By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C. August 31, 2024 — Carl W. Bethel, who has had a distinguished career in politics in The Bahamas, today shared a photo on Facebook of him presenting a copy of his recently published book, “Mighty Thunder”, to former Governor-General Sir Arthur A. Foulkes with the following narrative: “It was an honor to present a special copy of “Mighty Thunder” to my father-in-law, Sir Arthur Foulkes. As a key player in the fight for majority rule and one of the founding fathers of the Free National Movement, his legacy continues to inspire. Thank you, Sir Arthur, for your incredible contributions to our nation’s history and for your enduring support.”
I have documented in many previous articles the positive influence Sir Arthur hss had on my life professionally and personally from we met for the first time when I went to work with The Nassau Tribune as a trainee reporter in May of 1960 and he was that paper’s news editor.
Both he and Sir Etienne Dupuch, The Tribune’s publisher and editor at the time, took a keen interest in my journalistic training, but Sir Arthur also provided me with wise counselling when my sometimes questionable behavior outside the work environment suggested that I needed his sage advice. I am a much better human being today because of the special interest he invested in my personal development.
Sir Arthur is unquestionably one of the most caring, decent, unselfish and committed individuals I have encountered in my lifetime. His active involvement in journalism and politics over the years provides a storehouse of evidence to support this contention. He was supremely committed to the progressive cause, and in my opinion no one individual in The Bahamas made a greater contribution to the struggle for majority rule that led to the Progressive Liberal Party’s victory in the 1967 general election.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I absolutely had to share this with readers of my Washington, D.C. – based online pubication, BAHAMAS CHRONICLE, which has a huge following among the Bahamian diaspora across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom as well as in The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean. — Oswald T. Bown
l
