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Local Writer voices deep concern about Swim to Empower film
Writer, Sherelle Wallace.
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Addressed "To my beloved Bahamians" local writer Sherelle Wallace of Green Castle, penned the following letter about a film shown at the recently concluded Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF), entitled "SWIM TO EMPOWER" involving locals of South Eleuthera.
To my beloved Bahamians; As a proud Bahamian, I am deeply concerned about a film shown at the Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) this month (December). The film is titled FREE SWIM, and is linked to the SWIM TO EMPOWER website, and the book version of this documentary- WE, SEA. I have seen the film in its entirety, viewed the website, and own the book. This project is a foreign directed documentary about how many people living in coastal areas cannot swim. Free swimming lessons were initiated by white foreigners to locals in South Eleuthera. Interviews were conducted with children and adults from South Eleuthera to support this paradox in the Bahamas.
The Swim to Empower website opens with the caption: [Imagine living on a cliff and being afraid of heights. That is what life is like for the 300,000 people that call the Bahamas home.] This statement implies that Bahamians are afraid of the water which surrounds our country. I immediately wonder if these foreigners have ever been to any homecoming festival on the island the documentary is filmed.
The website further states: [80% of Bahamians cannot swim.] The first thing that enters my mind is- where do these statistics come from? No source is identified. If anyone is going to throw out statistics about a foreign country, I think the people of that country should demand to know on what basis they have come to that conclusion. And it shouldn’t be based on interviews with a handful of people, most of whom seem not to think twice before responding with statements which exploited and misrepresented their country. Let’s consider the amount of Bahamians (men and women) who make their living on the ocean. Add to those numbers, Bahamian civil servants, whose course of training involves great swimming skills. Now add Bahamian life guards, jet ski operators, water sports trainers, swim clubs and competitions, and the population who swim for recreation purposes only. THIS ONLY ACCOUNTS FOR 20% OF BAHAMIANS?
I am also concerned about the legal aspects of filming children (minors). Do the documentarians have written permission from a parent of guardian? And the nagging question; do the adults being interviewed know that they will be exposed to the entire world? Maybe if they did they would have been more thoughtful with their responses.
I’m self taught when it comes to swimming. It’s something I did during the many days spent on the beach as a child playing with my siblings, which is something most Bahamians can relate to. However, IF I didn’t know how to swim, I would have asked the closest friend or family member to teach me before I allowed a foreigner to come into my country and teach me. I guarantee I wouldn’t have had to look very far for a teacher.
I’m embarrassed by what I consider irresponsible statements made by locals interviewed, therefore carelessly misrepresenting themselves. I’m amazed at a local man throwing out statistics that 50% or more of Bahamians cannot swim. And another man stating that women here don’t go in the water, men go in to dive for food, but not often. Another local man is quoted on the website, saying up to 90% of Bahamians cannot swim, and that NOBODY likes the ocean.
There was an all too eager attitude of the locals to just agree with the interviewer, without really pondering the realities. This leads to the mentality in too many black communities; that it takes a white foreigner to come into their country and teach them basis needs, which they should take responsibility and pride in themselves to learn. We as Bahamians should not wait for foreigners to come into our country to teach us the importance of learning how to swim, growing our own food, protecting and preserving our marine resources and environment, properly taking care of our animals, implementing health and educational programs, or showing us how to be culturally appreciative. Particularly when the foreigners’ home country is greatly lacking in areas they try to make Bahamians feel indebted to them.
This documentary reminded me of one of the reasons slavery was such a debatable issue before being abolished, when even some blacks didn’t want to be freed because they felt they couldn’t survive without their white masters taking care of them.
In my opinion, FREE SWIM is irresponsible film making. The film does not support the opening statements on the website, which the entire world sees. I appeal to all Bahamians to stop and think about motives the next time someone sticks a camera or tape recorder in their face. Remember that we shouldn’t simply roll over every time we see- FREE. Additionally, the documentary is not well laid out. Any good story has a beginning, middle, and end, with clear links in between. This film seems for the most part to be bits and pieces of information thrown together at random; for the purpose of evoking funding for future projects. Also, the interviewer and most questions are not revealed. On its own, without reading the book or viewing the website, it is unclear what the message is behind this film.
There is much more that embarrasses me about this project, but that’s another issue.
