A good time to lift up our heads

All PR is good PR, right?

One school of thought believes that, if people are talking about you that means they aren’t talking about anyone else. In competitive business circles, that can certainly be a good thing.

The thinking is that, even if the topic is negative, people are thinking about you, getting to know more about you, and perhaps developing a curiosity for learning more. The next time your name comes up, they have something to associate with you, somewhere to ‘put’ you in their brain.

Well, the Bahamas has certainly gotten more than its fair share of publicity in the worldwide media this past week. The Colton Harris Moore (a.k.a. ‘The Barefoot Bandit’) story has generated thousands of visits to our own web site over the past several days.

And, despite a few negative aspects to the overall story, the fact is that this international fugitive has been wanted for two years by numerous law enforcement agencies in North America, and has effectively eluded their pursuit. But, just a few days after crash landing in the Bahamas, the pimply-faced teen was in the custody of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

Of course, it came about through the assistance of upstanding residents in Harbour Island that chose not to help the thief but do the right thing. The fact that the Bahamas, as haystacks go, is a significantly smaller stack of hay than North America certainly helped track down and arrest the island hopping crook.

The Bahamas Attorney General’s office has released a statement on the extradition of the criminal to the United States where his more serious offences occurred. They rightly defend their decision not to impede the process by emphasizing the severity of the crimes in the U.S. and the mutually beneficial reciprocal relationship that our two countries have realised.

All Bahamians, and all who love the Bahamas, should celebrate the work of our law enforcement professionals and revel in the respect that our country has gained as a result.

This is truly a time when we can all lift up our heads.