EDITOR, The Tribune.

Having grown up in Nassau, attending both Xavier’s College and St Andrew’s School, and being married at Sacred Heart Church over 50 years ago, I was more than excited that my husband and I were returning for a visit last week. Although it was a bittersweet trip as we were bringing a loved one’s cremains with us to be put in the sea, I was still very excited since it had been three long years (since the start of the COVID circus) that I hadn’t been back to Nassau. The excitement was high because after many months of planning, my three children and their spouses, along with all 8 of our grandchildren, were flying in from various locations in the US. Most of them had never been to Nassau, so they were eagerly anticipating a fun vacation at both Baha Mar and Paradise Island while boosting the local economy. I was thrilled to be showing them my island home. Fortunately, my husband and I arrived the day before the rest of our family, with our deceased family member’s ashes in a biodegradable urn, which had already gone through the US Customs X-ray machine in Florida with no problem.

I had also checked with Jet Blue, who clearly stated that ashes were permitted to be transported either by checked baggage or carry on, with the carry on option being recommended. Upon arrival in Nassau, we were asked by the customs agent what was in the box, and told him that it was ashes. We were asked if we had an affidavit from the Bahamian Ministry of Health. We told the agent that we had a notarised death certificate along with the certification from the crematorium that the ashes were sealed in the container. The supervisor, Officer Sands, was summoned and informed us that we needed to have special permission from the Ministry of Health to bring ashes into the Bahamas. When I asked how any traveller would know this, she replied “Well these are NEW rules, and you have to obey the rules!” (still not clear to us how anyone would know an extra affidavit was required....). She informed us that we needed to get in touch with a funeral home, and they would have to apply to the Ministry of Health for the certificate and that Customs would have to keep the ashes until they had the approval. At this point, having grown up in Nassau and knowing that quickly moving paperwork is not what the island is good at, I was beginning to become extremely concerned that all 16 family members were flying in for an event that might not take place. Ms Sands assured me that this was something that could be done quickly, as long as a funeral home got involved.

Thankfully, my family has used Kemp’s Funeral home for decades and so I was given the phone number for Stephen Johnson and told that I should call him immediately but that the cremains were staying in customs. Surrendering your family member’s ashes to the custody of unknown people is not a great feeling and you begin to wonder if the deceased would really approve of their ashes being impounded at Nassau Airport and kept overnight. I was also wondering why we are being asked to go through extraordinary measures for extra documentation when we had an urn and ashes that dissolve and dissipate when put in the water, leaving absolutely no trace. (The irony is not lost on me that we are killing a tree by creating more paperwork for something that completely disappears in the ocean and leaves nothing behind!) As if all of this unexpected stress wasn’t enough, the next morning my aunt and I were back out at customs waiting for the green light from the Ministry of Health. It was at this point that Officer Sands told my aunt and I that “It’s not people of colour but YOU WHITE PEOPLE who do all the smuggling!” Wow, seriously? My aunt and I both gave each other the “did she just say that” look, but we said nothing, as clearly if we argued this blatantly racist statement, we knew the chances of our getting the cremains from customs would likely be zero.

Thank God for Stephen Johnson at Kemp’s funeral home, who came through for us with the required Ministry of Health affidavit in the nick of time. His professionalism and calm demeanour was a breath of fresh air after our nightmare experience at customs. We were eventually able to have a beautiful ceremony to celebrate our family member’s life and for that we are truly grateful. Sadly, it’s a negative experience that sticks with you, and while I truly love my Bahamas and had a wonderful few decades growing up in Nassau, I don’t regret that my husband and I chose to go and live in other countries. It would behoove the Bahamian customs department to realise that its tourism (of all colours) that is the lifeblood of the local economy and as the saying goes, “you don’t bite the hand that feeds you!”

BEV BETHELL DOLEZAL

Florida,

June 27, 2023.