CURB Responds To PRC Status Announcement
Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda [CURB] said they are “dismayed to hear” of the Government’s decision to withdraw of the appeal against Justice Kawaley’s decision on the right of PRC holders to seek Bermudian status.
Yesterday, Home Affairs Minister Michael Fahy said that the Ministry is withdrawing the appeal in the PRC status matter and “the avenue to Bermuda status for certain PRC holders that was created by the previous government in 2001 will stand.”
In a response today, CURB said, “It should by now be well understood that the loophole being exploited as a pathway to citizenship is the result of an error in legislation, being neither the intent nor the spirit of the law at the time.
“While some may feel that exploiting flawed legislation to achieve their ends is just, CURB views this as the continuation of a history of racialized immigration policy that has consistently been applied to the detriment of Black Bermudians.
“This does not have to be the case. It is well within the government’s remit to withdraw the appeal and to suspend processing of applications for Bermudian Status subject to the completion of comprehensive immigration reform.
“Given the passionate, increasingly vitriolic, public debate through opinion pieces, blog postings and social media sites it is clear that our community is broadly divided over this issue.”
CURB reiterated their call for the “government to immediately put on hold all status applications and carry out a comprehensive and bi-partisan immigration review…”
CURB said, “From yesterday’s statement in the Senate we note that although the government states that, “578 PRC’s are of British descent, 545 PRC’s are of Portuguese descent, 157 or so are of Jamaican descent, and the remainder hail originally from Canada, America, Philippines, Barbados, Ireland and many other countries,” they fail to acknowledge the ‘elephant in the room’ [i.e. that it is likely that approximately 1,200 or more of the 1,455 PRCs are white].
“An analysis of Bermuda’s historic voting patterns, with monolithic white support for one particular political entity, suggests that the majority of PRCs would vote predominantly OBA.
“CURB believes that continuing this pattern of ‘watering down’ the Black Bermudian vote by instantaneously giving Bermudian status to over 1,455 individuals [and eventually spouses and children] is understandably viewed as one more attempt to minimize and marginalize the Black vote.
“Given this history, it is only fair and right, that government reviews Bermuda’s Immigration Policy in a public and transparent manner prior to awarding status to PRCs.”
The full statement from CURB follows below:
Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda [CURB] was dismayed to hear the government’s announcement in the Senate yesterday concerning the withdrawal of the appeal against Justice Kawaley’s decision on the right of PRC holders to seek Bermudian Status.
It should by now be well understood that the loophole being exploited as a pathway to citizenship is the result of an error in legislation, being neither the intent nor the spirit of the law at the time. While some may feel that exploiting flawed legislation to achieve their ends is just, CURB views this as the continuation of a history of racialized immigration policy that has consistently been applied to the detriment of Black Bermudians.
This short-sighted, politically expedient “path of least resistance” approach is wholly unacceptable in a modern democracy. The government, based on Senator Michael Fahy’s statement in the Senate yesterday, seems to have drawn the conclusion that withdrawing the appeal against Justice Kawaley’s decision “means that the avenue to Bermuda status for certain PRC holders that was created by the previous government in 2001 will stand.”
This does not have to be the case. It is well within the government’s remit to withdraw the appeal and to suspend processing of applications for Bermudian Status subject to the completion of comprehensive immigration reform.
Given the passionate, increasingly vitriolic, public debate through opinion pieces, blog postings and social media sites it is clear that our community is broadly divided over this issue.
We reiterate our call for the government to immediately put on hold all status applications and carry out a comprehensive and bi-partisan immigration review, which should include the people’s input through public hearings, and take into account Bermuda’s oppressive and discriminatory history with regard to racialized immigration legislation and discriminatory voting rights.
We call on government to listen to the increasing concerns of further marginalization and disenfranchisement of the Black Bermudian community, and ensure that the process is transparent and fully participatory, and that the end result forms a community consensus on a national immigration plan for the 21st century.
From yesterday’s statement in the Senate we note that although the government states that, “578 PRC’s are of British descent, 545 PRC’s are of Portuguese descent, 157 or so are of Jamaican descent, and the remainder hail originally from Canada, America, Philippines, Barbados, Ireland and many other countries,” they fail to acknowledge the ‘elephant in the room’ [i.e. that it is likely that approximately 1,200 or more of the 1,455 PRCs are white].
An analysis of Bermuda’s historic voting patterns, with monolithic white support for one particular political entity, suggests that the majority of PRCs would vote predominantly OBA.
CURB believes that continuing this pattern of ‘watering down’ the Black Bermudian vote by instantaneously giving Bermudian status to over 1,455 individuals [and eventually spouses and children] is understandably viewed as one more attempt to minimize and marginalize the Black vote. Given this history, it is only fair and right, that government reviews Bermuda’s Immigration Policy in a public and transparent manner prior to awarding status to PRCs.
CURB’s position paper [PDF] on both historic and contemporary racialized immigration policies details systemic attempts over hundreds of years to decrease the Black population and increase the white population by a variety of oppressive means.
We believe that due to the suppression of Black history the story of this oppression is not known by the majority of Black or white Bermudians, and thus without this information they cannot make an informed decision about this matter.
CURB’s position paper on the matter is below [PDF here]
Read More About
Comments (162)
Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed
Articles that link to this one:
- March Called For Tomorrow Over PRC Matter | Bernews.com | July 24, 2014
Another comment sharing only the opinions of the VVM aimed at spreading nothing but baseless divisive hatred.
