christophercolumbus

The vandal responsible for hacking the statue of Christopher Columbus on Saturday faced a magistrate today for destruction to government property.

Thirty-seven-year-old Shervandaze Smith who has called himself ‘Michael the Arch Angel’ told Joyann Ferguson-Pratt, “There’s nothing wrong with me.”

Ferguson-Pratt debated whether or not Smith was fit to plead to the charges and eventually remanded him to the Bahamas Department of Corrections for mental evaluation since Sandilands Rehabilitation Center has a moratorium on admissions.

Smith told the court he was once a butler at a resort. He lived with his mother but vacated after she said he was mentally unstable.

Why it matters

Smith’s action of vandalizing the statue of Christopher Columbus, has stirred public debate on the removal of the colonial statue.

Though unlawful, some Bahamians took to social media to support the vandalism, decrying the atrocities of Columbus whom many have said is responsible for the demise of the indigenous people, the Arawaks.

Questions were raised on the laxity of security at Government House since Smith was not intercepted by an officer before committing the act.

State of play

The statue remains covered in a blue tarp on the premises of Government House. Prime Minister Philip Davis has spoken on the issue stating that he will not support acts of vandalism.

He said his government will decide to repair or replace the statue.

The discussion of Christopher Columbus’ has been reignited in the daily discourse following the destruction of the statue at Government House on Mt Fritzwilliam on Saturday.

The actions of the suspect who seems deranged, have stirred angry emotions toward Columbus and have garnered social media support.

Since 1492, Columbus was hailed as the discoverer of the Bahamas and the new world. He has been hailed a hero and still plays an integral part in the Social Studies program in our educational system.

More than 500 years later, some people have shifted focus to the atrocities Columbus inflicted on the native Bahamians, identified as the Lucayans who were eventually decimated from our islands.

Bahamians like Father Sebastian Campbell have led the way to abolish the memory of Columbus from our national holidays and remove any replicas from our public sphere.

Anger toward colonialists like Columbus increased after the killing of George Floyd by a white police officer in the United States when the issue of racism arose, as statues that symbolized slavery and racism were torn down in some countries around the world, while some were removed by governments.

Though some people signed petitions for the Bahamas government to remove Columbus from Mt Fritzwilliam, there was never any lawless act to attempt to destroy it, until the man who identified himself as Michael the Arch Angel, drew a sledgehammer and extricated the arm and foot of the Columbus statue.

Some social media posters erupted in applause.

Fringe groups like the third party Coalition of Independents looking to be included in the national discourse said it will provide bail and a lawyer for the suspect accused of damage to government property.

It remains to be seen if the government will remove statues of colonialism like Christopher Columbus.  Last year, a strong supporter of the PLP Latrae Rahming who now works in the office of the Press Secretary said his party always advocated for the statue’s removal and the quest for removal was supported by Party Chairman Fred Mitchell.

However, newly appointed Prime Minister Philip Davis told the Nassau Guardian on Tuesday that his government will determine whether the statue will be repaired or replaced, while emphasizing that he is “concerned when I see acts of disobedience that result in the destruction of public property.”

If we begin with Columbus, where do we end? Our country has a colonial past. Our history is colonialism and slavery. How far do we go?

We should use them as reminders as to how far we have come and place them in the proper context of the period in which they lived.

Historian Gail Saunders agrees that it is a complex issue saying only that Columbus’ statue should be in place to remember the Lucayans who were here before his arrival.

Police arrested a man on Saturday afternoon after he destroyed the statue of Christopher Columbus on Government House at Mt Fritz Williams.

The unidentified man is seen in videos, breaking down the statue with a sledgehammer. The man was also in possession of a bulletproof vest.

He was arrested for damage to government property and unlawful possession.

In the video, he is heard yelling, “I’m bringing him down. Let’s go Bahamas…You destroyed this land…You’ll want to see more…Let’s go, baby. Let’s go Bahamas.”

He then climbs atop the monument, poses in front of the statue and stares up at Columbus, as passersby take pictures.

After he was arrested by police, he squirms on the ground and quotes biblical scriptures, telling the police that he destroyed the statue for “my country.”

In recent times, Columbus became a contentious figure, accused of destroying the indigenous people and helping to colonize the Bahamas.

Last year, with the heightened issue of racism in the United States with the killing of George Floyd, PLP supporters called for the removal of Columbus from Mt Fritz Williams.

Rev Sabastian Campbell and Latrae Rahming, who was recently appointed to the Office of the Press Secretary, said Bahamians were too docile, needed to be “more radical” and demand the removal of Columbus.