Column: Pull Back Proposal Until Next Election
[Opinion column written by Makai Dickerson]
I took the time to really digest the “Pathway to Status” bill proposed by the One Bermuda Alliance Government. I did so as to not react emotionally, but to gain the facts of the matter and base my opinion on reason and truth. In doing so I have come to my conclusion and wish to share it with my fellow Bermudians.
There is a known adage, “Haste makes waste”, and in this case, haste will displace.
One has to wonder, who the OBA Government is really working for? Is it for the benefit of Bermudians, or their own self interest? If for the benefit of Bermudians, which Bermudians? Bermudians as a whole, or a select few?
History will show us that black Bermudians have had a hard hand dealt to them in this island from the beginning and that hand continues to be played today. As the majority race on this island we still find ourselves, the majority of uneducated, unemployed, underemployed, underpaid, homeless, asset-less, the majority at the bottom of the barrel, and collectively holding the minority of wealth, land and other assets.
While the majority of the minority white population enjoy the benefit of a larger proportion receiving higher education, full employment, more then substantial pay, home ownership, assets, and control of the majority of our economy. This has gone on from the day that Bermuda was populated.
It has now reached the point where many black Bermudians have packed up to seek refuge elsewhere because they no longer see a place for themselves in their rightful home. Simply put, the deck is stacked against them, with many more willing to leave if they had a way.
Jobs are given away to “guest workers” because it is said that Bermudians are not qualified or do not wish to take on the jobs. Yet the many highly educated Bermudians qualified to fill the positions are overlooked and denied for any reason the employer can come up with.
And the Bermudians willing to work in the positions they claim that Bermudians don’t want to take are passed up because the employers make it impossible for them to survive off of the wage they receive in elation to demand and hours of work. They then have no choice but to seek other employment and as a result, in come the expat workers.
So now we have the “Pathway To Status” put forward by Minister Fahy.
First he began his tenure by declaring the elimination of Term Limits on January 30th 2013, a little over a month after the OBA took over the helm of government. Let’s remember that this was done after they said they would not eliminate them pre-election.
Then in January of this year Minister Fahy made it clear that allowing absentee voting for Bermudians living overseas for a long period of time was not a priority of the OBA government, for as he put it, “Giving people living outside of Bermuda that right could cause problems especially if they are registered at their parents house or have property of their own.”
He’s talking about genuine Bermudians with a stake on this island be it family or assets. He’s saying that there is no priority to insure that they have a say in who runs the government of their island home protecting their family and assets.
Yet his government is willing to go out of their way and make it a priority to allow those that have landed on this island for no other reason but an employment opportunity to gain status and in turn a vote because they have resided here for over 20 years despite the fact that their being here for so long likely prevented the advancement of a Bermudian at some point.
With this going on it’s no mystery why many have left to take up residence elsewhere. Further, many of those eligible for status under this flawed proposal are, in fact, able to vote in their country of origin by absentee ballot, and will continue to be able to vote in their country of origin after being granted Bermuda status.
Reasons for this move, that seems so important despite the many issues facing the people of Bermuda, in the Minister’s own words are to:
- 1] Broaden Bermuda’s tax base – this keeps our taxes low and keeps the level of public services that we enjoy.
- 2] Increase the number of persons paying health insurance in Bermuda. Policy holders subsidize Government insurance. This will protect HIP and FutureCare benefits, which our vulnerable residents rely on.
- 3] Broaden the number of people paying into Social Insurance and private pensions. The Contributory Pension Fund is underfunded by $2.07 billion. Without reversing our population trends, we will need to retire at a later age, pay more or receive less from our pensions.
- 4] Encourage long-term residents to spend their life savings in Bermuda by purchasing real estate, renovating their homes, investing in local companies, spending on local goods and services – all of which improves the economy, creates more jobs and increases Government revenue.
- 5] Prevent Bermuda from losing out on the valuable skills, experience and expertise of long-term residents who have been fully integrated into our economy.