Let me close by saying that this letter does not convey my opinion on BIFF, which I feel is an amazing and wonderful event. I hope it is in The Bahamas for many generations to come, and thank the organizers for bringing it to us.
Sherelle Wallace
Writer. Green Castle, Eleuthera.
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You are accusing a filmmaker of sandbagging interviewees, possible exploiting minors, and having no context or depth to her mission. These are all unfounded accusations with no research to prove them. Your critiques of the filmmaking structure are your right; but calling a filmmaker's motives and questions into play at this level, making accusations of her that are this serious without discussing this with her, or even the people who agreed to be in the film is damaging and unfair. It seemed to me in the audience that an uncomfortable and healthy dialogue about this topic is a long time coming.
Perhaps suggesting a screening on Eleuthera with an open community dialogue would be a more constructive way of going about this. The filmmaker is portrayed by you as having had something to gain here; or , at the least, being guilty of perpetrating a benevolent oppressor action of patronizing the people of the Bahamas. I did not see the film or filmmaker that way. But advancing the issue beyond unfounded accusations would be a good start.
Thank you for expressing your opinion about the topics explored in the film.
I only wish that you would have approached me in person after either of the screenings at BIFF or asked some of these questions publicly during the Q&A sessions following the film. The film is meant to open dialogue and that is why I was in attendance.
I take the responsibility of filmmaking seriously and make a contract with any person filmed, all the while upholding the highest level of standards and practices that give this work integrity, for the subjects of the film, the audience and fellow filmmakers. Since April 2006, those filmed were done so in a transparent and sensitive manner and knew that they were being recorded for the documentary film Free Swim. The documentary was made for the general public and stylistically is certainly more poetic and episodic than documentaries normally seen today. Regardless of creative taste, the film adheres to the ethical standards and practices that documentary filmmakers use worldwide.
I encourage you to reach out to the Swim to Empower program and others like it. They need as much local input as possible and I know they would welcome your help, advice and insight. The statistics on the Swim to Empower site are the best known. Robust statistics are hard to come by due to lack of funding for swimming related issues and drowning rates are typically under-reported. The World Health Organization ranks drowning as the second leading cause of accidental death for children worldwide and find that children of color drown at disproportionate rates. The World Health Organization also ranks The Bahamas as having the 4th highest per capita drowning rate in the world. The Nassau Guardian also covered this topic in two articles:
http://www.freeswimmovie.com/NassauGuardian_062209.pdf
http://www.freeswimmovie.com/swim_30sept2009_print.pdf
The process of making Free Swim was about allowing locals of all ages to have a voice in the topic explored – the paradox of islanders not knowing how to swim. The process of now sharing Free Swim with audiences aims to foster the understanding and tolerance of cultural differences that connect coastal people globally. It’s my hope that films like Free Swim are used as educational tools that inspire, inform and connect for years to come.
But instead of faulting 'foreigners' for being the ones to come and and help them, you should be faulting people like yourself, educated black Bahamians to step up and do away with the Bahamian ego. You seemed to have attributed your own experiences growing up and learning how to swim to being the majority consensus. I too grew up swimming, but I also remember some of my best friends growing up (as well as their parents) not knowing how to swim either. As I am sure you did too.
If you would have done your research, you would have noticed that STE employs BAHAMIANS to help teach as a part of the program. Not to mention, as shown as an important element in the resolution, the very kids taught by the STE, in turn teach others like them how to swim. This alone, makes your accusations of foreign belittling unfounded.
Also, from your article I am assuming that you did not attend the first showing on Saturday the 12th, because then you would have heard from a mother and group children portrayed in the film, in person, in the audience professing the importance of Swim to Empower, and the impact it has on their lives and their community. She said that because of the work STE has done over the years, most of citizens of Deep Creek (the settlement most prominent in the film) now know how to swim.
There is no doubt that this problem is embarrassing to most Bahamians, especially black Bahamians, but it is a phenomenon that the filmmaker linked beautifully to the detrimental social and economic problems facing family island living. You seemed to have ignored that, and at the same time unfairly insulted not only the filmmakers integrity but the integrity of those she interviewed. Which makes your position look more high nosed that I would hope you had intended.
I think it's sad that Bahamian pride and bogus, egregious accusations on the ethics of her filmmaking get in the way of a talking about the real heart of the film. And I can tell you this, It is definitely NOT reminiscent of slavery.