(Very Vocal Minority).
Yip
CURB – Clowns Upholding Racism in Bermuda
Keep believing its a minority and see where it gets you (asides from a better nights sleep)…
Hater.
You forgot racist, bigot, xenophobe and idiot…
You’re all of those?
i believe that is what he said. Judging from his other posts it doesn’t look like he was kidding.
The first step to recovery is knowing you have a problem, I guess he took that step.
Thanks so much CURB, you are spot on with your reply to this important matter. Continue to stand up, as your position is based upon facts. WELL DONE CURB !!
Hi Betty!!
Hi, I am very pleased with CURB, after taking some time to read carefully their reply. It is brilliant and on point! I wish we had a government who acted in such a manner. Faith in the current government has been loss by many, and only the blindfollowers still hold onto their coat strings…
Yo turd ,you do realize that it is not all white people who are getting status it is a good mix of people from all around the world .so what does a racism group have anything to do with this
Because FOOL, Historically it was based around RACE and still is, say around 80-90% and then throw in some seasoning to spice it up !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CURB said, “From yesterday’s statement in the Senate we note that although the government states that, “578 PRC’s are of British descent, 545 PRC’s are of Portuguese descent, 157 or so are of Jamaican descent, and the remainder hail originally from Canada, America, Philippines, Barbados, Ireland and many other countries,” they fail to acknowledge the ‘elephant in the room’ [i.e. that it is likely that approximately 1,200 or more of the 1,455 PRCs are white].
At last, an honest opinion, disgraceful though it is.
” and finally in the 20th century by racialized immigration policies and birth control. ”
Birth control was done to stop sexually active people from concieving unwanted children. Whether that be in marriage or otherwise. It has nothing to do with Black or White.
You have lost the plot CURB.
Most may have had that view but not all. Some prominent folks in the birth control / pro-choice movement has very different views on the subject. I would urge you to research Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood in the US and her efforts to promote “The Negro Project”. It will make your stomach turn.
People like Sanger make me sick, but what do old world extremists like have to do with today’s PRC holders.
People who have lived here pretty much all their lives. Absolutely Nothing !
US Exstremist view.
What does it have to do with PRC in the 21st Century. Nothing
Read the Position Paper, it has an extensive researched section on birth control.
May I presume that you are “L Winfield”, author of the “Position Paper”? If so, allow me to state, having read your “paper”; I find it to be very poorly referenced, unsubstantiated and extremely biased.
When will the hate-mongering stop!
“Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
cmbbda – the position paper has been peer reviewed academically. It is thoroughly cited throughout, not only with names of authors, but names of the books and the page number of the quotes. The paper includes a complete biography and an addendum listing examples of all oppressive laws passed since 1623.
It is an interesting history piece, but how long do we let history drag down our present, before we let go so that we can build a better future. History should not be forgotten, but it also should not be continually lived. It is time to move ahead of our history for the sake of children.
So what Lynne. It has nothing to do with the PRC folks or the 21st Century.
So what? It isn’t relevant.
Your paper is one of the most poorly written pieces that I have ever read. Your paper is unprofessional, and you should be ashamed to publish it, especially as the head of a public organization that presumably wishes to be taken seriously.
You shoehorn the word “Blacks” and its derivatives into as many places as you can with seemingly no regard for its relevancy to the point you’re making. I don’t know how your paper survived any sort of credible peer review.
Then again, it probably didn’t survive any sort of *credible* peer review.
Also your paper includes a complete *bibliography*, not a biography. Amateur.
@ cmbbda, here we go another Dreamer quoting Martin Luther King, Jr when its convenient for their cause, what’s funny just like Mandela everybody praises when Black Leaders turn de other cheek and talk about LOVE while they’re being Raped, Beaten and Murdered !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ya all full off S—- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is because people like Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi achieved more through non-violence, than any militant minded individual or organization ever has. I suppose that is why you hate them, they embarrass you over the fact that they are stronger than you. Any weak minded individual can spit out hate and promote violence for their cause, but it takes a real strength to embrace your opponent and disarm them by making them your friend. This is why nobody respects militants, but even the most adamant opponents to those men came to have a profound respect for them and their character. Nelson Mandela managed to prevent a civil war with the Afrikans over tea.
Which is very interesting, by the way and well researched, but it’s a stretch to make it relevant in 2014.
With respect Lynne, the people most affected by this are the PRCs, not the rest of us. From their perspective, is it fair to deny them status? What crimes have they committed?
http://www.uprootingracism.org/history/curb-constitution/
3. Vision
“A Bermuda where skin colour favours no one.”
4. Mission Statement
“CURB is a non-governmental organization of volunteers working to identify and dismantle racism in all its forms and to address its effects on our community.”
CURB folks need to resign.
I agree! Its fine to mention this:
“An analysis of Bermuda’s historic voting patterns, with monolithic white support for one particular political entity, suggests that the majority of PRCs would vote predominantly OBA.”
But what about the the remained of the voters? Did you not analyze any non-white peoples voting patterns? What party do they en-masse vote for? I guess it is all well and good to point the finger in the other direction!
CURB NEEDS TO DISSOLVE!
Study Eugenics and Margaret Sanger
Study using leeches as the primary form of medicine.