Well to that I say If Bermudians were employed, encouraged to return home, and integrated more into the workforce it would:
- 1] Broaden Bermudians tax base and help keep our taxes low and allow us to keep the level of public service we enjoy.
- 2] Increase the number of persons paying health insurance in Bermuda. Which will protect HIP and Future Care benefits which our vulnerable residents rely on.
- 3] Broaden the number of people paying into Social Insurance and private pension.
- 4] Encourage Bermudians to spend their life savings in Bermuda by purchasing real estate, renovating their homes, investing in local companies, spending on local goods and services – all of which improves the economy, creates more jobs and increases Government revenue.
- 5] Encourage Bermudians to take advantage of and learn from the valuable skills, experience and expertise of long-term residents who have been fully integrated into our economy.
Its pretty simple really, take care of home first. But the OBA doesn’t seem to see it that way. It appears they have their own agenda. It seems to be all about the vote, evident in the fact that it was unveiled after a decisive win by the opposition PLP. Why else put a rush to this matter and put it above the pressing needs of Bermudians?
The only conclusion I can arrive at is that given 98% of white Bermudians vote for the UBP now OBA, and 78% of the people in question to be granted PRC/Status are white, that the OBA are banking on much needed votes in order to retain the Government come next election, and keep a grip on the control of the economy and most of Bermuda’s assets.
This granting of status is more then a vote. It is a gateway to pass down wealth, property, and finical control from generation to generation – the majority of which is in the hands of the minority white population.
As status equals being Bermudian, and a child of a Bermudian can be granted status, this will ensure that the majority black population remains at the bottom for generations to come. To allow this to pass will only set us back further, as many are already held back. We have a hard time competing now, how will our children’s children make out after the little left is given away for the benefit of others?
We have to increase our declining birthrate? Well increase the opportunity for Bermudians to earn a living in their own home so that they feel able and are willing to grow their families. We don’t need outsiders to increase our birthrate, we need the means to do so ourselves so that we have assurance that we can provide for our own.
But to give the benefit of the doubt, because maybe I have it wrong, I call on the OBA Government to pull back this proposal. If what I believe is untrue, then why the rush? Pull back this proposal until after the next general election. Put it in your election platform and let the people vote accordingly.
If you are reinstated to Government with it in your platform then you will have an endorsement from the people to carry it out. We are only talking about 1 to 2 more years as the next election is due by 2017. Again I ask, why the rush when there are so many more urgent matters that need your attention?
I pose the question I heard MP Nandi Outerbridge ask on the floor of the House Of Assembly, but I ask her and her fellow OBA members/supporters: Do you really feel comfortable stealing from our future?
- Makai Dickerson
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Hi Onion Juice.
I’m Onion Juice because I think just like him and so do many others. If the OBA has a referendum on this they will fail to get the support from the voters. If they pass this they will lose the next election. The ball’s in your court Premier Dunkley don’t be a DUNK!
The OBA won the 2012 Election by 19 seats over PLP 17 seats.
And you want the PLP to get back because they did such a good job during their 14 years? They made your life SO much better? All that debt and unemployment that we’re ALL struggling with now is their legacy. None are so blind as those who will not see.
Thank you.
“While the majority of the minority white population enjoy the benefit of a larger proportion receiving higher education, full employment, more then substantial pay, home ownership, assets, and control of the majority of our economy. This has gone on from the day that Bermuda was populated.
It has now reached the point where many black Bermudians have packed up to seek refuge elsewhere because they no longer see a place for themselves in their rightful home. Simply put, the deck is stacked against them, with many more willing to leave if they had a way.
Jobs are given away to “guest workers” because it is said that Bermudians are not qualified or do not wish to take on the jobs. Yet the many highly educated Bermudians qualified to fill the positions are overlooked and denied for any reason the employer can come up with.”
This almost brought tears to my eyes because it is so PAINFULLY true.
I am going to quote Dr. Martin Luther King again
“I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom (justice) is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom (justice); who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.”
CRAZINESS!!!!!!
LET ME BE OVERTLY HONEST!
