The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

CULTURAL advocate Pamela Burnside says what she’s seen on display from some of the participating Bahamian acts in Dubai threatens to “mash down” all of the cultural strides made over decades by her and her late husband Jackson Burnside III.

Mrs Burnside told The Tribune that she was “perturbed” by a lot of the performances put on during Expo 2020, saying she was of the view that the nation was most likely left embarrassed in the eyes of the world. Bahamians at home were able to view some of the shows virtually in addition to video uploaded by some who made the trip.

She said a lot of what took place was the result of failure on the part of the government to consult Bahamians with cultural expertise.

While expressing certainty that the Royal Bahamas Police Force Band and the Bahamas All Stars Band put on world-class acts, Mrs Burnside expressed grave displeasure with a dance act that in her view disrespected the laws and morals of the Middle Eastern country among other participants.

“I was just very perturbed from the point of view that number one, a praise and worship choir went instead of the National Youth Choir,” she said. “When we are on the world stage our national institutions are supposed to represent us and at the quality and at the excellent standard. So, I was really upset to know that they weren’t taken and I find it a bit of a conflict for Clint and his choir to go.”

She was referring to the presence of Press Secretary Clint Watson, who travelled to Dubai and performed with gospel choir Shaback.

She also took issue with the performance of Bahamian comedian Terez Davis-Nixon, who performs as the persona Miss Daisy.

“From the point of view of Miss Daisy, that was just mind boggling for me because number one they are not respecting the culture and the laws of the host country. Alcoholism and intoxication is definitely something that is frowned upon and we know what the situation is with females in the Emirates.

“To portray a drunken totally made-up woman that can’t even walk properly and speaking in the Bahamian dialect that only we can understand, but nobody else is going to understand, that is totally inappropriate and it’s brought nothing to the whole contingent.

“I don’t know who chose the people to go, but they really should have had a group of people around the table to help them to make those decisions and from the point of view of the disrespect of the country this morning I was just at a loss for words this morning when I saw they opened with young ladies holding up their long skirt and showing their legs on the stage. Their arms were even bare and they were kicking up their legs in front of the delegation from the Emirates, that is totally unnecessary and disrespectful to the host country.”

She also said: “Fred Mitchell was there as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and he has been over in that area for many, many years up and down and to have allowed something like that to be a cultural show?

“It’s embarrassing for us as a country. If we have diplomatic relations with countries it’s our responsibility to know the culture and the laws and to prepare whoever we send to represent us in the proper way so that we don’t offend those people.

“I love my Bahamas and my Bahamian culture. It has been the product of my life’s work and that of my late husband and to see it mashed down? For us to be represented in a space like that without the finest of the finest?

“A lot of the things that we sent over there were not respectable and we cannot put that on the stage.”

There has been much backlash over The Bahamas’ representation in Dubai, mostly from the standpoint of who attended and the money spent.

The Bahamas government budgeted up to $1m for participation and presence at the expo, while the private sector put up $500,000 and the government of the United Arab Emirates spent $3.5m, a Davis administration official has said.

Police Commissioner Paul Rolle is also at the event. In a tweet yesterday, he sought to set the record straight about his travel there. “I wish to set the record straight,” Commissioner Rolle tweeted. “The Bahamas government did not pay for my trip to Dubai and did not give me any per diem. Quite frankly I am free to travel anywhere in the world that I wish and don’t need permission from anyone.”

Commissioner Rolle has also tweeted photos from his trip, including of a tour he and Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis had of the police facilities in the UAE.