Bermudians who revile ‘foreigners’ are only hurting themselves

I’ve been thinking a lot about the last few days and how the group, Concerned Bermudians hate being accused of xenophobia.

They’re spitting mad and demand an apology.   They’re sick and tired of the condescension by a new government and their second class treatment by well, just about anyone who disagrees with their position that Bermudians aren’t in first place on the economic totem pole.  

Premier Craig Cannonier has offered Concerned Bermudians an olive branch with a heartfelt apology for use of the word “xenophobic” by a member of his party. I give the Premier a lot of credit for attempting to diffuse the anger and tension that has mounted over the elimination of term limits, but I’m not sure it will do any good.   Those same Bermudians who maintain that they’re not xenophobic would be hard pressed to explain why certain derogatory expressions still persist when identifying anyone who is suspected of not being a “real” Bermudian.

Some members of Concerned Bermudians point to their grandparents’ beginnings from places like St. Kitts or that the former Premier’s husband is from Cameroon, as demonstration that they couldn’t possibly be xenophobic.  Yet they still maintain that everything wrong with Bermuda is the foreigners.  So you’re here on the island for what I would imagine Ancestry.com would deem five minutes but you have a problem with everyone else. How does that make sense? How does that not make you xenophobic?

Provincial

Here’s a new word that you might be more comfortable with: provincial. Sounds nicer and is less critical so maybe you won’t feel too bad about yourself when you refer to members of the Portuguese community as “Portugee.”  That certainly sounds all-embracing. It’s wrong, it’s demeaning and by the way, one’s nationality may be Portuguese but it is not a race. You can be white or black and still be Portuguese. You can not be — as I have seen far too often in surveys or statistics in Bermuda — white, black or Portuguese.  

My other favourite insult is to refer to anyone whose pedigree you’re unsure of as a “paper” Bermudian.  The implication being that although a family may have cumulatively spent the same amount of time on the island as your family, from say, St Kitts, they or their spouses still aren’t worthy. 

 A good friend was a recipient of this treatment when she was accused of being a “foreigner.” When she graciously explained that she was in fact a Bermudian, the response came back that she couldn’t possibly be a “real” Bermudian but that she must be a “paper” Bermudian. She didn’t bother to explain that her family was in fact one of the oldest families in Bermuda. Her experience confirmed that many non-Bermudians are treated pretty shabbily and that for many there is an unfortunate pecking order to one’s Bermudian pedigree. 

Misguided efforts  

 No one in their own country should have to explain the legitimacy of their existence. To those who are keen to tear everyone down in their misguided efforts to thwart attention from the real issues of unemployment and job creation for Bermudians, you are wasting valuable time.

I always find it curious that Bermudians pride themselves on their world travel and love of different cultures and yet when the world lands on Bermuda’s doorstep, the welcome mat is missing. Is it a case of NOKD, (not our kind, dear) or is it the kind of fear that comes from your own insecurity and whether you can contribute to the success of your own island country?

The Great Wall of China was built to keep out foreign invaders. Bermuda’s reefs didn’t offer much of a defence from keeping the first foreigners off the island. 

Instead, Bermudians keep people out of their hearts — and that is a far greater barrier than any reef or wall. 

I wonder when Bermudians will realize that they are only hurting themselves? n