Disgusting by todays standards. I live in today and tomorrow.
perhaps CURB should too.
despite the plea of Dame Lois
Citizenship is a HUMAN RIGHTS issue. The colour of your skin, and your nationality is not relevant. It was the case when my black forefathers came to this shore in the early 1800′s and it’s the case today.
Do you think the OBA respects your naivity or just appreciates it?
Both
really Ian, please tell the island what on earth the big friggin deal is?? If this was your aunt or uncle you would be outraged based on your current tone all over these sites!
So, please explain to us why you are so pissed off ? Honestly and truly!
You feel I should be pleased the government is using less than honorable/respectable back-door methods (VIA A LEGISLATIVE LOOPHOLE!!!) to grant “certain” PRC-holders status.Start witht he obvious fact it wreaks of an agenda that has nothing to do with human rights. If it had ANYTHING to do with that they would have approached this in a way that gave weight to the concerns off ALL stakeholders. But apparently it is about human rights despite leaving out many PRC holders that probably should have a path to citizenship (by the way). The honorable thing to do would have been to work with the opposition on intelligent comprehensive reform. This is a subject all of Bermudas representatives should be working on. The OBAs approach here continues to insult peoples intelligence, WHICH PISSES PEOPLE OFF!
I may be wrong, but does that comment by CURB seem slightly racist to you?
It would only seem racist to an entitled, privileged Bermuda Tea Party type.
Are you one?
Funny, the remarks from CURB reminded me of the teaparty not allowing immigrants into the US because they have a democratic slant
The Tea Party opposes gay rights.
The Tea Party opposes immigration.
The Tea Party claims to want to ‘take their country back’
The Tea Party espouses racial rhetoric and threats of violence.
Now which political Party and their supporters do these traits align with in Bermuda?
Slightly??? Understatement or sarcasm?
You know, I am pretty sure that there are at least a couple of black people in Canada and America. At least that’s what I’ve heard. As for Barbados and Jamaica, I’m sure there are dozens of black people. Why does CURB think all 1455 are white?
“CURB believes that continuing this pattern of ‘watering down’ the Black Bermudian vote by instantaneously giving Bermudian status to over 1,455 individuals [and eventually spouses and children] is understandably viewed as one more attempt to minimize and marginalize the Black vote.”
This is the problem, there shouldn’t be a black vote nor a white one. We have a long way to go in order to see past color and focus on general community.
“Until the colour of a mans skin is of no-more significance than the colour of his eyes there will be war” H.I.M. Emperor Haile Sallassi
Tell that to Michael Ealy
And to yet another, do you think the OBA respects your naivety or just appreciates it?
Ian: I can guarantee that PLP does neither for you – or anyone else for that matter.
That is what CURB should be aiming for “general community” i.e. forget white, forget black. Promoting differences promotes difference. Promoting same promotes same.
It is not difficult to understand.
Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda have become nothing more than a black power movement.
More like a group for people to promote their own opinions, and not for the betterment of Bermuda as a one people.
The more I think about this, the more angry I get.
How dare CURB make the assumptions that (a) they are more than likely white (b) that they will even care to vote (c) that they will vote OBA.
It is nothing but racist stereotyping. CURB should be ashamed and whoever is in charge of CURB immediately RESIGN
It continues to amuse us all the irony in those that so frequently call everyone racist…lol
So you think it’s OK for people to be racist, when they are mean’t to be erradicating racism?
That is acceptible to you. WOW
Ian: Then you must have been laughing your a** off between 1998 and 2012.
Nope… Just up to 2008 before the global recession tanked most western economies…
Oh right its all the worlds problem that Bermuda is in the state we are in right?
Nope… the fault lies primarily with the world’s lending/banking and financial services communities…
Because 60 years of electoral history in Bermuda confirms that that is precisely the type of political behavior that white Bermudians have been indulging in.
But of course I am sure that the fact that the PLP garners on average only about 2 to 3 percent of the white vote over the last 6 decades is their own fault.
If only they were nicer, whites would then condescend to vote for them!!!!!
Well, I can’t speak for all white people (I’m mostly Portuguese myself) but it’s not a matter of being ‘nicer’. The PLP can obtain my vote by (1) developing strong fiscal policies including a balanced budget with a focus on a reduced government expenditure (2)supporting immigration (3)supporting marriage equality and (4) supporting legalization of gambling and (5)supporting legalization of marijuana. I vote with both my wallet and my social values.
I’m a libertarian. The PLP values are the exact opposite of mine in terms of social outlooks and economic policies. When the values become the same, they’ll get my vote. Simple.
You are 100% right Truth Teller. If, and only IF, the PLP were nicer to white people then they would vote them…
You’ve just driven right to the core of all of our racial problems on this island!!
NOT!!!!!!!
I love how PLP supporters, like yourself, put the onus on white people as the ones being racist because they dont vote for the PLP party. There are a host of reasons why, but for times sake, I will let you figure those out.
At the end of the day, this island is TOO DAMN SMALL for the divisions that are rearing their heads in 2014. Get rid of the political parties and implement a system of governance that works for our island home.
We need solutions that work for all Bermudians regardless of the damn colour of your skin!!!!!!!
The PLP try hard to hide their true nature by saying its the white taht are racist (even invented a meaning for the word)
LOL
Using her convoluted logic, if the majority of PRC holders originated in the Caribbean, her opinion would be different. This woman is a joke and not a funny one either!
You can’t make this stuff up!
