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BDS For Palestine 2026

We are at the end of 2025 and people are thinking about the year ahead and all that they would like to achieve. Goals and resolutions are being set, and improved lives are being envisioned. There is significant focus on the self and the family at this time. In a few weeks, there will be increased attention on the country and its fate as related to the next general election. Zooming out from our immediate lives and geographic location, the global swing to the political right comes into view. The consequences have been and continue to be far-reaching. While it does not receive the necessary attention, the uninterrupted genocide in Palestine is one of the most horrific failings of our time, certain to reverberate all over the world and for many years to come. The refusal to see the connection between our struggles and the interdependence of our liberation is certain to determine our future. 

 

Even after more than two years of feigning or enjoying ignorance, today is a good day to start paying attention. It is a good day to commit to the development of a political ideology that does not discount the lives or the land of people we see as different or distance from ourselves, but demands solidarity with all people in situations of vulnerability. Our survival depends on it, especially as capitalism becomes more acceptable to the masses for whom it is devastating.  

 

At the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 Francesca Albanese said, “As I argued in my last report to the Human Rights Council, this genocide has become profitable, unfortunately, not just for some corrupt private entities. And this is not only Israel’s crimes. This is the world’s crime sustained by silence, complicity, and the supply of funds, weapons, and political cover. History, we’ll remember, because it’s not that this is the first genocide that is been known. No, the Holocaust, the genocide in Bosnia, the genocide in Rwanda were also known to the people of the time. But this genocide happened because the world didn’t care enough to stop them, like today, or not. But today’s genocide is something different. It’s openly incited, cynically denied, and relentlessly supported, armed, and weaponized, while those who oppose it are silenced, beaten, criminalized, and smeared. This is why I say this is the shame of our time and the collapse of the international legal order in this moment, not only for the Palestinians, but for all of us.”

 

In an October 2025 address to the General Assembly from Cape Town, due to U.S. sanctions preventing her participation in New York, Albanese said, “International law is clear: States must neither aid nor assist in the internationally wrongful acts of others, and must prevent and punish international crimes. This requires immediately suspending all military, economic, and diplomatic ties with Israel until its crimes cease, and pursuing justice for the survivors by holding perpetrators and accomplices accountable.” 

 

To close the perceived distance between us the Palestinian people who are experiencing the genocide perpetrated by “Israel” and the Palestinian people in the diaspora, fiercely advocating to the lives and the land of their people, it is important to listen to their voices. Their stories are the truth we need to hear and feel. 

 

Nour ElAssy

“Since becoming a journalist, my life has unravelled in real time. Every time I have found a new place to stay, the bombs have found me again. The signal bars on my phone flicker like a dying heartbeat, and when the battery dies, which is often, I scramble – desperately searching for even a whisper of electricity just to send a photo, a sentence, a single update. Sometimes, I have to walk for kilometres through shattered neighborhoods to find a generator or a hotspot. All while airstrikes roar above me.

 

“But I keep going. I take testimonies from mothers standing beside the corpses of their children. From fathers who haven’t eaten in three days and have nothing to give their starving kids. From children who draw tanks instead of flowers. And I send them out to the world, praying someone, somewhere, will read them and feel what I feel[…] Every time I zip up my vest, I remember the face of the photographer who was burned alive. The videographer who lost his family while filming the ruins of another. This vest is not armour. It is a shroud. But I wear it anyway. Because my people need someone to tell the world what’s happening. Because silence is complicity. Because if we stop speaking, no one else will.” 

 

Omar Suleiman

“Thousands of children are dead. Thousands of children are under the rubble. Thousands of children are missing limbs. Thousands of children are missing parents. Thousands of children are fighting disease. Thousands of children are having surgeries performed on them without anesthesia. Thousands of children have been starved. Thousands of children have been bombed out of their homes. Every single child in Gaza has been forever traumatized. All of the above are war crimes. We can keep letting human rights organizations count them. Or we can finally hold them accountable.”

 

Sumayah Abu Qas

“Ousamah begged me to let him go there to get food, but I refused. I was afraid of losing him. In the end, I gave in to my daughters’ hunger. On the morning of 19 June 2025, Ousamah went to the aid distribution center by al-Bureij R.C. in the Netzarim compound with my brother Ahmad and some other friends.  That whole day, I was scared and anxious. Then, at 11:00 P.M., my brother came back with Ousamah’s body. He was covered in blood and dirt. Ahmad told us an Israeli tank had fired a shell at them and hit Ousamah in the back, killing him and five others while they were opening boxes of aid. They all died on the spot.” 

 

Ahmad al-Ghalban 

“We started packing up our things with my uncle Iyad Salem, 33, and his daughter Hibah, 6. Around 2:30 P.M., as we stepped into the street with our things, the army fired shells, and one hit us. I was seriously wounded. Muhammad was dying next to me, and my uncle Iyad was torn to pieces. Hibah, my mother, my sister Alaa, and my brother Qusai were about ten meters away. I lay on the ground, bleeding. I looked at my legs and couldn’t believe what I saw. I told myself, “This is a dream.” My mother screamed and called for help. Five minutes later, a man arrived, and when he saw we were still alive, he put Muhammad and me in a tuk-tuk and took us to the Indonesian Hospital, along with my uncle, my mother, and the others.

 

“On the way, Muhammad recited verses from the Quran and the Shahadatain prayers [recited before death], but I didn’t realize he was taking his last breaths. At the hospital, I was taken into surgery right away. It lasted four or five hours. When I woke up from the anesthesia, I found out they had amputated both my legs and four fingers on my left hand. My right hand was also broken, and they put a metal implant in it. I had shrapnel all over my body. I stayed in the ICU for five days.

“I didn’t know Muhammad had died. I kept asking about him, but my mother said he was hospitalized in critical condition at a-Shifaa Hospital. She was afraid to tell me because I was in a very fragile physical and mental state. I kept telling her, “I want to see Muhammad.” And every time I asked, “Why don’t you go visit him?” she said the doctors wouldn’t let her. After two weeks, when I was doing better emotionally, she told me Muhammad had died. I cried a lot because Muhammad was a friend, too. He was my twin brother. I couldn’t believe he was gone. I cried nonstop for five days. I never imagined I would lose him, or that I would lose both my legs.”

Abir Hamza El-Khawaja

“We used to have lives and dreams. Despite the fact the Gaza Strip has long been besieged, right now, it’s completely desolate. All that exists is destruction. It’s become apparent that our dreams may not come true, such as the ultimate dream of visiting Jerusalem, or Akka, for example. But beforehand, we were able to enjoy simple pleasures: We could go to work in the morning; we could eat our favorite food; and we could quietly read a book. We could enjoy watching the sunset over the vast sea, and people could play with their children. We could then return to our families at the end of each night and to a warm bed, where we could enjoy a favorite drink, in peace. This security disappeared from that moment, and it seems it’ll never return.

 

“In previous Israeli military assaults on the Gaza Strip, most people would stay in their homes. We were inevitably suffering from all the death, destruction and incessant bombing, but this time, it’s not like that. It’s annihilation, displacement and starvation. This time, they’re really taking our lives.” 

 

Noura Erakat

“As a Palestinian, my heart is very broken that a genocide can continue, that Palestinian babies can be slaughtered and there is a debate over whether or not that’s OK or how it should be done better. As a Palestinian, I’m so frustrated that rather than take aim at the oppressive systems that placed us in these conditions, like prolonged military occupation, apartheid and genocide, that we are made into a problem to be resolved. We are not the problem. These conditions that oppress us are the problem and should be what the international community targets to destroy, rather than allowing us to be the target of destruction.”

 

Diana Safieh

“How do we handle this [survivor’s] guilt? Some struggle and do nothing, while others, occupied with their own struggles, cannot engage. However, many of us feel compelled to do what we can for those who cannot. Our activism is driven by the belief that our survival obliges us to fight for justice and the rights of those in Palestine. This constructive action is crucial for our own survival. And many of us, at home and abroad, seek comfort in those non-Palestinians offering their solidarity, through kind words, marches and other forms of activism. 

