Duncan Town,
Ragged Island – On Thursday 22 September Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes
and Lady Foulkes made an official visit to this south-western island in The
Bahamas archipelago.
They were
accompanied by Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources, the Hon. Lawrence
Cartwright, MP for Long Island and Ragged Island. The official delegation was met at the
airport by the Administrator for Exuma and Ragged Island Mr. Ivan Ferguson and Chief
Councillor Mr. Demison Nesbitt along with other government officials, and civic
and religious leaders.
Their
Excellencies toured the new road works and port which, along with a new runway
and taxiway at the airport, were funded through a collaboration between the
Government of The Bahamas and the European Union. The delegation also viewed the site on which
a new Royal Bahamas Defence Force base is being built.
Sir Arthur and
Lady Foulkes participated in a convocation at the Ragged Island All-Age School. During the convocation students showcased
their poetry-reading and dance talents.
In an address to
teachers, students and parents, Sir Arthur spoke of the history of Ragged
Island, noting that it is, “a small island with a small population but a famous
island with a great history.”
He observed that
Ragged Island once shared in the prosperity of the salt industry and produced
master mariners and “some of the greatest seafaring people in the Bahamas.” He noted that in addition to Ragged Islanders
excelling in various areas of national life, that some of the country’s “great
cultural icons were born here or descended from here, including the late George
Moxey and Kayla Lockhart Edwards, as well as Edmund Moxey.”
Sir Arthur also
continued with the One Bahamas theme he has invoked during official visits to
other Family Islands and during his tenure as Governor General.
He reminded
Ragged Islanders:
“You live on
Ragged Island, one of these jewels in the crystal waters of the Bahamas, with
some of the natural wonders I have just described. But all of this Bahamas is your heritage,
from Abaco in the north to Inagua in the south, and wherever you go in our
Bahamas you are home.”
The Governor
General further noted:
“We are
Bahamians, and we have woven a single, rich cultural tapestry of threads from
Africa, Europe and Asia, threads spun and coloured in the Americas and the
islands of the Caribbean.
“We are now one
people, One Bahamas, proud of our music, proud of our songs and dances, proud
of our folklore, proud of our works of art.
“We are also
proud of the national institutions that lend us stability and bind us together
as one nation, institutions built on the concepts of freedom, equality,
democracy, and the rule of law which is handmaiden to the sovereign
justice. For all these things we give
thanks and we celebrate with great joy.”