The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

THE Secretariat for the 40th Bahamas Independence Celebrations sent its “heartfelt condolences” to the family of 11-year-old Carlton Cartwright Jr, who sang the National Anthem during an independence flag-raising ceremony and died less than two weeks later.

Co-chair Charles Carter spoke on behalf of the Secretariat yesterday, saying all the members were “saddened” to hear of Carlton’s death.

Carlton stood proudly singing “March On, Bahamaland” in Long Island on June 10 and tragically, he died of an asthma attack 12 days later, on Saturday, June 22.

“As the flag has gone from island to island, settlement to settlement, it has engendered a wonderful sense of nationalism in our Family Islanders,” Mr Carter said.

“It’s something that you’ve got to see to believe to appreciate that many of our far-flung settlements, who don’t have a time or chance to see Bay Street or enjoy the lights of the capital, look to us for leadership, but they can also give us sincerity and inspiration - and that’s what this young man has done.

“They were so proud to be a part of that ceremony and yesterday (in Long Cay) I saw the pride again in that young lady who when she made a speech about our country. It was music to my ears because she wrote it herself and she got up there and said how she felt about the Bahamas.

“So let us remember Carlton Cartwright who felt the same way about our country; and as we celebrate our 40th anniversary, let us really appreciate those Bahamians who helped to define it, helped to define us, and help to make us feel good about ourselves.”

Carlton, who would have been 12 on November 23, graduated from Morrisville Primary School and was expected to start NGM Major High School later this summer.

He received awards for his singing and athletic contributions during his school’s graduation ceremony.

His parents, Carlton Sr and Nicolle Cartwright, both spoke to the Tribune on Tuesday.

“It hurt me terribly, I’m still on medication to help me keep calm because losing a child at a young age is definitely not easy,” Mrs Cartwright said.

“I know my baby was way beyond his time. Now that he’s gone, we understand he was not just an average 11-year-old and other people would always say the same thing.

“Like the way he broke out with his bravery by singing at events, he was a special boy.”

Mr Cartwright said: “He made me feel like the proudest father in the world during the flag raising. He had a natural born gift for singing. On Father’s Day, he created a programme where he sang for me and had his sisters dance for me and he told me he loved me.”

Both Carlton’s mother and father said they don’t blame anyone for their son’s death, but they question the provision of medical services on the Family Islands.

The family had rushed the boy to the Grants Town clinic but the key to open the clinic was missing, according to Mr Cartwright.

The family then had to drive to the Deadman’s Cay clinic where Carlton’s doctor and her team “worked for about an hour and a half and did her best for him,” Mr Cartwright said.

Ultimately, the parents said, Carlton’s death was a part of God’s bigger plan.

“If God gave him 11 years then 11 years is what he’ll get, God does everything for a purpose,” said Mrs Cartwright.

Mr Cartwright said: “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. I consider him to have been the best son a father could ask for and because of that I have peace that comes with understanding.”

They have two other children, both girls: Ciarah, eight, and Cianne, five.