They may have to rescue one day

Introduction

“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” (Psalms 118:22). Jesus was rejected by many, but he became the chief cornerstone of the church and is the means of salvation to all of us. I encourage you today not to become like the builders who rejected the stone. Of course, no one is like Jesus, and no one will ever be like Jesus, but I want to use this scripture to illustrate what is happening in our country. We must be very careful wo and what we throw stones at because those same individuals or countries may have to come to our rescue one day.

Be careful who and what you throw stones at

When I was growing up, my island was called the Big South and we attracted people from the other islands there. However, if the truth be told, many of us from South Caicos thought that we were better than the people from Providenciales, Middle Caicos and North Caicos and we treated them differently. Today, Providenciales is the economic boom of the Turks and Caicos Islands and so most of us migrated to Providenciales. Therefore, it is important for us to be careful what we say about people because those same people may have to rescue us from a difficult situation. I don’t think any of our parents or grandparents believe that we would be living and working in Providenciales.

Likewise, in the 1950s and 1960s many of our parents and grandparents migrated to the Bahamas for a better living. Some people told stories of the bad treatment they received. While this is true, I find that we also treated our own people mean as illustrated in the example of South Caicos.  The thing I observed is that whenever someone is living better than another person, most times the person that is living better always act like they better than other people and so they treat people differently. It may not be intentional but maybe something natural about how human beings behave. However, it does not mean it is right.

Look at how some of us treat the people that live among us. Yes, many of them do not assimilate or associate with us but you don’t have to act like them. Do the right thing and treat them and shower them with love.

After a question was poised at the town hall meeting about the great grandchildren of TCI descent, the Turks and Caicos Islands Government said that they will be revising the ordinance to include citizenship up to great grandchildren. The Government said nothing about the Bahamas. However, some of us have used this opportunity to attack the Bahamians. I got a whatsapp message saying that this amendment will attract more murderers to the country and the message list the murders that took place by Bahamians of TCI heritage. I think that message was so cruel and insensitive. Do you really think that the people of the Bahamas will want to come here with those type of stones being thrown at them? I know if I were a Bahamian of TCI heritiage, I wouldn’t come. How do you think the people of the Bahamas feel? People have feelings and these people are our family.

This amendment is not just for Bahamians, this is for any great grandchild of TCI descent. We really must be careful. The Turks and Caicos is bragging about being of the most sought-after destination, but we do not know if this will continue forever. In fact, nothing last forever. I remember growing up, Freeport was called the Magic City, and no one envisioned that Freeport would not remain the Magic City. In fact, many Bahamians of TCI descent never imagined that they would ever be living in the Turks and Caicos today. We do not know the future. The same thing that happened to Freeport can happen to us and we may have to go someone else to survive or even to the Bahamas.  Therefore, let us be careful how we treat people especially our own family. They may have to come to our rescue as they came to our rescue before.

Conclusion

I encourage you to do your own research. Stop looking at the headlines or listening to what others have to say without knowing the facts. Don’t get caught up in this spirit of animosity. Therefore, we are so behind because we are too divided while everybody else is progressing.

We must face the fact that we need more people in the country to sustain the development. The best thing to do is to correct some of the abnormalities in our immigration laws by allowing great grandchildren to become citizenship through descent. Furthermore, we have great grandchildren of TCI descent presently residing in the Turks and Caicos, but they are unable to get a TCI Status. What makes one think that this amendment will attract more Bahamians of TCI descent to come to TCI?  Maybe those who are here may stay but I am not sure how many more will come. Even if they come, so what as they are from the same ancestors as we are.

We really must be careful. You may just end up being in the hands of the same people you are rejecting or trying to deny citizenship through their great grandparents.