Posted by Kimberly on August 16, 2001 at 10:11:31:
In Reply to: Briland's future posted by Colin on August 15, 2001 at 13:19:00:
Your question is well-taken. I'd have to say that from my perspective, the past three decades have hit the heart of Harbour Island's culture pretty hard, what with easy access to American and European pop culture, consumer habits and all. We've gone from a place where just about everyone walked or biked around the island - with the occasional truck plowing by to pick up supplies from the boat or hauling trash to the makeshift dump - to a place where golf carts have become a local eyesore and luxury cars have become a status symbol. Back then, everyone knew each other, and took time to chat.
The distinction between rich and poor on the island has become far more distinct than it was during my childhood, where I played with extremely wealthy and extremely poor kids at the same time, with no thought or care as to any social difference. Back then, the only distinction was whether you lived 'up yonder' or 'down yonder.' [If anything, the poorer kids were more often than not far more magnificently-dressed than their more casually-attired financially better-off counterparts.] But today's Harbour Island is marked by many folks - locals and expats alike -- who sometimes flaunt their wealth in the face of their neighbours, which only creates tension.
When I was growing up, there were many different trades on Harbour Island. Boat builders, sailmakers, farmers, straw weavers, artists, photographers, men and women of the cloth worked side by side with hotel managers, bartenders, hostesses, maids and gardeners. Our local teachers, from all over the world, taught us to appreciate our history and strength of community. Somewhere along the way, though, thanks to the easy money coming in by way of Colombia in the 70s and 80s, the various trades began to take a back seat to tourism. The entire island became one big service industry, and if one had designs on developing a career for oneself outside of turning down beds at a hotel or lining up for one of two teller positions at the Royal Bank of Canada, one had to leave the island in search of work. Many Brilanders emigrated to Nassau, Freeport or the United States in search of such work. Many of the folks who stayed behind either prospered at the area hotels, or chose to drown their boredom in alcohol, cocaine, heroine or unprotected sex. As a result, I have lost countless friends today to alcoholism and AIDS.
Harbour Island has for years operated outside of the big city, Nassau-style political machinery, and as such has had to fight for every town improvement or education resource it presently enjoys today. We're working together today to create economic empowerment for the community, in the hope that we can develop sophisticated resources on the island that local businesses and schools can take advantage of to support each other. With the introduction of the Internet, we can preserve our cultural traditions for generations to come. We can design web sites that will help straw vendors sell their goods around the world. Thanks to savvy educational software both on and offline, we can support children and adults with developmental learning disabilities. With community leaders such as Naomi Percentie Fowler, Sheril Johnson, Ann Sawyer and Robert Arthur supporting the brand-new computer center at the library, young folks such as Otis Johnson and Letario Higgs are becoming the leaders of tomorrow. And we're intending to develop the business tools that can support those people who'd like to live and work on Harbour Island once they've graduated from university.
We're already seeing an important segment of our community work earnestly to take back their cultural roots. Descendants of the trend-setting calypso band of the 1940s and 1950s, The Percentie Brothers, have regrouped as the Native Boys, and are committed to recreating the classic music that their fathers, grandfathers and uncles brought to a much wider audience. The Courage Band is about to release their first album, which focuses on the group's island music roots of reggae, soca, calypso and Junkanoo. Duke Davis and Franklyn Major are investing time and resources to ensure that the Junkanoo festival traditions of Harbour Island continue.
Harbour Island has a long way to go in reclaiming and strengthening its community resources, but I do see that many local folks are dedicated to the effort.
I just wanted to share these few observations with you, as you've struck a painful chord -
Kimberly