This state of youth socialization stems from a number of societal ills. Over the past fifty years, The Bahamas has evolved into an urban society as 86% of Bahamians reside between Nassau and Freeport. This urbanization process is a result of the development of the tourism industry. With the increase in visitor arrivals, the demand for hotel rooms increased causing an expansion in the hotel sector beginning in the second half of the 20th century.
These developments created employment opportunities causing the migration of manpower from the Family Islands to New Providence initially and, with the introduction of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and the development of Freeport, to Grand Bahama.
The urbanization situation was exacerbated by the large influx of illegal immigrants, mostly from Haiti and Jamaica and compounded by drug trafficking which introduced the element of violent crime.
Urbanization and the influx of illegal immigrants changed the ethnic tapestry of The Bahamas. These two factors in conjunction with a burgeoning tourism industry, led to women becoming a key component in the hotel labour force. Many women took up employment in the hospitality industry as maids, waitresses, front desk clerks, shop workers and as self-employed vendors selling handicrafts and souvenir items.
With women becoming an important element in the work force, women became income earners in two parent households and as single mothers heading households.
It is this background which has impacted the way Bahamians live in Nassau and Freeport. Female employment has influenced the environment in which children are reared. The working mother, be she married or single, is no longer at home because she is at her job earning a living. In today’s Bahamas, it takes two incomes to cover the costs of operating or maintaining a household. In the case of a single mother, child support from a non-resident or absentee father is a necessity; there are hundred of households without a male presence which lack financial support from males.
When New Providence had fishing village society, life was very different as Bahamians were community minded. There was greater respect for authority figures and elders; Christian values were the vogue and acceptable behaviour was based on standards which were established by the colonial masters. Personal decorum was important as people took pride in their appearance and surroundings, no matter how modest.
Thirty-four years into Independence, the Bahamian society has all the hallmarks of dysfunctionality – where have we gone wrong as a people? To date, there have been forty-nine murders; and violent crime has become a factor in our lives.
For us who are products of the 40s when The Bahamas depicted a fishing village mentality, murders were unusual occurrences. When a murder occurred, it was a big deal. Are we in a new cycle of violence?
A recent article in The Wall Street Journal pointed out the following:
"Economists investigating the impact of crime in the developing world are yielding some harsh findings. The social and economic costs are growing and are compounded with each generation, feeding further cycles of violence."
There are theories surrounding this state of affairs. At the regional level, the theory is that the region is engulfed in drug trafficking and it is the drug trade which is fueling violent crime. In The Bahamas, the feeling is that poor socialization of our youth is the root of the problem and the reason for the dysfunction in our society. There is also the view that this scenario has to be addressed at the community level. This social dysfunctionality must be dealt with in our communities. Until we understand what is happening in our communities, the solution to criminality will elude us.
