… the infrastructure of Bahamian society… was not intact.
In their last … and thankfully brief term… the PLP government of the Bahamas allowed serious assaults on the third pillar of this democracy…
In our last session… we outlined corrective measures and the progress made to safeguard our Judiciary
Today… the FNM government of the Bahamas now known for both heavy lifting… and finish work introduces corrective action for the fourth pillar of this great Bahamian Democracy.
In current use the term is applied to the Press, [2] with the earliest use in this sense described by Thomas Carlyle in his book On Heroes and Hero Worship:
Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters' Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all.
We in the FNM believe that people should be able to express freely and respectfully their views and concerns. Further… the public domain should be free of extreme, arbitrary censorship and that public service… stewardship should be subject to scrutiny.
It is yet another reason why there is credence to the view that that the opposition party operates under false pretenses… and a long since irrelevant name. They are neither progressive… Nor liberal.
Now, Madame President, we might believe that democracy is alive and well in The Bahamas. One need only listen to the talk-shows, read the newspapers or canvas any gathering of two or more persons to hear the comments and views of Bahamians from all socio-economic classes on many issues. There is no shortage of criticism – much of it directed at the government. By Ben Gurion’s standard …. A lot of criticism equates to a strong democracy!
Unfortunately, the sad truth is that Bahamian democracy is being threatened – not by external forces – but from within!
Over the last two decades, in sharp contrast to the previous twenty years post independence, the ability to speak publicly and to criticize the decisions and actions of policy-makers, industry and private individuals has become less risky. Victimization- a reality in the fledgling Commonwealth now happens infrequently – if at all.
Unshackled and tongues loosened, Bahamians have embraced the right of freedom of speech with the expected exuberance of a people who have endured generations of economic repression, discrimination and delayed opportunities. The radio air-waves previously locked down by the very administration that introduced majority rule, was opened after 1992 by an administration singularly committed to the deepening of our democracy.
Yet the freedom of expression that we enjoy has come with an ugly companion. Some have gone too far!
So we must strengthen it … not by repression of people’s ability to speak… or censorship, but by providing reasonable access to incontrovertible, reliable, verifiable factual information to rebut the ugliness being put forth.
Madame President this is why Freedom of Information is so critical to the development of our Bahamas. We must create an environment where untruths, half-truths, distortions and lies… cannot survive…That… Madame President… is why we are here today.
I do not believe that our Bahamian Democracy is healthy. Under the shroud of secrecy it is being pummeled by opportunists who have seized this precious thing. They have high-jacked the essence of our free society and diverted its’ power and impact for the specific special interests of the few. This era of “free speech” has seen a resurgence of racism, narrow-mindedness, hate-speech, distortion, lies, disinformation and libel. Unless we abort this contamination, we will not realize our full national potential.
For the record, I whole-heartedly support criticism – however caustic – delivered on positions of policy, process or action.
I welcome it even when it is directed at me. I agree with Voltaire- a French writer of the Enlightenment - who said: “I may disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death, your right to say it.” You see, Democracy cannot thrive without opposition or protest but it withers in the face of intolerance and injustice.
But I do not condone...nor will I engage personal attacks on anyone’s character. A person’s behavior and character is quite capable of speaking for “itself.”
Madame President… over the last few weeks I, my family and my friends have been subjected to the lowest form of hate speech, character assassination and putrid public utterances. And yet… while the victim of such pathetic and untrue drivel, I stand here today to further the right of all Bahamians to exist in a free society… even if the very “freedom” that I stand here to defend… is misused… misdirected at me. My deepest regret is that there are innocent people around me who must try to deflect the blows intended for me.
George Washington, the American commander in chief of the colonial armies in the American Revolution (1775-83) and subsequently 1st US President said:
“If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
Daily we hear speech and observe behavior that demonstrate contempt and hatred for foreigners, authority, government, the church, homosexuals, the police, anything or any-one different from the so-called “true- true” Bahamian (that doesn’t exist.)
The target is essentially anyone different than the person speaking emotively. Unfortunately, often the language and behavior are being stoked or incited (and sometimes verbalized) by individuals who ought to know better. Some of these instigators enjoy a level of public “respect” and privilege and use influence, dollars, liquor or simply access to a medium… electronic, written or spoken to achieve political mileage, strategic advantage or simply to “bloody up the opponent.”
