HISTORIAN Robert “Bobby” Morris is calling on the incoming administration to move swiftly to create a republic for Barbados and remove the statue of Nelson from its location near Barbadian heroes.
In delivering a stirring Louis Lynch Memorial Lecture, at the Courtney Blackman Grande Salle, Tom Adams Financial Centre, The City on Tuesday night, he argued that separation of Barbadians from the head of Government “is a sign that we are not an integrated society and polity”.
The former CARICOM ambassador said: “Independence without our moving on to republican status must be seen as the continuance of a particular West Indian psychosis that must be eliminated at the earliest opportunity.”
Morris also argued Nelson was a hero to the British, not Barbados, and the statue of the British admiral located in a place dedicated to Barbadian heroes – National Heroes Square – was inappropriate.
“A united struggle for reparations from our former imperial power, the removal of Nelson to another space, and the adoption of republican status are important items in any post colonial agenda,” the former parliamentarian said.
In delivering the 25th memorial lecture to an audience of mostly Modern High School alumni, Morris argued there were some people who remained steeped in accepting the cultural and psychological brainwashing of colonialism. More than 50 years into constitutional decolonisation, he continued, Barbadians were forced again and again to ask the question: “What mirror image do we have of ourselves?”
He suggested that despite the establishment of the Committee of Reconciliation and formation of the Pan African Commission, it was extremely difficult to forge “a path of common interest” on the compelling issues of reparatory justice, and the strategy of realigning symbols of hegemonic significance, such as the status of Lord Horatio Nelson.
On another issue, Morris expressed confidence in the recovery of the Barbadian economy, now mired in debt and declining foreign exchange. He said he was confident there would be no devaluation of the Barbados dollar.
“We will go to the IMF [International Monetary Fund] only as a last resort,” he said.
He also called for greater investment in the youth and their protection from drug lords and unacceptable morals. (HH)