 

“I do not want to end on a pious note, and yet I will. It is one’s duty to take advantage of all the opportunities life presents to you to make the world a more hospitable place for all of us[…] We must use our privilege to work toward a day when life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness will be afforded to us all.”

 

Act to End the Genocide

Boycott, divest, and sanction. This is what we, who support human rights, abhor violence, and work for liberation, are called to do. It is as wrong as it is easy and lazy to assume a position of powerlessness. We can choose to seek information and use it to make decisions that, at the very least, minimize harm. The BDS movement is growing, and the organizers are providing easily accessible information to help participants to avoid giving money to “Israel” and entities that support it. Google, Amazon, AirBnB, and Disney+ are among the companies targeted by the economic boycott. More information is available at bdsmovement.net/campaigns#2. Make 2026 the year that you spend as if the lives of others depend on it. They do. 

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Food Insecurity

“The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025 – Addressing high food price inflation for food security and nutrition”—published by the FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, and WHO—estimated that “between 638 and 720 million people, corresponding to 7.8 and 8.8 percent of the global population, respectively, faced hunger in 2024.” While hunger is expected to decrease between now and 2030, “512 million people are still projected to be facing hunger in 2030.” 

The FAO stated in “Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition” that The Bahamas has a food insecurity rate of 17.2%. Food insecurity exists when people do not have access to enough nutritious food to support their growth, development for active, healthy lifestyles. The food insecurity rate in The Bahamas is cause for concern for many reasons. We know that there are noncommunicable diseases that are rampant in our population, affected by our diets and lifestyles. Many of us have also heard the stories of children going to school without having had breakfast and little or nothing provided for lunch. Food insecurity is directly related to poverty which not only affects people’s ability to pay for food, but the time to procure, prepare, and eat it. Taxation on food has negatively and disproportionately impacted people experiencing poverty, and there is little attention to this worsening issue. 

Addressing food insecurity requires a change in systems. While immediate, direct assistance is necessary until we reach a state of food security, it is not going to solve the problem. People need to be able to afford food. Both the import of food and the taxation on food are drivers of food insecurity. Combined with the lack of a livable wage, we have a dangerous situation. People are working full time, often holding more than one job, and still cannot afford to buy nutritious food. Some do not have a stove, and some do not have electricity. Many have to buy a few items every single day for their survival, unable to afford a “big shop” and/or unable to properly store food for more than one or two days. There are people who can buy enough food, but do not have the means (including time) to prepare it, so they opt for fast food or packaged food products. The circumstances vary widely, yet bring us to the same place. People are unwell, tired, underperforming, and stressed because of their inability to meet their most basic needs. 

When politicians come knocking, trying to secure your votes, ask them what they have done and what they plan to do to increase food security. Ask them what support through Social Services is like now, and how it will change in the coming five years. Ask them which schools have breakfast programs and which do not. Ask them how backyard farming will be encourage. Ask them about community gardens and food pantries in your constituency. Ask them about taxation, particularly on food. Tell them this is a priority issue, and that you need to see a plan for addressing it.

Between now and the point of food security, there are people who need help, and there are organizations working to fill the gap.

 

You can support:

  1. Hands for Hunger. This is a “humanitarian organization committed to the elimination of unnecessary hunger and the reduction of food waste through the creation of meaningful and engaging partnerships formed amongst all sectors of the Bahamian community” which engages in food rescue, food distribution, and education. Hands for Hunger operates a food pantry which enables clients to make their own selections from a variety of offerings. Donations can be made at handsforhunger.org/donate.
  2. Bahamas Crisis Center. This is a nongovernmental organization that provides free counseling services, particularly people experiencing domestic violence or related crises. It provides support to its clients beyond counseling, including through its food pantry. To donate, contact administration at 328-0922 to make arrangements.
  3. Bahamas Feeding Network. Thirteen organizations formed a group to “perform as a hub for the collection and distribution of food items and financial and physical resources to the entities that interact daily with thousands throughout the archipelago plagued with the uncertainty of knowing where their next meal is coming from.” Donations can be made at bahamasfeedingnetwork.org/donate.
  4. Soup kitchens. These are often operated by faith-based organizations. Find the one nearest to you and ask how you can help. From grocery shopping and delivery to serving and cleanup, there is no shortage of work to do.

 

Ways to Give

Cash. Few people seem to be willing to give money to people in need of assistance. Some want the gratification of purchasing items themselves and being able to give physical items. Some want to control what others—people in need in particular—consume, wanting people to have only what they deem acceptable. There is a serious people with the refusal to trust people in situations of vulnerability to make the best decisions for themselves. The fact is that people know what they need better than anyone else. Being able to purchase items themselves also prevents accumulation of individual products in excess, reduces storage issues, avoids issues with allergies and other dietary restrictions, makes healthier options possible, and allows for treats that might be otherwise overlooked. Giving cash recognizing people’s agency.

Gift certificates. An easy way to support people in different families and a wide range of situations is through gift certificates to grocery stores, pharmacies, and gas stations. This enables people to make the most appropriate selections available to them on an as-needed basis. At certain time of the year, like the holiday season in December, there is an increase in giving. There is only so much that each person and/or family can accept and consume in a short period of time. Gift certificates have a longer life, and make a great alternative to giving canned goods which are high in sodium. Those with cars appreciate the gift certificates for gas, enabling them to get to and from stores in addition to the school run, work commute, and job interviews. 

Fresh produce. When supporting a particular family or organization, be sure to include fresh fruit and vegetables. Onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, and lime go a long way in helping canned goods to reach their flavor potential. Bananas, apples, and oranges make great, quick snacks for everyone. If you have fruit-bearing trees, share the bounty. There is nothing quite like native fruit, and it is a special treat when discovered in a mix of necessities. 

Canned goods with manual can opener. When canned goods seem like the best option, remember to include a can opener to ensure that the people you are helping do not have an additional barrier. Choose a variety of canned goods. Be sure to include canned vegetables and beans. 

When people are sleeping in their cars and parked on lines for hours and hours to receive vouchers and food, it is clear that we have a problem. No one should have to do this for food. Sustainable Development Goal two is to end hunger, and 2030 is not very far away.

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Tribute to a true hero advocate: Alice Wong. RIP.

DISABILITY Justice Advocate, Founder of Disability Visibility Project, and writer Alice Wong died at the age of 51 on November 15. A MacArthur Genius Award-winner, Alice was known for her brilliant ways of presenting current realities and possibilities, fierce advocacy, openness about her life, and wonderful sense of humour.

Alice was born with muscular dystrophy. She used a powered wheelchair and assistive breathing device, and she openly shared her experiences in medical care settings, having home care, and the importance of care networks populated by people who listen.

“Care is not a checklist of tasks and responsibilities,” she said. “Care is a shared value and actions operating in a larger political context within a hyper-capitalist, racist, ableist society that devalues certain types of labour and bodies.”

Alice Wong wrote Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life (2022), and she edited Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century (2020) and Disability Intimacy: Essays on Love, Care, and Desire (2024).

Alice was generous in her engagement through her published work and her social media presence. She was quick to not only offer commentary on and guidance through the COVID-19 pandemic, recognizing it as a mass disabling event, but to support people with long COVID in navigating their new realities. Her writing in Teen Vogue felt not only personal to her, but to the people reading. It was a conversation.

In October 2022, Teen Vogue published an excerpt from Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life. In it, Alice emphasized the importance of self-acceptance and community, and she did so in a way that implicitly aligned with her position on institutions—that we should all try to be free of them, and instead lean on our communities and experience the highest form of care at home.

“Growing up and becoming more comfortable in our own skin is a tough, nonlinear process. I am still working on myself as I imagine you are, too,” she wrote. “In the midst of your challenges and searches, I hope you are taking time to find joy in the world. Building and nurturing relationships gives me joy. It might take a while, but you will eventually find people who have your back whether they have the same disability or come from the same culture or not. And maybe there aren’t any solutions or immediate answers to the questions you’re asking. All we can do is discover what or who makes us happy now.”

It was and is a message for young people, for people going through transitions, for people with disabilities, and for people who are learning how to be themselves.

