FOR UNICEW -English

Research on this artiCLE IN MLA

Focus on the segregation aspect

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There are a number of historical events that helped to cultivate the Bahamas into what it is today. The islands of the Bahamas which consist of 700 islands, rocks and cays had started to thrive during the early arrival of the first inhabitants known as the Lucayans ( Craton & Saunders , 1999 ) . These primitive people not only flourished and advanced tremendously during the pre-history of the Bahamas, but as time progressed and people began to develop their own ideas, cultures, and traditions; there became a major shift in the advancement of society that began to transpire. Instead of hunting, people got into subsistence farming and peoples will to survive and progress affected the makeup of the environment ( Albury 25) . This advancement was short lived upon the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492. Christopher Columbus met these Indians there and initiated the complete destruction of the Indians culture. At the same time, the main focus of the Europeans was to colonize and maintain full control and ruler ship over the land. The Lucayans were used as slaves, but because the Indians were unable to withstand viral diseases, the Europeans choose the Africans as a result of the Indians inadequacy. The Africans were able to immune to different diseases and could also withstand long hours of work ( Albury 46) .
Then there were the Elutheran Adventurers settlers, who arrived on the island of Eleuthera in 1649. As a result of their arrival to the Bahamas, they brought to the Bahamas their religion, expressed their personal freedom, and gave economical opportunity to the people that were living there ( Riley 47) . Later on, history transpired and during the 18th and 19th centuries, the Bahamas began to get evolve into the industry of large cotton production. The account of this industry had been revealed in the journal of Charles Farquharson who was a plantation owner on the island of San Salvador. This industry did not thrive but then farmers resorted to other industries in the Bahamas. He recorded events of what happened on his cotton plantation. (Higman 65). In order for this industry to thrive, there had to have been slaves in place on these plantations. During the post-independence era, the Bahamas had evolved tremendously. The Bahamas became an independent nation on July 10th 1973 ( Craton & Saunders 360) . Now that the Bahamas was fully independent, it was no longer under the rule of British. Even after they transitioned from having a colonial status to independence, the Bahamas began to stimulate themselves further and on their own under the government. Further progression had resulted from the further ruler ship of Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling  , who was known as the first prime minister of the Bahamas (“Cultures of The World Bahamas” 48) . His vision for the country helped to perpetuate the Bahamas even further. His aim was not only for black Bahamians to have the seem privileges as the whites , but for them to also to experience freedom, and equal rights in their own country. In order to move forward as a nation, Sir Lynden Pindling explained how important it is for Bahamians to have some form of “Bahamian Pride” ( “ Pindling : The life and times of Sir Lynden Pindling of The Bahamas” 422) . In order to demonstrate this, it was believed by Pindling that Bahamians should be loyal to their country above any other and should have some type of interest or have some form of regard for one another as citizens. For Bahamians to attain “national pride” , Sir Lynden Pindling tried to convey in his speech that having Bahamian Pride is a mindset . He states “One of the greatest psychological changes that have overtaken the Bahamian people in the years since 1967 is their sense of pride in being ‘Bahamian.’ There was a time when being a Bahamian did not count for much “ . According to Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling , Bahamians should have a sense of identity in order for the country to move forward. ( Pindling : The life and times of Sir Lynden Pindling of The Bahamas” 440) The motto of the Bahamas “Forward, Upward, Onward, Together “is the national motto that echoed the direction in which the Bahamas was moving at that point in time . The general make up of the Bahamas has drastically in education, family dynamics , crime , and society .