And thats the zinger! How is the PLP meant to grow its voting base now they have totally alienated a sector of Bermudians and potential Bermudians and also many of there own younger more forward and open minded former supporters, so what it really looks like is shooting ones self in the foot. May have attracted some new supporters as lets be honest the OBA is right on this but they are really making a mess in other areas of politics. Don’t get me wrong historical issues and wrong doing do deserve to be talked about and where possible not allowed to happen again but this island is gasping for breath and instead of working to save it, certain groups/individuals are throwing more bricks on its back. Its our younger generation who are now 16-35 who are really going to suffer.
Bermuda have 36 men and women who can fix this! what’s the problem
Actually, they have 19 majority plus one independent and well the rest… Started vacation early!
So I guess CURB thinks that it is exceptible for whites to not be involved in the voting process at all as this would help correct the historical dissadvantage that Black Bermudian had to deal with. Is that correct CURB? Then disband the OBA or any party that gets white support?
OK then CURB up rooting racism.
Governments do not get to choose which parts of the law they follow and which parts they do not follow. Everybody has a right to have the law enforced and followed exactly as it is written. That is why laws are written down.
It’s ironic. Lynne Winfield, a white person who got her Bermuda status by using the laws of Bermuda to her favour, now thinks it is unfair that others might do the same. Perhaps she should set an example by giving up her status. Show us all how genuine you are about it, Lynne.
Interesting stuff!. A few years ago, many black Bermudians would not have given a person with her background the time of the day. How many have actually read the “report”?
To assume to know how a person will vote in the privacy of a booth is beyond stupid. If that was the truth the PLP would have been the Government a long time ago.
Yes Lynne should set the precedent and give up her status! While we are at it all the Bermudians holding UK passports should hand those in too as thats the only way to show your a “true bermudian”, all those studying abroad in the UK should come home immediately and stop enjoying the same fee structure as those UK “True English People” and those working or enjoying the attractive benefits system all should get back immediately, the country needs the “true bermudians” back home.
Dear CURB
I’ve just taken a few minutes to review your constitution, you may wish to do so yourselves, as you seem to have very badly lost your way from your positive origins.
Wow. For an organization supposedly against racism this is the most rasict garbage I have ever read. “They’re mostly white so they will vote OBA”
Makes me sick.
Hey let’s get it clear here. It has been whites who have practiced racism in Bermuda and elsewhere and continue to do so. I figure it is CURB who just about got it right…
And please note that CURB is an organization that draws a significant number of its members from the white community.
At least there are some whites in the country who are prepared to be honest about the issue of racism in this country.
Noone is disputing the history. The point is, this is not a race issue, it’s not CURB’s fight and they have exposed themselves as being political.
The trouble is you cannot fight racism with racism, nor can you undue the past, nor can you let that past justify a racist point of view of denying people a right based on the colour of their skin. CURB are using history to justify their stance, but that is history, a time with a different social attitude and a different generation that is fading out. The vast majority of Bermudian in the present just want to see this country succeed for the future, and do not care what the colour the skin of our leaders is, just so long they have the interests of all Bermuda. The only true way to eliminate racism is to stop making it about race. But with CURB’s protest to PRC’s status, they have made it entirely about race and have taken the position that PRC’s shouldn’t get status because the majority of them will be white… this is not uprooting racism in Bermuda, this is embracing it.
I grew up through the UBP school system and they did an exercise in primary school I carry with me today, they did an exercise in discrimination, actually multiple exercises, and each one would select a different classification by which to divide us (hair, eyes, height…). In the end all of us had had a time where we were being considered better and worse than another group. It was a lesson about how wrong it was to discriminate. The UBP public school system taught a lesson that discrimination was wrong, kind of a weird lesson to teach kids if you are an organization that is supposed to be only about one according to some.
But its true. You’re the only ones in denial about it. Funny enough most of you dont event have a single genuine friendship with a black person!
As if you would know Ian. Oh what’s that on your shoulder? Oh its just a chip.
I dont get your joke…
Do you keep saying this crap just because you have no white friends, or because you have no friends at all? You sound like a real loser.
No… I say it because its a fact most of the whites going on about racism on these blogs ironically enough dont have a single genuine friendship with a black person. And funny enough, of those folks are a segment whose family legacies thrived on the worst forms of racism in our recent past.
Actually all I have are black friends. So I must be an anomilly that does not fit your mold. Oh and by the way my wife is black and I have mixed kids care to say something about that. Cause right now you sound like the corrected spelling of Kunta (C replaces the K and leave off the a)
LOL you sir are most likly one of the paid bloggers on here anyway. Its seen in your posts. You might not be but your probably more connected to a party than I am.
Then that would simply suggest you’re not one of the “MOST” I was very clear in referencing. Of course that is provided you’re actually telling the truth of course… Btw I thing most would have gotten the Kunta jab [without the exhaustive breakdown]
Paid bloggers… really??? What exactly do you “see” in my posts that suggests its inspired by anything other that an ability to see things for what that are??
so now its us against them again. good move
Maybe there is a reason you don’t have white friends with your apparent biases against whites.
I got tons. My generation is good at that.
Except that by your own argument, you don’t think they actually think of you a genuine friend because they are white and can’t do that.
Oops Ian, looked like you have talked yourself into a corner…
Are you pretending to be dumb/illiterate right now. The irony I speak to comes from the segment of whites on these blogs who go on about racism while not having a single genuine friendship with a black person… What does that have to do with my white friends who clearly dont fall into that category? Im not speaking Chinese.