Alice founded the Disability Visibility Project (disabilityvisibilityproject.com), which is an online community that centres and amplifies disability media and culture. She believed that “disabled narratives matter and that they belong to us.” Her goal was to “build online spaces for people to share, organize, and connect,” and to “organize and facilitate events, give presentations, and participate on panels.”

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

Next week Tuesday is the first day of the Global 16 Days Campaign, also known as 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. As with many days, weeks, and months, it has been co-opted by various groups, including multilateral entities, whose related activities ignore the roots of the campaign, which are in feminist organizing. It is up to those of us who know better to do better, moving beyond the symbolic orange t-shirts and pins to undertake the change-making work that must be done year-round.

Tuesday, November 25 is also International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (IDEVAW). It is a day to acknowledge that women disproportionately experience gender-based violence. It is not a time for what-aboutism. It is not a time to wring hands about other groups of people and their particular experiences. It is a day to face reality: women experience gender-based violence at an alarming rate, worldwide, in the Caribbean, and in The Bahamas.

The report on the The Bahamas Women’s Health Survey was completed in 2022, and it has yet to be released. At a media briefing, some of the data was shared. One in every four women reported that they had experienced physical and/or sexual violence. More than one in every five women who survived physical and/or sexual violence did not talk to anyone about it. Sixty-five per cent of survivors of physical violence said it was severe (punched, hit with an object, dragged, choked, burned, threatened with a weapon).

Women are experiencing violence at high rates and high levels of severity. Many of them are not reporting to the police or seeking help elsewhere. They are suffering in silence, often hiding the horrific truth. We have built an environment that is unsafe for women in many ways. Violence has been normalized–survivors are often blamed for the violence they experienced– and it does not seem beneficial to report or even share what is happening with others.

We do not lack awareness. There are data and there are stories that let us know what is happening all around us, and that it does not just happen to certain “kinds” of women. We all know and love women who have experienced gender-based violence, and there are many among us who have not been deemed “safe people,” who would listen and offer support.

The approach to the issue of violence against women is ineffective. It does not centre the needs of survivors. It does not focus on eliminating stereotypes and systems that produce violence. It does not make use of available data to build coordinated reporting and care systems. It does not reach young people with critical information about consent, bodily autonomy, emotional intelligence, emotional regulation, nonviolent communication, or healthy relationships. It does not leverage international human rights mechanisms and the available resources to support systemic change.

As International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women approaches, find ways to:

•  Let people know that you are against violence and you are prepared to support women who have experienced violence.

•  Engage with your Member of Parliament or any candidate or party that wants your vote, applying pressure for them to articulate a plan to end gender-based violence against women.

•  Talk to the young people in your life about healthy relationships, red flags in relationships, consent, and nonviolent communication.

•  Pressure the current government administration to publish the report on The Bahamas Women’s Health Survey and to implement the comprehensive care model.

•  Push back against harmful gender stereotypes whenever and wherever you see them, including at home, in the workplace, and in social settings.

Recommendations

1.    Genocide Bad by Sim Kern. Publisher notes: “Part activist memoir, part crash course in Jewish and Palestinian history, Genocide Bad dismantles Zionist propaganda in 10 unapologetic essays. Drawing connections between Biblical promises and exploding pagers, medieval dress codes and modern-day apartheid, Kern sketches a sweeping history of imperialism with a characteristic blend of far-ranging research, pop-culture insights, and scathing humour.” Feminist Book Club, hosted by Equality Bahamas and Poinciana Paper Press is reading Genocide Bad this month, and meeting to discuss it on Wednesday, November 19 at 6pm. Register: tiny.cc/fbc2025

2.    Global 16 Days Campaign. This campaign, to focus on ending gender-based violence, begins on November 25 (International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) and December 10 (Human Rights Day). Equality Bahamas is hosting its annual series of events during the campaign, and the full lineup is available at Lu.ma/16days25.

Events include a discussion about memory and reparations with The Bahamas National Reparations Committee Chair Niambi Hall Campbell-Dean on November 26 at 6pm, the screening of “Two Faced: Gender Inequality in The Bahamas” at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas on November 27 at 6pm, and an erasure poetry workshop with Sonia Farmer at Poinciana Paper Press on Parkgate Road on December 6 at 9:30am. All events are free and open to the public.

Published in The Tribune on November 19, 2025.

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A liveable wage – essential, but still a pipe dream?

HERE have been several news stories on the cost of living in The Bahamas, the inadequacy of minimum wage, and the clear need for a living wage. These have sparked conversations that have not been sustained. Regardless, these conversations are often met with cries of impossibility from the private sector—rooted in fear and greed—and vague commentary from government about the need for change—rooted in personal comfort divergent interests.

Most people are working as much as they can already, often juggling more than one job to make ends meet, while people in positions of power decide that the wellbeing of the people is the least important element when there an inequitable economic system to maintain.

“When we call, as employees, for more money,” Minister of Labor and Public Service Pia Glover-Rolle said this week, “we must call for more productivity as well. I’m sure as business owners we can say we don’t mind rewarding with better benefits and better compensation packages when we see more productivity. So, we think that as a government, while we’re working to bring employee salaries and compensation to a good place and liveable place, we should also have the expectation that productivity is improved.”

This comment should be disturbing to anyone who understands the purpose of the liveable wage and the burden of labour and insufficient income on employees in the name of profit and financial gain for the owners of capital. To make an increase in productivity a requirement for a liveable wage is to ignore the reason it exists and its necessity in The Bahamas. No one should work full time and be unable to meet their basic needs with the income from that job. Businesses and the government may have productivity issues to address, but they are not relevant to the discussion on paying employees a wage that enables them to cover the cost of housing, food, water, transportation, and other necessities. Particularly as public services deteriorate further and force people to pay for education, healthcare, and other critical services that ought to be publicly funded and/or subsidized.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) defines a liveable wage as “the wage level that is necessary to afford a decent standard of living for workers and their families, taking into account the country circumstances and calculated for the work performed during the normal hours of work.”

Similarly, the Global Living Wage Coalition defines a living wage as “remuneration received for a standard work week by a worker in a particular [time and] place sufficient to afford a decent standard of living, including food, water, housing, education, healthcare, transport, clothing and other essential needs, including provision for unexpected events.”

The liveable, or living wage, is not a prize or a bonus. It is not a shiny bauble to dangle in front of people, trying to convince them to work more or work faster. It is a standard. It is a recognition that people work to get money that they then use to pay bills and acquire the items that not only sustain their lives, but that make it possible for them to continue to work. It is the bare minimum.

When people are not able to sustain their households with income from their full-time jobs, they have to find other sources of income. It is self-defeating to demand more work of employees than a 40-hour work week, because doing so contributes to the conditions that force them to take on additional paid work. And this reduces the time available for rest, which affects productivity.

“A Living Wage for The Bahamas: Estimates, Potentials, and Problems”, published in the International Journal of Bahamian Studies in 2021, captured the attention of Bahamians with its estimate that a basic decent standard of living for two adults and two children in a household requires $4400 per month in New Providence and $5750 per month in Grand Bahama.

“With statutory deductions included, our gross living wage estimate is $2625 for New Providence and $3550 for Grand Bahama,” the report said.

“Our New Providence living wage estimate is nearly 200% and 100% higher than the country’s national minimum wage and poverty line, respectively. These indicators not only confirm that the minimum wage rate does not ensure workers live above the poverty line but also suggests that much needs to be done to ensure that everyone who works can live decently.”

Three years later, in “How Much Does It Cost to Be Middle Class in The Bahamas?” author Lesvie Archer determined that a family of four needed a monthly income of $10,200 in New Providence, and $10,100 in Grand Bahama. The report also updated the cost of living for a working-class family of four, stating that “the 2024 cost-of-living estimate for a working-class family of four is $5,000 per month in New Providence and $6,600 per month in Grand Bahama.”

In November 2024, Prime Minister Philip Davis issued his response to the cost-of-living report. “From the outset, we raised the national minimum wage, provided public sector employees with much-needed promotions and pay adjustments, and reduced the duties on a number of imported items by Bahamian families. These changes are part of a phased approach to improve wages across the board, helping Bahamians earn a fair, liveable income.”

