BERMUDA
Another world?
DAVID COHEN
Having spent a great deal of money on an advertising campaign that proclaimed 'Ber- muda—another world' to attract more tour- ists, the riots in Hamilton last week must seem an unfortunate irony to the islands' government. They reveal that Bermuda is only too much part of this world. There were riots in 1968 already. In April this year, a dramatically large contingent of Bermudian police was used to deal with a gathering of black youths at Devil's Hole, a natural grotto inhabited by huge 600 year old turtles that are a big tourist draw. In May, Mrs Lois Browne-Evans, leader of the opposition Pro- gressive Labour Party which has 10 of the 40 seats in parliament, told my wife and I that the idea that Bermuda is a paradise is one for tourists only.
The 400,000 tourists that come to the islands each year have brought a staggering inflation. 'It's true,' said Mrs Browne-Evans, 'that the average wage here is between 80 to 100 dollars but that's not enough the way prices have rocketed up. It costs at least 15,000 dollars (f6,200) to buy a house now. That's out of the reach of most people.' She admitted that there was no dramatic poverty here as in many parts of the Caribbean. But poverty is relative. Bermudians are constant- ly exposed to rich, dollar-swollen tourists who pack the hotels and occupy the best houses. 'Most people,' added Mrs Browne- Evans, 'can only survive by moonlighting. They have two jobs, maybe three jobs. Their wives work and their kids work.' One cab driver we met doubled as a caterer and, while he was catering, his son drove the cab.
But probably the factor which has done most to stir up discontent is a subtle (and one suspects racial) discrimination which pervades the islands. Officially, Bermuda is an integrated society. Its 35,000 blacks and 18,000 whites live and mix with little surface tension. But there are 'white' schools and less good 'black' schools. 'There's even a church with white pews and black pews,' said Mrs Browne-Evans. Her own party is largely black, The government, United Bermuda Party, is largely white.
The United Bermuda Party is controlled more or less by descendants of the aptly- named 'forty thieves', the first families who settled the islands and grabbed the most luscious bits for themselves. Members of the government are allowed to retain commercial interests. The Head of the Government, Sir Henry Tucker, for instance, is on the board of the telephone company. It is not a difficult Establishment to feel alienated by. It has almost nothing in common with the young, the poor or the black.
This sort of atmosphere was evident at the trial of some of the eleven youths arres- ted after the incidents at Devil's Hole. A white magistrate mumbling in a rhythm ut- terly different from that of either the de- fendant, a boy of 18, or of Mrs Browne- Evans who was defending him. The police (a cockney constable and a Scottish inspec- tor) alleged he had brandished a stick at them. Under cross-examination, they admit- ted he was only leaning on the stick but they still claimed he was doing so 'in a manner likely to provoke a breach of the peace'. The defendant claimed he was meditating. 'It was such a clear-cut case,' said Mrs Browne- Evans, 'that the magistrate couldn't convict.' Her tone suggested that if he could have con- victed the black youth he would have done.
Apart from all these factors, houses are small in Bermuda so that young people, es- pecially, spill out on to the streets to pass the time away. There are few entertainments they can go to, so it is not hard to see how the discontent can flare into a riot. A classic situation. Up till now the government has obviously managed to keep the situation well in hand but, unless it implements some reforms, how long will Bermuda stay any kind of tourist paradise?
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