The Tribune

By DR KENNETH D KEMP

FOR over a century, The Commonwealth of The Bahamas has been revered across the globe as a tropical paradise. A land of romance and glamour where the sun shines year-round on powder soft beaches, only the most fortunate call this paradise home. The archipelagic nation of 700 islands and 2,500 cays, spread across the Atlantic Ocean, boasts turquoise clear waters so stunning that astronaut Scott Kelly lauded its incredible beauty from space. In that regard, it’s hardly surprising that more than seven million tourists visited The Bahamas in 2019 alone and, much like their human counterparts, why over 33 species of birds migrate here annually.

Among these avian migrants are the notably hyperactive Warblers, a breed of perching and insect-consuming songbirds characterised by their small stature and high-pitched vocals. For the winter season, many of them migrate to the tropics by the end of October and locally are most densely located throughout the Northern Bahamas. For ornithologists and rudimentary bird-watchers alike, it is an exciting sight to behold and a welcomed testament to the start of the holiday season.

Characteristically, most species of Warblers prefer to perch under brush or high aloft in treetops for the shelter, safety and access to food that those settings provide. Very few species choose to graze far below the comfort of tall, shaded trees along the open grassland of a prairie. So, to see one in that environment is a rare sight indeed because to go against the grain and years of long held traditions is a threat to their very survival.

I volunteered for many years at a homeless shelter in Philadelphia and once had a conversation with a gentleman about how being homeless there, particularly during the winter, was like being a Warbler in a prairie. I’d completed an ornithology course a few years earlier so standing in that environment, the analogy came naturally. Much like Warblers, the homeless migrate where and when they need to. Being in an area where they feel uncomfortable is not something that they’re willing to compromise on and no amount of discussion will change it. And so, they thrive as a community on their own terms, outside the purview and demands of someone else’s rules, their existence largely unacknowledged except by those most empathetic to their plight.

It’s under these harsh circumstances that they truly network and coexist, ultimately seeking refuge in locations that they wouldn’t ordinarily desire but for the momentary relief that they provide. There are a multitude of reasons how and why people become homeless - financial hardships, physical and mental illness, domestic abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, gambling, fire and natural disasters (hurricanes) - but an in-depth discussion on any of them falls outside the scope of this report. In any case, those who are without a hard roof over their heads and the walls protecting them from the external elements, which we routinely take for granted, live their lives entirely in the open often unseen, lining the concrete of the city and facing dangers akin to those faced by small, defenseless songbirds in an open field.

The plight of the homeless in our nation is certainly not unique and The Bahamas has admirably and consistently sought to combat this problem via social outreach programmes, public and private non-profit feeding networks, shelters and the like. The patient highlighted in today’s report, using the alias Mario, doesn’t know anything about Warblers or prairies but admits that not having a home makes him feel like he’s flying around all day with nowhere safe to land. The concept resonates with him deeply because he can relate to singing but not being heard and fighting for food on the ground while other men and women dine in higher, loftier surroundings.

A Warbler in a prairie on face value appears wildly indecorous and almost as unique, to those unaware, as seeing a homeless person in paradise. But, the downturn of the economy and the rise in unemployment following hurricane Dorian and the Covid-19 pandemic has shed new light on this long-standing crisis. Mario is a childhood friend of an acquaintance who solicited my medical assistance on his behalf when he developed an infected ingrown toenail wearing shoes that were too tight in the most unsanitary conditions.

He claims, in an explanation riddled with expletives, that he was turned away from a public clinic when he sought medical treatment earlier that week. The area was tender with even the lightest palpation, notably red, swollen and exuding purulent discharge. He reported a long-standing low-grade fever and the erythema was streaking up toward his midfoot, evidence that the infection was spreading. Without immediate intervention, Mario could have lost his toe, gone into septic shock or worse.

Mario’s toe was cleansed with alcohol, sprayed with a cold spray and local anesthesia was injected to numb the area. The infected ingrown toenail was then excised and the toe was flushed copiously with a sterile saline solution and dried before the nail matrix was cauterized with acid to prevent the incurvated nail from recurring. An antibiotic cream and dry, sterile dressing were then applied. I prescribed oral antibiotics and fortunately he was able to have it dispensed without charge at the public hospital. Mario returned one week later for a dressing change at which point he stated that his pain had resolved entirely and his toe was almost healed. He never returned for his final dressing change the following week.

Even so, I suspect that news of his recovery became known shortly thereafter given that there exists an underground community among the homeless where word is carried on the wings of some unplugged, magical means of communication. When there is a death, a person in need or a change in the community, news spreads quickly as if someone had posted it on Facebook. Obituaries don’t need to be printed to be known. Like the song of the Warbler, what happens to the homeless fills the air around them.

The Minister of Social Services has made combating the homeless crisis a top priority but effort doesn’t guarantee outcome. His success will be entirely adjudicated by how many individuals get the assistance they so desperately require. Social issues don’t just fall on the shoulder of the government, however, and every citizen, as an attestation to our humanity, must collectively take part in this endeavour. All of our combined efforts will make a difference, but they will also be compounded by the reality that many who live under the bridge at Potter’s Cay or find comfort under the overhang of a storefront often don’t always want to be taken to a shelter and placed in a group situation with others. Homelessness is not a one size fits all situation and each individual who carries his or her home in a sack has a story to tell.

The incredible migratory journey of Warblers is an exciting time for both casual and advanced birders. As a prime birding destination, The Bahamas has keenly enacted legislation and created and expanded national parks to protect their population. In this same manner, we must do everything possible to improve the lives of our most vulnerable citizens. The greatness of a nation, according to famed spiritual leader, Mahatma Gandhi, can be judged by how it treats its weakest member.

The goal to eradicate homelessness in The Bahamas is a needle that is not so easily threaded but it is nonetheless a trial most worthy of pursuit. Mario never explained to me how or why he ended up homeless and I never asked. I just shook his hand and wished him well and pray that wherever he is, he’s safe, healthy, in the company of loved ones, fittingly clothed and sheltered.

This is the KDK Report.