Raising the minimum wage did not solve the problem. It is still not a liveable wage. It is not enough to meet a person’s basic needs in The Bahamas. Promotions and pay adjustments are little more than campaign material, appearing to be something on the surface, but that have little effect on the systemic issues such as poverty.

“The challenges we face are complex and require bold action,” the prime minister said. “And we know that structural change takes time. But this government is committed to a fairer, more competitive economy that works for every Bahamian.”

In May 2025, Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation (BCCE) labour division head, Peter Goudie, added his own thoughts on the matter.

“There is no appetite for [a living wage] at the moment. We haven’t done a study, so we really don’t know what it’s going to look like. And then you’ve got to worry about how you implement higher wages when business costs are still very high. There are a bunch of issues there.”

There is a clear misunderstanding–or clear action to produce misunderstanding–of the liveable wage, its necessity, and the role of people in positions of power to make it reality. People will sleep in cars with their children. They will leave their children with people they barely know to work a second or third job. They will eat cheap, unhealthy food and suffer health consequences. They will launch fundraisers to cover the cost of surgical procedures and participate in illegal activities just to get more money.

They experience mental health crises and often struggle to leave violent households. Very few of them ever make the news. But they listen to third-party commentary on the stories of the people who do. Suffering goes on with varying degrees of visibility. And there are financial and social costs to The Bahamas and to the people of The Bahamas.

These are the consequences of a system that government officials and business owners want us to believe is a good system that works and requires us only to “work hard.” It is easier to tell us that we simply do not work enough to earn the money it takes to have a decent life here.

It is more beneficial to them to convince us that our suffering is due to our own shortcomings, not due to the design of the systems that keep us down while we try to find ways to make them work for us. There will be no consensus from people focused on maximizing profit to pay a liveable wage.

It must be imposed.

A government administration must connect the everyday problems we see and complain about to everyday systemic issues.

It must see the issue as one worth solving, and it must champion the people. It must want to see every employee have a decent standard of living.

It must want that more than it wants to exploit us by seeing our needs and refusing to meet them, while offering temporary, ineffective increments in exchange for votes.

Published in The Tribune on November 12, 2025.

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Femicide in The Bahamas

THIRTY-YEAR-OLD Lauren Saunders, who was seven months pregnant, was reported missing last week, and her body was found in a bushy area days later. On Monday, a man known to her was charged with her murder. Her murder is a case of femicide—the killing of a woman or girl that is related to her sex or gender. In fact, it is a case of pregnancy-associated femicide.

As the government of The Bahamas continues to refuse to acknowledge the sex- and gender-based killings of women and girls as femicide, it is difficult to count these incidents, analyse them, and develop prevention and intervention mechanism.

It means, for example, that are not able to definitively state the rate of femicide in The Bahamas, the rate of pregnancy-associated femicide, or the rate of femicide by perpetrators known to the victims. The government prefers to pretend that it does not understand the term “femicide” and/or to refuse to use it, obscuring the severity of gender-based violence against women and girls and the rate at which it results in people being killed.

In the 2022 United Nations statistical framework for measuring femicide, ten indicators of femicide are identified. They include women and girls killed by intimate partners, women and girls killed by family members, previous record of harassment/violence, body disposed of in public space, sexual violence was committed before, and hate crime motivated by bias against women/girls.

There are specific laws, recording methods, and analytical tools in use that can be adapted to the Bahamian context, enabling us to create and share knowledge about femicide, and use that knowledge to end sex- and gender-based killings.

The passing of the Gender-Based Violence Bill would have at least moved us toward improved quantitative records and analysis of the murder cases resulting from gender-based violence.

Instead, the current administration tossed it aside, instead passing a the useless “Protection Against Violence” bill that does attend to the issue of gender-based violence and the resulting murders.

Along with abandoning the bill to amend the Sexual Offenses Act to criminalise marital rape, this is a clear indication of the complete disregard this administration—and every single person in Parliament—has for women and girls, regardless of their empty words.

This week, as with every other week with a report of femicide, there is significant attention to penalties. People continue to look to the judicial system for justice.

What number of years can the murderer spend in prison, funded by taxpayers, to undo the murder of 30-year-old Lauren? How many years would be sufficient to bandage the hearts that bleed for the unborn baby?

The truth is that the very few members of the public with no relation to Lauren Saunders will think of this case until there are reports of the voluntary bill of indictment being served in January 2026.

Shortly after the case updates appear in the news, the case will be forgotten again. For loved ones, however, it will never be far from thought. No prison sentence is enough.

Lauren Saunders, like so many others whose names have been forgotten, was murdered, and that cannot be undone.

Justice is not punishment. Punishment may be a component of justice, but it is does not right a wrong, it does not bring balance, and it does not result in equity. Punishment is a consequence of an action. Justice that centers the survivor brings the survivor as close to the life they had before the act as is possible.

In the case of femicide, living dependents can be considered survivors. This means the children of Lauren Saunders should not suffer the effects of the loss of her income. They should maintain the same quality of life as they would have if she was not murdered and could continue to work, received her salary and/or wages, and meet household needs. Justice is often viewed as individual, intended for one person, but our concept of justice must be expanded.

As a collective, we can consider justice to include action by the government to prevent femicide by addressing the issue of gender-based violence, acknowledging that it can be fatal.

With research showing that one in every four women in The Bahamas has experienced physical and/ or sexual violence and 65% of survivors of physical violence reporting that it was severe (eg they were punched, hit with an object, dragged, choked, burned, or threatened with a weapon), there is no denying that this is a high-risk environment and gender-based violence is a public health crisis.

The government is obligated to take action to address gender-based violence which will not simply cease to exist. In 2018, following its report and constructive dialogue on its progress, or lack thereof, in coming into compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the government of The Bahamas received the recommendation to “develop and implement comprehensive measures for the prevention and elimination of gender-based violence against women and girls, in particular domestic and sexual violence and rape, assess the reported incidence of crimes against lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons and intensify efforts to change the social norms and cultural perceptions through which gender-based violence is tolerated as culturally acceptable”.

The CEDAW Committee also recommended that the government of The Bahamas develop an action plan to eliminate gender stereotypes, pass the Gender-Based Violence Bill and implement the Strategic Plan to Address Gender-Based Violence, and to ensure police and courts address complaints of gender-based violence quickly and efficiently. The government knows its obligations under international human rights law, and its responsibility to people in The Bahamas, to uphold all human rights. It fails to take action.

ABANDONED NEWBORN

A newborn, umbilical cord still attached, was found earlier this week, and a news outlet polled its social media audience on the introduction of “safe haven” or “baby box” laws, allowing people to safely surrender babies without facing criminal charges. This led to an array of comments expressing opinions on sexual and reproductive health and rights and the (un)availability of services.

“Ok so let me get this right: a law to say that after a responsible adult female has sex and finds out she got pregnant, she can carry her child nine months, deliver it somewhere, then put it in a box on a strangers doorstep. Then repeat this procedure the following years to come. My my…”

This person has already made an assumption that the person who birthed the baby is an adult and that the pregnancy is the result of consensual sexual intercourse. Even a cursory review of the news on a weekly basis would provide enough information to let anyone know that there is a high rate of rape in The Bahamas, and that teenaged girls are preyed upon by men who know that they are children and that the legal age of consent is 16. This person also seems to believe that pregnancy and motherhood are punishments for sexual activity. Is this the way we want people to become parents? Is there any thought to the way that many people parent when they forced into it?

“Could also just stop [having sex].”

Sex has more than one purpose. Some people have sex to conceive. Many people have sex to experience pleasure. Pleasure is good. By encouraging people to enjoy sex, and letting them know that it should absolutely be a pleasurable experience, we also encourage them to exercise consent, to recognise unsafe sexual relationships, and to value their experience at least as much as the other person’s.

“If The Bahamas adapt that law, the no good uncaring women will be dropping babies like flies and mosquitoes. They want to open their legs so let them be responsible.”

