This past weekend many Bahamians became enraged when a video went viral showing a Bahamian fisherman standing on his overturned boat, abandoned in the middle of the ocean.
The man, who drifted into waters just outside of Florida, was reportedly on a fishing trip before his boat overturned. He was approached by Americans who he asked for a ride to Bimini, but they said no, offered him water, and told him the U.S. Coast Guard was on the way.
Some asked, “Why couldn’t they let him on the boat as they awaited the arrival of the Coast Guard?” Others wondered why they couldn’t simply turn around and scoot him over to Bimini quickly. I mean, we are only “a stone’s throw away…” right? Bahamians all over social media expressed their disdain toward the Americans, believing they could have done more to help the stranded man. In fact, the Americans reportedly received “hundreds of messages of threats” from people who believed more should have been done.
Well, as there are always two sides to a story, here’s what the Americans had to say for themselves when a local daily reached out to them.
They said “Desperate people in desperate situations are known to do desperate things,” and that they were keeping their crew safe. They also said, they not only called the Coast Guard but waited fifteen minutes for them to come. They even mentioned that it’s illegal to pick up someone and simply carry them into another country and even if it wasn’t, they didn’t have enough gas or time to take him; for context, they were reportedly about 100 miles away from Bimini, which is not that close, at all.
With the American’s side of the story in mind I have to ask, did they do anything wrong?
On one hand, we have a man, a fellow human being stranded in the middle of the ocean, asking to be transported to a “nearby” island where he’d probably find safety. However, on the other hand, we have a group of people who have no clue who this man is, what he could be carrying nor the ability to carry him where he desires to go.
I completely understand why anyone would be outraged at this situation… initially. But after hearing the other side of the story, if I were in the American’s shoes, the only thing I may have done differently was allow the man to rest in my boat as we waited on the coast guard.
Given the fact that Bimini was not a stone’s throw away, I can’t fault the Americans for the way they handled the situation. But, this is just my opinion and I want to hear from you. So, let’s talk about it!
