People forget how the Chinese Gave Us a WORLD CLASS NATIONAL STADIUM AND GYM!
By Jerry Roker
for Bahamas Press
I believe it was just under 20 years ago when the then FNM government, led by former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, switched The Bahamas’ allegiance from Taiwan to mainland China.
Subsequent to this, the Chinese government announced a gift to The Bahamas of a National Stadium. It is my recollection that virtually all those persons employed in the construction of the stadium were Chinese. I believe this was due in part to the fact that Bahamian construction workers did not have the required skills to do the work and off course, when you are offered a gift of this nature, it would have been less than gracious to dictate the terms of your acceptance.
During the construction of the stadium, there were no protests of any consequence against the deployment of Chinese workers.
Fast forward to Baha Mar and The Point, two massive undertakings.
Let me admit that I am not an engineer, nor am I construction expert, but what I do know, is that all the major hotel constructions in this country, were done with major foreign worker involvement. Including Atlantis. So why the demonization of the Chinese people?
There is also a lot of chatter about “the Chinese own everything.” Well blow me down!
As a little child growing up during the 60’s and 70’s I can recall seeing in our midst any number of Chinese merchants and businesses. I am not aware of any enabling regulations or laws that gifted this ethnic grouping with any concessions or favorable treatment, to the exclusion of any native born or black Bahamian.
Instead of pulling ourselves up by our booth straps and taking ownership of our choices, we poke our Chinese-Bahamians with a stick soaked in venom. We should be mimicking them, instead. Obviously, for them to attract our venom, they are successful (dogs don’t bark at parked cars).
