Finally de Emancipation Memorial Lecture in honour of de legacy of Oscar Allen, for his contribution to the socio-political, cultural, and religious life in St Vincent and the Grenadines and de region took place last Tuesday night August 22. De event was hosted by the UWI Global Campus, in collaboration wid The Friends of Oscar Allen and the Diamonites Organisation.

Ah watched de entire program on You Tube entitled: “Emancipation Still Comin”. Ah recall dat when de ULP took office, one ah its first projects was to mandate ah team of local historians/scholars to prepare ah comprehensive History Book of St Vinvent and de Grenadines.

Dr Cleve Scott was already working on ah document on de History of SVG; and he was joined by Dr Adrian Fraser, Dr Arnold Thomas and Dr Michael Dennie, associate professor of History. All Blessed Sons of de Soil.

De full team was on stage on Tuesday night and truly represented de descendants of our once enslaved ancestors, African, Garifuna, Carib, East Indian and in de audience was PM Gonsalves of Portuguese descent. Very uncharacteristically he did not speak. Professor Dennie was de main speaker and moderator was Mr See-me-in Green.

Professor Dennie spoke strongly and wid emotions of de atrocities of de Colonial Masters during de last 30 years leading up to Emancipation. De legislation of dat 1830 Act for Relief of His Majesty’s Free Subjects of Colour in short erased de Garifuna Black people, disenfranchised dem of any legal rights or title, land, freedom and banished dem from de homeland.

We have heard so many times of de 2,400 Garifuna souls dat perished through starvation, dehydration diseases on de island of Balliceaux, before de remainder were transferred to Central America. Den de Professor drew ah loud applause from de audience, when he appealed to de Authorities hey in SVG to mek Balliceax ah sanctuary in honour of de Garifuna.

Maybe one day in dey research, de team of His-storians will come across de News Paper Story where de Garifuna Brothers and Sisters visited SVG, and asked foh Vincy Passport and to buy Vincy lands. Armin Eustace had promised to grant dem dey request. Maybe just maybe de PM should ah said ah few words on Tuesday night, but he said he had to leave to write ah speech. But One day de truth will all be told as was done last Tuesday, Emancipation is Coming!

FOR-RUIN OP-RAW TEEFS

Lie-Za is ah Google Fan-attic, she went searching for de term “For-ruin Op-raw-teefs …..Foreign Operatives”.

She read way Pry-minister Gone-Soft is quoted as saying dat people have told him dat For-ruin Op-raw-teefs are targeting Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Go-Venom-Mint, and Ralph Gonsalves in particular. So ah got her to share wid me what she found in Google.

First on de list she said was de For-Ruin Op-raw-teefs dat deduct wukers contry-brew-shun foh dey Nah-shun-all pen-shun, fail to match wukers deduct-shun, bad spend de collect-shuns, and den tun round and borrow from Nah-shun-all Pen-shun Fun to pay Nah-shun-all Pen-shun Fun.

For-Ruin Op-Raw-Teefs doh drill foh Oil, dey drill Volcanoes foh Gee Owe Termin-ill N.R.G and get Vol-can-ache Ash. And still drilling.

For-Ruin Op-Raw-Teefs mix Bull-liver wid Free Gas, Free Pet-throw-all den join Ali Barber Bank.

For-Ruin Op-Raw-Teefs get Free Lie-Sins to displace local farmers, Quarryin and Crushing top soil at Richmond Vale. To date not ah bucket ah stone has been produced. De lickle boy uses to watch de sheep, his dad told him watch foh when de Wolves come to steal de sheep. If de lickle boy see ah rabbit he uses to shout Wolf, Wolf. And de village will run to his rescue, only to be fooled. One day de real For-Ruin Op-Raw-teefs came and when de boy shouted Wolf, Wolf, not even de Police Brass came to his rescue. And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

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