Column: Khalid Wasi On Bermuda Identity & More
[Opinion column written by Khalid Wasi]
Bermuda Day just past and carried with it some of Bermuda’s deepest traditions. Although, like so many thousands of Bermudians, I wasn’t there, but I do remember things like, the half Marathon, and the first official day of swimming. Also, the Parades with floats although less colorful and floral,and decidedly more Caribbean, marching bands and dancers including the Gombey.
Missing though was the crowds, as it seems the absence of so many is causing so much effort to pump enthusiasm or even a culture into what is now the Bermuda Day. Maybe the past is indeed gone and what we have is the reality that we are trying to convince our people we must enjoy our newly revised Bermuda day occasion.
Yet after the last potato salad is consumed, and the last drink has been drunk, we return the next day to resume our daily life, to what? Was there anything of the holiday that gave us the feeling or urge to make Bermuda even better? or something that reminded us of who we are?
I can feel the effort to make something of Bermuda Day, but what? Is it our history, or is it something we have fought for or cherish as an ideal? Or is it a desperate attempt to rename what was once our colonial heritage? 24th of May, the Queen’s birthday, I remember the lingo, we used to sing it! We can’t change our history, we can change ourselves if we chose to, but our history will always be whatever it was.
I know it was thought and perhaps even envisioned at one time that the PLP would bring a change and one day justice would roll down like mighty waters from the mountain tops. That was never a dream, rather, it was a faint hope at best by those who suffered the pangs of injustice.
It would have taken a progressive movement to get the masses of people burdened by oppression to rise together. We never got that, they never really understood that. We got something else instead. It’s hard to name what we got because it becomes too intellectual, therefore, it’s better to just see what you’ve got. The trick is simple, believe what you see.
What you will see closely resembles what you have always had. What you have as leaders, would gladly wear a crown with jewels, if he had them. What we have today not unlike yesterday, is a narrow band of individuals who hate the verdict of the masses [democracy]. Glorify dominance over mutual participation [authoritarian]. Live on the basis of divide and rule [British imperial tactic]. Most typically, use a minority sector empowered to rule over a majority sector of any population.
Let’s take a simple scenario, there is a leadership challenge coming up in the Fall of this year. There are two principal contenders aspiring to be the next leader of the PLP. Both are relatively young. However, if we were to solicit the general public and ask the question of whom they would prefer. There is only one of the contenders that would gain the popular support of the entire electorate. I won’t even mention the names because it’s blatantly obvious, to a point the question is ridiculous. It is overwhelmingly obvious, so why is it even a question? The PLP will not do the obvious and it should be obvious as to why.
- Khalid Wasi
For extensive coverage of Bermuda Day spanning over 15 years, visit our website BDADay.com , the island’s most comprehensive resource on the Bermuda Day holiday.
- Almost 10,000 photos here
- Over 250 videos here
- Holiday graphics here
- History of the race here
- Bermuda Day Timeline here
- Dedicated website: BDADay.com
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