Lord have mercy, I feel sweeeeet today! Here I am writing on Barbados Independence Day. And never, never have I felt more confident in the ability of this little country to take on the world alone. To survive and triumph.
All this after listening first to Owen and later to Froon as they predicted victory over the present economic difficulties. “Some there were”, said our PM, “who thought that Barbados was too small and too poor to survive as an independent nation. . . .
“We celebrate today the completion of 44 years of Independence and have confounded the prophets of doom by the great leaps forward which Barbados has been able to make in the economic, social and political spheres.”
God bless you, Froon and Owen. Your messages were especially uplifting coming just one day after the resident Trinlonial spokesman was ranting that “the challenges Barbados faces in the future, though, may yet undo all her achievements. . .”.
“You don’t need an MBA”, continued the doom-prophet, “to foresee that the tiny, insignificant Caribbean economies will all collapse, given enough time. . . .” Tiny? Insignificant? Know your place, Trini! Most of the tiny, insignificant Caribbean islands heard that many decades ago. Yet today they are preferred as places to live over your big, significant homeland.
You know, there are lessons for life all around us. The first lesson I learnt when I got into farming on my own was “Don’t listen to experts”.
We were told, the wife and I, that 14 acres could not support an economically viable dairy. Many years later we were featured in a Scottish magazine, double-page spread with pictures, under the headline 84 cows on 14 acres! The “experts” recommend one beast per acre.
Then “experts” told us that on 14 acres we couldn’t afford to have our own grass-handling equipment. We must depend on others to do custom work for us. So we went out and bought tractor, hay-baler, rake, fertiliser-spreader, the works. These have paid for themselves many times over. Yet some would call my farm “tiny” and “insignificant”.
And so it is with Barbados. The Doom-Pees disparage the same agricultural fields which brought prosperity and development to Barbados while building cities and fortunes in England. But our land, properly managed, will never let us down. And, God willing, we shall never have to go “cap in hand to Guyana for a piece of ground to plant yam” as the Trini massa predicts. Or visit Kamla’s ATM.
Throughout our history Barbados has welcomed new residents from all over the world. They have made sterling contributions.
As a long-standing member of Guataka which comprises wonderful people from the region, it pains me considerably to appear to be anti-Caribbean. I fully support synchronising our trade and security with other Caribbean nations.
I cannot support unlimited immigration which will inevitably lead to social disharmony, or surrendering control of our affairs to a regional body. Nor will I be silent when my country is spoken of in insulting terms.
Barbados may be in for rough times. Much of our local business activity in now controlled by outsiders. But we can still have the final say once we don’t let them get their hands on our sovereignty, as many European countries have done to their sorrow.
I like the way Prime Minister Stuart is talking. “Let us rearrange our priorities . . . re-examine our preferences . . . reconstruct our approaches.” And bring home the bacon.
At a concert in honour of Jeff Garvey last Saturday night, I had the pleasure to sit with former minister Keith Simmons and his wife. He abounds with ideas for national service and grounding youth in moral certitude. Let us hope his advice will be sought and implemented.
Finally, congratulations to our awardees, especially Don Hill, big boss at the Telephone Company when we had a telephone company, pianist extraordinaire Ebe Gilkes, the best thing we ever imported from Trinidad, and Sir Branford Taitt, who gives us a shout ever and anon.
We know our Governor General, a man for all seasons, would have intoned at the ceremony: “Rise, Sir Branford”. And then added sotto voce: “Speaking metaphorically, of course, Sir Branny. Even in this age of miracles, not all things are possible”.
God bless Bim!
• Richard Hoad is a farmer and social commentator.
