#NASSAU, The Bahamas – November 18, 2020 — Minister of National Security the Hon. Marvin Dames said, on November 16, 2020, that it was over two years ago since the National Neighborhood Watch Council programme was birthed with “community minded individuals who wanted to make a lasting difference in their respective neighborhoods.”
“Their vision was to collaborate with their neighbors to solve community safety challenges in partnership with law enforcement,” Minister Dames said, during the during the Official Launch Ceremony of the National Neighbourhood Watch Council (NNWC) / South Central “We Are One” Campaign, held at the Edmund Moxey Community Center.
“But, most importantly, they wanted to enrich, uplift and inspire a renewed sense of national pride within the hearts and minds of all Bahamians, throughout the communities in which they lived.”
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Among those present were Prime Minister the Most Hon. Dr. Hubert A. Minnis; Permanent Secretary Marco Rolle; Leader of the Official Opposition representative and Member of Parliament Picewell Forbes; Deputy Commissioner of Police Ismella Davis-Delancy; President of the Bahamas Christian Council Bishop Delton Fernander; Superintendent and NNWC National Coordinator Wilton Johnson; NNWC Co-Chairs Alesha Hart and Keno Wong; Chairman of the Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beach Authority and Member of Parliament Shanendon Cartwright; Pastor Mario Moxey; President of the Ridgeland Park Community Association and Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the NNWC / South Central “We Are One” Campaign Shelly Lewis; and other Government and civil society stakeholders.
Minister Dames noted that, since that start more than two years earlier, the National Neighborhood Watch Council had morphed into one of the fastest growing and successful community programs that The Bahamas had ever seen.
Marvin Dames, Minister of National Security – The Bahamas
“With nearly 150 neighborhood watch groups which span over New Providence, Grand Bahama, and several of our Family Islands, the NNWC has modernized the traditional style of community engagement to one of community empowerment,” he said.
Minister Dames pointed out that, under the leadership of the National Coordinator and two distinguished community leaders who both serve as co-chairs, supported by the Ministry of National Security, the NNWC continued to make a positive impact on community safety and bridge the gap between local law enforcement and members of the public. The evidence of the NNWC’s success is both quantitative and qualitative, he added.
“The quantitative evidence is compelling as, during the past two years, members have targeted various property crimes that were impacting the quality of life and safety within some communities throughout The Bahamas — including burglary, housebreaking, and stolen vehicles,” Minister Dames said.
“As a result of the strategies employed by law enforcement and partnerships with the residents through the NNWC, these offences all shown a noticeable decrease.”
“From a qualitative aspect, the NNWC has been successful in promoting a better quality of life, a greater sense of security, responsibility, and personal control, and the strengthening of community pride and unity among citizens and residents, alike,” he added.
We Are One neighbourhood watch program launched in The Bahamas; speaking Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis
“NNWC members are building and sustaining a nationwide culture of prevention that is focused on safety awareness, and observation which draws on the compassion of our citizens and residents, enabling them to lend a hand to their neighbors whenever and wherever the need arises.”
Minister Dames said that stakeholders were especially grateful to Prime Minister Minnis for having proclaimed November 16, 2020 through December 18, 2020: “We Are One” — Unity and Healing in the Midst of Crisis.
“Our nation is built on the strength and resilience of our citizens,” he said.
“If there is one thing that Hurricane Dorian of September 2019 and the global pandemic of 2020 declared in March 2020, has taught us, is that we all need each other to survive.
“The ‘We Are One’ National Campaign is filled with a series of exciting community-building events that are geared toward building unity, healing, lending a helping hand, and changing lives throughout our nation.”
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Some of the upcoming events that are a part of the Campaign include a National Clean-Up Day in partnership with the Department of Environmental Health Services on November 21, 2020; Thanksgiving Day Luncheon on November 26; National Neighborhood Day on November 28; “Give Thanks” Church Service on November 29; a National T-Shirt Day on December 4; Communities Pilot Project Day on December 5; and “12 Days of Christmas” commencing on December 8, 2020.
