Public outrage over video of Abaco remains

Public outrage over video of Abaco remains

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Minister of Public Works Desmond Bannister yesterday called a video showing decomposed remains found at a cleanup site in Abaco “disgusting”.

Bannister warned anyone with cleanup contracts found to have recorded or circulated the videos will be terminated.

One of the videos circulated on social media show a person walking up to the human remains and poking it, while someone in an orange safety vest watches from afar.

It is unclear who shot and circulated the video.

“It is disgusting,” Bannister said, when reached for comment.

“I saw one of those videos where human remains were exposed.

“One of the things that’s very important to us is that we maintain the dignity of every person.

“These people have lost their lives in the most powerful way.

“And quite frankly, I’ve indicated to my colleagues that if I find anyone who’s contracted to the ministry, who’s releasing this information, we will terminate their contract, because that is not something that we can support.”

The government signed contracts with four contractors for the cleanup of the shantytowns in Abaco on September 27.

These included Caribbean Pavement Solutions (The Mudd), Bill Simmons Construction (Pigeon Peas), J and J Pavers (Sand Bank) and Big Cat Equipment (Farm Road).

The project timeline for each contractor was three months.

Asked about a nondisclosure clause included in those contracts, Bannister said, “The contract tells them how to carry out the work they’ve been doing, and they’ve been briefed on the manner in which we are to treat bodies, how we are to treat the remains.

“These are the remains of human beings and so it would be a breach if we are able to show that a specific contractor has done this.

“We will not allow this to go on.”

The Category 5 storm barreled into Grand Bahama and Abaco on September 1 -3, leaving thousands displaced and hundreds missing.

The Mudd, the Pigeon Peas and portions of the Sandbanks were leveled.

The official death count stands at 67, but authorities have said that that is expected to rise.

About Sloan Smith

Sloan Smith is a senior digital reporter at Eyewitness News, covering a diverse range of beats, from politics and crime to environment and human interest. In 2018, Sloan received a nomination for the “Leslie Higgs Feature Writer of The Year Award” from The Bahamas Press Club for her work with Eyewitness News.

11 comments

We are loving in a society where love for other have grown cold . Life is nothing so we treat them ss nothing . We are not afraid to cause pain . We treat people imhuman. So many are hurting have no way to turn yet still we dont care. So the dead and other people who lost the dead dont matter . We do as we feel because we are not putting God first . Without God we can do nothing.

The outrage should be that these remains are still not part of the official death toll. What is the unofficial death tally, because those two refrigerated trailers filled to capacity, doesn’t reflect a death tally of 67.

That is so heart breaking to see that a person or persons shooting such video when someone sent this video clip to me it was so heart wrenching. Those bodies are still crying out because of how they lost their lives in such devastating manner may their souls rest in peace

its heartless to see them recording the remains of people who died in the most horrible way , but the people are mean and treat others inhumane, so why now is the government getting mad? You all know the disrespect Bahamians have for blacks , they treat white people like kings and queens , but they are just an inhumane group of people smdh

If this was a farm and we was counting loss live stock then simple counting of bodies would suffice, but these are human remains the fact that they are being stored in a refrigerator trailer should that they are trying to go about the process in a proper way to not only count bodies but identify humans…I agree they can give a more accurate estimate of the lives lost …but an official count will take time with so many persons listed as missing this is truly sad

I find the people on Nassau to be Christian for the most part. Horrible circumstances test our faith. We need to pray, forgive and protect our souls. Most of the turmoil in this world since 1913 is due to the NWO Federal reserve. Their wars including weather modification and corrupt relief efforts are designed to destroy souls and central banks in every country they’ve touched. Revelations 2:9 and 3:9 will tell you who owns the private 1913 corporation.

Tell the truth regardless of the reality of the pain we are a a strong people we will move forward

REALLY! You really believe that the xenophobic Bahamasgovernment and people would give such lucrative contracts to outsiders from the Caribbean. Plesse come again. Thanks

A news or broadcasting corporation should be presenting both sides of any argument or opinion….they should never seem bias towards a government, government official or any entity…this can internationally affect investors or investments…how can we make the Bahamas better…not picking or starting controversies…please broadcast both sides as good / great media houses do…

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