Senator Fred Mitchell’s Letter On The Death Of The Bahamians In Turin

Letter To The Editor
Senator Fred Mitchell
Opposition Spokesman On Foreign Affairs
On The Death of the Bahamians In Turin

For Immediate Release

13 June 2019

I am moved to thank Alicia Wallace for the column she wrote about the deaths of the two Bahamians Alrae Ramsey, my former colleague at the Foreign Office and Blair John, the St Mary’s Ph D student. Her piece in The Tribune 12 June was a rare foray into rationality over hocus pocus and nonsense that has cluttered the atmosphere since these two men died in tragic and inexplicable circumstances.

Once again, I personally and the PLP extend condolences to the families of these young men. We have reached out to all of the families.

The tragedy was made worse by the idle speculations which sought to turn a routine trip abroad by two friends into something else. It was sickening.

Even my own expressions of grief were sought to be degraded by one of The Tribune’s commentators responding to The Tribune on line by writing my name as if pronounced with a lisp so as to cast aspersions by dog whistle not only on me but on the deceased.

I am yet alive and can defend myself. However, these two men are dead. The dead cannot protect and defend their reputations. I have spoken to many of their contemporaries since the events in Turin and I have said to them one of the things I learned is that after your friends and loved ones are gone, you have a duty to protect their reputations because they cannot speak for themselves.

Beyond that, this is the time to say why Foreign Policy is so important. It is at marginal times like this that the relationships count. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was slow off the mark but ultimately got the message that in this era if the officials don’t provide information, the public will simply make it up.

It also shows that the PLP in its foreign affairs was right on the money about the need to engage overseas in spite of the FNM’S stupid banalities about overseas travel.

So I was glad that the opinion piece by Alicia Wallace captured that spirit of rationality. Thank you.

These two young men were brilliant, hard working, fun loving, normal young Bahamian men of their age and times, our finest sons, trying to make their way in the world, a world as we now see can be cruel and unkind. Bad things often happen to good people and the reasons are unavailable to mortal men and women.

Job in the Bible found that out. We carry on. Let us honour these men in death.

May they rest in peace.