Yuh have ah mission on October fifth

Two weeks ago, ah lose one ah me girl-friends wuking at C. K Greaves, Arnos Vale. She been battling wid Cervical Cancer foh sometime but lost both de battle and de war! About two years ago her Doctor had recommended that she goes to T’n’T for treatment immediately, nothing could ah bin done foh her in SVG. De treatment was estimated at close to thirty thousand TT dollars, an almost impossible order.{{more}}

And dis is de plight of lots ah women and men in SVG, meeting de cost ah de treatment fuh Cancer. If yuh live long enough, Cancer will not just strike yuh, but will stick around foh other family members. Any part ah yuh body dat got life Cancer will seek and destroy it. While more and more people are being cured of Cancer, here in SVG many ah cancer victims will die because s/he cannot afford de treatment. Which reminds me dat it is September-October again, Fun’ raising time when countries all over declare war on Cancer. Ah passive war actually. People will march, walk, run, do whatever to raise Fun’ to fight dis dreaded disease.

Ah remember quite vividly when ah was in Canada getting Radiation Treatment foh Pass-straight Cancer, ah spent ah weekend in Ottawa when dat city had its Fun’ raising event. Over fifteen thousand people dressed in pink (de Breast Cancer colour code) went on ah sponsored walk that raised nine hundred thousand Canadian dollars. People walked foh various reasons identifying wid de Fight. One fellar walked foh his buddy, ah victim who was living in another Province. Daughters walked foh dey deceased mothers, fathers foh sons and Verse-see Vie-saw. Hey in SVG, Lennox Bowman and I joined de local Cancer Society walk last year, ah was touched when he told me he was walking foh ah friend living wid Cancer in SVG.

In Canada, CIBC plays a major role financially, in raising Fun’ to fight Breast Cancer. CIBC’S mission to fight Cancer is now in our region. Hey at home de members ah de CIBC First Caribbean (SVG) Staff, foh de second year will team up in battle wid de SVG Cancer Society and de Leo Club, and together dey join CIBC First Caribbean counterparts throughout de region. Dis could develop and become as big as those in Canada, but Vincentians and Caribbean people must learn to Love Again. We must Support and Love one another. Believe it or not, dey is ah potential Cancer Victim in every family, if not yuh, how ‘bout yuh mom or dad, yuh sister or tanty? So next Sat-dey October 5, CIBC is having ah sponsor exercise dey call it “Walk/Run foh de Cure!” Walkers will meet at de FCIB Car park foh six a.m. Come walk and sweat out some ah de poison in de body, potential Cancer cells. We know times hard but come wid some kind ah paper money in yuh pocket. Won’t it be one-dah-full if de three new ULP Senators, Luke, Come-low and Jomo come and ‘Walk/Run foh de Cure’foh Cancer? Better still if de other members ah Par-liar-mint could come join too.

BULL WAS AH CULTURAL ICON TOO

Ah was shocked de other morning when Kay Fergusson shouted me loud-loud in de busy traffic foh all to hear and said: “Bassy dey looking foh yuh foh bull!” It didn’t register until ah phone her and she told me dat Adolphus Trumpet better known as “Bull“ had passed away and de family was trying to reach me. Bull was unfortunately cut down and made ah “physically handicapped person” from ah small child. He was given one ah dem anti-crippling vaccine foh whatever in those days. Dat inject-shun literally “bend him up” foh his entire 61 years on earth. But Bull understood and applied meaning to de words “disability is not inability!” He was always on d road even though walking was ah painful exercise, even his speech was badly impaired. But Bull, in his simple life, was ah Cultural Icon like any ah de normal achievers. He was ah Sion Hill man and played Mas, but he was primarily ah musician in his own rights, never wid-out his or Her-Monica, playing wayever he went. He made ah one-dah-full contribution to de revival of Nine Mornings when it all began in 1992 twenty-one years ago, and not sixteen years as de Committee wants to have us believe, and Minister Mc Kie must correct dis historical wrong or someone else will. De Revival of de Nine Mornings began wid El Grupo Amistad fullly supported by de Venezuelan Embassy. And “Bull” was one of de Artiste who appeared on stage every morning, alongside Kaison “CP” Hall, Patches and Muddy Knights, Lance Trotman, Lio Smith, Kingstown Choral, Starlift and Potential Steel Bands, Geoff Venner’s National Youth Band, Naked Roots, Hairoun Theatre, and others. Bull was one ah de Stars. De crowd always showed great appreciation for his renditions, even though he had difficulty wid his breath playing de notes, as well as holding de instrument to his mouth. He has gone to meet his savior and his Her-Monica will certainly blend wid all de Harps, drums, cymbals and string instruments played in Heaven.

And wid dat is gone ah gone again!

One Love Bassy

Bassy Alexander is a land surveyor, folklorist and social commentator.