January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Premier, I pledge to be more understanding from now on...
Dear Premier Brown,
I know that in the past I have said and written many things about you for which I should ask your forgiveness. But, having never been the Premier of a country, I really cannot appreciate what it takes to be in your position. However, I decided to begin a transformation with this first act, an open letter to you via the Bermuda Sun, as I have used the Bermuda Sun to constantly criticize you since you became Premier.
Starting today, I pledge not to condemn you for the many times that you meet with people in your capacity as Premier (whether they are ordinary Bermudians or overseas dignitaries) and choose to share these moments with the people of Bermuda via the media. In the past I have described these occasions as "photo ops", however I now realize that it is your way of sharing with the people of Bermuda some of the things that you do as Premier.
After all, in my capacity as the co-chair of the Voters Rights Association (VRA) and the Chairman of the Bermuda Environment and Sustainability Taskforce (BEST) I too have shared events of both organizations via the media. However, unlike you, I could not stay in the background because there are really few other people involved in either of these organizations.
I pledge to be more understanding of you when you refuse to answer those inane and unnecessary questions by the media and others in the community, especially when the questions are offensive to you and the people of Bermuda.
Having had an epiphany over the Christmas holidays, I now realize that you cannot be responsible for the behaviour of anyone other than yourself. I apologize for criticizing you for publicly supporting your son's fundraising activities, which were intended to help those less fortunate than us.
Premier, all I know of Andre Curtis is what I have read in the media. I have never met him, nor had a conversation with him, and when I described him as "baggage" I forgot about the principle of "innocent until proven guilty".
'Golfing buddy'
I am sorry that I called Premier Michael Misick your "boating, golfing and partying buddy" because I really have never seen the two of you boating, golfing or partying together, and my knowledge of your relationship with Premier Misick comes directly from the media in Bermuda. A man (or woman) is innocent until proven guilty. I too remember the words of my mother, that one is known by the company one keeps, hence I keep some of the company I keep a secret.
I now realize that since November 9, 1998 the PLP Government has reformed hundreds of Bermuda's laws, but not as swiftly as I would like. As for laws dealing with corruption, I now accept that I should have publicly called for the UBP to reform those laws or even put through a motion myself when I was an MP, but like some people in Bermuda I believed that only a PLP Government could be corrupt. I now realize also that I should have also put forward a motion for Public Access to Information (PATI) legislation, but then again I did not think it was necessary for the public to have access to information while the UBP was in power, in spite of what my mother, a staunch PLP supporter, told me about the oligarchy.
I acknowledge that there were flawed practices of awarding contracts without even going through the motions of putting them out to tender during the UBP's reign. However, I have no proof that this has happened since November, 1998. I wish that I had been consulted on projects like "landfilling" at Dockyard, because of my public support of preserving the environment, but I now realize that I do not have the expertise to conduct an environmental impact assessment. However, I have learned that the Ministry of Tourism and the contractor involved in the Dockyard project have conducted the necessary environmental impact assessments. Once again, I must admit that I was given the wrong information.
With regard to the race issue, I now have more respect for you for initiating 'The Big Conversation.' After all, for far too long, too many Bermudians, both black and white, have buried their heads in the sand and acted as if racism did not exist here. I now realize that not even Ghandi, Mandela nor Dr. King could have brought healing to our island home as racism is so entrenched in Bermuda and too few people have really addressed the issue. I wish that I could be more like you and Dr. Hodgson, who are not afraid to tell it like it is.
After reading John Ferguson's letter to the editor, I now realize that it is not unusual for the leaders of countries to send Christmas cards to their constituents and I now apologize for saying that you were posturing. I have spoken to many people who were happy to receive a Christmas card from their Premier and his beautiful wife. They also told me that they wish that you would send birthday cards as well - like Wayne Furbert used to do when he was the Leader of the UBP.
Similar backgrounds
On a more personal note, Ewart, I will say that although I am a little older than you, we do share similar backgrounds. Our mothers were both teachers and involved in politics; your mother was involved in the UBP and my mother was one of the earliest members of the PLP. Our fathers were both involved in the entertainment industry, mine being one of the best known piano players that Bermuda ever produced, but because he was black he rarely got work in Bermuda and had to move to the U.S. However, your father was able to prosper in Bermuda, in spite of the racist practices that existed. We both attended Central School and we both went to the Berkeley Institute although I graduated from there and you didn't because you were such a rebel and had to be sent to live with your aunt in Jamaica and finish high school there. Maybe living in Jamaica gave you an awareness that I was not able to get in Bermuda.
Although you were a rebel in your younger years, you have remained focused in your adult years. You studied hard in Jamaica and at Howard University. You represented Bermuda (Jamaica) in track and field, and even played a bit of county cricket for Flatts Victoria Club. You were a student leader at Howard, worked hard and became a doctor. You received awards for your community leadership and outreach in America. You then returned to our island home, Bermuda, where you have been innovative in the medical field and now you are our Premier.
Ewart, I know that like the rest of us who have occupied space on planet earth, you are not without fault, but I do admire you for the courage of your convictions, that few of us display. I will say now that I look forward to your continued honesty, integrity, transparency, humility and grace throughout your tenure as Premier of Bermuda, no matter what others may say of you.
May you have a happy, prosperous and healthy New Year.
Stuart Hayward
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