I know many “white folk” who left too! Prob. a higher % based on their population numbers.
STOP being emotional and face the facts!
Our kids’ future was stolen the day the PLP Government starting running successive deficits that led to perpetual deficits (large debt). It’s now structural deficits and debt! Do you understand what that means?
Once that happened and our population declined (expats left) it got worse. And there’s more to come! All decisions from here on in will be HARD! Unless we try something different, we will be Greece with the next two to three years.
P.S. The government doesn’t have to invite Bermudians back. Why? If people don’t want to be here why would we invite them back? And what is so different now that they would want to come back? Cognitive dissonance must be prevalent in Bermuda!
I wish people would educate themselves to understand the issues (take of race blinders) and stop listening to the very people that got us into this mess!
You’re not being OVERTLEY HONEST!
Most of the ‘white folk’ that left, left because of the number of international businesses that closed, moved location or amalgamated. Where did they go?
Back home!! To Canada, USA, Europe. I know this because of my position within the international business. I know many ‘white folk’ that have left to go back home. Most go back home to Jobs.
It’s not that easy for Bermudians, especially black Bermudians. Most black bermudians go to the UK, struggle to find a good job because of the UK’s white priviliege in the financial district, and are forced to eventually move back home to no jobs.
Our kids future was not stolen by the PLP. That is nonsense. You talk about debt, this government has doubled it within 4 years. By the end of their 5-year term that could have the debt level at $3B.
What is stealing our kids feature is having the deck stacked against them, not having the opportunity to work in their own country. You don’t understand the real struggles. You probobaly sit in your position of privliege, and have no clue what is going on.
You talk stupidness about ‘Why? If people don’t want to be here why would we invite them back?”
WT* No Really, WT*
You don’t even know what’s going on. You need to take your privilege blinders off. Wow! The Ignorance!
You are absolutely correct but you are blaming the WRONG people….the blame lies 100% on the destruction left behind by the PLP. The debt, chasing out I&B the list goes on and on.
I think we’ll have to disagree with that. The blame does not like %100 by the PLP especially when it comes to immigration and the deck being stacked against Bermudian’s and black Bermudian’s.
The truth is out there.
Under the UBP they implemented a racially biased immigration policy in the past, which some members of the OBA confirmed, indeed that is what happened. The thing is many of the people involved in the then UBP are involved in the OBA and implementing a similar policy.
As I’ve said before, I fail to think of one policy that the OBA has passed that impact the lives of Bermudians for the better. Jobs and Justice are still a major issue under this government. They are repeating the same mistakes.
People have mentioned the debt under the PLP. Yes that is a real problem. Here are the facts. Debt only became a problem in the last 6-8 years of the PLP term. Not the entire 14 years. However within 4 years of the OBA they have (nearly) doubled our debt. Doubled!
There has to come a time when the PLP party of four years ago are stopped being largely blamed today for this governments inaction. This government was put in to do something and so far the feeling is they have done nothing for Bermudians.
Please list one significant policy they have passed to help the lives of Bermudians.
Education/Schools? – No.
Jobs – No.
Airport – No
American’s Cup – No
Immigration – No
None of these things really help Bermudians. For a lot of people it’s Painful.
Everything you have just listed is there to help you. There is education take advantage of it.
The airport and America’s Cup provide a vast opportunity for everyone and anyone please take advantage of them in whatever way you can – the government can only provide opportunity you need to take the bull by the horns.
WhenI listed education I mean what are they doing for education in Bermuda. They are plannnig on closing schools. How does that help Bermudians and Bermudian children. It doesn’t. This proves my point, the government is doing nothing for Bermudians and this is sad.
sounds to me like you are doing nothing for yourself and are holding your lazy hand out bucko !!
Closing of schools to make more resources available for the now adequately attended remaining schools seems like a positive thing to me.
Keep all open and have watered down resources is a legacy of the PLP…PLP like to keep people ignorant.
Excuse me if I am wrong, but it seems that the quote you have referenced means to say that there should never be a timetable for justice, and that justice should never be delayed. Surely that goes against what Mr. Dickerson is saying; that of waiting and pushing back this proposal?