This person seems to think pregnancy and childbirth are fun. They also have a clear hatred of women. Enjoying sexual activity is not a commitment to have a baby. There is no good to come from forcing people to carry unwanted pregnancies to term and forcing them to parents babies they did not plan or want. Pregnancy is not a punishment for having sex. Babies are not a punishment for having sex. We need comprehensive sexuality education in all schools, access to contraceptives from the age of consent, and to end sexual violence.

“Adoption should always be an option. Give two babies up for adoption and we tie them tubes up.”

While some people may choose adoption, abortion must be legal and accessible. No one should be forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term. It is reprehensible to suggest a medical procedure such as tubal ligation without the consent of the person. A person who does not have to have a baby today may want to have a baby in two, five, or ten years. Everyone has the right to plan for their families and, as an extension of the right, everyone needs access to the resources to do so.

There were a number of comments that acknowledged the rights of women and girls and the realities of gender-based violence and the limited access to information about sexual and reproductive health education and services in The Bahamas. People mentioned the importance of Plan B being accessible to people who cannot afford to buy it, the need for comprehensive sexuality education that extends beyond one class, access to health care without a parent/guardian at the age of consent, and decriminalizing abortion.

As one commenter said, “Until our society stops shaming and ostracising women who become pregnant out of wedlock and [stops] treating CHILDREN who are raped who end up pregnant like they are lepers, none of this matters. Until we start holding the men who rape and impregnate CHILDREN [accountable], none of it matters. Until we give girls and women who become pregnant the ability to make safe choices without condemnation and humiliation and fear of lack, they will continue to make unsafe choices including not putting a baby in a […] box, on an island where NOTHING is sacred or secret.”

Published in The Tribune on October 29, 2025.

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Misogyny in politics holds women back

While Leslie Miller’s misogynistic, infantilising reference to Senator Michela Barnett-Ellis is not at all surprising, given his many public episodes, it has drawn attention to the longstanding issue of discrimination against women in political and public life.

The idea that women are inferior and must be relegated to the private sphere and men are superior and entitled to the public sphere persists well beyond the time that one income was sufficient and (some) women’s only work was in the home and in service to the family (which was never the case for black women).

That patriarchal arrangement was in service to capitalism, even more than it was for men, as women made (and still make) it possible for men to work through the provision of various unpaid services including the maintenance of the home and the people living in it and the reproduction of labourers.

Patriarchy created a hierarchy and it has required us to live according to this division, even after the point that women entered the public sphere and, as a matter of necessity, started to work for wages. Patriarchy assigned values and expectations based on gender and while the economic realities have changed and society along with it, patriarchy has its devotees.

Just as patriarchy separated women and men into the private and public spheres, it instilled the belief that men are to be leaders and decision-makers while women are to follow and submit.

Misogyny extends beyond the hatred of women to the hatred of all that is feminine. As emotions are viewed in a binary way, considered feminine or masculine, certain emotions are reserved for women and restricted for men.

On the basis of these socially constructed rules, it was determined that women are too “soft” and “emotional” for leadership, even as men regularly perform anger to the detriment of the people expected to follow them.

Women have worked, for generations, to gain access to opportunities to work and to lead through consistent efforts including, but not limited to, higher education. Today, men regularly attempt to use the level of education many women have attained, and subsequent professional success, as evidence that gender inequality does not exist.

They refuse to see the persisting issues including sexual harassment in the workplace, the gender wage gap, and the impediments to participating in frontline politics and public life.

Miller’s misogynistic comment is evidence of the discrimination that still exists and is not only an annoyance, but a barrier to equal participation and, ultimately, the representation of women in leadership at the level that is proportionate to the population. It also highlights the issue of intersecting forms of discrimination that women face.

A women vying for candidacy or for a seat in Parliament are not only unfairly judged rather than appropriately assessed because of their gender, but because of their (perceived) age, class, and other identities. Women are expected to be deferential and young people are expected to be deferential. Young women are expected to be doubly deferential should they even dare to be in the same space as men.

It is an embarrassment that only 18 percent of parliamentarians are women. No government administration has ever addressed this issue by instituting a political quota. Perhaps even worse, no political party has chosen to take the lead in addressing this issue, demonstrating commitment to achieving gender equality by instituting a quota at the party level.

This is clear evidence of the priorities and the cowardice of political parties. Temporary special measures such as political quotas have been recommended to The Bahamas on numerous occasions through international human rights mechanisms in which The Bahamas voluntarily participates.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in Article 3, obligates States to “ensure the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights set forth in the present Covenant.”.

Importantly, Article 25 states, “Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity[…] to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives [and] to vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors.”

Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women (Convention of Belem Do Para) states in Article 4 that “Every woman has the right to the recognition, enjoyment, exercise and protection of all human rights and freedoms embodied in regional and international human rights instruments. These rights include, among others[…] The right to have equal access to the public service of her country and to take part in the conduct of public affairs, including decision-making”.

It continues, in Article 5, “Every woman is entitled to the free and full exercise of her civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, and may rely on the full protection of those rights as embodied in regional and international instruments on human rights. The States Parties recognise that violence against women prevents and nullifies the exercise of these rights.”

The Sustainable Development Goals were adopted in 2015, and goal five on gender equality includes “ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life” as a target. The indicators are the proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments and local government and the proportion of women in managerial positions.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), also known as the bill of women’s rights, was ratified by The Bahamas in 1993—acknowledgement discrimination against women as a violation of women’s human rights and a commitment to take the necessary steps to come into compliance with the Convention in order to end discrimination against women.

Article 7 of the Convention calls on States to “take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country and, in particular, shall ensure to women, on equal terms with men, the right[…] to be eligible for election to all publicly elected bodies [and] to participate in the formulation of government policy and the implementation thereof and to hold public office and perform all public functions at all levels of government.”

As CEDAW was adopted in 1979 and entered into force in 1981, there issues that have emerged and knowledge that has since been created that are not explicitly stated in the Convention. To ensure that it can carry out its mandate and respond to the realities on the ground with its collective human rights expertise, the CEDAW Committee produces General Recommendations which expand upon Articles of the Convention, address areas of concern, and guide States in their reporting.

There are General Recommendations, for example, on violence against women, older women and protection of their human rights, rights of rural women, and gender-related dimensions of disaster risk reduction in the context of climate change. In 2024, the CEDAW Committee produced General Recommendation 40 on equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems. It begins, “Women have the right to equal and inclusive representation in all decision-making systems on equal terms with men[…] This right is still not respected. This also seriously hampers implementation of all other rights under the CEDAW Convention.”

General Recommendation 40 was produced as a comprehensive guide for States “on achieving equal and inclusive representation of women in all decision-making systems across all sectors, aiming for a systemic change”.

It recognises seven pillars of equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems, recognising “patriarchal structures impede women’s equal and inclusive representation in decision-making systems” and the need for a transformational approach that dismantles those structures. The pillars are:

1. 50:50 parity between women and men as a starting point and universal norm;

2. Effective youth leadership conditioned by parity;

3. Intersectionality and inclusion of women in all their diversity in decision-making systems;

4. A comprehensive approach to decision-making systems across spheres;

5. Women’s equal power and influence in decision-making systems;

6. Structural transformation for equal and inclusive decision-making;

7. Civil society representation in decision-making systems.

General Recommendation 40 is available online. It described all seven pillars and not only sets on the obligations of States, but provides guidance for meeting the obligations. Its recommendations include legal amendments to institutionalize 50:50 parity between women and men in all spheres of decision-making, adoption of a parity strategy, provision of education on temporary and permanent special measures, implementation of awareness-raising campaigns toward positive discourse on parity, cooperation with media to condemn, monitor and ensure accountability for sexism and misogyny, and prevention and prosecution of hate speech in decision-making and against women candidates.

All candidates, representatives, leaders, and members of political parties should read the document and contribute to moving The Bahamas toward compliance through all means available to them.