Your looking real bad right now. It is a fact that you are as predjudice as those you are trying to call out. According to the PLP being married/friends with the other race doesn’t absolve you from your “genetic disposition”
LOL truth hurts I know
I’m sorry… what exactly are you going on about now???
CURB – What would your position be if a majority of potential new citizens were from Jamaica, Trinidad, Antigua, etc? Would this not marginalize and disenfranchise a minority white population? I think your ‘rear view mirror’ thinking is what’s outdated and you are missing an opportunity to move beyond race and embrace what the rest of the world is doing – embracing diversity and granting citizenship to those who have earned it.
Say What,
Let’s be honest here. If the majority of potential new citizens were from Jamaica, Trinidad, Antigua…the OBA would have closed the loophole yesterday.
In fact, they probably would have discovered and voiced concern over the loophole when the PLP’s legislation was first debated in Parliament.
So you are now suggesting that the now defunct UBP opposition party back in 2001 were aware of the loophole and deliberately left it alone so that fast forward three elections later and 12 years a new party with new MPs could capitalize on it? You are dreaming.
My final point is I, like many Bermudians, embrace diversity in all its forms – racial, cultural, ethnic, class, age, gender – and therefore support granting status to those who obey our laws, contribute to work and charity, and have made Bermuda their home for 25 plus years. I am not single dimensional who measures everything we do based on race.
And here was me thinking that CURB stood up for human rights.
Their agenda is finally clear.
C.U.R.B. stands for: “Causing Unwanted Racial Bigotry”
No thats you’re people. History alone speaks to that. And given that history its nothing short of histerical how you feel entitled to the right to commoditize the word racist as if you earned the right to do so! Need I remind everyone here youre the same guy who justified the forced removal of black families from Tuckers Town on the basis whites showed up on these shores first??
Do you care about teh removal of white and Portuguese families from Tucker’s Town?
I do. But Ray was speaking in respect to the black families.
Hi Betty!!
Where, his statement didn’t even mention Tucker’s Town
Thank, “Build a Better Bermuda”.That Ian character is, “behaving like a dog chasing its tail” getting nowhere
http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20130509/NEWS04/705099925
For your convenience, here is the link. Ray shares his views/justifications of REAL historical racism on this island.
He quotes “Do you want to hear the truth? This is the truth, yes, there had been numerous, (black Bermudian families) that had resided over here in Tuckers Town but, you fail to realize that it was the white man who ran aground on this Island loooooog before any “black person stepped foot on these shores” So, who does this piece of the rock / Island belong …”
This is the reality of what the kind of people (who throw around words like “racist” and support the blatant trickery of the OBA) are about.
And this is why the OBA and its cheerleaders arent pulling the wool over anyones eyes!
Your people? Really.
What a disgraceful statement from CURB. Honest, but disgraceful.
CURB. The Campaign to Uphold Racism in Bermuda.
This latest statement from CURB is perilously close to incitement of racial hatred against minorities because of their historic voting patterns. I can think of nothing more undemocratic and I hope the powers-that-be and in particular the POlice service see fit to investigate this..
So CURB would wholeheartedly agree with this law/loophole if the majority were black?
Once again CURB proves to be the most racist ‘anti-racist’ organization.
If you are worried about the PLP votes, then why don’t you encourage your Party to be more inclusive and welcoming of others that differ from them in some fashion as opposed to constant denigration, threats and the intolerant rhetoric that they consistently spew. I mean isn’t that your whole point of being in the first place with that being to promote harmony and the like? Why has CURB not attacked the hate stemming from their Party, not just recently, but over the last decade or so?
CURB, if the requested bi-partisan comprehensive immigration review resulted in ensuring that these individuals were granted a pathway to status would you still be up in arms? I mean the PLP has stated that they are not against these people gaining status and just want to go about it another way. Do you agree with your Party?
Prior to the last few weeks I didn’t care about this whole issue. But now after listening and reading the downright nasty comments being spewed against these individuals I have taken notice as have many others.
More spin by CURB.
If people can’t see through the smoke and use of race especially black and white then we are totally doomed by people with an agenda.
Bermuda was settled by the British and events took place after that that are well documented.
Race. Always race. Black white.
My neighbor is Indian. I thought he was Chinese when I first met him. Turns out the region where he was born is in northern India that borders China.
Go figure.
I need a rum and need to CURB a lot of things and try my best to just shut up and keep kicking this stuff to the CURB and focus on myself and family.
Shalom.
Get your facts straight climber! Bermuda was not “settled by the British”. Britain did not even exist when Bermuda was settled.
Actually, some of the first references to what is now known as Great Britain, as being the British Isle, goes back to Aristotle and more officially during the 1st century AD as Britannia or Land of the Britons, so the peoples that have lived on this Isle have been referred to as Britons or British for over 2 millennia. In short, yes we were settled by the British.
CURB is headed by a white english lady, who by her own admission came to Bermuda and “obtained status easily”. She married a white Bermudian. Now she opposes status for PRC who hav been here over 25 years and whose grant of PRC is based solely on length of time in Bermuda, not skin colour. There is no vote colour. How is future status to be granted if not by residency? A quota of 1 white to 3 black? Illegal and against all Human Rights.
If Lynne Whitfield feels so strongly about “watering down the black vote” then based on CURB’s own position she must vote OBA. To stay true to CURB’s position she should revoke her own status and return back to the UK.
