There is an age-old belief which strongly holds that major nation-changing events generally occur in clusters of threes, a folk philosophy that can be said to have applied to Barbados in the past two weeks or so.
First, we had the regrettable passing of Prime Minister The Honourable David Thompson after less than three years in office, thus becoming the third Barbados Prime Minister to die in office. From the early hours of the morning of October 23 when he died, to November 3 when he was buried, a sorrowing nation marked his departure from earth with appropriate decorum, respect and affection.
During this time the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) halted all public political activity as a mark of respect, including postponing its 72nd Annual Conference.
Its political leader, The Right Honourable Owen Arthur, Leader of the Opposition, spoke from the heart and for BLP members and supporters alike when he publicly paid tribute to the late Prime Minister David Thompson and extended condolences to his family.
Then, even before a bereaved populace could have fully absorbed the reality of the death of the late Prime Minister, the country had to face another emotional upheaval when it was impacted on October 29 by Tropical Storm Tomas, the likes of which it had not seen since the onslaught of Hurricane Janet on September 22, 1955.
While with Tomas Barbados sustained only damage to housing, vegetation and physical infrastructure,
we suffered no loss of life, unlike what happened with Janet with its far more explosive passage.
Even though it must have been a new and traumatic experience for nearly two generations of Barbadians, the ferocious Tomas succeeded in bringing to the fore traditional values and practices of neighbourliness, sharing, caring and community-mindedness, which many had feared we had either lost completely
or were in serious danger of so doing.
Barbadians at all levels are therefore to be commended for admirably rising to the demands of the national emergency and maintaining respect for law and order, while unlimited praise must be heaped on the disciplined forces and the civilian agencies.
Not to be forgotten too are the utility providers for their yeoman service in keeping Barbados functioning, working around the clock to restore vital services as quickly and thoroughly as possible.
The other unit in this tremendous trio of events would have been the return of former Prime Minister Owen Arthur to the office of Leader of the Opposition on October 18. The full significance of this event is
sure to be felt in the near future as Barbadians return to the challenges of everyday life in the prevailing climate of economic pain and uncertainty.
It is accepted across the nation that Barbados is again badly in need of the stable, able and productive leadership Mr Arthur demonstrated while providing unparalleled prosperity, high employment and a strong and healthy belief in self and country.
But while Mr Arthur is sure to bring back to national leadership the economic competence greatly missed for the near three years of Democratic Labour Party floundering and mismanagement, there is every reason to expect, based on his track record, that he and his team will also be bringing to national consciousness another injection of fresh and workable approaches.
The launching pad will be the party’s 72nd Annual Conference on November 13 and 14 at Deighton Griffith Secondary School.