Published in The Tribune on September 10, 2025

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What you gonna do with your freedom? Part 2

After seeing Entou Pearl Springer’s “Freedom Morning Come” on Emancipation Day in Trinidad, I posed its central question to people I know through friendships, scholarship, and activism. What you gonna do with your freedom? Everyone was intrigued by the question, where it came from, and where it would take them as they explored it. It seemed to be clear to every person I asked that there is no simple answer to the question. It is received with the weight of responsibility that is difficult to ignore. The question itself imposes a directive of sorts, and it is for us to determine what we are called to do with the freedom we have today. This week, I am sharing more of the responses I received to the question.

Freedom, privilege, and responsibility

One respondent pointed to the privilege that is inherent in certain versions freedom, and the fact that there is a division between people with varying degrees of freedom and privilege that leads people to act only in their own best interest, ignoring the plights of others.

They said: “A privilege that may come with freedom is the ability to turn your head away from other people, but true freedom comes with knowing that what you do in community matters. Colonisers used their freedom to oppress others to get more, but true freedom comes with responsibility to others, lifting each other up.”

Freedom to experience pleasure

Reflecting on this reality and their own freedom, they added, “I am using freedom to live my life with as much authenticity as possible—to love, to experience joy and pleasure, and to exist, even in the same space as bigotry and deliberate misinterpretation and abuse of the Word of God and abuse of other people. I am living with the determination to discover and harness pleasure and not apologise for it. I demand the freedom to exist within this duality and not expecting it to come with shame or an ax to drop at any moment. The freedom to see a slow-falling ax and still live as though it will never drop.”

Dawn Demeritte shared that she sees freedom as “a blessing to be able to do things that [her] ancestors had to fight to do”. She said: “I absolutely do not give in to capitalism if I can help it.”

Freedom, to Ms. Demeritte, is a way of life. She said: “When I wake up every morning, instead of rushing to get into the grind, I have a slow morning. I move at a ridiculously slow pace. I read a chapter of a book, I drink my herbal blend or matcha, I do my spiritual work, sometimes I sit on the balcony and just enjoy nature and then I slowly start my day. I rest when my body tells me to. I make time for joy, constantly filling the cup of my inner child. I let my senses guide my day.”

This is, of course, far from the reality of many. The freedom most of us have now is not absolutely or limitless, and it takes strategy, commitment, and specific action to build a life within which freedom can take this shape. There are still the everyday demands that come with living here, under the existing circumstances and with the specific needs and desires we have.

“I don’t restrict myself to certain experiences because that’s how it’s always been done. What’s good for a white person is good enough for me too. Don’t get me wrong I have responsibilities but I don’t let capitalism tell me how to live my life. I rest like it’s my birthright because it is. I work but when I’ve been sitting down for too long I close up and I go and live my life because I only have one shot to do it,” Ms Demeritte said.

Education as a path to freedom

Living as though we are free is a skill we need to build. It is one we have to practice. Freedom and lives of freedom look and feel differently from one person to another. We do not have all the same dreams. We do not all have the same responsibilities. There are places where our dreams and responsibilities intersect, giving us opportunities to work together, and there are places where we need to create what we want. This becomes more difficult as we get older and learn the ways of the world in rigid ways, believing they cannot change. It is important that children are equipped with the tools to imagine, to create, and to use their skills and ideas for themselves and one another.

Shara Goldsmith said: “With my freedom, I create diverse and equitable spaces where all children are respected, valued, and protected. With my freedom I advocate for the transformation of education and mental health institutions into holistic spaces of compassion and dignity. I am free, and so, I carve a path of acceptance, safety, and belonging, upon which others may trod together in community. With my freedom, I cultivate a life of purpose, peace, and play.”

Freedom to create change

As we gain greater access to education beyond the classroom, we receive information that is not a part of the national programming of citizens. It becomes more clear to us that the school curriculum is insufficient preparation for life anywhere, especially if we intend to do anything more than be cogs in the wheels of capitalism and colonialism. While everyone does not have the time and energy to challenge systems of inequality, there are people who are making intentional decisions in their study, work, and social networking to understand the world we are in what it takes to change it.

Ashawnté Russell said: “With my freedom, I’m fighting for justice, and not only the kind that lives in history books but the kind we must still claim today. I use it to push for climate justice in a world where those least responsible for the crisis bear the heaviest burdens. My freedom allows me to raise my voice for not just The Bahamas but the Caribbean, for the young end young at heart, for islands on the frontlines, for the communities whose struggles are too often ignored.”

“I walk in the footsteps of ancestors who couldn’t speak freely or with conviction,” she continued. “Now I sit at tables, organise across borders, and demand action from governments and global leaders. My freedom fuels this work, not just as a right I’ve inherited but as a responsibility I carry. True emancipation means not just surviving systems of oppression, but transforming them.”

Amber Turner said, “I am using my freedom to challenge systems that continue to deny freedom to others. Freedom, to me, is not just the absence of chains, but the presence of access to clean air, safe water, stable land, and a future you can plan for. I have committed my freedom to climate work, because the same colonial-era exploitation used to justify slavery is alive today in the exploitation of people and ecosystems.”

“I conduct research, communicate, and advocate for policies that address the needs of communities most affected by the climate crisis and who have contributed the least to it. I use my freedom to amplify the voices of those still fighting for theirs including marginalised youth, whose lives are impacted by environmental precarity. What am I doing with my freedom? I’m trying to make sure it’s not just mine,” Ms. Turner said.

Aneesah Abdullah said, “With my freedom, I will continue working to ensure that the rights, dignity, and voices of those on the margins—particularly religious minorities and underrepresented communities in The Bahamas (and on an international level). To the degree possible, I hope to continue to use my freedom to create/support the creation of space for all to be able to fully realize their human rights.”

Freedom to forge new paths

The freedom of our ancestors who were enslaved is different from the freedom we have now, and this means that we can and must use ours in new ways. Every generation has had to face daily challenges, look to the work of people before them for guidance, and envision a better, more equitable world. Every step forward requires acknowledgement of the past, respect for the people who struggled before and for us, and understanding the tactics used.

Tanicia Pratt said: “I’ve been using my freedom to connect with my ancestors, and do what they couldn’t. I don’t deny myself rest, joy, and self-expression. I dream about the world I want to live in and find ways of making that a small possibility now.”

Marjahn Finlayson said: “I’d go far as I can. See all I can see. My freedom looks different from my ancestors, but I’m building on the foundation that they laid out. Freedom from oppression in the form of slavery and physical labour to oppression in the form of white supremacist patriarchal capitalism. If I was free from the system, I would rest on the beach. I would teach.”

In the context that we live in, I imagine how it feels to fly while climbing a mountain,” Ms Finalyson continued. “Trying to live without fear and accepting consequences as they come when I do the right thing in my heart. The circumstances have changed but hundreds of years later, when I think about my enslaved ancestors, I think about prominent movements and leaders. Freedom comes from freeing others and ourselves.”

Published in The Tribune on August 13, 2025.

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‘What ya gonna do with your freedom?’

What you gonna do with your freedom? This is the question posed by Freedom Morning Come, a play by Entou Pearl Springer, performed in front of the Treasury Building in Port of Spain on the morning of August 1—Emancipation Day in Trinidad.

In the early hours of Emancipation morning, scores of people gathered to see the play. Freedom Morning Come is a play that depicts the day that enslaved people received the news that they were to be freed. The characters bore the names of enslaved people and told stories of capture, unsafe voyage, suicide, enslavement, violence, grief, and longing for both home and family. They began to look forward, imagining what life as free people would look and feel like. “What you gonna do with your freedom?” they asked one another, and the responses varied. At the end of the play, the question was posed to us, the audience, supposedly free.

This week, I shared this question with several people, inviting them to share their answers with me and with you. I found that people think of freedom in many different ways. Some focus on the freedom of today and making the most of it, some see that the freedom we currently have is still limited, some are acutely aware of the absence of freedom for others, and some think deeply about the duty they have to use their freedom for the benefit of other people.

Freedom realised

It is easy to take our freedom, however we view it, for granted. In asking people what they are going to do with their freedom, I have been exposed to the ways that some people are living in their freedom now and reveling in the ability to make decisions for themselves.

