By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 4, 2019 — Facebook has a wonderful daily feature that reminds regular users of this remarkable communications innovation of past events they posted. This morning (September 4), my Facebook reminder was a collage of photos taken during my four-plus years as Press, Cultural Affairs and Information Manager at The Bahamas Embassy in Washington, D.C.
One of the photos was taken on June 14, 2016, during a visit to the Embassy by Mrs. Sharon Brennen-Haylock, who was on an inspection tour of the Embassy and other Bahamas diplomatic missions abroad shortly after her appointment as Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration.
It brought back some delightful memories of working with a wonderful group of individuals whom I considered to be “like family.” Some of them, like myself, are no longer at the Embassy, but I still consider them to be “family.”
Included in the photo is Nicholas Knowles, who at the time was a Bahamian student at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. Nicholas did a summer internship at the Embassy, and he impressed me tremendously with his writing skills and his discernment of current issues, especially of a political nature. I unquestionably think that he has a tremendous future ahead of him if he decides to pursue a career in politics.
Another very gifted and talented young Bahamian who was very impressive during her summer internship at the Embassy was Dena Ingraham. She completed her five-week internship on August 5, 2016, before returning to Lincoln University in Pennsylvania to begin her senior year as a Political Science Major, with Minors in International Relations and Spanish. Dena would also have a very bright future in politics if she ever decides to include being a member of the House of Assembly as one of her career goals.
During her tenure as an intern at the Embassy, Dena was exposed to discussions on multi-lateral matters within the Organization of American States (OAS) by representatives of the organization’s 35-member states and the regional bodies that they form. In addition, she was exposed to bi-lateral developments and engagements between the United States and The Bahamas.
Given the fact that Dena is black and Nicholas is white, the fact that they both are positioned to possibly have great careers in politics augurs well for The Bahamas, where there is still a perceptible degree of political polarization based on race.
At Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where he studied International Politics, Nicholas was involved in numerous campus organizations, including the International Relations Club, Georgetown’s Club Golf Team, Georgetown Speech Writing and Advisory Group, and as a tutor in the Writing Center.
During his internship at the Embassy, he attended sessions of the OAS on a regular basis and worked closely with the then Deputy Chief of Mission Chet Neymour, Second Secretary Mikhail Bullard, Second Secretary Krissy Hanna, Second Secretary Tracee Dorestant, and Second Secretary Jade Williams on both bilateral and multilateral matters. However, Nicholas noted in an interview at the end of his internships that after he completed his studies at Georgetown, he intended to pursue graduate studies in Europe and subsequently join the Bahamian Foreign Service and “represent the country through diplomatic engagements around the world.”
Dena, on the other hand, was already talking like a politician. “The practical application of knowledge attained in the classroom is unmatched, but participation in diplomatic engagements at the highest level has not only acted as a spring-board for my professional development, greater cultural awareness and increased global acumen, but has also provided me with a greater appreciation for my nation’s role and influence in the context of global affairs,” Dena said at the completion of her internship, in an interview published on the Embassy’s website.
“The internship provided me with greater exposure to the numerous developmental issues that continue to characterize the gap between the developed and the developing world,” she said.
The success of the internships by Nicholas and Dena underscores the importance of The Embassy of The Bahamas continuing to consistently facilitate such opportunities for Bahamian students studying abroad, but it appears that the internship programme at the Embassy has been “put on hold” due to budgetary constraints.
The programme was supervised by former Deputy Chief of Mission Chet Neymour, with the full support of His Excellency Dr. Eugene Newry, the then Bahamas Ambassador to the United States and Permanent Representative to the OAS.
“Over the years the Embassy has engaged several summer interns on an ad-hoc basis, but it is the aim of the Embassy, going forward, with the concurrence of the Ministry, to facilitate a regular full-time internship programme every summer for young Bahamians interested in learning about and assisting with the work of the foreign service in Washington DC,” Deputy Chief of Mission Neymour said in an interview back in 2016.
He added, “The internship programme will have as its target university students in the Washington DC area. The goal of the internship programme will be to provide access to practical work experience, focused on Bahamian diplomatic engagement, for the cultivation of the next generation of Bahamian foreign and public service leaders.”
The fact that this significant programme has apparently been “put on hold” because of “budgetary constraints,” if that is indeed the reason, is surely an issue that the powers-that-be in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should seek to address as soon as possible.
The same is true about the outreach efforts to Bahamians in the diaspora that was included in my responsibilities as Press, Cultural Affairs and Information Manager at the Embassy until my diplomatic appointment was rescinded following the change of government in May of 2017. In fact, I produced a column entitled BAHAMIANS IN THE DIASPORA, in which I featured the accomplishments of a Bahamian national living abroad.
More than a year ago I submitted a proposal to the Government to continue doing what I did at the Embassy on a contractual basis through my public relations and marketing company, THE BROWN AGENCY, which I established when I decided to remain in D.C. after my diplomatic tenure ended.
An added plus as far as reporting on Embassy-related events and activities of other Bahamian missions abroad is the fact that THE BROWN AGENCY publishes an online publication, BAHAMAS CHRONICLE, which was launched more than a year ago to keep Bahamians in the diaspora and nationals from other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries up-to-date on selected news from their respective countries. BAHAMAS CHRONICLE has developed a huge following in The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean as well as across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
I was informed almost a year ago that the proposal I submitted to the government had been approved and was sent to the Attorney General’s Office for review, which is the usual process that apparently is followed for final approval of such proposals. Subsequently, I was informed that the approved proposal was sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but I have yet to be formally notified that my proposal has been approved.
Given the massive and catastrophic damages caused by Hurricane Dorian to The Bahamas, I think it is extremely important that the Government fully uses the very capable expertise of the current Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Sidney Collie, to coordinate and supervise contributions to relief efforts that are being launched in the aftermath of that monstrous hurricane.
I am already seeing on Facebook announcements of where donations can be dropped off, including an announcement by The Bahamas Consulate in Atlanta, which in the past was diplomatically under the supervision of the Bahamas Ambassador to the United States, who is the top diplomatic representative of his country in the United States. This is also true with regard to all the Consulates and Honorary Consuls in the United States.
What concerns me mostly is that to allow “relief appeals” to spawn “willy-nilly” without well-organized supervision could expose The Bahamas to catastrophic bad publicity on par with the damage caused to the country by Hurricane Dorian if unscrupulous persons decided to engage in scams to benefit themselves.
In my view, all relief efforts soliciting support in the United States should unquestionably be under the supervision of Ambassador Collie, who has been doing a commendable job diplomatically since he became The Bahamas’ top diplomat in the United States.