For those who have been in Bermuda for 20 years, no matter their race, voting habits or nationality, surely it is right that justice is given to them?
That the community that they have been a part of, contributed to and love as their own, appreciates them and sees them as more than just pieces of paper handed to immigration, or scapegoats for problems that people see? Surely it is time to show these people, that we appreciate them and see them as actual human beings?
You’re right, part of that quote does means to say that there should never be a timetable for justice and that justice should never be delayed.
The problem is immigration policy should not be a dictatorship by a single party who have their own motives and agenda, wether it is the PLP or OBA. That is the bigger injustice.
I haven’t heard one protester or member of the opposition say that people who have been here for that long should not get PRC or Bermudian Status. I could be wrong, but I’m sure this is not their arguement.
All they are asking for is a bipartisan approach to reform immigration. Why not have comprehensive immigration reform? How about putting something in place that limits people staying here that long to get status? How about immigration reform that seriously tackles people overstaying their time. How about punishing companies that illegally hire? Immigration reform that deals with job hopping while still on work permits? How about immigration reform on how government issues work permits?
The only thing this government is proposing is a ‘Path to Citizenship.’ Their ‘Path to Citizenship’ plan does not deal with the other areas of immigration and does not tackle why people have been here for 15 or 20 years in the first place. People washing dishes for that long, when Bermudians have applied for these jobs and told they are not qualified. We need a bipartisian comprehensive immigration reform that deals with these issues.
In the Cayman Islands since 2001 or 2002 to last year, I remember reading this as I also follow Cayman news from time to time, over 10,000+ people have been granted some sort of status. It is gotten to the point where most of these people are employed and most cayman people are unemployed. The number of expats migrants have grown so large on the islands, the general perception is the expats have a bigger voice on political issues than the Cayman people. We are too small to have the same thing happen here. Right now there is no limit to the number of people that can get status here…this is not good.
In the United States of America, a bi-partisan group of eight Senators who wrote the 2013 comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) bill. The ‘Gang of Eight’ comprised of four Republicans and four Democrats. You hear a lot about the Gang of Eight during this election year. But the point is a bipartisan approach.
What is wrong with a bipartisan approach to immigration reform? It ensures that the PLP can’t have it all their way and the OBA can’t have it all their way and the two will have to comprise to come up with an immigration policy that works best. This approaches limits any motives/agenda that either party has towards immigration such as stacking the deck in their favour in terms of votes or the like.
We can still grant these people status, but we can do this alongside having a comprehensive bipartisan approach to immigration reform. Replace the biassed ‘Path to Citizenship’ plan with a bipartisan immigration plan.
Why a bipartisan approach to immigration? Because that is the right thing to do.
We have to mindful that Dictator Fahy is unelected.
Some of the foreigners who are here are arrogant, high-minded and see us as less then (un-educated). Too many people believe the LIE that Bermudians do not want to work. I am employed at a job where the majority of the employers
are foreigners and hold the post of administrators.
There are numerous Bermudians who have been made redundant in the banking, insurance and re-insurance industry who can not get jobs. For instance I know someone who was made redundant at ACE and now they are employed as a security guard. Then you have human resource managers who are foreign and hiring foreigners.
Do not believe the LIE that Bermudians are not qualified.
The employment structure is based on the same structure as slavery. To keep one group of people economically oppressed.
Also because I am a citizen of the world in Flint Michigan where a governor who is Euro-Amerikkkan and his unelected emergency managers have poisoned Flint Michigan citizens which are predominantly African American.
Recently-released email records show that Gov. Synder’s underlings knew for a full year that potentially irreparable harm was being done to the majority Black population of Flint. Yet, the state made no attempt to deal with high levels of lead and other poisons in the city’s water – proof of the Snyder administration’s depraved indifference to human life, the same depraved indifference that it showed to the students, teachers and parents of Detroit. As Pamela Pugh, treasurer of Michigan’s elected Board of Education has written, “After more than six years of a failed state takeover, Detroit Public Schools have deteriorated into a destabilized education system….” She continued: “Just as Flint’s water crisis occurred under emergency management, so did the demise of the Detroit school district.”
