Dear Editor;

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has the responsibility for the Passport Office, has to do a better job with its public relations. The confusion and guesswork surrounding the granting of a new passport should be cleared up. These problems are exaggerated when one tries to renew their passport through one of the consulate offices or from one of the administrative offices in the Family Islands.

For persons living abroad, a simple passport renewal can be quite a challenge. There are literally thousands of Bahamians residing abroad, in particular in the United States. With the new requirement that it is necessary to have a passport to leave or enter the United States, many persons who previously had no problem travelling with other forms of documentation now face difficulty, for the most part, as things have now all changed. Unfortunately for those residing abroad, it means that either they take a trip home to The Bahamas to renew their passports or utilize one of the Bahamian consulates abroad and hope that the passport will be returned in a timely manner.

For the past couple of years, The Bahamas has been attempting to implement an Electronic Passport System. Last December, amidst much fanfare, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hon-ourable Brent Symonette, announced the inauguration of such a system. A tentative timetable was given for all Bahamians to acquire this new passport. Along with this new system comes a new set of requirements. This is to satisfy the security and tamperproof aspect of the passport.

Currently, the facilities for the new e-Passport are only available in Nassau. There-fore, an applicant must travel to Nassau as a part of the procedure involves providing private biometrics such as fingerprints. The process is still expected to take two weeks and so during that time one may not have access to one's passport and will not be able to travel. When one considers the cost of the new e-passport, it doesn't make any sense to renew the current one for the full period of time. A one-time one-year extension can be obtained for the fee of five ($5.00) dollars.

What has also been a source of contention has been additional information solicited by the Passport Office that appears not to have any rhyme or reasoning behind it. For example, the Passport Office is now demanding birth certificates, baptismal certificates, immunization cards, etc. In addition, some of this information is required of your parents as well! This is amazing as with a renewal virtually all of this information should have been on file already. This extreme scrutiny is usually not welcomed as it may make a patriotic Bahamian feel like a foreigner.

For Bahamians living abroad in countries such as the United States, the challenge of renewing or obtaining a new passport is a bit more of a challenge. It may not be convenient to take a few weeks off to return to The Bahamas just to renew your passport. This break could interrupt schooling schedule, work scheduled, training schedule, etc. Furthermore, persons are used to simply going to the consulate and turning in their passport there for renewal. However, far too many persons are reporting that their experience at the consulate has been one that tests the limits of their patience. Lack of accurate information has been responsible for these bad experiences. Consequen-tly, a number of persons have come forward with what they believe are legitimate complaints about the services or lack thereof which they have experienced with just a simple passport renewal.

Fifty-year-old Jack Johnson was born and raised in Harbour Island. His family goes back many generations on both sides is well respected and hardworking by the local "Brilanders" and tourists alike as they operate the popular eatery "Starfish Restaurant." The simple procedure of renewing his passport has become a nightmare like a horror story out of the Twilight Zone.

Jack Johnson had presented his passport to the Bahamian Consulate in Miami on July 5, 2007. All of the requisite forms, pictures, documents and fees were paid. He is in possession of a receipt to prove this point. It was anticipated that the renewed passport would be returned in just a few weeks. Yet, today some nine months (the time it takes to make a baby) later he is as close to getting his passport as he was back on July 5, 2007.

This has been a most trying and frustrating time for Mr. Johnson as he cannot leave the United States since he has no passport. He has already missed a family function last Christmas because he didn't have his passport. His worst fear is that there will be an emergency and he will not be able to travel!

To make matters worse, the

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