EDITOR, The Tribune.

I am responding to Minister Fred Mitchell’s speech in Parliament on January 18, 2017 and the public reaction to my comments at the Coral Beach meeting on Sunday, January 15, 2017. It saddens me that I am being falsely and publicly accused of being “hateful, deceitful, ungrateful, dishonest and unpatriotic”.

Apology

Firstly, I have brought this upon myself. I must agree; taken in isolation my recent comments sounded horrible towards “black Bahamians” I am deeply sorry for that!

However, those who know me know that I do not have a bone of hate or discrimination in my body. I do not like my feelings being hurt.

Very dear friends have reached out to me and have expressed their hurt. In addition, I do not want to hurt anybody else’s feelings.

In addition, for my offence to my fellow human beings I humbly and respectfully apologise. I would not want to hurt a soul!

I’m no stranger to racism and discrimination. My experiences are the genesis of my vocation as a defender of human rights.

Growing up in Haiti as a foreigner, in an Arabic environment we were discriminated against.

When, in my early teens I lived in Nassau and went to Saint Thomas More, Xavier’s college and St Augustine’s, I was discriminated against by many as being a Haitian simply because I spoke fluent creole.

In 1967, I was sent off to an all-white, all English, all boys, all aristocratic boarding school.

Discrimination was rampant in England in the 1960s and 70s. I was beaten down as a WOG, a nigger, a Paki, a coon, a blacky, a brillo pad head and for being Bahamian.

Therefore, I am deeply sorry that I have caused offence to black Bahamians.

Putting My Comments into Context

However, I feel that it is important that the whole story and the context of my comments is explained by me as regrettably, Mr Mitchell has taken them out of context.

I totally deny the accusations that I am a racist or anti-Bahamian.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, the very point of my remarks at the meeting was to condemn a very specific instance of racism and xenophobia – which unfortunately, just so happens to involve a specific group of black Bahamians intent upon victimizing a specific group of foreign residents who are white.

I made no comments whatsoever relative to “all black Bahamians”.

Firstly, it was a two hour meeting, but conveniently only a one minute and 57 second clip was published.

Secondly, the background to this matter is that at a condominium community in Freeport called Coral Beach, there have been ongoing problems for years between a number of Bahamian condominium owners, (some who happen to be black) and hundreds of mostly white foreign owners. A number of the Bahamian owners regrettably used their condominiums in breach of the Condominium rules.

They failed to pay their maintenance and power bills.

They have given all Bahamians at Coral Beach a bad name and have caused tensions within the Coral Beach community.

This group of Bahamians have been in league with a number of foreign owners to undermine and remove the current board of directors led by Bruno Rufa, which has for many years been successfully cleaning up Coral Beach and put it on a sound financial footing for all of the owners, including the Bahamian ones.

Regrettably, this group of Bahamians have used their political, immigration and police contacts to cause trouble for the Board of Directors and have obstructed the proper management of the affairs of the Coral Beach.

Unfortunately, the Freeport Immigration department and Minister Mitchell have allowed themselves to be used by this group.

They have caused great disruption to a peaceful and harmonious community at Coral Beach.

I appreciate that my words, taken in isolation and out of context, can obviously be seen as being hurtful or offensive and for this, I repeat, I am very sorry.

My comments were obviously not directed at all black Bahamians.

In addition, if as he says, the “Bahamas Government is not involved in any dispute” at Coral Beach, why is he debating client attorney privileged information about my client’s financial affairs in Parliament?

Unfortunately, Minister Mitchell has intentionally taken my words out of context. He has intentionally created mischief in order to try to paint the picture that I am “hateful, deceitful, ungrateful, dishonest and unpatriotic”.

I am not anti-black. I am not anti-Bahamian. I am a proud Bahamian. I love my Bahamas. I have never and do not have another passport. I have nowhere else to go. I constantly strive to make our Bahamas better.

Minister Mitchell misleads the public about my citizenship

Because Minister Mitchell condemns anyone in The Bahamas that has the audacity to criticise him, he has once again taken the opportunity to rail against me, under the protection of parliamentary privilege, where I am defenseless.

He has misled the public in proclaiming that I am a “naturalised” Bahamian.

