What we are seeing is the culmination of decades of very slack enforcement of immigration rules and regulations. Now that there is some effort underway to rectify the situation it is quite apparent that those most likely to come under increased scrutiny are not pleased, to say the least. My question to those raising such a fuss in another country suffering its own very large illegal immigrant problem is quite simple: What do you hope to achieve by your posturing? Will one of you be named the king of Haiti? Yes, they had self anointed emperors who lasted for a short period of time but that was centuries in the past. Don't hope for the same in this day and age.

It is refreshing to see that the DNA has continued to exist after its experience in the 2012 General Election. As I told one of its tearful candidates after the votes had been counted, they must persevere election after election if they hope to gain power one day. No party in existence in this country ever won an election on the first attempt. Of course, their platform must be finely crafted, rigidly adhered to and they must raise sufficient funds between elections to give them a fighting chance when the next election rolls around. Who knows, the day might come when they are invited to form part of a coalition government if they have won a sufficient number of seats in the House of Assembly.

Dear friends, it seems that many of us are looking for our own "Cincinnatus", the farmer-warrior who left his farm to defend ancient Rome against invaders then, refusing all honours and positions of power, returned to his farm upon the cessation of hostilities, much to the astonishment of his fellow citizens. Wasn't it the late Mohandas Gandhi of India who said "I am a politician pretending to be a saint, not a saint pretending to be a politician"?
However, in The Bahamas as in most countries, the average man questions the value of joining a particular political party if there is not some advantage to be gained by such an affiliation. That is the way of human nature. The end result of shortsighted greed is more difficulties for the country as a whole.

There has been a lot of talk and very little action in Abaco apparently because the illegal immigrant community is so well integrated into the local labour force that any serious effort to weed out the illegal population would seriously hamper the continuation of many construction projects such as at Bakers Bay on Great Guana Cay where it has been estimated that about 90% of the labour force travelling there each day via boat from Marsh Harbour is either Haitian (whether legal or illegal) or of Haitian descent. As I said some time ago it appears to be too late to take any effective action in Abaco since the situation is so long standing that the result of any serious crackdown could result in a situation similar to attempting to operate the US state of California (among several states) without the presence of illegal Mexican nationals. Of course, those of us with some knowledge of history realize that immigrants, whether legal or illegal, are not going to be satisfied with their role of "hewers of wood and drawers of water" forever and will seek political representation and/or control of their new home at some point in the future, whether that point should be near or far.

Ms. Burrows, for what it's worth, I will say that when one is young it is easy to say that you will never get married. I am quite certain that I must have said that many times but the reality is very often quite different. I married for the first time at age 20, for the second time at age 28 and for the third time at age 53. Now ask me why I got married in the first place. See you later, I'm out of here.

With reference to Cuba as a tourist destination that will attract the US market I can only say that it is only a matter of time before the average Cuban who works for $20 a month (or less) will demand more from a thriving economy boosted by tourism. At present the best paid workers are the "jineteras" while everyone else is, as I was told in no uncertain terms many years ago while in the country, "muriendo de hambre": dying of hunger. Once tourism takes hold there will be many changes and the satellite map of Cuba will gradually reflect the massive building projects that will inevitably take place all over that large and historically interesting island.

In order for an effective National Health Insurance scheme to be introduced with any hope of success it is necessary for a majority of prospective taxpayers to demonstrate some semblance of popular support for the scheme through a sense of unanimity of purpose as well as national unity and, perhaps more important than the foregoing, a large enough population base capable and willing to pay for the scheme. Those few of us who read history will find the experience of Sweden very enlightening in this regard. However, once you have read their story you will recognize that we have a long way to go.

What is it exactly that the Government and some members of the public are expecting from BAMSI?
How short memories are. Look up in your history books the fate of the once-thriving Hatchet Bay Plantation that existed on Eleuthera and now is a pale memory of tall grass and collapsing silos stretched out along miles of desolate roadway. That old building on Bay Street with the tree roots growing up its eastern wall was, if memory serves me correctly, the so-called "milk stand" where the mail boat the "52 Mile" unloaded the various products from Hatchet Bay for sale to the public. BAMSI appears to be destined to deliver a different kind of product to a very select customer base if you can read between the lines.

The situation being complained of by the Bahamas Dive Association is not new nor is it limited to New Providence. From the days of the late Sir Stafford Sands foreigners have entered the Bahamas as tourists on Monday and been working for pay on Tuesday.
This country is known around the world for slackness which is the result of a poorly educated population combined with slack enforcement of existing regulations. Just look at the situation with reference to the illegal immigrant population.
Like they say about Mexicans, Bahamians are long suffering but there is a limit to their collective patience.

Abaco has a permanent population of illegal immigrants, some of whom have now been made legal, primarily as a result of the short sighted actions of Edison Key (and others) who did not have the foresight to imagine what the consequences of their actions would be for the other residents of the island. This is the direct result of mainly uneducated people being put into positions of influence where they do not have the ability to see a little further ahead than their own nose.
A person with no knowledge of history or of the wider world can make a series of bad decisions which ultimately result in unpleasant consequences for the rest of us.