By Richard E. Fawkes

Some of the very engines that have pushed Abaco to a level of development where it stands somewhere between the two metropolitan centres of Nassau and Freeport, but beyond the definition of "family island," to the extent that that term symbolizes a somewhat simple, rustic lifestyle, have now come to haunt the island as major, complicated issues that have great bearing on the future direction of the country as a whole.

The cheap, immigrant Haitian labour that has enabled Abaco to thrust itself forward in competitive export-oriented agriculture, and to become a major tourism destination is now at the centre of the national debate on the future place of these "new Bahamians" on the island and in the country.

The present setback to the citrus export sector with the infestation of the deadly citrus canker disease at Bahama Star Farm poses a great challenge to the country on its agricultural management and vision; and on the issue of the role of immigrant labour in farming, given the large number of immigrant workers and their families displaced by the canker outbreak.

And, the success of Abaco as a magnet for major investments in tourism development has reached a point of serious discussion on the nature and value of certain kinds of development as manifested in the debate over the Passerine Project on Great Guana Cay.

Of course, one only has to visit downtown Marsh Harbour on a Friday afternoon, choked by automobile traffic, to see that Abaco has serious issues of planning in such areas as use zoning, public transportation, road design with sidewalks and bicycle lanes, and even open green spaces for recreation, beauty, and fresh air.

Abaco, with all its growing job opportunities, does not have any institutions of post-secondary institutions to train locals to satisfy the growing demands for a technically trained, educated workforce.

But back to the bellwether discussion, Abaco has become a lightning rod for the immigrant issue, as highlighted by the recent discussion of The Mudd and Pigeon Pea ghettoes by Dr. David Allen's Bahamian Forum in Nassau last week. What happens in resolving this situation in Abaco will have a tremendous impact on whether the country as a whole moves forward to a constructive or destructive outcome.

Will The Mudd, Pigeon Pea, Sand Bank, and other segregated communities of substandard housing, where there is no distinction between persons entitled to Bahamian status and persons of illegal disposition, are agreeably dismantled in favour of integration into the larger society; or will they remain blights and sources of civil conflict? Not only must Abaconians of all backgrounds decisively address this matter in the interest of the island and the nation as a whole, but the national constituency must also intervene to help make the outcome one from which the entire country may benefit.

The citrus canker disease has exposed certain weaknesses in the government's management of agriculture in terms of protecting Bahamian plant life from invasive diseases; supervising the behaviour of investors such as the farm's owners in the conduct of their affairs; managing the infusion of immigrant labour, with contingency plans for the failure of operations such as Bahama Star Farm; and having in place containment plans and alternative forms of farmland use to deal with developments such as the canker infestations. This experience speaks to the seriousness of putting in place policies designed to protect economic successes in Bahamian agriculture such as the citrus export sector.

What the Guana Cay project shows, as intimated by Columbus Isle in San Salvador and Four Seasons in Exuma, overwhelmingly large investments in small communities, is that not only must local input be strongly considered in adopting such large-scale developments, but the country has now reached a stage where serious discussions can be held on the long-term value of certain forms of development.

One issue hotly debated in the proposed Passerine Project, which proposes a golf-course and marina, is the ecological impact of such developments.

"Many studies show the incompatibility of golf- courses with coral reefs," Guana Cay second-home owners Elizabeth and Roger Brock wrote in an open letter to the prime minister in the January 10 Freeport News "citing that the chemical runoff from golf-courses deadens reefs and pollutes the waters.

"The marina will ruin the fish estuary, causing a disastrous effect on the waters and marine populations of the Abacos ..."

Another letter writer, Neil Sealy, in the February 5 Nassau Guardian, who calls Passerine a "sound development," counters, "Some years ago I was invited to look at the golf- course reconstruction on Paradise Island, and can assure readers that this does not inject massive amounts of fertilizer into the sea ..." On the marina, Mr. Sealy writes, "there are many ways to build marinas, such as with soft walls that allow mangroves to continue to grow along the canal entrance. The specifications of the (Passerine) marina will not allow any poisonous or destructive methods to be used, and it will have a full range of services and the requisite infrastructure to support it."

Whatever the outcome of addressing these issues, it is clear that Abaco's evolvement, with its attendant controversies, places the island at the centre of national development and the shaping of the Bahamian future.

Not only must Abaconians be mindful of the way the nation watches and depends upon them and conduct their business accordingly, but the nation as a whole, must show the proper respect and invest the kinds of know-how and attention that would help. Dr. David Allen has certainly struck a proper posture and extended an exemplary professional hand in that regard.

CAPTION: COMMUNITY ADDRESS — Police Commissioner Paul Farquharson addressing a community meeting in Hope Town last November, during which youth of Haitian parentage, born and raised in that community, figured prominently in the discussion. U.S. citizens, who are homeowners on the cay, made up a large portion of the audience. (Staff photo by RICHARD FAWKES)