I stand here today Madame President to say… in the enduring words of the Victorian poet William Ernest Henley…
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
I shall continue to fight to make my country a better place.
Hate-mongering and distortion are alive and well in this country and appears disguised as freedom of expression. “By whatever means necessary” some push to achieve personal, political and social agendas even as they destroy this country which is so seriously ill. They claim that “it is only politics” and that people will understand that the tactics are not “genuine.”
And so it is tragically that we must strengthen our efforts to fight the basest forces of our society with truth, with facts, with information.
We are here today to introduce a long overdue Freedom of Information Bill.We must reinforce the ability of the public to gain access to the truth in a way that permits the reasonable among us to arrive at their own conclusions.
We should all pause and reflect on this sad state of affairs in our beloved country. As we grapple with the social decay that has made our streets “killing fields” we ought to accept the contribution of such ugly and boorish language behavior on the national psyche. As persons incite aggressive and hostile behavior, can we be surprised at catastrophic consequences.
With our national proclivity to violence, we ought to look to our leaders for calm and not expect irresponsible rhetoric that inflames. Freedom of speech comes with an awesome requirement for responsibility. The political machinery in the Bahamas, like elsewhere, is expected to “spin the facts” to influence the electorate.
But as we push to develop a more mature political environment, we must collectively agree to an irrevocable standard of truth and civility in our political conversation. Anyone who breeches this national ethos of honesty and integrity should be treated with the public contempt and scorn that they deserve….
Notwithstanding the current reality, the average Bahamian (if such a person exists) certainly expects and hopes for more statesmanship from the leadership. Sometimes the end does not justify the means. If the quest for victory and public opinion threaten the survival of our democracy, then victory….however sweet… is not worth the price.
And so, in order to introduce This Freedom of Information Bill, 2012… I wish to relate two case studies.
They demonstrate the power of facts and the truth.
This honorable senate will recall a recent press conference held by the Honorable Shane Gibson held in front of the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation where he made a number of claims.
NB. At this point the presentation was ad libbed and included the damning Auditor General's Value for Money Audit Report of The Ministry of Housing & National Insurance during the years 2002 - 2007. The substantive points were ads follows:
Over the past few months there has been a confusing exchange of comments and allegations made by me and the Hon. Shane D. Gibson arising from the current state of affairs at the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation.
The exchange started when Mr. Gibson alleged that I was “heartless” for evicting a family from their home for non-payment of the delinquent mortgage.
Information is power!
First Case Study
A Freedom of information request would reveal that the Hon. Shane Gibson, in 2005, faced with a family who had built a home on crown land truly acted “heartlessly.”
Interested persons would learn the story of Jamal Williams, a young man from Elizabeth Estates, who had built a home with his own hands and sweat – just off Fire trail road.
The home was on crown land and he was advised that it could not remain there. Despite the pleadings of Mr. Williams’ mother, the young man was not only evicted – the home was torn down.
A letter from the Prime Minister of the Bahamas (the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie) will show that he did so with the knowledge of the Cabinet of the Bahamas.
Freedom of information for Bahamians will allow access to truth, to facts, to information.
As a consequence, interested Bahamians can make up their own minds.
Second Case Study
Recently, Mr. Gibson held a press conference in front of the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation and said that I was a liar for revealing the information that I have disclosed about his role as Minister responsible for Housing, NIB and BMC.
He said I was a liar!
I have no interest in refuting his words with anything other than facts.
The Crown Report on Housing was produced as a result of an investigation of the Housing program by the Auditor general of the Bahamas. I first got sight of this in October, 2011.
Dr Sands then read a few excerpts… stating that we can make up our "minds whether I have “lied.”
Closing comment
Freedom of information will provide Bahamians with facts that they can use to arrive at their own conclusions.
I feel no need to speak about Mr. Gibson’s character as it speaks for itself.
His record, as recorded in discoverable documents will show that during his tenure as Minister, he was incompetent, reckless and irresponsible.
The public can determine for themselves just who is a liar!