Michigan is showing that the corporate and financial classes of the United States can no longer coexist with democratic institutions, especially when Black people’s rights are at issue. Either we get rid of them, or they get rid of us. http://www.blackagendareport.com
Emergency mangers are responsible for a state of emergency how ironic.
In both cases the dominating spirits that control their minds and souls are ungodliness, unrighteousness and social and economic injustice. They want to run government as a business for profit at the expense of the many. The day is now here where we have become second class citizens in Bermuda.
From the voice of whom again?!
Yup; “All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach”. Sound familiar?
SMDH
Perhaps Mr Dickerson could just give us a list of the human rights that the PLP wants to restrict if ever elected again. It’s becoming hard to keep track of them all.
I hope that they are not tying to bring this fool back
Scraping barrel time.
Where are our champions the PC these days (dare I mention). Realized finally that they are not fooling the public anymore with their true allegiance? Hell; at one point we was getting weekly, and monthly updates on the total crap of a government we have. Maybe the eerie silence means they are content of how the OBA are handling business (doubtful).
Well there’s always the Former Senator.
sigh…
So even after 14 years in Government ‘ the PLPs idea for Comprehensive Immigration reform is yo kickthe can down the road even more. NEWS FLASH the decision was made by the Supreme Court and now Bermuda must comply. What part of that are people not getting
Nah.
Their plan is outlined above.
No white people. Ever.
It is plain and simple.
The fear mongering in this piece is very Trumpesque (i.e. these different people will hurt us!) and strange coming from a person who is part of an organization that calls everyone it disagrees with as racist. Strange because their whole opposition to his reform is based on the color of some of the people who it will affect.
Do you really think that if the majority were of West Indian origin they would be so vehemently against this? Of course not. And imagine if some OBAer wrote the article above and supplanted the word white with black.
Dickerson and Co. would have a tantrum and go on the radio talk shows and scream white supremacy, oppression and the like.
But somehow these lots racism is righteous and noble.
This is why I don’t vote for the PLP. Because they hate people like me and always have.
“Tired of All” just stop it. You know that you despise black people and always have. But we will no longer be held hostage by your racist hatred and fears.
Black Bermudians did not impose this racist system in this country your ancestors and racial kin did.
And you are perpetuating it.
Only in Bermuda and South of the Mason Dixon line do the real racists and white nationalists such as yourself fancy themselves as the victims of racism when in truth people like you have been its most ardent proponents even onto the modern era.
You are fooling no one.
We are not fooled. If you were really committed to racial justice, healing and reconciliation you would not be sounding off like someone at a Trump rally.
Christ, what a load of nonsense.
So what he is saying basically is that it is pretty simple once jobs drop from the sky and the people paying for these jobs somehow materialize from somewhere within the existing Bermudian population!? Seriously!?
Sure, if everyone is employed, earning good money then healthcare and pension contributions can become more stable, but the fact remains that the underfunded Government pensions are a result of PLP mismanagement, they were not audited for 7 + years, the population decline is largely expat and that had a dramatic effect on the health care system, oh and jobs for Bermudians? They also dried up when the expats left the private sector, yet there has been no cull to the civil service that continues to suck our financial resources down the drain.
Seriously, can the PLP get someone with a qualified economic opinion the make statements next time, it is clear this guy has failed to grasp how our economy has functioned for the better part of 400 years.
Nothing stopping Bermudians who have left Bermuda to come back.
Only thing stopping them is themselves.
Plenty of jobs on the jobs board, so if they aren’t coming back, then it is not because of that.
Let’s get on with this and not let it get caught up in irrational politics!!!
“If you are standing still, everything else will pass you by”
Bermuda has major issues right now. The stance of, “hold off on this policy until after the next election” presents several problems:
-Waiting until after the next election to find solutions to some of the problems addressed in Minister Fahy’s opinion piece.
