EDITOR, The Tribune

FRED Mitchell seems to always come under fire because of his foreign affairs policies - and rightly so.

He is a controversial figure. Some call him a spin doctor and many people forget that he is a Harvard graduate.

When he issues responses on certain policy matters, they are calculated and, whether right or wrong, he appears to stand by what he says.

His latest controversy came in the issuance of a travel advisory for Bahamians travelling to and residing in the United States. He said that Bahamians should be very careful when interacting with police officers because of the recent shooting deaths of two black men by police officers and the shooting deaths of several police officers in Dallas by a sniper.

I think Mr Mitchell this time is spot on.

Many Bahamians reside in and travel to the United States and, like he said, we are phenotypically similar to black Americans. He urged Bahamians to do all they can to co-operate with police, especially during traffic stops, and said that we should not get involved in any protest I believe because this might further put Bahamian lives in danger.

So what’s all the fuss about in The Bahamas amongst Bahamians? This is a heightened travel season for Bahamians and many of us are shopping and vacationing in the US. The US rightly advises its citizens when they feel that a threat exists to their countrymen.

We just celebrated our 43rd Independence a few days ago. For those of you who still don’t know it yet, Bahamian lives do matter and it is incumbent on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to alert Bahamians living in international jurisdictions of looming danger.

Kudos to Mr Mitchell this go round.

DEHAVILLAND MOSS

Nassau,

July 12, 2016