“All Bahamians throughout the length and breath of The Bahamas are encouraged to support and participate in the activities,” Minister Dames said. He also congratulated the “hard-working” organizing team under the leadership of Ms. Shelly Lewis and Lakel Johnson for “putting together an impressive lineup of events which provides all Bahamians with an opportunity to restore hope; happiness; and togetherness as we battle some of the most challenging times that our country has ever been faced with”.
“I also congratulate Mrs. Cheryl Darville, Under Secretary; Supt. Johnson, National Coordinator; our Permanent Secretary Mr. Marco Rolle; Ms. Sylvia Lightbourn, Finance Officer; Mrs. Chavasse Turnquest, Chief Executive Officer; and Mr. Kent Minnis, Manager, BIS & his Team for their unstinting support in making this Campaign a reality – in addition to the co-chairs who are with us here today,” Minister Dames added.
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#TheBahamas, March 17, 2023 – The FBI is investigating a woman’s ‘suspicious’ death on a Carnival Cruise ship in February. The unnamed woman and her husband boarded the Carnival Sunshine on February 27th, for a trip to the Bahamas, but she was dead before they arrived in the port in The Bahamas.
The FBI said Carnival’s team had administered life saving measures when the woman was reported unresponsive, but they were unsuccessful. The body and the woman’s husband were released to the Bahamian authorities when the cruise arrived in the country.
In a statement shared with US media houses, Carnival Cruises claimed the death has been a natural one. The Nassau Guardian said a source told them the police findings had concurred with that assessment saying it was a “normal sudden death of a tourist who wasn’t feeling well.”
The FBI was waiting for the cruise and when it got back to South Carolina on March 4th, they immediately boarded and began to investigate the room based on ‘evidence of a crime.’ The FBI also searched the couple’s car.
No updates have been shared to contradict the currently established cause of death.
#TheBahamas, March 17, 2023 – “If you don’t like it, go to another beach!” Is what Aaron John, an Education Officer from The Bahamas National Trust jokingly tells our news team about sargassum blooms; his quip, motivated by the necessity of nature when pit against the notion that there is a real threat when the stinky seaweed makes its annual appearance.
John can admit, he says, that Sargassum isn’t very pretty but life isn’t all about aesthetics and in this instance that ugly patch serves a purpose.
“We love our sandy beaches, but in order to keep them we need Sargassum. When storms come, they wash away all the sand off the beach but sargassum acts as a mulch to protect the sand from water erosion. It doesn’t look good, it doesn’t feel good but we need it.”
He said it also provides a habitat for small crustaceans, crabs, and insects that are all necessary to our ecosystem and islanders have found use for the weed.
“Historically, (in The Bahamas) we have been using sargassum as fertilizer, especially in the family Islands as far back as I know,” he said. “Birds don’t go on the beach unless there is Sargassum and what do they do? they feed – it’s beautiful.”
He encouraged residents to just leave it be if they came across it.
Sargassum isn’t harmful to humans, except for people with respiratory issues who may find the rotten egg smell triggers asthma. Despite this, it’s not advisable to walk through the weeds which may hide sharp rocks and bottles or vulnerable animals.
Experts say Sargassum blooms began to increase in size around 2011 and have continued to get bigger and bigger since. This year‘s bloom is around 5000 miles long and 300 miles wide and visible from space.
“I know it’s not a general outlook, but I would like to change the perspective on sargassum,” John said, pointing out The Bahamas National Trust is actively working to decrease alarm over the less worrisome events like sargassum as it raises the profile on the environmentally devastating.
#TurksandCaicos, March 17, 2023 – The Turks and Caicos’ Bahamas Diaspora Office is moving closer and closer to opening day, following the Cabinet’s approval for the signing of a lease agreement.
The lease will be signed with FINCEN ltd in the Bahamas. Several weeks ago, Arlington Musgrove, Minister of Immigration confirmed to our news team that the location had been found and was being finalized; now a lease is approved at the Cabinet level.
The interest in the TCI from TC Bahamians was evident in the diaspora meetings held in early February. The two meetings held in Nassau and Grand Bahama were completely full and over-subscribed by hundreds.
It’s interest which the Government hopes will translate to real life population growth, bolstering the local population before the native population ‘goes extinct’.
The Opposition PDM is on the record with what it feels is a far more viable solution to a dwindling native population; seek out the country’s own citizens and bring them back home.