BlackFood.org, as a way of constructively celebrating its 3rd year anniversary, has decided to host its 2nd Annual Activists Conference on April 9 & 10, 2011.
The theme of this year’s Conference is: “The Politics of Land in The Bahamas: From Colonialism to Neo-Colonialism.”
In 2011, there are fewer and fewer Bahamians who are able to own or have access to land here in the Bahamas.
Yet, there exists a parasitic local real estate market whose clientele is largely comprised of wealthy, foreign nationals.
In a world where the commoditization of resources has become the norm, it is not surprising that communities are losing their most precious assets to the highest bidder.
Sadly, the majority of this acquired land is being used to construct massive hotels and for land speculation, rather than food production.
The fundamental questions are: How has land, which is a part of the Earth that sustains real life, come to “belong” to only a few?
How did the people who made the Bahamas what it is today end up with little access or claim to the land?
And for those who do manage to have access to or own a little piece of this “rock” why do they have to live paycheck to paycheck just to do so?
These questions, and many others, must be addressed if more Bahamians are to have user rights/ownership rights of the land as they should; if the concentration of land in the hands of the few is overturned; if the misuse of land here in the Bahamas is to be eradicated.
The two-day Conference will be held at the House of Labour on Wulf Road & Palm Avenue, opposite Stephen Dillet Primary School.
Presenters include, among others, Charo Walker, Ean Maura, Troy Garvey, and Alex Morley.
Omali Yeshitela, Chairman of the African People's Socialist Party, will give the keynote address.
