By RICHARD E. FAWKES

Psychiatrist David Allen said the illegal Haitian townships that have become entrenched in the Marsh Harbour area and the social and political issues surrounding them are problems so complex and complicated "that for many years they have been left untouched, unsolved, and as a result, things have gone sometimes from bad to worse."

Dr. Allen, who is chairman of the National Urban Renewal Commission, spoke to a group of Bahamian officials and Haitian pastors at a briefing at police headquarters on Friday, prior to taking a tour of the two townships. He was accompanied from Nassau by Dr. Desiree Cox, who serves the commission as director of transformation and research.

Explaining his and Dr. Cox's respective roles, Dr. Allen said, "I paint in broad strokes and Dr. Cox, of course, gets in the details. What I want to stress, and this is hard to make clear, is that in these kinds of issues, you have to have a spiritual understanding because, without that, it's very difficult, and that's why I work very closely with pastors, because without faith, it's pretty hard to approach these things."

Participating in the meeting and the tour were Haitian pastors Edzer Meme, who is also Haitian Consul to Abaco; Sitois Pasterain; and Madame Olibrice, who was representing her husband, Raynald Olibrice.

Dr. Allen explained that he had been involved in the cocaine crisis in The Bahamas in the 1980s, which many believed could not be overcome, and had visited the Haitian communities after a major fire two years ago, and a few weeks ago, making day and night visits to get his own understanding.

His approach to urban renewal, he said, brings faith into the picture because these are situations that require a higher power.

"I believe when you hit issues like this, you have to recognize and go to that power which is greater than you," Dr. Allen said. "Like the alcoholic says, 'My life is unmanageable and I need a power greater than me.' That's what we need here when we deal with these situations. These are not easy situations. There are no short-term, easy solutions."

Dr. Allen outlined what he called a seven-point approach to the Haitian-Bahamian challenge in Abaco, based upon the teachings of Jesus Christ, starting with, "I love you to the uttermost."

"Unless there is love," Dr. Allen said, "we're not going to get anything done. Love means I've got to put myself in your place. I've got to realize, suppose I was a Haitian living in this country, living in The Mud or Pigeon Pea? I've lived in America, so I know what it is to be an immigrant. So love means reciprocity; you have to put yourself in that place. And that's what I've been doing every time I've come here and walked around and seen the issues and stuff like that."

Dr. Allen said secondly, there must be a sense of communion, like with the Last Supper.

"You have to get together and commune. With communion comes communication and community. Computers can communicate, but only people can commune," he said.

Thirdly, Dr. Allen warned participants that there will be resistance to finding solutions. There's never going to be enough money, for example. He said in Nassau, people even questioned him about why he's taking on this project in Abaco.

"Even though there was resistance, Judas was not able to stop what was going on," said Dr. Allen, keeping with his Last Supper theme.

Dr. Allen told his listeners they would also have to have humility, the fourth standard in carrying out this work. He said humility is perhaps the most important.

"You have to be willing to get your hands dirty," he said. "This is not anything where you can get stars in your crown or glory. No glory in this. This is hard work where you have to get your hands dirty, and sometime you get hurt, and sometime you can even get killed, but humility means am willing to be ... it comes from the word ground, hummus, you're willing to hit the situation on the ground and face it just as it is."

Dr. Allen also warned against making the situation too complex, but to keep it simple. Simplicity was his fifth standard of approach. He then cited service as the sixth standard, as the Lord washed his disciples' feet, to treat strangers in a caring way with dignity and respect.

"You have to treat them with dignity and respect," he said. "You have to wash their feet because you know one day, The Bahamas could be in the same condition. We'll need somebody to wash our feet. So we want to treat people like we'd like to be treated.

"And the final thing, which is what I think is the final thing which encourages me and is always a blessing in my work, is that He said 'I'm going now, remember when I go I'm sending my spirit.' And I have no apology ... that I believe I'm here because I believe the spirit of God wants to work on this issue. It means that when I fail or you fail, something good can still happen. It's beyond politics. It's beyond bureaucracy. It's just a good thing to do. You

have to treat people with respect and dignity."

Dr. Cox, the country's first Rhodes Scholar, who has a medical degree from Oxford and a Ph. D. from Cambridge, also spoke in the spirit of an immigrant who lived abroad for more than 20 years, and challenged everyone involved to back out if their heart is not fully committed to helping bring about change.

Pastors Meme and Pasterain and Madame Sitois expressed gratitude that Bahamians were taking such an interest in the problems of the Haitian people, and hoped there would be a good outcome.

The meeting and tour were hosted by ASP Wayne Miller, officer in charge of Abaco, and Chief Island Administrator Revis Rolle of Central Abaco, who are co-chairing a task force looking into ways to address the issues related to The Mud and Pigeon Pea.

TOUR — During their tour of Pigeon Pea, are from left to right: Dr. David Allen, ASP Wayne Miller, Administrator Revis Rolle, and Pastor Edzer Meme, Haitian Consul.