Mother nature

As we clear de debris and mud, and de material dust settles, de pull-it-to-kill dust is beginning to kick up into another storm. Elect-shun is around de corner and pull-it-tek-all parties are not made up of Saints, dey cheat and deceive if dey have to, in order to stay in Power. And using disaster relief materials to strengthen an enhance de party is normal to dem. De Opposition is afraid dat de relief distribution process dis time around, will be ah repeat of way happen during Hurry-Came Tomas in 2010 and de flooding at Georgetown in 2011.{{more}} Ah great deal ah Relief Supplies (food and building materials) ended up in de hands ah de ruling party supporters, who were not even damaged by de Disaster, while ‘bona fide’ victims, non supporters ah de regime get nothing. In his pair-ah-ducks style, all ah dis was supposedly cleared up by de PM at ah Press Conference earlier dis week. He is warning public servants not to “Penny Pinch” during distribution. In other words is no big thing if in ah poor Community, twenty persons who are unaffected get relief supplies. My girl Lie-Za come-plain dat in de past, persons identified as Opposition supporters, who had been seriously affected by storm, got lickle or no assistance, while on de other hand de so called ‘unaffected persons’ who got relief supplies, just happen to be loyal supporters ah de ruling party.

Ah was telling Lie-Za dey should be no “hanky panky” business dis time, because de PM has asked foh ah list of all de persons affected by de Trough on Christmas Eve night, all dat dey had, down to ah fowl-cock, and list all dat dey lose. She tell me yes, de list ah all de names of persons affected will be collected, but when de real list comes out will be ah horse of ah different colour.

MADNESS AT LARGE

Only last week ah wrote dat we will be pointing fingers and looking foh scapegoat. Our noble PM has chosen to point ah finger at Mother Nature, the force that controls the natural world. Since ah small when rain, thunder and lightning licking down de place, ah frighten to death, my Granny would say: “Yuh just pray son, we can’t fight Mother Nature!” But our PM begs to differ. At ah Press Con-friends he is quoted as saying: “In ah disaster, what we are having really, is that Nature, in ah sense, is at war with us, we are at war with Nature too, because we are always tampering with Nature.” Ah wish de PM did chose ah different analogy. Yuh want to bet when he realize dat he mis-spoke, he will tell us dat when he say Nature, he meant Nature Stevenson of de Opposition. But right now de man is serious ‘bout dis War story, he has appointed himself as Commander-in-chief of his mite-he army, and we laughing at de Alice in One-dah-land tale. Is dis de thinking of ah man who before Christmas, had an audience wid de Pope, de epitome of Peace on earth. Even Lie-Za is wondering what did de Pontiff say to our PM dat could have him all riled up to go to War. And of all people, War against Mother Nature!? Lie-Za is Cat-lick, she believes in her Pope Francis, and she say Pope Francis gave de PM de impossible task of reconciliation: “Go home and win de Elect-shun Ralph,” he said, and de PM smiled sorry, mek ah big grin! Den de Pope completed his statement: “But first yuh must mek peace wid yuh NME, beginning wid de Opposition.”

Instead ah making peace, he declaring his own War. Pope Francis will be shocked if and when he hears dat de Opposition come-plain dat dey were deliberately omitted from all Relief Meetings; and dat de PM, now Come-under-in-chief (PM) invited dem to put on dey Soldier Uniform and come help him fight Nature!

BUILDING BRIDGES

Ah listened to BRAGSA’s Engineer, Kenyatta Alleyne, de son of Cultural Ambassador, Scakes and Mrs Alleyne. De young man is de splitting image of his Dad, talk like him, look like him. Scakes boy, we would ah heng yuh if yuh did disown Kenyatta. Seriously though, in his reporting, Kenyatta said dat serious damage has been done to what sounds like de majority ah de main bridges throughout de country. Ah couple years ago, BRAGSA did intensive wuk on de Marriaqua bridge way de two main rivers, Zinga and Teviot merge. Dey sunk de river bed, especially de area under de bridge itself, and dey placed Gabions along de sides. So far, dat Mespo bridge is holding its own. Maybe sinking de river beds along wid de effective use of Gabions could be “food foh thought.” Kenyatta in his list of damage to bridges, omitted de most important Bridge in SVG dat needs to be constructed or reconstructed. Dat is de ULP-NDP Bridge. Dis country is really in ah bad way, not even ah disaster as severe as de recent Rain-storm on Christmas Eve Night, way nine people lost dey lives, could bring us “to-get-her-now!” Lie-Za insisting she hear dat Pope Francis told de big man to come home and Reconcile, but he using ah Bassy spelling, He come back to Wreck-corn-soil. And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

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