For an organization that projects itself as being the advocate for removing racism, they take a very singular sided view of racism. Racism is not inherently about one race, it is a double sided sword that swings both ways. Would it not also be racism to deny people who call this country their home, the right to have a say in how their future is shaped, simply because they are white and you believe they will vote one way. Is this not a form of racism that needed to be uprooted too. And what does this statement say about black Bermudians who don’t vote for the PLP, where is the condemnation against those in the PLP who have racially slurred them, simply because they don’t believe in the PLP’s politics.
CURB, should be very mindful about how they see their role here. With this they have now removed themselves from any claim of non-partisan politics and thrown themselves full to the PLP cause, which many would argue is in itself a racially motivated one. If you wish to advocate yourself as an organization for the uprooting of racism, then you need to tackle where ever it rises, not just from one side.
it does fullfill the PLPs definition as we hold the power over these PRC who are white in we can influnce their economic status. So infact the term fits perfectly .
LOL doulbe edge sword in more than one way too
Think it is time to change this groups name to Citizens Using Racism for political Benefit. Only in Bermuda have I seen a activist group against racism make a racist and undermining statement in the mass media.
@ Bermy. You “Hit the nail on the Head”
The whole problem is that we are stuck in stupid, it is always the past that causes problems go forward and make sure we dont make the same mistakes like the past. I just wish people would just get over this. becaus it is really getting anoying. frankley i am starting to get sick of hearing the same old B— S— day in and day out CURB YOU NEED TO DO BETTER THAN THIS. STOP CREATING PROBLEMS AND STARTING FIXING PROBLEMS TODAY NOT PROBLEMS THAT HAPPENED 300 YEARS AGO
An unbelievably racist response by CURB. I am both disgusted and dismayed with CURB.
Few things…
1) If CURB stands for Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda, how is the topic of PRC status holders receiving citizenship an issue of racism?
2) PRC status is closed in Bermuda. You can’t receive it anymore. 100% of that magical number who are eligible aren’t going to apply. Some are dead, some have moved, some don’t want it, etc. You’re only going to get a subset of that number to receive status and that’s it; it’s final until the laws change.
3) PRCs already have the jobs. The only benefit of getting status would be the ability to vote and a Bermudian passport in which they could travel to America without the need for an ESTI. Is it all down to voting?
Check your facts.
PRC status is not closed in Bermuda.
PRC STATUS IS STILL BEING GRANTED!…. do you not read the Government Notices in the paper? PRC has been granted to quite a few people over the years and it continues in 2014.
The new PRCs are the ones who are more of threat to our jobs, housing etc.
Yes and ones again someone who picks and chooses what they want to read. Yes PRC’s are still being granted but as of July 31 2014 the door shuts as you have to have lived her for 25 years (a quarter of a century) and be in Bermuda before July 31, 1989! The doors are shut! But I take it you have no issues with the spouses of Bermudians who get there paperwork in 10 years no questions asked and a quite often in a shame marriage or a backhanded financial arrangement. It happens a lot, have seen it and have reported it to the authorities.
Don’t believe your statement is true. My understanding is that PRC status will still be granted to anyone who has been here for 10 years, can have their company designate them as a Key Employee and pay the $25,000.
Once these Key Employees are granted PRC status, they can assign other employees as ‘Key!’ If these individual have been here for over 10 years and pay $25k… they can then apply for PRC.
Please correct me if I’m wrong but I know individuals who are going through the process now.
Under laws passed by the PLP.
Seeing every issue through a racial lens is the antithesis to uprooting racism.
Your racially charged rhetoric is so opposite to your alleged mission that it is appalling.
“CURB believes that continuing this pattern of ‘watering down’ the Black Bermudian vote by instantaneously giving Bermudian status to over 1,455 individuals [and eventually spouses and children] is understandably viewed as one more attempt to minimize and marginalize the Black vote.”
That’s a racial statement. The only way to uproot racism is to treat everyone the same; being completely unbiased of the color of their skin, their eyes, their hair or their teeth or their nationality.
Apparently its not racism if it is directed to white people i guess..
CURB what you have said is SO racist and insensitive to whites and others, you people make me sick.
deserves reposting!
Raymond Ray says:
July 24, 2014 at 1:08 pm
C.U.R.B. stands for: “Causing Unwanted Racial Bigotry”
It seems CURB stands for Citizens Committed to Upholding Racism
I seems the paid OBA paid bloggers (their existence was confirmed yesterday in another media outlet) are in full force.
A question…..what is the problem of suspending the loophole and having comprehensive immigration reform which would outline the path to obtaining status?
Why are so many people against this?
This would result in a clear set of rules to obtaining status, and clarify many other aspects of immigration.
What is the harm in this? This seems to be a win win situation as everyone will have a say in the outcome.
No one is denying PRC’s status, the request is to close the loophole and outline the criteria…again, what is wrong with this?
The OBA acknowledges it was a mistake by the PLP. The PLP put forward legislation to close the loophole and have comprehensive immigration reform, but the OBA blocked it…..why?
Then to blame the PLP for this problem after rejecting attempts to fix the problem is ludicrous.
So , do you envision a solution where everything turn out hunky dory but they can’t vote ?
Because as we all know (at least those with more then 10 functioning brain cells) that’s what this is all about .
The paid OBA bloggers???! You have lost the plot my friend. I hope everyone reading this can see through this thinly veiled attempt to discredit the justified backlash against this nonsense. An anti-racism group pushing racially dividing political opinions? You can’t make this stuff up!!
