Rastafarians Demand Protection of Their Rights

Mr. Christie, who observed the service for about 20 minutes before leaving the square, told the Journal that he would look over the demands made by the Rasta emissaries, and comment later.

Prominent attorney Dion Hanna, himself a practicing Rasta, told the Journal that the Rasta community in The Bahamas has decided en masse to register to vote and become part of the country’s political process.

"This is a statement today of our list of demands to the political directorate, the PLP, the FNM and all the other people who look to get votes this election. We’re saying to them, here’s our demands, here’s what we would like done in this country, and we’re listening now to hear (how) the politicians will respond to our demands," he said.

Mr. Hanna said that for the last 500 years, blacks have been oppressed in The Bahamas, and that while inroads have been made over the last decades, there is still a long way to go.

"We want to see the talented people in our community who have a God-given talent have the opportunity to shine," he said. "We have a lot of talented young people. You look around; these people are not old. These are young people. [These are] young men, and they are the future of our country."

Members of both the Nyabinghi, who believe in a global theocracy to be headed by Emperor Haile Selassie I, and the elaborately turbaned Ethiopian National Congress, or "Bobo dreads", widely considered the most communal of the Rasta tribes, were well represented in Rawson Square on Wednesday.

While there were less than a hundred Rastas in Rawson Square on Wednesday, some have suggested that if all the Rastas from all the communities across the country came together, they would number in the thousands.

Derek Ambadark Thompson, who lives in Bain and Grants Town, told the Journal that the Bahamian Rasta community wants the government of the day to act immediately to enfranchise Bahamian Rastas.

"Give us land for our school, give us land for our church. Give Rasta equal rights for everything so we could get jobs for our youths, jobs for our girls and boys, so we can do things (so) that Rasta can look good, because we are tired of suffering," Mr. Thompson said.

"We are tired of people discriminating against us, thinking we are nothing. Level the playing field. Level the field so that Rasta can walk with his head high. We are tired of walking with our head (low); we want to walk with our head high like everybody else."

The outspoken Rasta reiterated the cry raised by some of his coreligionists around the square – Rasta children are apparently being either put out of private schools or barred from entry into those institutions.

"A lot of my Rasta colleagues’ children have been put out of school just because we have locks, or just because of our beliefs. We want that to stop. If the government cannot accept Rasta in the school, give us our own land so we can build our own schools," he said.

"And also, (the government should) tell these principals, Rasta have rights the same as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Muslims (and) everybody has their rights. So just respect our culture. That’s all we ask for."

The Rastafarians’ demonstration caught the attention of many members of parliament as they left the House of Assembly for lunch: they lofted signs calling for an end to discrimination and for prison reform, and a number of them wore white t-shirts celebrating Black History Month.

Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell was one of many MPs who stopped to watch the demonstration. He told the Journal he had a lot of sympathy for anyone who would consider themselves "Afro-centric," adding that Bahamian society in his opinion underplays to its detriment the influence Africa has on this society.

Mr. Mitchell addressed two of the pertinent issues raised by the agitators. On the question of how Rastas are treated in Her Majesty’s Prison, he said he expected that the Rastas would pursue a legal avenue to address the claims that their hair is being cut off contrary to their religion, which they say is unconstitutional.

"Insofar as I am aware, that does not or should not exist in the public school system, because clearly in the public school system there can’t be discrimination on the grounds of religion or creed," he asserted.

According to Mr. Mitchell, the more problematic area is what happens with the private school system. Many Rastas, he said, want to send their children to private schools, which raises similar issues faced recently by a Muslim child who was told she couldn’t wear religious apparel that was contrary to the faith of the church that ran the school she attended.

"Now, the Rastas take the position, as did the parent of this child, that because the government gives money to the schools, that they (the government) can attach a condition to that (saying) that you can’t discriminate against anyone," he said.

"But if you look at the provisions in the Constitution carefully on that Article in the Constitution, it says that the government cannot attach conditions to subsidies to church schools. It can’t use that as a means of affecting their doctrine. So the fact is that the school’s rules are the school’s rules."

Section 22(3) of the Constitution provides that "no religious body or denomination shall be prevented from or hindered in providing religious instruction for persons of that body of denomination in the course of any education provided by that body or denomination whether or not that body or denomination is in receipt of any government subsidy, grant or other form of financial assistance designed to meet, in whole or in part, the cost of such course of education."

This supports Mr. Mitchell’s contention that the government cannot attach conditions to subsidies to church schools.