-Should the PLP win that election, do they already have a solution for these problems?
-In order to implement them, will we as an island be facing the same public outcry from different communities which will result in Bermuda as a whole to continue waiting for the necessary changes so that we can move forward as a country?
The black and white divide in Bermuda continues to get greater. It’s very sad that the main driver of this is that we have party politics, and neither party seems to want to accept that the real way forward is to abolish this practice.
And most of the problems are the result of the PLP…….
How happy they must have been able to hand over the empty bag of IOUs and then try and convince Bermuda that the problems were all because of the OBA.
If you have fallen for the PLP trick, don’t feel too bad they are great manipulators of people.
Almost word for word the Republican’s stance on Obama supreme court nominees – trying to push it until after the election even though he won fair and square.
Why so that if the PLP gets elected then these people get denied their rights again? I’m sure they’d all leave if that’s the case.
That’s exactly what they want…
“If Bermudians were employed, encouraged to return home, and integrated more into the workforce it would”
Makai, Please correct to say “If Bermudians were employed, encouraged to return home, and integrated more into the workforce UNLESS THY ARE GAY it would”
The PLP don’t want there vote diluted just the debt they created ! Why shouldn’t someone that pays into the tax base for twenty years have the right to vote and have a say in how their tax dollars are spent ?
There’s nothing stopping a black Bermudian from getting an education, getting a job or buying a home. Stop making this a race issue. There’s FREE education here, FREE FREE FREE. Noone is stopped from going to school and getting an education. So if there are uneducated black/white Bermudians it’s probably because he/she didn’t apply themselves. EVERY single person, black or white has an equal opportunity at an education, so please stop with the BS! My whole school life was through the public school system (alongside foreign kids), I applied myself, distanced myself from the BS that other students were doing and racial slurs that were thrown at me and successfully obtained employment. Please stop making this a racial issue. It’s a BERMUDA issue.
This article is on point… Thank you Makai for spelling it out for them..
Rubbish, call a spade a spade. He is advocating doing this after the election because there is a fear if passed before the election those that get status would vote OBA.
“I took the time to really digest the “Pathway to Status” bill proposed by the One Bermuda Alliance Government. I did so as to not react emotionally, but to gain the facts of the matter and base my opinion on reason and truth.”
I’m afraid, Mr. Dickerson, that you did not take enough time before you wrote this opinion piece.
I’m certain you believe that you’ve based your opinion on reason and truth, but the reality is that you’re still deeply tied up into emotions whipped up by a group of people determined to misinform the public.
“History will show us that black Bermudians have had a hard hand dealt to them in this island from the beginning and that hand continues to be played today. As the majority race on this island we still find ourselves, the majority of uneducated, unemployed, underemployed, underpaid, homeless, asset-less, the majority at the bottom of the barrel, and collectively holding the minority of wealth, land and other assets.”
How can you miss the black Bermudians who are educated, employed, successful, home-owners, rental-property owners, etc? You have to be wearing blinders not to see them. Heck, I’d lay a bet that some of those protesters out there fit this description. Look in politics, look in the civil service, look in IB and tourism, look in most, if not all, businesses on this island. Look in the media every day for stories on successful Bermudians… most of them black.
Did the government hold them back? Maybe it tried, pick a government, any government, but guess what? It failed. They succeeded. Why?
It’s amazing how there is always opposition to why this immigration reform should not happen but you never hear of anyone opposing coming up with any solutions.
Well, what is the PLP’s proposals for comprehensive immigration reform???? Anybody… heard anything… From anyone out of Alaska Hall???
My advise to young Bermudians looking to break into the professional business sector, after you have gotten your education and degrees, look to gain experience overseas. Don’t come right back here expecting that you should get a job. There are 3 major things that working overseas will give you an advantage in the job market for moving back here; experience in the major markets; professional credentialing, continue your education and get initials after your name; and networking, making connections in the major markets. As you come to the end you education, discuss with the local companies about what they are looking for, and any starter positions they may be able to offer you in other juristictions. And after 2 to 5 years, then look at coming back… or if you have found a life out there, go for it… it is your life, and most of the countries you would be able to go to will offer a pathway for you to gain status there.
