Entirely dissatisfied

October 11, 2004

Dear Sir,

I am writing to you to voice my anger regarding the Music Festival sponsored by the Department of Tourism at the Royal Naval Dockyard. I along with several hundred other attended the festival on Friday, October 8, 2004. I feel it was obvious to the sponsors of this event that it was going to rain, as it was obvious to many of the patrons who had the foresight to bring umbrellas and raincoats. My anger stems from the facts that;

1. There was no shelter available for people to go to when the rain started.

2. Although people were caught in the downpour and were completely drenched, they remained at the venue for more than an hour in the rain for the feature acts to appear.

3. Not only did these acts not appear, no one had the decency to inform the people waiting in the rain that the show was cancelled. Patrons realised the show would not go on when staff appeared on stage and started packing up the equipment.

4. The Department of Tourism now has the audacity to inform the people that because the first act (Pinky Steede) went on that no refunds would be given for the night.

Mr. Editor, I feel that I can safely assume that the hundreds of people that paid for tickets and braved the weather conditions on Friday did not do so to see Mrs. Steede and a Japanese piano player that most of them probably have never heard of. I can also safely assume that Tourism is also aware of this fact. The public did not get what they paid for. If it were anyone else promoting this event there would have been a huge stink about people being ripped off and the public, and probably the Government, would have demanded at least a partial refund. I was informed that this decision was made because the entertainment was cancelled because of an act of God. While I agree that rain is indeed an act of God, lack of preparation and stupidity is entirely human. This was a foreseeable occurrence and other arrangements could have been made.

To add insult to injury, the events for Saturday, October 9, 2004 was cancelled due to inclement weather. Patrons were informed to return tickets to place of purchase for full refunds only to get there and be informed that they would have to wait until October 24, 2004 to get their money back. I can only speak for myself when I say that I will never again patronise any government sponsored event in this island as I can not be guaranteed to get what I pay for and be told that that?s just tough. Only in Bermuda.

It?s all in the numbers

September 30, 2004

Dear Sir,

I gather that the UK Government is going to let the Bermudian voters make up their own minds whether independence should be considered via a referendum or a general election. Personally, I think the only fair way is by referendum.

Question: Are you in favour of independence for Bermuda?

Answer: Either Yes or No: it?s that easy.

That way, the voters can ?vote their conscience?, as the saying goes, without worrying about what might happen to the Government of the day if they don?t vote with their chosen party. However, I note that the PLP are in favour of letting the result of a general election decide the answer to the above question. Well, they would, wouldn?t they, as it?s presently the only chance they?ve got of achieving their aim. Let?s do the math: Number of registered voters in Bermuda, say around 40,000 to make the math easy. The number who voted PLP last general election, just over half that; say around 22,000.

But: the number of registered voters in Bermuda during the last referendum in 1995, say around 40,000 again. And the number who voted in favour of independence, about 25 percent (around 10,000).

The difference between PLP votes and pro-independence votes, around 12,000. It doesn?t take an Einstein to figure out that, if the PLP can?t even get half of their supporters to support them in a referendum, they haven?t a snowball?s chance in hell of getting Independence by that route, therefore their only hope is by means of a massive general election victory (which, if their record over the past six years is anything to go by, would appear to be highly unlikely).

While we?re on the math thing, it?s fairly simple to work out that the number of votes required for a two-thirds majority to carry a pro-Independence decision is around 24,000. That means that, somehow, the pro-Independence front has to conjure about another 14,000 votes out of somewhere, and that?s not going to be easy on an island this small. Before any such referendum or general election comes around, I urge all voters of whatever political persuasion to consider, very seriously, the answers to the following questions:

1) How would Independence benefit the average working-class Bermudian? and;

2) How much would Independence cost the average working-class Bermudian?

I would also challenge anybody to name any former British Caribbean territory which is doing better independent than it was when it was still British. ?If it ain?t broke, don?t fix it?, and I don?t think it?s broke!

In the 1995 Independence Referendum, turnout was 58.8 percent or 22,326 of the 37,841 people eligible to cast a vote. The low turnout was due in part to the Progressive Labour Party boycott. With all 22,236 ballots counted, 16,369 voters (73.7 percent) had said ?no?, while 5,714 (25.6 percent) voters said ?yes?. In the 2003 General Election, 75.06 percent or 29,516 of the 39,324 eligible voters took part. Of that number, 15,222 or 51.65 percent of votes were cast for the PLP, 14,142 or 47.98 percent of votes were cast for the UBP and 108 votes were cast for other parties and other candidates.

We need a referendum

October 13, 2004

Dear Sir,

The decision as to whether Bermuda should ?go Independent? or not is of supreme importance to every Bermudian and resident. It will affect our economy, our pocket books, our way of life, our freedoms and our future. Each of us should have the right to vote on this specific major issue in a separate referendum: to do otherwise would be undemocratic. To sidetrack this important issue of independence by way of a general election, with the confusion and turmoil of all the other political, social and economic issues (such as crime, education, housing, traffic congestion, tourism, taxation, seniors? welfare, health services, etc.) is stealthy and undemocratic. It is like sneaking the most important event of our lives through the back door, instead of focusing on it in the open.

It is my view that independence now could have very grave consequences. The world is now divided into huge blocs of influence (North America, the European Union, China and The Far East, the Middle East, and Russia) and this minuscule island of some 70,000 souls is extremely vulnerable without an association with one of the big international blocs. In Bermuda we already have our bread buttered on both sides. We have self-government and we now have the right to work and live in the European bloc thanks to the British; we have a pre-clearance US Customs/Immigration service in Bermuda and we can enter the USA without a visa, thanks to the USA; and our economy is supported (alas, no longer so much by tourism) primarily by substantial international business. Do we want to risk throwing some of these hard-earned privileges away?

If we were independent, what would happen if Bermuda suffered a terrorist attack? We have no navy, no air force, and only a handful of part-time soldiers. We don?t even have a coastguard.

What would happen if the foreign corporates were to pull away, drawn into the welcoming arms of our many offshore competition? Or if the Bermuda dollar were forced to devalue? Or foreign exchange controls, higher taxes and income tax were forced upon us (always the result of economic and political mismanagement), stifling our growth and eroding our already fading image of economic and political stability?

There may be a day in the future when independence makes sense ? not now. What we need now is a specific and separate referendum to determine the most important issue of our collective lives.

PAULAMITCHELL

Reston, Virginia