In life, it is interesting to hear people brag about any given entity or issue. You know, the whole feelgood notion that paints something as near Utopian. Anyone listening to them would think to themselves: “Wow, this is the greatest thing since sliced bread met fresh bananas!!”

This week, former home affairs minister Michael Fahy wrote an opinion-editorial singing the praises of our cousins to the south of us in the Cayman Islands.

Here are some key excerpts:

“If the Progressive Labour Party government really wants to help Bermudians, it needs to move now on immigration reform.”

“Until we unlatch and swing open the gates to the outside world and warmly welcome job makers, investors and overseas workers and give them reason to remain in Bermuda, we are doomed to a deep dark depression.”

“The [Cayman] property market is flourishing. Tourism is on the increase and jobs are plentiful.”

“A new Cayman airport is being built.”

“Cayman is surpassing all expectations and its progressive ideals are bringing real economic success. Its warm welcoming of ‘expats’ is a large part of that.”

After reading those lines, it would be hard to not be totally enthralled with the concept of how successful Cayman Islands has become. As Fahy says: “Swing open the gates to the outside world.”

If only it was that simple.

If only Fahy actually told the full story. Either he does not know the full story or he knows that if he told the full story, Bermudians would realise that the Cayman Islands model cannot work for us.

So, let’s take a few minutes to drill down on some of the key facts regarding what is going on in the Cayman Islands.

Last June, I was fortunate to be part of a delegation that was sent to attend the 43rd Annual Commonwealth Parliamentary Association meeting for the Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic region, which was held in Grand Cayman.

While there, we met many Caymanians and got to observe a few key things about Cayman Islands. Let us start with some key facts, shall we?

Bermuda size: 21 square miles.

Cayman Islands size: 108 square miles.

Bermuda population: 64,000

Cayman population: 64,000

So, while our populations are equal at present, the landmass in Cayman Islands is five times that of Bermuda. Naturally, the cost of land will be lower, thus allowing for both commercial and residential development on a massive scale in the Cayman Islands.

As a prime example, a three-bedroom home in a reasonable area costs as little as $300,000 to purchase.

What Mr Fahy fails to mention is that the overwhelming majority of construction workers are not Caymanian.

Unless we suddenly find another 80 square miles of land, we simply cannot compete when it comes to the ability to continue to build. The only ability to build is to go vertical with multistorey units.

Will those in the environmental sector be willing to see this happen?

Moving on, Cayman Islands is indeed enjoying a constantly growing tourism market. This is reflective of the entire Caribbean region that has seen year-over-year record numbers of tourist arrivals.

Where the Cayman Islands has an advantage over Bermuda is that the Caribbean region enjoys 12 months of sunshine, barring the occasional hurricane. In Bermuda, we have only six months of similar temperatures.

Second, it is clear that more than 90 per cent of those working in hospitality in the Cayman Islands are non-Caymanian.

That would be inclusive of doormen, chambermaids, bartenders, waiters, maintenance and security. Many of these are working for the minimum wage, which equates to roughly $8 per hour.

So, again, we have to ask ourselves this: is this what we want for Bermuda and Bermudians?

Moving right into the talk about “a new airport is being built”.

Indeed, the Owen Roberts International air terminal — not airport — is being renovated and expanded. Now let us take a closer look at this project.

Both the Cayman Government and the British Government soundly rejected the proposal by Aecon to build a new air terminal. Yes, the very same Aecon, which after being rejected by Cayman Islands then set its sights on Bermuda and a One Bermuda Alliance government that embraced the idea with open arms and wallets.

What did Cayman Islands do instead? They did as many in Bermuda suggested; they decided to build their own air terminal. At a cost of less than $100 million, they have employed local contractors to expand their air terminal to accommodate almost 500,000 air visitors per year.

Meanwhile, here in Bermuda, we have an air terminal that will see fewer than 200,000 air visitors per annum being turned over to foreign powers for 30 years.

So, on that account, we can definitely say the Caymanians outsmarted the Canadians and by extension, the OBA government.

Fahy also fails to speak to our financial sector, which is primarily based on the reinsurance market, differing from the Cayman financial sector, which is based primarily on hedge funds.

By omission, he does not tell the public that the reinsurance sector has been undergoing a constant period of contraction based on mergers and acquisitions. This, coupled with external pressures by Britain and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, has caused many companies to radically reduce staff or redomicile to their home countries.

The net result is a decline in local economic activity.

With the oncoming challenges from the OECD and Britain, all Overseas Territories, inclusive of Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands, are facing potentially further loss of financial sector participants. To this end, the OTs are working together to mitigate unwanted disruptions to our economies.

Fahy has never been accused of knowing the true pulse of the Bermudian people. Likewise, he seems a bit aloof to the sentiments of Caymanians.

During our visit to Grand Cayman, we were hosted by some of the friendliest people on Earth. Akin to Bermudians, Caymanians take great pride in their country, their heritage and their people. Many took the time to explain Caymanian history and culture to us.

What they also took time to explain is that they have witnessed great changes in their island. Going from a population of 8,000 in the 1960s to now having 64,000 residents, they can rightfully say that theirs is the fastest-growing population in the Caribbean.

However, with that great growth, has come great challenges for many.

A few numerical facts to consider: half the resident population is non-Caymanian, while more than half the working population is non-Caymanian. The net result is that Caymanians are essentially now the minority in their own country.

Many have been displaced in job fields such as hospitality, construction and the retail sectors.

As a result, there are thousands of Caymanians on financial aid. At a reception, a Caymanian lady approached us and stated this: “We wish we were more like Bermuda when it comes to protecting locals.”

Again, this is where we ask this question: “Is this what we want for Bermuda?”

You see, the major difference between those who embrace the philosophy of “business first” versus those who embrace “people first” is that there is a thing called empathy. Having empathy dictates that you actually care about those who could be possibly adversely affected by any policies that you put in place.

The OBA’s Pathways to Status policy lacked any empathy for the everyday Bermudian. Hence, the historic lockdown of Parliament for five days.

With that being said, there is indeed need for a Bipartisan Comprehensive Immigration Reform Committee, with persons from both sides of the political aisle working together to strike the correct balance.

For most, this means ensuring that Bermudians have a fair shot at success in their own country. However, seemingly for Fahy and others, this reform simply means “liberalising” immigration with little to no controls and protection for Bermudians.

In some regards, Cayman Islands has been successful in development, tourism growth and a rise in population. No one will argue against those facts.

Yet success at what cost?

Do we sacrifice our people on the altar of convenience to appease the gods of globalisation?

You see, it is easy to paint Utopian-like pictures with numbers. Yet it is as important to show the full picture.

One sure barometer of how people feel is through politics.

The Caymanian political party closely aligned in philosophy and policies to the OBA is the People’s Progressive Movement, led by Alden McLaughlin.

The PPM lost its majority seats in the General Election of May 2017. Two months later, the OBA was voted out of power by the people of Bermuda.

The moral of the story for any politician: when you put policies in place that adversely affect the native people, they will get rid of you.

Christopher Famous is the government MP for Devonshire East (Constituency 11). You can reach him at WhatsApp on 599-0901 or e-mail at cfamous@plp.bm