Beautiful, beautiful Barbados
Gem of the Caribbean Sea
Come back to my island Barbados
Come back to my island and me
Please come back where the night winds are blowing
Come back to the surf and the sea
You’ll find rest, you’ll find peace in Barbados
Come back to my island and me (The Merrymen.)
The classic Beautiful Barbados by the Merrymen evokes a feeling of pride and joy and the enduring bond that most Barbadians have with their homeland.
So whether you hear the song at a promotional tourism event in North America or while relaxing at home in Bim, it makes you feel good.
Oh, if only all of us could take to heart the lyrics of this simple but effective song from Emile Straker and the Merrymen. As we approach the golden jubilee of the country’s political independence from Britain, it is not unreasonable to ask if the message of this track now rings hollow and has lost its meaning and appeal to Barbadians.
The surge in illegal gun activity is certainly an issue of concern to most people, who may find what’s happening all rather scary.
The other issue must be the stinking eyesore Barbados has become. The piles of garbage all over the place do nothing good for the island’s image. We all see, recognise and contribute to the problem, yet the efforts to effect a meaningful and lasting solution seem to be going nowhere, slowly.
As long as the garbage is not at our front door or very close by, we don’t seem to care.
So when the Sanitation Services Authority (SSA), whose responsibility it is to lead efforts to clean up and keep waste management under control, responds like a sloth to the pile-up of garbage across the island, then we have a real problem.
Little wonder the barrage of criticism made against this statutory corporation. The lack of or late response from the SSA is amazing and to think the organisation has a public relations officer in the well-known Carl “Alf” Padmore. For some reason his mouth has been tightly zipped while on the job, for a long time.
Few people know the SSA’s acting general manager, Rosalind Knight, and the same can be said for Shawn Phillips, the executive who has been filling in for her recently while she has been on leave. In any case, neither Knight nor Philips is known to be media savvy. The chairman of the SSA’s Board Margot Harvey falls into the same category as Knight and Phillips, and is a total unknown.
Despite the mountain of mess that has built up, we have not been hearing any words of comfort or a pledge to resolve the problem from the SSA’s senior executives. No corporate communications policy seems to be in place.
But, the Minister of the Environment Dr Denis Lowe, as the politico responsible for the SSA, has been talking recently about this national disgrace. Unfortunately, Lowe has been speaking mostly through the Government Information Service. So the media, and by extension the public, gets what is served through that agency.
The minister, for all his eloquent sounding southern United States Baptist preacher accent, is not a public relations expert. He is a politician looking to defend his turf and will avoid answering the tough and meaningful questions. As it relates to the SSA and the garbage, there are many questions which need to be answered.
These issues should highlight to the SSA why it must undertake a public education and sensitisation programme in collaboration with a clean-up exercise. The SSA should ensure its public relations officer is heard and seen, not only in the media but in communities doing meaningful things to keep both the SSA’s staff, the media and general public informed and educated.Â
Let’s keep Barbados beautiful and unspoilt.