Title should read: Do away with your idea’s so that the PLP can take them, use them, and become the saving grace.
At least some honesty. The “civil unrest” is not about jobs… its about votes, and the PLP know they have represented a very specific sector of Bermuda society for too long. Any change in the voter demographic must be resisted at all costs and i fear they wont stop at simply holding up traffic. But this issue isnt binary. It isnt about black and white. Its about human rights. And attempts to deprive others of human rights seems to be highly hypocritical. Unfortunately this group are committing acts which will become the tales told in disbelief by future generations. How can those that complain for generations of being deprived of their rights, then wish to deprive others of theirs? This issue is never going to be debated and agreed – the right thing just needs to happen, and happen as quickly as possible before the unrest escalates into something much more serious.
Seems like you should have taken more time to read and digest the bill……..
LOL the PLP would have a suggestion that we wait over a year to make a decision, they demonstrated their inability to make decision over 12 years (bus schedule anyone?)
nice suggestion Makai,I would venture to say any Bermudian with a university education who is not working prob has the same mindset.
Does anyone actually take what this guy says seriously? look bermuda, here is the plps mantra. Black=good white=bad. Plain and simple. Been that way since brown flipped the script on everyone. Sad part is we r all too emotional and STUPID to actually see what he did to everyone. Plp will never in a million years get my vote. Like u lot are the only ones that exist on the planet. Take your chip and shove it makai. Anyone who has half a brain knows u r against anything that is actually progressive. U and the plp have no clue what progressive is anyway. Must be nice to have a voting base tgat is so easily manipulated. Carry on mate, carry on.
Why should us young Bermudian people have to work elsewhere to get experiences in our qualified field why cant we get the experince here we go away to school off our savings to come back and work in our country every other country doesn’t push their young people away to gain experience elsewhere to work in their own country,is it because they have to pay us Bermudian people a qualified wage which is livable stay in our own country? Or is it just a lot of crap that they don’t want to hire Bermudians qualified or not.When you are getting qualified you are getting experience so the average employer should be willing to hire rather if they are training up or not the bottom line is at least they are qualified in the job so when they are trained to how we want them to work they are qualified already. Every system is different if you have to relearn how that company works regardless.
It’s because of fools like this that smart people (many of whom are Bermudian) and smart money (much of it Bermudian) are leaving. Frankly, I’d advise anybody looking to come or invest here to forget it – until morons like Makai STFU, which will probably only be when we wake up one morning and our GNP per head has dropped to about say Jamaica’s.
the day anyone pays attention to this man they should stay indoors as the sky is falling.
“As the majority race on this island… ”
there is no such thing as a ‘black race’ and a ‘white race’, there is only the human race.
all you have really done is proven that all you care about is skin colour, not jobs, not Bermuda’s future. and skin colour is a pretty stupid reason to be hating on people.
In the last few weeks, I have noticed something truly heartbreaking in the Bermudian community, mainly in response to the proposed bill, and this article truly shows it.
Bermuda, please, let us stop the xenophobia and mild racism playing into this debate. I am truly saddended to see a community that I know to be loving, kind and accepting, to be mutating into one of unfriendliness and hate. These are people’s lives that we are talking about. Expats? They are our co-workers, our neighbors, people who shop in the same grocery stores as us, and whose children got to the same schools as ours.
When has it ever been the right thing to do, to say that simply because someone is of a particular color or creed that they have no right to citizenship after they have spent so much time in our island home? I understand that we are angry, because of the aftereffects of the recessions, with the continuation of unemployment and a rise in relative poverty, but to simply place expats as the scapegoat for this is unfair, untrue and unfounded.