As Minister of Immigration and as a lawyer he knows that I was never required to apply to the Government to be “naturalized” to become a Bahamian Citizen.

No one gave me a piece of paper to make me a Bahamian citizen!

Just like nobody gave Fred Mitchel a piece of paper to say he was a Bahamian citizen.

Minister Mitchel has also misled the public when he says that I was “given shelter in this country”!

I was not “given shelter in this country”.

This is my country as much as it is Fred Mitchell’s.

My Heritage

My father was born in Nichols Town, Andros. His family hails from Exuma and Long Island.

My mother was born in Jordan in the Middle East.

Both of them were British subjects living in Haiti.

So, even though I was born in Haiti; I was born a British subject, like Fred Mitchell.

Based on our Constitution, like all Bahamian citizens born before 1973; on July 10, 1973 I became a Bahamian citizen: just like Fred Mitchell.

No ifs, ands or buts about it!

I have had as much right to be in OUR BAHAMAS from the time I was born as Fred Mitchell has.

Fred Mitchell had threatened my citizenship once again; however he cannot take that from me!

My History of Fighting Against Discrimination:

For decades, as a defender of Human Rights, I have been decrying discrimination in all forms in The Bahamas.

Therefore, I accept that my words were hateful.

On the occasion of my comments, I was again decrying discrimination and racism; this time against the white foreign condominium owners at Coral Beach by a specific group of black Bahamians who are making all Bahamians look bad at Coral Beach.

I abhor racism, discrimination and xenophobia, and I do not allow it to stand unchallenged.

It is for this reason that I made the comments that Mitchell has taken out of context.

The Culture of Discrimination in The Bahamas:

It is also for this reason that while utterly rejecting the suggestion that I myself was exhibiting racism, I also stand firmly by my comments regarding the general culture of discrimination, racism and anti-foreign sentiment that has pervaded this country for decades.

Every Bahamian who is honest with themselves knows what I am talking about.

I have spoken, written and been published extensively about how horrible it is and how destructive discrimination and racism is in our Bahamaland.

I too support “Bahamas for Bahamians”!

However, it is not and cannot be considered “unpatriotic” or “anti-Bahamian” to tell the truth and face up to our shortcomings as a society. Bad “stigma” or not, the Bahamas must confront its hateful xenophobia; just as I am accepting that I have been unintentionally hateful in my recent comments. That was wrong of me to speak so generally and judgmentally.

Supporting Bahamians does not and cannot mean that in promoting the interests of Bahamian citizens we should be racist, callous, harsh, brutal and generally hateful to foreigners!

Abuse at Coral beach under Minister Mitchell

In fact, on Minister Mitchell’s watch, the Department of Immigration has harassed, intimidated and, in my opinion, unlawfully deported foreign Coral Beach owners, on nothing more than the word of a group of Bahamian owners.

They have unlawfully raided their homes, publicly paraded them in handcuffs; held them illegally in a toilet; refused them their medication; arrested them illegally; falsely imprisoned them in jail; unlawfully refused them entry; prevented them from entering The Bahamas to stay at their homes; and generally intimidated them to the extent that some are selling their units and leaving The Bahamas.

Many are now living in fear that they will be targeted next.

Minister Mitchell seeks to paint an unkind picture of Mr Rufa being hauled before the courts as a criminal; yet, on two occasions in 2016 the Supreme Court of The Bahamas has delivered Judgments in favour of Mr Bruno Rufa against the abuse of Mr Mitchell.

Under his watch, Minister Fred Mitchell has caused the international human rights community to condemn our beautiful Bahamaland.

Most unfortunately, he continues to feed our xenophobia; our racism; our national insecurity and thereby creates an environment in The Bahamas which is hateful to foreigners...and sadly often, to our fellow Bahamians.

The challenge that all compassionate Bahamians face is to try to heal the deep hateful wounds that Fred Mitchell and his ilk have inflicted on society in The Bahamas over these many years.

In closing, I once again apologise for my unfortunate hurtful generalisation about some black Bahamians.

I deeply regret this.

FREDERICK SMITH, QC

Nassau,

January 21, 2017.