By OSWALD T. BROWN
(EDITOR’S NOTE: I started to write this as brief caption for TODAY’S FACEBOOK MEMORIES photo, but because of pressing concerns that have become more urgent to resolve as a result of the response in the Washington, D.C. area to COVID-19, I decided to once again try and find out from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the status of a proposal I submitted to the government that I was told more than a year ago by Ambassador Sidney collie had been approved.)
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 24, 2020 — Today’s Facebook reminder is a post from four years ago, on March 24, 2016, when I was Press, Cultural Affairs and Information Manger at the Embassy of The Bahamas in Washington, D.C. for four-plus years before the change of government in The Bahamas in May of 2017. Given my background and experience in journalism, one of my responsibilities was to report on events at the various Bahamian diplomatic missions, including the excellent job the Hon. Michael C. Fountain, Bahamas Honorary Consul to Chicago, was doing representing The Bahamas in Chicago and its surrounding midwestern jurisdictions. It was initially posted with the following caption:
“CHICAGO, Illinois — Bahamian Executive Chef Jeffrey Crittenden hosted the annual retreat of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus (ILBC) at the Skyline Club of Chicago on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. Chef Crittenden is a cousin of the Hon. Michael C. Fountain, Bahamas Honorary Consul to Chicago. Honorary Consul Fountain was asked by ILBC leadership if Chef Crittenden would be able to host after his dynamic culinary presentation at the Bahamas Diplomatic Business Luncheon hosted by the Chicago Consulate in 2015. Formally established in 1968, the primary mission of the ILBC is to ensure that the interests of African-American citizens are given equitable representation in the Illinois General Assembly. Pictured in photo number one from left to right in First Row: Rep. Litesa Wallace, Rep. Carol Ammons, Sen. Kimberly Lightford (Assistant Majority Leader), Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth (Assistant Majority Leader), Sen. Toi Hutchinson, and Rep. Camille Lilly; Second Row: Sen. Emil Jones III, Rep. Elgie Sims, Rep. Al Riley (Assistant Majority Leader), Sen. James Clayborne, Jr. (Senate Majority Leader), Chef Jeffrey Crittenden, Sen. Donne Trotter (Assistant Majority Leader) and Rep. William Davis In the second photo, Chef Crittenden (left) is pictured with Honorary Consul Fountain.”
When my diplomatic contract was not renewed, l decided to remain in D.C. and established THE BROWN AGEENCY LLC, which offers a variety of services including writing press releases and editing, among other public relations functions. I also publish the online publication BAHAMAS CHRONICLE, which was established to keep Bahamians and nationals from other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries in the diaspora up-to-date on selected news from their respective countries. At the end of my diplomatic tenure, I submitted a proposal to the government to continue doing what I did at the Embassy through THE BROWN AGENCY LLC on a contractual basis, and more than a year ago I was told by Ambassador Sidney Colley that my proposal had been approved, but for some reason or the other, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not implemented it.
Meanwhile, as I struggle to survive under the encumbrance of a “financial yoke” that has become even more critical because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am “keeping my fingers crossed” that Minister of Foreign Affairs Darren Henfield will soon remove whatever “red tape” is preventing him from implementing the terms of my proposal. There is no question that the services I have proposed to continue providing the Embassy on a contractual basis, at a very affordable rate, are still very much needed, which I am sure Ambassador Collie could confirm. Indeed, I understand that Honorary Consul Fountain still represents The Bahamas in Chicago, and to the best of my knowledge well-known Bahamian actor Cedric Scott is still the Honorary Consul in Los Angeles, yet there has been scant coverage of their activities since former Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell ceased being The Bahamas’ top diplomat.
Current Bahamas Consul General to Atlanta Astra Armbrister-Rolle clearly does a good job keeping Bahamians in the Atlanta-area diaspora well informed, especially during times of crisis – as she did following the catastrophic damages Hurricane Dorian caused to the northern Bahamian islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama in September of 2019 and, more recently, this “important message” she posted on the Consulate’s Facebook Page on Tuesday, March 24: “Due to the Corona Virus Pandemic (COVID-19), The Bahamas Consulate General, Atlanta will operate in emergency mode as of Monday 23 March 2020. If you are a Bahamian in distress or have emergency please use our emergency contact line: (404)-474-2104.”
Despite her laudable efforts, however, Ms. Armbrister-Rolle had some “big diplomatic shoes to fill” when she arrived in Atlanta. Her predecessor as Consul General was Randy Rolle, who established a strong presence in Atlanta that included a very good working relationship with a network of Atlanta’s business and political leaders. Of course, Consul General Randy Rolle’s activities kept me busy as Press, Cultural Affairs and Information Manager at the Embassy in D.C.
Since my tenure at the Embassy ended, I continued to provide coverage, without compensation, for Embassy activities whenever I was provided with sufficient information to prepare a story or post photos taken at various events because I fully expected that the terms of my proposal would eventually be implemented. I have also made a special effort to cover events involving His Excellency Ellison Greenslade, Bahamas High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. That’s because the High Commissioner and I developed a very good friendship when he was Assistant Commissioner of Police for Grand Bahama and the Northern Region and I was Editor of the Freeport News.
Most Grand Bahamians I am sure would agree — if honesty, impartiality and fairness are determining factors – that Mr. Greenslade was a great Assistant Commissioner of Police and most Bahamians generally would likewise agree that he subsequently was an outstanding Commissioner of Police for more than seven years before becoming High Commissioner to the UK in November of 2017. He is demonstrating that same “standard of excellence” in the performance of his job as High Commissioner.
Given the government’s stringent and very necessary response to the COVID-19 pandemic, my current financial problems obviously may not be considered important enough to warrant consideration by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at this time, but this realization does not make my problem any less burdensome. At the very least, I would hope that Minister of Foreign Affairs Darren Henfield — who I am told is a good, decent Christian gentleman – would let me know the status of the proposal that I was told more than a year ago had been approved sometime soon.