Are there paid bloggers now ? Can I get some money.
Right! I am a white educated Bermudian who is struggling financially (Many don’t wanna believe it but a lot of white folks are broke too) but have promised myself not to loose faith (yet) in our little island home and flee to greener pastures oversees,so if any party is paying for blogging (PLP/OBA/Gombey Liberation) then let me know what you want me to write and when I can pick up my check lol
So basically CURB are announcing that they are only interested in protecting the interests of black Bermudians, to the detriment of anybody else. It appears then that they don’t actually have anything to do with ending racism and probably don’t even have a proper idea about what it entails. Racism is a broad term and is not limited to things that are perceived to be detrimental to black Bermudians. Please CURB your enthusiasm and quit making your wilfully ignorant statements.
The people who run CURB have truly lost their way
One question I take from this is: Has CURB officially declared its allegiance politically?
No but they have ethnically.
Who appoints members to ‘CURB’.
What education and degrees do they have.
What are their motives to accept such position.
What the Fu(% is going on.
Might as well sit on the curb and try and fill my tin cup.
If CURB is a political advocate group based on race then their Charity status (if thats what they are) should be revoked.
I believe a complaint to the Charity Commission could move the process along. That will allow them to act as the political advocates they are and not be violating the banking regulations by posing something they are not.
Charities should not be directly involved with the politics.
It is a FACT that most white Bdian voters do not vote PLP hence CURB’s statement that there is monolithic white support for the OBA (which also enjoys Black support). Very few whites vote PLP that is a fact. Tell me something, when is it EVER a good time to address ANY racial injustices or the disenfranchisement of Black Bermudians even if it’s true, without it always being labelled as ‘divisive’ ‘racist’ etc. The fact is that the MAJORITY of these new status Bdians are not Black (can you dispute otherwise?) and most likely will vote OBA. Why make such a major move based on a loophole? What is wrong with a proper Immigration Reform which is a more efficient pathway?
“An analysis of Bermuda’s historic voting patterns, with monolithic white support for one particular political entity, suggests that the majority of PRCs would vote predominantly OBA.”
How about looking at why this occurs. It isn’t because OBA is a great party. It is only because of the two parties the OBA is the inclusive one. Black, white, whatever. CURB why don’t you look at getting a second inclusive party in Bermuda? If I was white I wouldn’t consider voting for the PLP, not that I have since 2003 anyway. But I can imagine how they feel.
If the OBA was anti-black I certainly wouldn’t want to vote for them no matter how good their proposals may be.
And that is truly the correct outlook. I voted PLP in 98, we needed a change (yes I am white) would I ever again not a chance. Why? Because apparently I am not a Bermudian due to the colour of my skin.
Let me lay it out for you in steps for people to comprehend.
1. These people have been living here for over 10-25+ years.
2. They already have jobs.
3. They already have houses.
4. THE ONLY THING THAT CHANGES IS THAT THEY GET TO VOTE.
WHAT ARE YOU SO SCARED OF PLP?!?! LMFAO maybe you should be praising these people now they got status instead of scaring them away. REAL TALK. These points above are the only ones you should see as truth, which they are. STOP BEING BRAINWASHED BY THE PLP!!! THESE “NEW” PEOPLE WILL ONLY BE VOTING, THEY HAVE EVERYTHING ELSE. PLP JUST SCARED THEY WILL LOSE AGAIN!!!
How come people do not understand that CURB is a political pressure group funded by the people that pursue a specific political agenda and should be treated as a biased organization based on the color of a persons skin.
Reforming and fixing justice racial or otherwise will never be improved if you rewrite history based on your color; there are deeper issues to solve for restoration.
CURB SAYS: “they fail to acknowledge the ‘elephant in the room’ [i.e. that it is likely that approximately 1,200 or more of the 1,455 PRCs are white].” So CURB is basically saying it would have been alright if these people being granted status were likely black…..
As I understand it the biggest issue appears to be granting the PRC’s the right to vote as they already compete in the labor market. So assuming that CURB is correct and that the white PRC’s will vote for the OBA, and assuming the non-white PRC’s will vote for the PLP (because otherwise the granting of status is not racist but a purely political play – or it is the right thing to do and is neither racist or political) what would the previous election (2012) have looked like?
White/OBA Black/PLP/IND Total
PRC Numbers 1,200 255 1,455
Vote (70.7% turnout) 848 180 1,029
Previous Election 15,949 14,913 30,862 (PRC’s % of total vote 3.33%)
% of vote 51.7% 48.3%
Adjusted total 16,797 15,093 31,891
% of vote 52.7% 47.3%
At 3.33%, or 1,029 voters it seems possible that that number could equate to the number of college students off island studying and therefore unable to vote. Admittedly I don’t have data to support that claim but if you add in Bermudians on vacation or off island for other reasons it might be reasonable? Would voting by proxy have raised as much discussion? Are college students more or less likely to vote for the OBA? I don’t know, but I believe they should be able to vote regardless.
Now these 848 voters are obviously not in the same constituency and there are 36 of those, so if they are spread equally across the country that is an extra 24 OBA voters and 5 extra PLP voters in each constituency. That is a net extra 19 votes for the OBA per constituency. Based on the 2012 election that would result in Devonshire North Central being a tie, and the OBA winning an extra 2 seats (Pembroke Central & Sandy’s North). Not surprising in a very close election. In other years it would have made no difference.
