Statement of
DaJuan M. Xavier
Executive Director
Ebony Pyramid
Entertainment
October 11, 2007
Police Raid of Ebony Pyramid
Cruise Event in The Bahamas
On our 8th Annual
Black Gay and Lesbian Pride:
Caribbean Cruisin', which
occurred October 4-8, an
unfortunate incident occurred.
During our scheduled USA-Bahamas
Party and Show, on October 6,
attended by approximately 250
Ebony Pyramid (US citizens)
guests and nearly 200 local
Bahamian guests, local police
raided our party location,
shortly after 1:00 am.
Ebony Pyramid rented a public
facility, but closed it for a
private party. The doors of the
facility were closed and the
police entered without properly
identifying themselves and
proceeded upstairs to where our
entertainment show was in
progress. The dozen or so
police were well armed in full
riot-style gear. In addition to
their gear, they entered the
facility with one of the
policeman videotaping the
crowd. The remaining officers
were using their camera phones
to snap pictures of the
attendees. They proceeded to
the dance floor, where one of my
female exotic entertainers was
performing, in a golden bikini,
and forcefully walked her from
the floor.
After taking the female
entertainer to another part of
the facility, I attempted to
inquire as to what was going on,
but was pushed away and
threatened with arrest for
"obstruction." I continued to
assert myself and identified
myself as being responsible for
the party and the entertainer.
The lead policeman, who still
had not identified himself,
asked me my name and in an
unpleasant tone, "What do you
think you are doing here?" I
explained that we had rented the
facility for our party. He
barked, "Where is your license?
Show me your license!" I found
the manager of the facility, who
promptly produced all of the
proper licenses to hold a
private party, such as ours.
In our informational and
antagonistic exchange with this
policeman, my staff and I were
attempting to cover my female
entertainer, but every attempt
was thwarted by this unpleasant
policeman and his troops. They
slapped the clothes out of our
hands or threw them on the
ground. During the intense
questioning of the female
entertainer, the policeman
called her a "whore" and a
"prostitute" and asked her why
she was coming to their country
doing this? Several of my staff
members and guests were pushed
or threatened with arrest for
attempting to assist the
entertainer or for asking
questions. I again attempted to
intervene, only to be told again
to step back.
After about a half hour of this
unpleasant policeman, a
gentleman, who simply introduced
himself as being from
Immigrations, asked me a couple
of questions. He, by far, was
the most professional of the
entire squad of officers inside,
not to mention the four patrol
cars and other officers
outside. When I attempted to
ask him questions, he politely
motioned for me to wait and said
he would be back.
Going into about 45 minutes of
this ordeal, the Immigration
official and the unpleasant
policeman returned and called me
over. The Immigration official
stated that, I must fill out the
proper permits to employ someone
in The Bahamas and since we did
not, I, along with my female
entertainer, could be arrested,
but he would just let us off
with a warning and said, "That's
from the standpoint of
Immigration." He then pointed
to the unpleasant policeman, who
said, "From the standpoint of
the Police (this is the first
time he ever identified himself
as the police), you cannot just
have a gathering like this. So
you need to shut it down!" He
then slammed his hand on the bar
and ordered the bartenders to
"Shut it down!" After this, my
staff gathered my female
entertainer and other patrons
and headed back to the ship.
First, I have questions! Why
did this happen? This could not
have been a routine patrol with
a few police officers
investigating a random
situation. This was a full
drawn out "raid"! Someone,
along with the local police
targeted us. Next, why did the
police enter the establishment
and never identify themselves?
Why so many policemen? Why
over-armed, if it were a
violation of employment or
suspected nudity? Why videotape
and snap pictures of the
attendees of the function? Why
use derogatory names to my
entertainer and the guests
exiting the building? Why
detain U.S. citizens and local
Bahamians, without identifying
who you are or stating any
charges? Why order a facility
shut down, if all the licenses
are in order? Why treat your
fellow man/woman with such
disregard for humanity? Answer?
To harass, intimidate, and
frighten!
In addressing the allegations
that my entertainer did not have
the proper work permit, one of
my directors, another
entertainer, and I went to the
port's Immigration and Customs
office, one hour prior to the
event, to inquire about the
"Short Term Work Permit" and was
told no one was available to
answer our questions.
This was our eighth year in The
Bahamas and we continue to
return because we like the
people and the culture. This
incident is not a representation
of The Bahamas we had previously
experienced! Instead, it is the
representation of those with
some misguided authority,
reflecting poorly on an
otherwise great place. In my
years of visits to The Bahamas,
cruising, resorting, and
relaxing with friends, I have
come to know nothing but pride
and love in The Bahamas people,
not the hate displayed by this
group of misguided policemen!
In the past, when I would ask
local police for assistance,
they were very accommodating, so
I do not want it to go on record
that I am condemning the entire
force, just the militant
assembly that gathered at our
event.
While some of my associates
think that we should boycott The
Bahamas, I feel that we should
not punish the whole for a few.
I plan on returning to The
Bahamas for our ninth year and
Caribbean Cruisin' 2008. But,
before I do, I want some
official answers to my
questions. I think an apology
from the Commissioner of the
Police is also in due order.
Additionally, I would also like
to work with and seek assurances
from the Ministry of Tourism
that an incident, like this,
will not occur again, as long as
we meet all the requirements
asked of us. I request this
only to set the minds of our new
and returning guests at ease.
It is imperative for any guest
in a foreign country to feel
welcome and appreciated and this
was clearly not our experience
that fateful evening. Continued
discussions about this incident
will help these officers realize
that LGBT people are just like
other tourists, law-abiding and
just looking to relax and enjoy
the beauty of The Bahamas.
