The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I usually lay out my thoughts in several ways for all of the interesting parties to find a way to understand what it is I am trying to say, but this time, I am going to be very brief and get right to the point.

I was born in Orange Creek, Cat Island. We are a very proud people who do not usually get carried away with things. We boast, however, of having some of the best minds in the country. There are too many examples of wise people who hailed from “the rock”.

Cat Island has been abandoned and will continue to be left out, because we accept being shafted. Nothing has happened and nothing will happen for us until and unless we move from our apathetic state. We sit idly by and do absolutely nothing about our concerns. We just talk among ourselves.

I watch while millions if not billions are pumped in Abaco, Exuma, now Andros and nothing for Cat Island. Mini hospitals have been earmarked for other islands and nothing for Cat Island. Are we fools? Why do we elect the same people and get nothing? A clinic should be the least we should get.

Now I am to this point, why brag about having the best minds in the country, when we are treated like the “least among us”. How smart are we when we are sick and have to lie on the floor for lack of the basic necessities. We are not smart at all.

I am actually embarrassed about how backward the island really is, compared to other family islands. It is high time Cat Island becomes a priority in the overall scheme of things. We have the Deputy Prime Minister of the Bahamas as the Member of Parliament. Are we going to settle for the same treatment like South Andros and Farm Road?

Come on Brave, you know we are good people; you know we deserve better than what we have been getting. Let your conscience be your guide. It is high time for Cat Island to be counted. Please, for God’s sake, don’t treat us like that.

I conclude, we do not get off on things but give us the necessary tools and we would do the rest. We are not lazy people and we love Cat Island and the Bahamas, evidence of the major contributions we have made. We now wait with baited breath for some serious attention, not a token announcement every now and again.

IVOINE W INGRAHAM

Nassau,

May 5, 2014.