Yes they come here to fill employment positions. But in order to do this, firstly the job has to be advertised for each and every Bermudian (employed or unemployed) to see. Secondly, if the company decides to hire an expat, they have to provide adequate proof and reasoning that there is no Bermudian, spouse of a Bermudian or PRC holder that can do the job. Then, if the Department of Immigration feels that this proof is not satisfactory, then they can deny the issuing of a work permit. At what point is it the expats’ fault? Even if it was, is that any basis to deny them rights, that fall in line with both the European Convention on Human Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
The belief that allowing the Path to Citizenship would result in the development of a homogenous voting block is not true. Each person in Bermuda has their own opinion on politics; some are a-political, some PLP, OBA or independent, so to suggest that simply because someone is white that they WILL vote OBA, is not only wrong but also mildly racist. Therefore, I do not understand the stance of the PLP on this issue. In what world does telling a group of people that they do not belong in the place that they call home, are only job-stealers, and do not belong here, in any way incentives them to vote for you when they do have this right? Perhaps the PLP are trying to prove their prophecy right? Perhaps it is an elaborate scheme by them to prove that they are right all the time? I am not sure, and I truly wish that I did understand.
I know that times are tough. I know that the recession was quick to hit and slow to heal, but xenophobia is never the way to heal a community. We as a community pride ourselves on the love that we can send out to others, both locally and internationally. Surely it is time to return to this, so that everyone can truly ‘feel the love’
Dear Makai,
Leave race out of it man there is enough issues with this one to not need that card. Main issue is I guess Bermudians will have to rent from these foreigners as we do not have the land mass to sustain making 100 new Bermudians year over year and they will be the only ones able to pay it. 2 prices of everything will increase based on demand. That’s housing, food and services. Only wealthy people will be insulated from this. I’m not getting into the vote being watered down I would not vote for the PLP in its current form based on the fact that the party overall is not friendly to white Bermudians (yes readers they do exist) but rest well I will not be voting for the OBA this time around as life has not gotten any better under them either for us at the bottom. Oh but the Americans cup….bla bla bla only people with money can even capitalize on this anyway.
LOL f politics in this county both parties employ mainly foreign workers anyway … what a joke
“now that i had time to digest … i don’t agree with it.” Thanks for that, I feel more enlightened. I am sure one day you will become leader of the free world.
How about this ” dear OBA please defer all decision until power is returned of the PLP.The reason being, is your human rights exerts and ecomic experts are all wrong and I know dis cause my cousin ain’t got no job and he ain’t even gay!”
At my workplace we can’t get enough Bermudian trainees despite trying very very hard. Just because you have a degree doesn’t mean you are mature, have the right attitude, are willing to work hard etc, or in fact, are sufficiently intelligent. If we solve the education problem so we have more young Bermudians going into the pipeline, that will make a huge difference.
Ok I’m one of the hardest works on island a real company man, I have designations in Insurance need that or what type of business are you in???
LOL
How the f do you dislike this do you know me ever seen my work…. this is just dumb see the ignorance of people who must just be looking out for themselves… must be an expat or blind OBA supporter….
LOL OBA says you should jump off a cliff so bye, bye
Just an aside I think people should watch the courts might be an interesting case happening soon….
LOL
Makia, It’s not called stealing the future of our children, we are just mortgaging it. There is a big difference. The first option leaves no worth, while the second, leaves good equity for future generations. The OBA are the government of Bermuda . They were voted in to lead . So follow their lead. I do believe that this issues involves us all, so we need to have a national discussion . No one person or party can go forward without talking to the country as a whole. Additionally, our birth rate is zero. We need more people in the country . We need jobs and more freedom from the banks. Money needs to flow much quicker . The old rules must come back. People must be allowed to use their deeds to borrow money. This would help to stimulate the economy .We need to fix our education system .PLP/ UBP/ OBA , have not been able to fix the problem. We need to improve the quality of our education. We need to grade our teachers. We need to get more parents involved . We need to close some schools. We need to create an all boys school. We need to develop a trade school. WE NEED TO WORK TOGETHER in order to fix our problems. What about you and I starting the process? There is money on the table for you to do something for the children in the White Hill area. Can we work together?