Maddening Times

THERE IS A CERTAIN MADNESS in our country. We are now into the month we are supposed to be observing our 46th anniversary of Independence. What prevails, however, is what I care to call election fever. The impending elections are on the minds of the vast majority of the population, voters and non-voters.

It has spawned a great deal of tension, anxiety, concern and high expectancy as the country waits on the ringing of the proverbial bell. Little else seems to matter now. There is a maddening rush to get things done or at least appearing to. So, our Independence will be about elections even more so than in 1979 when elections closely followed our move to Independence.

A million and one things seem to be going on. New projects are pulled out of thin air but seemingly not as a forward movement on the independence road.

Apart from those persons who are caught up in the hustle to ensure new projects begin to show signs of germination, the rest of the country is in a kind of go slow, waiting. Many unsure! Some uncertain! There is a lot to comprehend. Most would never have seen this kind of activity, some blowing in the wind. The vendors are seizing the opportunity to be back on the streets, knowing that at this time they are untouchable. The security people who were once active, removing vendors from the streets, now admit that they have little control. All of this is part of the madness. But more madness is yet to come.

One expects the dishing out of a lot of Independence goodies. After all, it is one year since we celebrated 45 years, a heck of a long time in an election year. Another gift will be a new port. It will be interesting to see how Kingstown responds to the traffic challenges that will emerge. No problem.

I suppose we will handle that with ease. I have two major issues with the port.

The first its location in the centre of the town. My other concern is that it moves beyond a fancy project meant to impress by its magnificence but about the benefits it should bring to the country. Will it facilitate an increase in exports as against a massive increase in imports? It cannot do that by itself. The planning, hopefully, has been done to increase the level of exports. This issue did not start today. For quite a long time there has been talk in the region about the increasing gap between imports and exports and pledges made that this will be a priority issue as we move forward.

As I suggested earlier, even while we should be reflecting on the continuing challenges existing for 46 years on the Independence road and provide the atmosphere for a united country to meet those challenges, elections are ripping our still fragile democracy apart. Even while I was reflecting on how we were navigating the new road that was granted to us in 1979, matters relating to the up-coming elections have been stealing the lime light. It started for me with a statement or comment by pollster, Peter Wickham, that the Covid-19 Vaccine issue will matter little in the 2025 elections. He said with some sense of authority that Vincentians have moved beyond that.

I read from I Witness News his comment and wondered! It is as if for the persons affected, it was just a passage that they had to go through; a moment whose impact would disappear with time. I wondered.

Hundreds of vaccine mandate victims! I was never sure about the numbers, but the indication was that it was in the hundreds.

These persons had families, spouses, children, parents and other relatives. Some persons could not pay their mortgages and lost their homes. Others had to get rid of their cars, or they were taken from them. How could this simply be put in the category that with three years having passed, they have moved beyond it!

But I then realised from the article that Wickham knew little about what he was talking. He was evidently of the impression that the vaccine mandate had preceded the 2020 elections, so not having been a big thing then it was unlikely to be so now. But I Witness News through a video it produced, made the mandate issue the talking point once again. It broke the news, although this had been brought to our notice before. Dennis Williams, a teacher of 26 years was dismissed from his job for refusing to take the vaccine. He had studied at the Teachers College and in London, lived in Layou with his son who is now eight years, but might have been about five at that time. He was unable to continue to pay rent for his apartment and had to vacate it.

He had, fortunately, bought some lands in the Palmiste area of Layou. He was able on his own to build a small 8 x 6 structure as he described it, and later added a kitchen (4x 6). He had been living there since that time with his son, without water or electricity. The interview he gave to Kenton Chance of I Witness News was really shattering as he described his experience living there with his son who continued to attend school. It was really difficult looking at that video, but amidst all of this I could not but be impressed with Williams and his son who was not part of the video, and so we did not see. He is doing some farming and takes his produce to the market on Fridays. I described where he is currently living as a structure, but it is really a shack.

This is the experience of one man whose relationship with his son in the midst of the terrible conditions they were enduring was heart warming. This is the experience of one person, but there are many other stories which could be told about others who experienced severe hardships. Williams intends to vote. I am sure others will. We have known of the dismissal of hundreds of public servants but little of their circumstances.

Certainly, for Williams, Peter Wickham needs to know that he hasn’t gotten past what happened on the day he was fired. He found a way, a difficult way of surviving. Our country is better served by knowing his hardships, his story! A different kind of madness but Madness nonetheless! It is my hope that the video would have helped in providing some kind of assistance for him.

• Dr Adrian Fraser is a social commentator and historian