Here is what Myra M McPhee shared:

“What I have done with my freedom is such a profound question because of the nuanced nature of the definition of the word.

“Today, I am the freest I’ve ever been. I have a home, I am healthy, and I am loved by family and friends. I have the kind of freedom that allows me to travel whenever and wherever, I can schedule my annual doctor appointments a year in advance and schedule same-day virtual appointments, and I play Bahamian Citizenship Test games on Twitter with other Bahamians during business hours. I advocate for myself at work. I scream on behalf of others against systemic discriminatory laws. I create art. I am free free.

“My grandmother didn’t have the opportunity to go past the 6th grade and raised 12 children on John Street. My mother, a very smart woman with numbers and long-term planning, wasn’t able to go to college after her 12th grade year at Aquinas. Then there is me. I’ve earned 1 bachelor’s degree, 2 master’s degrees, and other academic accolades. My dreams and goals have not been limited. They have been fueled by my freedom and the sacrifices of the women in my family. I am free because my elders did way too much with way too little.

“I have the freedom of choice, comfort, and convenience. So with my freedom I choose to visit Nassau multiple times a year, I choose to be an artist and an administrator, I choose not to be stressed or hopeless. I am the kind of free that is committed to not missing birthdays, Mother’s days, or other special occasions. I am free to be present at the important moments.

“My grandmother and mother did the impossible with their limited freedom. With my boundless freedom, I choose to live a life the way I want. My existence is political, and yet I still thrive, because I cling to my freedom. It is a precious gift that I cherish every day.”

Freedom awareness

Do you have awareness, every single day, of your freedom? Some people are working to remember, to know, to act on their freedom on a daily basis, while trying to remind others of their own freedom.

“I have been using my freedom by trying to remember everyday that I actually have it. Some days, I feel like I am responsible to alert others to their own freedom and ensuring them access, but then most days that feels ridiculously self-important. I think I just have to make sure that I keep using mine. That I wring it out so that anyone watching can use it as an example if they desire,” said Niambi Hall Campbell Dean, PhD.

Can freedom and inequality coexist?

For some, it is difficult to contend with the idea of freedom while experiencing and witnessing various forms of inequality.

EW said: “I’ve been wrestling with the question of freedom a lot recently, especially regarding gender inequality. As a young Bahamian, it has often felt difficult— almost contradictory— to respect and appreciate the sacrifices our ancestors made for us to get to where we are today, while acknowledging and understanding that we still have a ways to go. Emancipation Day, among other holidays such as Independence Day, is a reminder that we did not always enjoy the liberties, rights, and freedoms that we at times take for granted today. It’s also a reminder of the power of people to join together, despite our differences, and achieve a common goal— one that realises better outcomes and conditions for those facing discrimination and oppression.”

“These observances should inspire us to fight complacency and discouragement and encourage us to channel our predecessors’ determination to make the changes we would like to see for ourselves and those who will come after us,” she continued. “On this Emancipation Day, I will take the time to reflect on the importance of collective action and justice and express my gratitude for those who made sacrifices for our freedom.”

Are we free while others are not?

By now, we are all aware of the settler colonialism, extractivism, and genocide that are constraining and erasing the freedom of people, and people themselves, all over the world. Anyone who is awake to these ongoing horrors and the failure of the international community to take action to stop them must think of those horrors when conversations about freedom arise.

“Free Congo. Free Haiti. Free Sudan. Free Palestine,” Orchid Burnside said.

Freedom as a tool to help others

Even for those who acknowledge that there is still a long way to go in experiencing and inhabiting freedom, there are ways to leverage the freedom we do have to support other people and to build a better world.

Kendria Percentie-Ferguson said: “With my freedom, I’ve chosen to serve. I use my voice and skills to advocate for justice, climate resilience, and equity, especially for communities that are often overlooked. To me, freedom means purpose. It’s choosing work that centers the vulnerable, challenges systems, and uplifts others. I’m still growing, still healing, but I try to use my freedom with intention every day.”

Dr Ancilleno Davis of @SciPerspective said: “I give others freedom. Through Science and Perspective, I teach youth and Bahamian communities how to use science to build their own body of knowledge so that they can in turn make the decisions their communities need. When information, science, education and choices are gatekept, it constricts the freedom of people. When we allow those affected by the choice the opportunity to learn what choices are being made, see and become involved in the processes used to make those decisions, and review the decisions before they are cemented, we strengthen the freedoms and the society we participate in.”

Is there freedom where there is no choice?

There is a freedom from and there is freedom to. One does not necessarily guarantee the other. A function of freedom is the ability to make a choice on one’s own, and true choice comes from the availability of options. There are ways that freedom may not be fully enjoyed due to the constraints of day-to-day responsibilities shouldered by individuals and groups that do not have the support of systems and resources that would enable them to exercise more free will.

When asked what they would do with their freedom, a person who will remain anonymous said, “Nothing, not a single thing. To me freedom is the power to choose from a place of want/desire and not need. As I sit here in an airport dreading my return to navigating adult diapers and incessant emails, only answer I got is nothing. I am going to do nothing with my freedom.”

What you gonna do with your freedom?

What about you? What you gonna do with your freedom? What have you done with it until now? If you would like to contribute to the responses that will be shared next week, send yours to shesubscribestostuff@gmail.com.

 

Published in The Tribune on August 6, 2025.

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National Family Week

“National Family Week” started on July 19 and ends on July 26. It reportedly has the theme of “Uplifting and Strengthening Family Ties.” On Sunday, July 20, the Department of Gender and Family Affairs partnered with the anti-rights group that hides behind religion to host what they called the “First National Marriage Recommitment Service” with the theme “Honoring the
Covenant, Strengthening the Family.” The event, promoted by Civil Society Bahamas, framedas a national event, was held at a church, continuing the discriminatory practice of the Department of Gender and Family Affairs. Rather than using these national days/weeks and any accompanying budget to promote churches and spread Christian fundamentalist practices, the
government could actually be attentive to the state of families today and assess the needs of families throughout the country.

If the government is serious about prioritizing families, it needs to get to work. Families in The Bahamas are in desperate need of support. Here are seven practical actions for the Government of The Bahamas to take in service to families and, by extension, the people of The Bahamas:

Expand family planning resources and services. People are not obligated to have children. Still, there is significant pressure, particularly on young married couples, to have children. For many, it is an expectation, regardless of the goals people have and the ways having children would affect them. Even when people have a child, they can experience the added pressure to have another child so that the one child could have a playmate and learn not to be “selfish.” People find ways to convince family members and friends who enjoy being childfree to have children, including presenting children as an appropriate form of an insurance—someone to “take care of you”, which is certainly not guaranteed. People need to be educated on the realities of
parenthood before they make the decision to become parents. They need to be exposed to the financial and non-financial costs. They also need to know the details of allowances. For example, many people do not know that they are not entitled to paid maternity leave more than once in a three-year period until they are pregnant with their second child. Family planning services should include financial information, legal information, and guidance on personal ambitions and decisions that include education, career, and lifestyle choices. There must also be readily available contraceptive methods.

Promote and increase access to parenting classes. Parenting is, in most cases, not “second nature.” It is a learned skill. While people do “learn on the job,” keeping a human being alive and healthy is not an appropriate form of training. From the basics like changing diapers and making formula and testing the temperature to making the home safe for toddlers and age-appropriate
non-violent forms of discipline, people who are considering having children and people who already have them need information and the opportunity to share their thoughts, fears, and practices and get feedback. Beyond what happens in the home, parents and people considering parenting need to learn ways to navigate difference in opinion and parenting style with family members and friends who may have significant contact with their children. Uncomfortable conversations can be easier to have with preparation.

Implement a livable wage. Families need enough money to meet their basic needs. Minimum wage is not sufficient for rent, utilities, grocery, insurance, transportation, and incidentals, much less school uniforms, books, field trips, and medication. One of the most stressful parts of family life is the mental gymnastics of using too little money to cover all of the necessities. This is not a
struggle that has to exist. Poverty does not have to exist. There is an unequal distribution of wealth. Businesses are taking advantage of workers, paying them far less than their value, and this is sanctioned by the government through its refusal to implement a livable wage. No one should work full time and not have enough money to cover their basic expenses. No family
should suffer while people hoard wealth.

