A right to object

January 31, 2008

Dear Sir,

I write in response to a letter (January 29) in which Mr. Makai Dickerson scolds residents of St Augustine Hill for objecting to the construction of a high-density transient housing complex in their neighbourhood.

If Mr. Dickerson indeed believes his own words about returning Bermuda "to the loving place it once was", and making Bermuda "more loving and friendly then ever" he would refrain from referring to those same the residents of St Augustine Hill as "selfish and greedy", or judging their reasons as "weak" and "petty conveniences". He may be justified in proposing counter-reasons but to label and ridicule people who are only performing their proper and Constitutional duty as he has done is tacky and indefensible.

Mr. Dickerson must know, as the residents know, that this scheme was first presented by the government as an "emergency housing complex". The subsequent renaming of it as "housing for returning students" only reinforces the experience that it is entirely within the range of habit of this administration to say one thing and mean something different.

There is no law that requires the Government to keep to its re-stated classification and house only students. One could legitimately anticipate that on one hand the government would stretch the word "students" to refer to persons returning from drug or other rehab programmes or on the other hand claim that the ad hoc need for emergency housing for transients of one sort or another over-rode their original intention.

Even if this housing is to be populated by transient students returning from overseas, the neighbours are entirely justified in being concerned about potential behavioural and other density-related problems.

Mr. Dickerson in his letter declares neither any legitimate interest in nor connection to the scheme. His role seems to be that of a base political functionary trying to shame a group of citizens and deter them from taking and exercising pride in their neighbourhood.

People are entitled to take part in the Planning process, however limited a part that may be. And if the only part allowed them is to object to a proposal and to give their reasons, they should not be scolded for doing so.

STUART J. HAYWARD

Pembroke

An unsung hero

January 23, 2008

Dear Sir,

This is an open letter to Jim Butterfield:

Dear Jim Butterfield,

after reading your story in The Royal Gazette of January 14, 2008, I feel compelled to write to you to let you know that not all black people feel that way or would behave the way in which you have been treated and persecuted by this Government.

We feel for you and wish we could do something to alleviate the racial prejudice and disdain that so many black people have for whites. It is not fair, nor is it right! Let me make it quite clear that some black people do not speak for the entire race.

We don't know you personally, nor do you know us personally. That is not really important; but I feel that there are 'black' people that are out to get back at 'white' people no matter what to the point where others of us as black Bermudians feel like leaving this country that has been our home from birth. The way in which you as former manager of the BCC have been treated has made some of us sick and most unhappy. The BCC has been shoved around with so many excuses as to why they wanted the location at Dockyard. It is obvious that you had no one to truly turn to or to try to understand the position at hand.

We have felt that there are those that are 'out to get you' and I saw the real motive from Sen. David Burch when he couldn't penetrate BCC he then hauled in the Big Gun, The Premier. The writing was clearly on the wall as to what they were trying to do. All of the good and charitable work your company and family has done in this community doesn't matter and what a shame and disgrace.

Jim, allow me to say 'thank you' for hiring men and maybe some women who were unemployable. You employed my nephew and eventually he was promoted to a managerial position, I won't call his name but he is still there and has been for quite sometime. I understand that you even assisted him in purchasing his own home. Let me say that you are an 'unsung' hero. You are right to state that the country is divided and it seems as if that division is something that is being perpetuated by the Government and I agree with you. We could only wish you well and continued success in any future endeavours. We feel helpless and will pray for you, your family, the businesses and employees.

BERMUDIAN FAIRNESS

Warwick

No one is owed a living

January 25, 2008

Dear Sir,

With regards to letter to the editor "We are not stupid" published January 15, 2008:

When I was a young boy going to school in Bermuda from the 1990's until 2004, both public and private, I cannot remember any one from the "so-called leadership of Bermuda", not even the Governor or the Bishop of Bermuda, coming to my schools teaching me about what it will take to become successful in Bermuda. Perhaps someone had come, once or twice, but not to my own recollection.

However, what I do remember is seeing examples set forth by my family on how to become successful in Bermuda, or anywhere for that matter, examples of hard work, determination and love for their work and family. These examples alone though would not give me enough guidance on how to become successful; I would have to seek an education and also educate myself (being the hardest part), to become successful. All the education and speeches of motivation could be thrust upon me, but if I am not willing to learn or figure things out for myself it would appear useless.

Fortunately I had family values which enticed me to want to learn; if you are not willing to seek out knowledge for yourself, you will never truly learn anything, you will only be able to memorize and recite what others have told you. Yes, it can be said that you can learn from one's history, but only until you accept the fact that the history is of the past and will never change, can you use what you have learned from it to promote change for the betterment of the future.

Now, it is true that Bermuda's history, and most other countries histories for that matter, have been based on one human being taking advantage of another human being, for this is still happening to this day all over the world. You could imply then that in order to be successful one must take advantage of another human being, for it has worked in the past so it will work in the present.

Fortunately, based on my education (here in Bermuda), what my family has taught, and for what I have found out for myself, this does not have to be the case. In order to be successful you do not have to be given an advantage or thrive on others misery and misfortunes. You will have to work hard for yourself, learn what you wish to learn, and seek education in what you want to do in your life in order to succeed. In regards to your comment on "just stand there and take someone" else's stupidities, if someone were to "slap" you, nothing you can do will change what had happened, you can slap that person back a thousand times over, still the history doesn't change.

