I recently had a rather enlightening dream that involved freedom fighter and National Hero “General” Bussa.The general was in tears.I think it necessary for me to share with you the wise counsel of the general. This is no ordinary general or freedom fighter; he’s barefooted, unpretensive and forceful with his strong African accent.He reminded me that no struggle in life is easy and there will always be house slaves, who will forget they were once field slaves. They will betray you in order to maintain their fickled token status. His succinct advice to me was be ethical and honest in whatever I do and never sacrifice morality for material wealth. The calmness of this man who fought many a wars against the coloniser was baffling. I enquired of the general, why he was crying. He calmly said the freedoms we as Barbadians now enjoy are being taken for granted. Much blood was shed, women were raped, houses were burnt and even children were hanged, he reminded me.What we now know as souse, said the general, was actually tossed to the yard slaves and dogs as waste. However, it was a good source of protein. As a slave he would have endured many a cruel beating from his masters whip. But that is nothing compared with the agony of seeing those who inherited freedom showing no reverence to those who fought for the freedom they now enjoy. Bussa expressed much concern that in 2010 a successful Tuesday and Saturday night show by the Showtime Band and Wayne Jackman is being cancelled at a hotel that has Government as a shareholder. There were more questions than answers on the issue. What ever happened to the slogan Tourism Is Our Business Let’s Play Our Part? Have we become strangers to each other in Barbados? I remain dumdfounded by the general’s pointed questions.As he continued, choked with emotions, he asked me to remind David Comissiong that the life of a freedom fighter is lonely and unpopular. History, is replete with instances where persons neglected their history only to repeat the unproductive events of the past.In a pleading tone the general instructs to “please tell the Minister Of Culture to leave Emancipation Day alone”. This counts as one of the saddest dream of my life! Are we so blind we cannot see, or is it a case of historical and cultural ignorance? It’s shameful!
• Kammie M Holder, the boy from the village is thanking those who sacrificed their lives on July 26, 1937 for my freedom.