Increase access to and efficiency of social assistance. Unemployment and underemployment remain issues in The Bahamas. There are people, employed and unemployed, who are not paid enough money to cover shelter and food. They should not be left to figure it out on their own, leading to people sleeping in cars, being undernourished, and relying on specials at fast food
restaurants. Social assistance needs to be easier to understand and access, and it needs to be adjusted to align with the current cost of living.

Expand public childcare services. Many families have to decide whether someone will miss a day of work to care for a child, or the child has to be left with a family member, friend, or neighbour whose suitability for childcare may not be ideal. During school breaks, there are very few options for childcare. Most camps and other activities for children are priced as luxury services. There is a need for both free, affordable, and sliding scale childcare. A government that cares about the health, safety, and wellbeing of children ensures that care is available to them, regardless of the time of year and their age.

Implement the four-day work week. Between the time spent in traffic getting to and from work and the long hours spent at work, people are tired when they get home to their families. The best part of the day, along with the highest level energy, goes to work. At home, it is time to eat, do all that is necessary to facilitate work the next day, and rest. Parents are left with little or no time to spend with their children. Couples have little or no time to spend with one another. Everything revolves around work, and work consumes the day. The five-day work week was not popular when it was presented, so we need not look for popularity in the proposal for a four-day work week. It has been successfully tests in other parts of the world, resulting in a range of
benefits. There is no reason not to explore the option of working less hours and spending more time with loved ones.

Amend the Employment Act to include paid parental leave for both parents. Maternity leave of three months is insufficient and does not align with other. The International Labor Organization, in Recommendation 191, encourages 18 weeks of maternity leave, and even this is a low bar considering the average healing time for birthing parents, the developmental stages of babies,
and the point at which daycares accept babies which is not before six months. There is no allowance for paternity leave in the law. This means men have do not have dedicated time to not only bond with their babies, but to support the mothers who are healing from a significant medical/surgical event. Parents need to be supported with paid time off following the birth of a child.

Rather than hosting events for photo opportunities and solidifying relationships with religious misleaders it expects to do its bidding during election season, the Government of The Bahamas needs to demonstrate its commitment to families. “Family Week” is of little use to families unless the government actually takes action to support them. The needs are many. Let there be action to meet them.

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Statistics are only a shock because teenagers are being ignored

It seems to have shocked government officials and education administrators that 20 percent of teenagers have attempted suicide and 25 percent have considered suicide.

Teenagers who are struggling through the days of a high school that is not responding to their learning needs and hearing the national ridicule of them and their supposed inability to perform at the academic standards required. Teenagers who are responsible for their younger siblings and, in the absence of appropriate public services and support mechanisms, must take them to school, pick them up from school, prepare meals for them, and help them with their homework.

Teenagers who are preyed upon by adults, sexually assaulted, and blamed for the violence they experience. Teenagers who are forced to participate in crime lest they become victims of violent crime, then are characterised solely on their criminal affiliations and activities with no consideration of the the failure to prevent or intervene.

Teenagers who are bullied at school and either get no support from adults or never bother to report it because their first bullies were adults. Teenagers who are forced to work in order to meet the basic needs of their households, and are harassed, disrespected, and dehumanised at work, whether by employers, employees, or customers.

Teenagers who cannot participate in extracurricular activities because of cost barriers and/or the adult responsibilities they must shoulder. Teenagers who are harassed by people in positions of authority, including police, just because they are young and visible.

Teenagers who are experiencing changes in their bodies and their moods that they do not understand and for which they are punished. Teenagers who witness violence in their homes every day and live with the fear that they will one day return home and find a dead parent/guardian/sibling.

Teenagers who cannot identify a single adult they trust to listen to them and help them through a difficult situation. Teenagers who do not have access to mental health care and are, instead, told to pray, made to go to church, and/or sent to untrained or undertrained “counsellors” who cannot give them the support and tools they need to navigate the challenges they face.

Teenagers who struggle with addiction. Teenagers who are abused and told it is discipline. Teenagers who are beaten by adults who use them as punching bags on which they unleash their frustrations. Teenagers who carry the stress of “holding” illegal substances and weapons for people who have power over them. Teenagers whose homes are less safe than the street. Teenagers who can barely sleep at night. Teenagers who are keeping secrets no one should have to endure, much less refrain from ever speaking, preventing them from getting help. Teenagers who put their lives on the line in various ways that are ignored anyway.

The realities of young people are often ignored, sometimes discussed with complete detachment from the people involved, and almost never acknowledged — a requirement for appropriate intervention to take place.

Generalisations about young people are publicly made with little challenge. They are seen as unintelligent, troublesome, ungrateful, and even deserving of any misfortune that befalls them. They are well aware of the assumptions made about them, the accusations made against them, and the general sentiment toward them. Some of them even know that they are not all having the same experience, and that their race and class make a difference.

It is difficult for adults to understand themselves as having value and being worthy of love, care, and life itself. How much more difficult must it be for young people for whom even the shortest encounter is magnified and can feel devastatingly insurmountable?

Schools may now be focused only on academic development, but that is a missed opportunity and an injustice to the people — the children — it is meant to serve. School should not be a place for children to be spoon-fed information in order to regurgitate it while being molded into robots that do as they are told in order to be easily controlled when they enter the workforce. It should be a place for them to engage in learning, through the delivery of the curriculum and interactions with the people around them.

Children, including teenagers, need to connect with one another. They need to connect with their teachers. They need to learn to navigate relationships, to build trust, to identify unsafe situations, to work through disagreements, and to recognise the difference between what is normalized (and unsafe) and what is actually a normal situation or behavior.

Schools are a critical site for intervention. This is where irregularities should be most apparent. Teachers and administrators should notice the state of children’s clothing and hygiene. They should notice changes in patterns of attendance, behaviour in class, homework delivery, and testing. They should understand that the interest and effort of the child is not the only factor involved. Which children are sleepy? Which children are hungry or undernourished? Which children are showing signs of stress, anxiety, or depression? Signs that a child needs help can only really be investigated when there is a real relationship and trust exists so that the child can honestly answer questions.

Emotional intelligence needs to be a part of the curriculum, and it needs to be an area of focus in professional development for educators. All teachers and administrators need to be able to empathise with children. They need to be aware of their own beliefs and biases, and they need to know how to regulate their own emotions. They need to truly care about the children who are in their care, and help them to develop the skills to recognise their emotions and talk about them. They need to be trained in suicide intervention.

Children need to feel safe enough to share what is happening, especially when there is a chance that they will feel embarrassment or they fear that they will be punished for telling the truth (which may be framed to them as “private” or “family business”). Building this level of trust takes time and intention.

Children need to know that there is help available for them. If there is a free breakfast program, they should know where and when to go, and it should be easy to access. If there a mental health professional on staff, they need to know how to find them. They also need to be aware of the Department of Social Services and what can be accessed there. The assumption cannot be made that parents/guardians know or that they will initiate necessary processes.

Sometimes children are considering suicide because their lives seem untenable. Living does not seem worth it. It could be that they do not have the support they need. It could be that they think they are making life difficult for their parents/guardians. It could be that they are struggling to manage strong emotions. It could be that they need ongoing mental health support, without judgment. Life is not easy for all children. There are challenges they face, and many of them try to face them alone.

We need to ensure that the children in our lives know that they can safely talk to us and that we will help them through anything they are experiencing. Parents/guardians are not always able to provide all of the support that children need, and they may not notice that something is wrong. There are many reasons this could be the case, and there may be the desire to cast blame, but first, focus on the children. It is not their fault. As long as there are other adults in their lives, they should have attention, they should receive care, and they should be given the access to the resources and services that are life-affirming.

The statistics have been shared. The shock should have worn off by now. The concern should still be there. Action is needed. Mental health needs to be a priority. The curriculum needs to respond to the needs of the children, and educators need to acquire the skills to do the same.

 

Published in The Tribune on July 17, 2025.

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