There is a saying that I too have heard, "stupid is as stupid does". The mentality of people in this country shouldn't be I have suffered, now they must suffer, it shouldn't be, they have been given an unfair advantage how do I get one, it should merely be, how can I make it so that no one else shall be treated unfairly. No one is saying that this is an easy task to make things fair for everyone, it is an undoubtedly an extremely difficult task, it would be a far easier task to make things fair for some and not for others, by basing it simply on that is how it was done in the past so it will work for our sake in the future. Just because it is the easier of the two tasks it does not make it the more moral or correct of the two.

Bermuda is a capitalistic society, and it is this that gives individual private ownership, and with it gives you your large flat screen television, rims on your whip, and the watch on you wrist, which seems to be the only concern of most Bermudians lately; highest GDP, hear my sarcastic cheers of joy. But one must not forget that we live in a country that gives us individual thought, and only you can control what you put in to your mind and accept for yourself what is right.

So if your life has been struck down by heartaches from the past, unfair advantages to others, and down right lack of success, it is up to you to make your life more successful. No one will, or should, thrust success upon you.

Hard work, perseverance and passion is what will give you true success, no government compensation will ever give you that.

Also, I hope your vote was based on your future and not based on your past, let alone somebody else's. With that being said: "Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first." ¿ Mark Twain.

U. D. SIDE

St. George's

Barnett has it wrong

January 27, 2008

Dear Sir,

I think Phillip Barnett got it all wrong again. This time he is accusing Bermudians of "building a culture of entitlement". No Mr. Barnett, it is you and others who think like who are building a culture of entitlement amongst our guest workers. You, and others in similar positions, are encouraging guest workers to believe that in spite of the term limits that have been put in place by successive Bermuda governments (not just the PLP) that they are entitled to come to Bermuda and stay for as long as they wish.

If guest workers are told up front by employers that Bermuda has a term limit policy, (three years at the least and six years at the most, and in some instances nine years) why should these guest workers, and their employers, believe that they could set up camp indefinitely on Bermuda's shores?

All Bermudians should have a culture of entitlement when it comes to their island home. After all it was our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. that made Bermuda what it is today. It is our forebears who served the tourists with a smile no matter if they were feeling ill, or their feet were hurting them, or if they themselves had nothing to eat before they turned to at the hotels. It was, and still is, our people that keep the streets of Bermuda clean. It was, and still is our Bermudian people that keep the beaches clean so that our guests can enjoy sunbathing and swimming in Bermuda's warm waters. It is the Bermudian people who take the luggage from the arrivals hall to the taxis driven by Bermudians. Why should we not feel a sense of entitlement? Bermuda is our home and has been for generations. Unlike the guest workers that come to Bermuda today, the indigenous Bermudian did not have a choice as to whether they should go to the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Barbados or wherever else slaves were taken. We were brought here and we the indigenous people have made Bermuda what it is today. That is why Ace, XL and all of those other companies are here today ¿ because of what we, the Bermudian people have to offer them.

LAVERNE FURBERT

Hamilton Parish

Rights being ignored

This was sent to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom and copied to The Royal Gazette.

January 30, 2008

To Whom It May Concern:

I would like to take this opportunity to write to you about the lack of action on behalf of the Bermuda Government to ensure that sexual orientation is included in the Human Rights Act.

While the current government is commendably taking action to encourage discussion on the topic of race, it has made no such intentions of doing the same in regards to sexuality. For a Government who is so dedicated to empowering individuals who have been down-trodden in the past, it provides little hope for affording a sense of belonging to individuals of the queer community (homosexual, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, and inter-sex).

It is deplorable that on Bermuda's beautiful shores, many individuals must hide and deny who they really are, in order to be fully accepted. One only needs to refer to the controversy that was created around and influenced the Rosie O'Donnell cruise decision not to visit Bermuda. Yes, individuals have the right to freely express themselves, but if they do so in a way that is offensive, hateful and unproductive, it is completely uncalled for.

At the end of the day, the queer community are just normal people, like you and I, and everyone else. They just happen to be attracted to members of the same sex, both sexes, or neither sex. How that has any negative impact on society is a mystery to me. Certain individuals from the church and other organisations will claim that it is immoral and wrong. My question to them is how can loving someone be either of these? After all, love is the premise from which they preach.

Ensuring that individuals, regardless of their different personal characteristic, are able to fully participate in society without the fear of retribution or discrimination, is one of the fundamental human rights, under the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Whilst 'sexual orientation' is not included in Article 2 explicitly, there have been several attempts to include it, with the understanding that the term 'other status' provides for the inclusion of sexual orientation, whereby individuals regardless of their sexual orientation are entitled to the rights and freedoms put forth in the Declaration.

If the Bermuda Government were to take the lead by adding sexual orientation to the Human Rights Act, it would ensure that queer individuals could not be discriminated against because of being queer. It is about affording the queer community the same rights and protection from discrimination as everyone else, and promoting equality and acceptance of people for who they are.

The failure to include sexual orientation in the Human Rights Act is a failure of the Bermuda Government to ensure that all Bermudians and residents on the island are afforded the same fundamental human rights that should be afforded to all individuals regardless of their individual characteristics.

It's time to do something about it!

JONATHAN SUTER

Southampton