EDITOR, The Tribune

Christopher Columbus statue is here to stay. Christopher Columbus is among the “been here” and will be here longer than Father Sebastian Campbell and all those other set of “just come here” opinions.

For a few minutes let me talk to the “just come here”.

Please get your records straight. If you don’t know, please ask, It’s important to know the history of this country.

Here we have a statue of one of the founding people of this country we now know as The Bahamas. In 1492, Christopher Columbus in search of the new world, set sail and landed on San Salvador island. There he met up with the Arawaks who were already settled here.

To you “just come here”, what have the Arawaks done other than walk up and down naked and burning fire? That statue is a strong part of the story of our country’s history. Every time one or two of you all get a passport and the US Immigration let you in, the next thing you want to do is the things that they do in the US. Let me tell you something, the US build cars, boats and a multiplicity of things for export, they have factories of all kinds and goods to export in abundance to sustain that country financially.

My question to all of you “just come here”, what do we have to export to sustain our country? Tourism is our lifeline. If you went to school let me tell you, tourism paid the school fees. Tourism put food on your table it also paid that rent mama had to pay.

That statue is a tourism attraction for the tourist. Yes, we Bahamians are slowly raising our heads and exporting some fruit but can it sustain the country? I say no.

Father Campbell, you surprise me and not only me but a lot of people in this country with your statement in The Tribune. Let me say this to you and all of you who want to take down the statue of Christopher Columbus from Government House, that’s a tourism attraction. They come from all over the world and take pictures of the same statue. Father Campbell you all are looking back and complaining about Columbus’ past. Do you have evidence of anything you are accusing him of? He may have done some dirt but overall, he did some good here.

My brother and you “just come here” have any of you read the history of Apostle Paul? Yes, that same Paul in the Holy Bible, yes Father Campbell. The same Paul who killed people. The same Paul who did all kind of evil and wicked things to people until God had to knock him down. Father Campbell the same Paul you preach about and from his writing and teach people about in your church. Are you going to condemn a person after they have done wrong and this same person later do a multitude of good? This is the same thing about the Apostle Paul. If his statue was in front of the church would you pull it down?

Lets us go to Cat Island, sir. Are you going to dig up the grave of the historical Priest that has started the historical church in Cat Island, the church that was on the top of the hill and now only parts are standing and the Priest remains buried there?

It is alleged that this same Priest molested many young children, rape many young girls and young boys in Cat Island but yet when the tourist or historian goes to Cat Island, they take people to those places of history. My question, sir, should they dig up the Priest remains and cast it in the ocean of water and dig up the little history that is left standing?

To you “just come here”, don’t be distracted by the people in the US, their problem is there. We have our own problems and moving that statue don’t make no sense. Let us thank God for where He has brought us from and to where He is taking The Bahamas.

Don’t take the windows out of the house because Mr Brown took his out. May I ask how many times do you pass that statue of Columbus per year? Should you stop people in Andros from catching crabs? Don’t follow America. See what they did to Martin Luther King and John F Kennedy.

I say goodbye to all of you, and Father Campbell let me remind you that we live on the grace of God and His mercy. Tourist visits to those historical sites have been our bread and butter from generations.

CONCERNED CITIZEN

Nassau,

June 26, 2020