SVG: A General History to the Year 2025

The launch of the first of three volumes on the history of St. Vincent and the Grenadines co-authored by Dr’s Dennie, Scott and Yours Truly Fraser, was finally launched last Friday to a packed hall at the UWI Global Campus. (In fact, a screen had to be used downstairs to accommodate those who were unable to find seats upstairs). It is as if Vincentians were waiting on something that told them not only about their ancestors but about themselves. One of the Reviewers of the book, Dr Henderson Carter, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education at the Cave Hill Campus of UWI, was specially invited to be part of a Round Table Talk with the authors. Dr Carter greeted us with the news that the Book has been placed on the Syllabus of CXC CSEC and CAPE. He saw it as an important resource for students doing their SBA’s. The book points to a number of areas/subjects on which the students could focus, utilising the sources that are identified.

The work is the result of a long period of research and analysis. Jomo Thomas in his weekly column referred to it as a People’s History of Yurumein. Dr Richard A Byron-Cox echoed the same sentiments. He wrote in a Review, “It would be remiss of me not to mention that the work is written in a style and using language very accessible to the public at large. Here too the authors understood that this is the people’s history that therefore must of necessity be comprehensible to all the people. It is part of your story as a Vincentian, and you need to read it”. Our Governor-General, His Excellency Stanley John KC, was captivated by the book and offered to do a Review at the launch. He also offered his services, as a sort of patron in taking the work to its completion.

Volume 1 deals with Native Peoples, Genocide and African Enslavement. It was fitting that the book was launched in National Heritage Month, when the focus was on the struggles of our Kalinago and Garifuna ancestors. Dr Carter made the point that the book provides ammunition that could be used to strengthen the case for reparations. A recent piece by Craig Simpson, Correspondent for the British Telegraph newspaper stated, “Britain abstains from UN vote calling on UK to pay slave reparations. General Assembly backs resolution condemning forced displacement of Africans.”

The resolution at the UN General Assembly which is non-binding was tabled by Ghana on behalf of the African Union. The resolution saw the forced migration from Africa as “the gravest crime against humanity.” What is needed now is to put the Genocide against the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean high on the agenda. Behind all of this is the call for countries such as the UK and Spain to pay reparations and to make an apology. The European countries heavily involved in the Slave Trade and the decimation of Indigenous peoples and Civilisations are the ones resisting the call for reparations. The case of Balliceaux which is highlighted in the text is a strong one to support the call for Reparations by and for the Indigenous people. Some 4,633 Garifuna and Kalinago people were sent to Balliceaux as a holding ground before being banished to Ruatan off Honduras. After about six or seven months half of them died on Balliceaux. We have to imagine that number being sent to an island that was about 320 acres, lacking rivers, streams or wells.

Dr Carter in his contribution at the Round Table envisioned a movie on Balliceaux. He drew our attention to the possibilities for heritage tourism and the creative industries showing what the book can offer. He pointed to heritage tours, catamaran with tour guides navigating the sea; a tour to Dorsetshire Hill and then across the water to Balliceaux. He identified podcasts with documentaries on the war of resistance, and guerilla warfare the weapon used against the British by the Indigenous people. There are avenues for plays on the Stage and many other possibilities. Our artists need to be exposed to Rock Art. Then of course, a small booklet telling young students about the struggles of Chatoyer and his people.

The call for the teaching of the Garifuna language in the schools is a tall order. What I think is quite possible is its use in communities focusing on heritage tourism. I use Owia as an example where a fort was established by the British in 1773 and restored by the Owia Heritage Group. Attract tourists to the community. Let them be greeted by students singing the National Anthem in Garifuna. Have stories related to their struggles and food prepared on the spot. This could be done in different communities. The language is then nothing abstract but can be part of that heritage tourism focus. Language is living. At a time when our education is focused on obtaining certificates and preparing for jobs the task of getting it in schools will be momentous. Certainly, it is unlikely to be part of any CXC syllabus. But let it be part of a heritage tourism package and we will see how far it can go.

• Dr Adrian Fraser is a social commentator and historian