Many Bahamians back then during the 1960’s , never had the opportunity to fund and get educational opportunities to elevate themselves in the society. During the early 1990’s , the population was numbered at 254,685(Riley 89) . Because the inhabitants of the Bahamas were scattered on different islands, it was very difficult to distribute educational funds or monies from island to island. It was 1981 when the educational board recognized this difficulty .After World War II , it was noticed that progress was being made as it related to the quality of the education that was being taught. The progress of education in the country had dramatically cause a change socially, economically, and politically (Craton & Saunders , 203 ) . During the time of the 1940’s the white residents made up a small proportion of the Bahamian population .Even though majority of the population was black in New Providence , at the time most of the wealth in the country was controlled by the whites. Social issues like racial segregation seemed to be prevalent in the country between the whites and blacks. Blacks were unable to attend or go to private schools, restaurants, or theatres. The types of careers that were available at the time was teaching , nursing, or being a part of a church. Back then, there was a limit on the type of careers persons could choose. They could only choose what was available. The interviewee Mable Rolle states, “Things were very hard back then and people were just trying to make it day by day” . “Back then we had to leave school at the age of fourteen, and so I had to find work, since I was living with mama” ( Rolle , Mable .Personal interview. October 2012) . People nowadays, have numerous choices when it comes to choosing and pursuing a career . At the time, free education was provided at the primary education level from the age of 6-14 years. Even religious groups played a role in providing education. Mable Rolle during the interview commented on memorable moments she experienced growing up. She recalled being taught by the sisters (at Saint Anselem) the bible at school (Rolle , Mable .Personal interview. October 2012) . Thirty two (32 ) year old Denisha Smith in her interview discussed how she was able to get a scholarship to attend a school in Canada . There she achieved her bachelor degree in Psychology. She represented the younger generation. This indicates that children of this time are having more opportunities in this day and age ( Smith, Denisha .Personal interview. October 2012) .
The crime rate has changed drastically over the years in the country. The drug trade seemed to be a huge problem in the 1980’s in the Bahamas. The drug problem was not only a problem for the Bahamas, but it was a problem world wide as well. The Bahamas was playing a major role in the transfer of illegal drugs by transferring them into the United States. According to the journalist of the Miami Herald, the Bahamas as a nation was considered as “a smugglers paradise”. There became an increase in narcotics like cannabis (which is also known as marijuana) which began to spread all across the country. This drug caused a huge growth in drug trafficking .Even though the drug trade was not permitted, it brought a lot of money flow into the country especially how there was a setback economically. Back then there was a set of night patrols in New Providence .They were called “Night Guards”. The family islands at the time had no form of law enforcement because crime was not present then but since the Bahamas got involved in the drug trade which caused a rapid increase of crime and people began to abuse drugs. As a result of this, drug addictions began to become apparent. Economically, people found it very difficult to find jobs and saw drug trade as a way to be able to support themselves and their families. The increase in drug activity resulted in the government financing organizations like the Royal Bahamas Defence Force to start an anti drug operation control crime and drug use. Funds were also given to the drug abuse Rehabilitation Program from the UN (United Nation).Recent reports have shown that there is an increase in crime in the Bahamas during 2009 to 2011.
The family dynamics have changed drastically in the Bahamas. According to the minister of Social science and community development 60 percent of all child births are out of wedlock and the results of this in this country is at a high. In the past, in the years that led up to the 1960s, statistically 70% of children were born to married couples which meant that only 30 percent of them were born out of wedlock < http://jonesbahamas.com/60-of-children-born-out-of-wedlock/ > . The results are higher now compared to back then. According to the interviewee Mrs Marilyn Smith , “If a women has a child outside of marriage, she was looked down upon by the church and others and this would be considered disgraceful for that family “. “Some girls would hurry up and get married before there stomached showed because they didn’t want to be ridiculed by others” ( Smith , Marilyn .Personal interview. October 2012) . When asked about how she felt about women today having children out of wedlock she replied and said “The women of today seem to find it cute having children without getting married first” (Smith , Marilyn .Personal interview. October 2012) . Single parent homes of today have it difficult because there is only one person taking care of the financial issues .In the past, even if a person was in a single home or had a single mother they still had the support from the extended family. They still were able to support their families with the basic necessities. Regretfully, with the collapse of the extended family this is no longer the case and children are often on their own to defend for themselves while the mother is taking care of a household on her own and trying to seek ways to earn a living .