Last night, a group of local young Bermudians referred to as Youth on the Move held a second of a series of movie and discussion nights being held to facilitate discussion along the theme of Truth and Reconciliation. The purpose of the movie night being to provide opportunities for continued discussion along the theme of the Truth and Reconciliation forums so that it may filter out to a wider audience of the Bermudian public.
Last night’s featured movie was “In My Country”, which told the story of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation commission hearings from the perspective of a pair of journalists. Showcasing scenes from commission hearings and the stories told by the truths that came out of them.
The greater idea exposed by this movie was how the commission hearings were held to hold tribunals that would hopefully expose secrets and provide some means of reconciliation for those still suffering from the events. By offering amnesty to those who committed abuses during the apartheid era (as long as they were politically motivated, proportionate, and there was full disclosure), the tribunals gained testimony that could be used to expose greater crimes committed and evidence for convicting those responsible.
Was the price of amnesty granted to 849 people who stepped forward to expose hidden truths worth the convictions of 5392 others and the truths exposed? Admittedly the truths exposed would not instantly reconcile past conflicts but did they achieve first steps in the direction of true reconciliation and a lessening of the divide of black from white.
Are there hidden truths here in Bermuda that have yet to be exposed? If so, how do we learn from South Africa’s efforts to take steps towards our own reconciliation?
When pigs fly, is when we will see Truth and Reconciliation coming from the Bermudian Black Beret Cadre,the same PLP cabal now turning Bermuda into Haiti.
The Bermudian Black Panthers
Their Dangerous Bermudian Legacy By Mel Ayton
http://hnn.us/articles/29986.html
Mel Ayton ‘s book :
As the Royal Gazette observed, “The widely publicised looting of the Bermuda Housing Corporation coffers, the multi-million-dollar Berkeley Institute boondoggle, the grace-and-favour terms of the Coco Reef lease and the widening pension fund scandals leave little room for doubt there’s more corruption in Bermuda’s Government than you’d find in the average graveyard.”…”The shocking crime statistics and the prevalence of black racism and government corruption were highlighted in the 1990s when a Canadian girl Rebbecca Middleton was brutally murdered on a visit to the islands.”Renee Webb, formerly a Black Beret and later a member of the PLP government said, in 2003, that Bermudian politics is about race and `always has been’. As one white Bermudian described it in response to Webb’s assertions, “Black Bermudians, for the most part totally enjoy being `better’ than white people and the majority of which will vote accordingly, just for the opportunity to say `we got you’. It makes no difference if the island is going to hell in a handbasket all around them, that isn’t even of consequence. The only thing of consequence to 60-75% of the voting black population is that the white man in any shape or form is no longer running the country….”
Sal,
I find your commentary largely over the top. While there may be some truth to your rantings, I have a great deal of doubt that you’ll have any success convincing people to change their point of view, at which I ask, what then is the point?
I find it interesting that you use Renee Webb as an example. Personally, I was no fan of hers in the past but I think she has come a long way and has started seeing things from a better light.
Only days ago http://www.theroyalgazette.com/siftology.royalgazette/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7d7594730030005§ionId=60 she suggested that the PLP needs to “get over” the race issue on the topic of attracting white membership.
Ever since Ms Webb decided it was time to leave politics, she has become a politician one could be proud of for fighting for what she believes in rather than towing the party line.
Personally, I’m sorry to see her leaving the politicial spectrum at a time when she’s finally come around.