A Month In The Life Of The Bahamas
Transcription From Original Article:
THE NEW MINISTER OF LABOUR AND COMMERCE CLAIMS THAT ONE CANNOT BUILD A SOCIETY BASED ON THE COLOUR OF A PERSON’S SKIN
Reprinted from Queen
October 1967
A Month in The Life of The Bahamas
It is impossible not to like Fawkes, although he has tried many people’s patience to the utmost in the past and may well do so again in the future…
He is the new Minister of Labour. But his importance is considerably greater than that appointment alone implies. Fawkes could, by suddenly withdrawing his support from Pindling, provoke a new election. For the PLP and the UBP won eighteen seats apiece at the election and Pindling succeeded in forming a government only after he had persuaded one Independent to become Speaker, and the other, the Independent, Labour Unionist Fawkes, to rejoin the PLP.
Fawkes left the PLP – he insists very amicably – in 1957, because of basic disagreements with its policy. Not all of these have disappeared.
“For example, I believe that income tax will have to come eventually if we are to have real social justice here. I certainly agree, however that we shouldn’t rush into such a measure. Personally, I don’t believe that foreigners will be scared off by the relatively low tax we would impose.”
Fawkes is a barrister who taught himself, largely through correspondence courses. He became a leading member of the emergent trade union movement which reached its crisis in in 1958. Fawkes – who still talks in terms of the trade union movement locking arms with colonialism - was just too much for the authorities who promptly charged him with sedition. He was bound over to keep the peace for three years which, being Fawkes, he found very difficult to do.
And now Fawkes sitting in his modest little office in the Labour Department, Over-the-Hill, is in a strong position to dictate his will over the Government. He roars with gleeful laughter, “It feels funny nowadays to be treated as a VIP instead of a traitor!
“In general, I would say I have matured a great deal and hope to mature even more. I’m not saying I’ve lost all my old controversial flair quite! Still, I have mellowed – whether that is a good or bad thing, I’m not sure. Before, I felt I could change the world overnight and I was considerably more radical than the PLP used to be in those days!
“Right now, I’ve got a split personality; in the office of Labour and Commerce. I’m here to protect the rich man from the poor man and the poor man from the rich! It gets to be quite a problem sometimes. When an issue comes up, I find my reflexes are saying right away, 'Let’s go man the picket lines.' Then suddenly, I remember, and I have to take off my union hat and put on my Minister of Labour hat! Still, it’s all a great challenge and I think we’ll be able to keep our feet on the ground.”
One hopes so, for many outside observers feel that it is Fawkes, rather than Pindling who will eventually prove to be the greatest influence and power in Bahamian political life. If, by this, they believe there will be a more extreme, racialist element introduced into PLP behaviour, they may well be wrong.
“As far as I’m concerned, I don’t think that in the last thirteen years anyone has heard me campaign on the question of colour alone. Never. The UBP are very boastful of the fact that they ran Negro candidates during the last election and that they are a genuine multi-racial party. Well, that is just a farce. That was just a gimmick, an experiment which failed simply because the UBP has not given coloured people a square deal in the past.
“The trade union movement here has never had any exclusive allegiance to any one colour. I would hate to see the race element introduced into it, because I believe it would cheapen the whole movement. It is a blank cheque for intellectual bankruptcy. We can’t build a society here on that!”
And then the new mellow Randol Fawkes, all twinkling smiles and breathy apologies, bounced off to his next appointment. Let’s hope his euphoria will last.