As the film is meant to open dialogue, then I’d say it has served one of its purposes. I viewed a clip from the film months ago, and the entire documentary online during the time it was screened at BIFF, therefore I wasn’t in the audience for a Q&A. Had I been in the audience however, and voiced my concerns, it would have likely been limited to the confines of that room. As I am entitled to my opinion, I took the liberty of expressing them, as your work expresses your message. I did study the Swim to empower website, noted the statistics from the World Health Organization, and although I do not take those statistics lightly, I also bare in mind that they are based per capita, and the Bahamas holds a very small populace.
As the film was intended to inform, I felt it gave a one sided view, from a small group of people, in a small area of the Bahamas.
I did speak to a few people in the South Eleuthera area before posting, and they shared my opinions. A few were apart of the film and expressed to me that they really weren’t aware the outcome would be what it was.
To Mr. Lee;
You cannot decide what is reminiscent of anything for anyone other than yourself. Yes, I am aware Swim to Empower employs Bahamians to teach swimming lesions, my point was they should not wait for a foreigner to initiate the effort. The issue is not about being embarrassed, it’s about taking initiatives in our own country. Your statement that the lady from Deep Creek said that because of Swim to Empower MOST of the citizens of Deep Creek now know how to swim, (If this is true) proves those people waited for a foreigner to initiate something they should have seen for themselves.
To a point, it doesn’t matter who initiated it, but when you look at the bigger picture, it does matter.
Again, I’m simply expressing my opinion.
Unfortunately you feel ashamed of your own people. Why did their honesty on camera make you cringe? I saw impressive folks eager to learn and face their ultimate fear. They made me proud to be a Bahamian. Why would you question their sense when they are taking advantage of a program in their own community? You're mad at them because they didn't take the "initiative" and ask a Bahamian to give them swimming lessons??? Now be real with me, is that really a reason to draw concern? BEWARE BAHAMIANS THERE ARE SOME FOREIGNERS OUT THERE TAKING AWAY YOUR INITIATIVE AND GIVING OUT FREE SWIMMING LESSONS-RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!
Some volunteers knock on my door and offer to teach me to swim, I must say no, even though I really need to learn how to swim, my children really need to learn how to swim, but I'm going to walk away from that experience because the teacher is a foreigner? For the life of me I hope you are not an educator Ms Wallace. In the modern world sensible people network and socialize for the better good.
Did someone put you up to write this article Ms Wallace? Cause you ain't making no sense. Tell me what good could possibly come by not having SWIM to EMPOWER or a FREE SWIM documentary. Look whatever hang ups you have about Bahamians and foreigners blah, blah, blah, this is one issue where we don't need that nonsense. Not when it come to saving lives.
I’m speaking to that all too common mentality that in the Bahamas a foreigner’s intent to lend charity something we should fall over with joy for. We too often look for a hand out.
I have never allowed anyone to put me up to write anything. And I have never allowed anyone to keep me from expressing my opinions. If anyone feels these opinions are nonsense; that’s their opinion. They are entitled to it.
"Script flipped" I'm really not feeling your outrage here. As a matter of a fact, it's beginning to feel a lot more like racism from my point of view. Where (and why) are we drawing the lines for humanitarianism rights of "foreigners" versus "not foreigners?" Aren't we all human beings? And if one human being senses another human being is in need - (of food, medicine, or yes: swimming lessons!), shouldn't we in turn feel the freedom to provide those things for another?
I can't help but feel your response to this film is rooted in feelings of shame. The individuals interviewed have chosen to participate in the film because they have achieved a great sense of satisfaction and freedom through learning to swim, a skill they've been taught by the Swim To Empower team. And how unfortunate for those people - your people - who have opened up their homes and lives to this project to be subjected to such harsh criticism from you. These are people who have allowed themselves to be vulnerable by speaking openly to an issue for the sake of a greater good. Who've forced themselves to tackle their deeply rooted fears in order to grow and change. In my opinion that is surely something to celebrate as opposed to condemn. Something to be proud of as a Bahamian as opposed to critical of, and ultimately a trait we should all hope to share.
In conclusion, Ms. Wallace, perhaps the film was not to your taste because it stirred up some important issues for you. Issues it may be about time to start addressing, which - I may add - is precisely what documentary films set out to instigate.
Best to you, of course. And always appreciative of the dialogue!
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