The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I could have written this letter six years ago; however, I have been reluctant to do so in order not to tarnish the good reputation enjoyed by the Scout Association of the Bahamas in this country. On March 7, 2017 I wrote to the president of said Association complaining bitterly about extremely loud music emanating from the Scout Association building on Dolphin Drive during events. Nothing has changed from then until now so I am obliged to publicly embarrass the Scout Association with the hope that it will produce the desired result.

I live in an otherwise very quiet neighbourhood near to this building. Apparently, the Scout Association rents the building to event holders who almost always, it seems, erect very loud boom boxes and literally bombard the entire neighbourhood with excessively loud music for as long as they wish from evening until very late into the night to the complete annoyance and discomfort of the residents of this area. On Saturday, December 9, 2023, I was greeted to an unbearable dose of this treatment when I arrived home from work before 5pm. Eventually I managed to fall off to sleep, only to be awakened by the said noise pollution on the other side of midnight. Immediately I called the police to lodge a ‘disturbing the peace’ complaint, only to be informed that at least one of my neighbours had already made a similar call earlier. I reckoned that mobile officers arrived again shortly thereafter when I detected a slightly lower music volume level.

The lack of humanity and civility of persons who do not live in this area, but think it is okay to come here and do this nonsense is quite disturbing, and it is absolutely not necessary. If you are having an event, I do not need to know that. Likewise, if you want to enjoy your music, I do not need to hear it. What baffles me is that usually at these events the electronic system is turned up so loud that the sound is distorted, so the music cannot really be appreciated nor enjoyed by the attendees; neither can conversation be had. Nonetheless this seems to make perfect sense to a great many of our people.

It is the civil duty of the Scout Association to ensure that event holders control the volume of their music so as not to disturb the peace and quiet of nearby residents. If it fails to do going forward, I will be obliged to write again.

WELLY FORBES

Nassau,

December 12, 2023.