By ED FIELDS

AS we have learned over the many years, the US State Department is required by law to report on anything that may affect Americans travelling to other countries.

This legal requirement does not require context and the State Department’s reporting has no obligation to be concerned about the impact on tourism in The Bahamas. That responsibility rests on The Bahamas. Regretfully we tend to repeat the narrative, by amplifying the stridency of the State Department’s advisories. In other words, the travel advisory is not concerned about upsetting people or local economies. It is focused on warning the citizens of the United States, such that, people take the warning seriously enough to make decisions that are in their best interest.

This is where the interests of the State Department and The Bahamas diverge.

Admittedly, we have a very real problem. It is literally a “domestic violence” problem and like all domestic violence issues, the real impact is the Bahamian “family”. It is a problem, that demonstrates our failure as a country to provide an environment for its citizens to be reared, nurtured, educated and economically engaged so that violence is not the result of frustration, disenfranchisement, emasculation and economic degradation. But this is another discussion for another day.

So, with that said, it is left to us to tell the world the facts.

Fact: in 2024, there have been 18 murders of Bahamians in the Bahamas. ZERO VISITORS. The advisory went on to warn visitors that they should co-operate if they are faced with an armed robbery. However, the advisory failed to advise that no visitors to The Bahamas have reported armed robberies. Given that ZERO visitors were victims of armed robbery in The Bahamas in 2024, this would be forwarded more as common-sense advice than a warning. Advice that all nine billion residents of planet earth might wish to take. Though unconfirmed, to date, no sexual assaults on visitors have been reported in 2024.

In order to head off any counter based on my limited focus on the 29 days in 2024, note this is the period the advisory alluded to with respect to the number of murders. These murders are not random and have not occurred in touristic areas.

By contrast, the US has had 25 mass killings this year, so far, the second highest on record for January. The record thus far is in 2023, when here were almost two mass shooting per day.

We recognise the per capita thing. Per capita, there is ZERO chance in getting killed in a random mass shooting in The Bahamas. There are no mass shootings. Per capita, there is close to a ZERO chance of being murdered if you are visitor to The Bahamas. If you are a visitor going to the United States, there is a greater than ZERO chance of being killed by a disgruntled citizen with a semi-automatic weapon.

We wish to emphasise yet again, the US is by law, fulfilling its obligations to its citizens. Their advisory is not an attack on The Bahamas. It is their duty to their citizens. It is our responsibility to respond appropriately. We do not need to reprint verbatim the advisory. The State Department does not publish advisories, other than on their website, but we seem to leap at the opportunity to announce it to the world. Then, it is picked up by foreign media and then they go so far as to publish it with a picture of Atlantis or the Cruise Port. Once one network affiliate picks it up, it goes viral.

As citizens, does it make an iota of sense for us to publish the US travel advisories on social media? How many of the 300 million US citizens are posting travel advisories on the US by other countries? Have you ever seen a travel advisory about the United States with the Magic Kingdom or JFK Airport as the file photo?

What we should be doing is promoting how visitors related crime is so low, especially given the seven million visitors coming to these shores. Frankly, it is exemplary.

Our headlines need to reflect that The Bahamas is extremely safe for visitors and that we have some serious social issues which make it unsafe for some Bahamians as it relates to death by gun violence. It is our duty to our citizens and the health of our economy to publish that narrative far and wide.

Have you ever seen any headlines on how many tourists are murdered in Las Vegas every year? Google it.