Quite a few assumptions in there but I think overall the impact of letting the PRC’s vote is unlikely to change the composition of the government. But happy to be shown otherwise and I think CURB should have done more research into the potential impact before releasing its statement.
For some time I have been intrigued by the close connection between Bermuda and St. Kitts. There appears to be hardly a black family in Bermuda that does not have a St. Kitt’s connection. For example Christopher Famous, a columnist and strong supporter of the PLP, describes his St Kitts connection as follows:
“Today I write to you from the island home of many Bermudians. Today I write to you from the island of St Kitts. God has blessed me to be able to return to St Kitts to visit familiar places, familiar friends and familiar family. Stepping off of the small 21-seater plane at Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport, I almost felt I needed to kiss the ground. It has been five years since I have laid eyes on the lush mountains of the land of my great grandparents’ birth.
“This is not just my heritage as approximately 50 to 60 per cent of born Bermudians descend from Kittitians or Nevisians. In fact, anyone with the following surnames can safely say that their family comes from St. Kitts and/or Nevis: Simmons, Simons, Jacobs, Charles, Archibald, Pringle, Browne, Warner, Rawlins, Francis, Mills, Morton, Caines, Webb, Rabain and Cannonier.”
My impression is that most of the Kittitians came to Bermuda during the tourism boom in Bermuda which started in the 1930s (after Tuckers Town was expropriated) and continued after the War to the 1960s. I expect that Mr. Famous’ great grandparents were part of that migration. The Bermuda National Museum documents in one of its exhibits what it calls the diaspora of English speaking Caribbean residents to North America, England and Bermuda. Times were tough in the Caribbean and emigration was often the only answer for families to survive. Another example is Dr. E F Gordon who came to Bermuda in 1924. Two of his children became well known politicians in their own right. So at some point in the not so distant past, perhaps only two or three generations past, many Bermudian’s forefathers immigrated to Bermuda to make a better life for themselves and their families.
I can only guess that Bermuda was not a very sympathetic place at that time to black immigrants from the Caribbean. In fact I am willing to bet that many of these immigrants faced constant uncertainty about their status in Bermuda. That may be the reason why so many of these 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation Bermudians became and continue to be the backbone of the BIU and the PLP. So it is intriguing to see that it is precisely these individuals who now oppose citizenship rights to more recent immigrants to Bermuda. Bermuda was a pretty harsh place in the mid-20th century but somehow these immigrants from St. Kitts assimilated themselves into Bermuda and got status. If Mr. Famous’ great grandparents had come to Bermuda in 2000, it is doubtful Mr. Famous would get Bermuda status today. In this instance Bermuda is harsher than it was in his great grandparent’s days.
I raise this since it is a piece of Bermuda’s racial history that has been studiously avoided by CURB. Not a mention is made in their paper of this great migration primarily from St. Kitts in the last 70 years. One can only think that the omission is purposeful. So if CURB had been in existence in the 1940s and 1950s would it have opposed status for long term residents at that time?
May I complement you Light Storm on what you’d mentioned. I find it extremely interesting and it’s something that should make many “people” rekindle their thoughts and then, just maybe they’ll understand what was meant by, “certain people started popping up like dandelions after a spring rain” or even better, what Grace Bell meant in reference to denying PRCs citizenship, “an immigrants descendant pulling up the ladder”.
A new definition of irony has been established.
CURB is a joke!!! You are supposed to be uprooting racism yet your statement reeks of racism?
Get real or shut up! No one cares what you fear mongers have to say anyway. Your organization is a complete joke as you would have us believe that most things are to the detriment of Black Bermudians – so what happened to us WHITE BERMUDIANS?!?
YES – we WHITE BERMUDIANS DO exist and we dont drink your racist cool-aid!!
Good old CURB, never fail to perpetuate the them vs us mentality.
How many years has the PLP tried to make out it is not a “black” party only for CURB to come along and endorse that very stereotype? CURB has in the past few weeks made it very clear they agree that the PLP is not all inclusive and only caters for a certain segment of Bermudians. On top, there is the arrogance and taking for granted black Bermudians will support the PLP. No wonder so many stayed away at the last election, and likely more will at the next.
Maybe CURB and the present executive of the PLP should find, read and digest the original aims, and the Constitution, of the PLP. The founders would be dismayed to see what has happened.
So it’s ok in Bermuda to be racist against “white folk”? I have never witnessed such blatant racism as here……. Shameful CURB. You have jsut discredited yourself.
You have no idea. Even when approached CURB denies they are being racist as well. The fallacy that you need power to be racist has been gobbled up by them and they are “too busy” to do the job of working for equality.
There is not much more to say other than this is just plain shameful! The words “immoral, corrupt and deceit” don’t even begin to describe the way I feel about this decision.
CURB this is double-talk… you are promoting protectionism on the one hand whilst criticising it on the other.
let their voices be heard. yes we heard their voice “WHITE MENTAL ILLNESS IS KILLING AFRICAN BERMUDIANS” thank you Rev Tweed. now we know what your march was about. She carried that sign to your meeting at the park and all the way to Cabinet and not one of you told her to take it down. We have all seen what you are all about now. CURB wants you to support this. LYN WINFIELD saw this sign and did NOTHING!! Uprooting racism? HA!!
Lyn Winfield, diluting the black vote and disenfranchisng black Bermudians for 30 years with her status vote.