The Tribune

IN 1973, when Timothy Gibson penned the national anthem of the newly-independent Bahamas, ‘March on, Bahamaland’, the words had a hopeful ring.

Here was a sovereign nation, newly born, filled with hope about carving out its own future.

Here was a nation where the majority ruled, where people who only a decade earlier were relegated to separate movie theatres and second-class citizenship would now govern themselves.

‘March on, Bahamaland’ held deep and positive meaning and above all, optimism.

Every phrase - ‘Lift up your head to the rising sun, March on to glory, your bright banners waving high’ - symbolised a belief that the future was ours and we could guide it to the highest of heights.

Forty-three years later, on Friday, the words ‘March on, Bahamaland’ will take on a new meaning. That is the day on which a national march is scheduled. Called the ‘Black Friday March’, it is named after the day on the calendar in the United States that marks the day after Thanksgiving when cash registers jingle and businesses that might have been operating in the red enter the period of profit.

The Black Friday March is set to start at noon at Arawak Cay and go on for 12 hours. It is an ambitious undertaking. It is also one which we fully support, not because it is anti-government but because it signals a wave of passion about critical decisions and how those decisions are made. We support it because it is the people’s way of speaking up and speaking out.

We also support the Black Friday March because of the decision by government that inspired the march - the authorisation for the Bahamas Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, Paul ‘Andy’ Gomez, to negotiate with the Chinese for 10,000 acres of Crown Land in Andros with rights to farm and fish. There is no circumstance under which we can imagine why the government of The Bahamas should consider giving away land and rights to agri-business and fishing to a foreign sovereign entity.

Would China deed its land to the government of The Bahamas? Highly unlikely.

Would the US say, ‘Bahamas government, you can come into our waters, catch our fish, process and sell our marine resources?’

Countries do not give away land and in a country like The Bahamas, where there are reportedly nearly 30,000 applications by Bahamians for Crown Land awaiting decisions, granting land to a foreign entity with a voracious appetite is abhorrent and it angers the people of The Bahamas rightfully.

When news of that letter of authorisation leaked out, it unleashed a torrent of emotion. First came disbelief. That disbelief quickly turned into anger. And the idea of a protest was born. But since that day, when the idea of a march was introduced, the opportunity to demonstrate has gained steam in a way we have not seen in years, maybe since the days of resistance to longline fishing when demonstrators took to Rawson Square and stayed there for nearly three days.

Prospective marchers are talking online about all the issues that upset them. Many stifled the hurt they felt, afraid to speak out. Hurts that were silent before, that were buried down deep now, at last, are finding their voice. Bahamians are angry about secret back door deals without consultation. They are furious because they believe their government is selling the Bahamas.

They want to know where more than $860m in VAT money that has driven up their cost of living has gone. They are astonished that more than four and a half years after this government came to power promising freedom of information, no bill has been tabled. They are insulted that the Minister who was to introduce the bill told them he couldn’t because of a hurricane that passed. Some are joining the march to protest the cruelty of continuing to allow surrey horses to operate in the heat of the day inhaling pollution from jitney buses and heavy traffic. Others are marching because they are tired of landfill fires and high electricity bills with inconsistent service. Almost everyone is marching against crime. The populace is angry and an angry populace bears watching.

The people are tired. But they are not too tired to march. And on Friday, they will lift up their heads one more time and like they did 43 years ago, their faces and voices will be filled with hope and optimism.

But this time it will be different. They want true majority rule where decisions are made that benefit the majority, not the few. They want decisions that protect and empower them. They want decisions that preserve their environment for Bahamians in generations to come.

They will March on, Bahamaland, and they will succeed whether it is in Friday’s march or the answer they give at the polls when the election rolls around.

This time, their voices will be heard.