This is We Story – A significant development

At last, we Vincentians have placed ourselves to tell OUR story to the rest of the world, as viewed with the eyes of generations of a people who have proudly opposed colonial tyranny and fought for their freedom and independence. That pride is exhibited in the profound appreciation of the pioneering and outstanding work of our four doctor/historians – Drs. Adrian Fraser, Cleve Scott, Garey Dennie and Arnold Thomas, in producing the first volume of their seminal home-grown history of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The volume, presented to Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves last Monday night, is undoubtedly the highlight of this year’s Emancipation activities given its significance. Never has such an attempt been made to present Vincentian history from the perspective of our own people as narrated by four of its most committed historians. It is truly a pioneering effort which makes it a truly historical achievement. There is immense value in the time, effort and outcome of this process. It demonstrates the growing maturity of a people who are determined to speak for themselves about their experiences and offer the first product of a home-grown process, documenting the contribution of the Vincentian contingent towards our Caribbean civilisation. Most attempts at historical documentation were rooted in an approach which treated our historical evolution as beginning with the advent of European invaders, and that unjust bias persisted in the treatment of this process right up to the present.

But the very spirit of resistance to oppression and the demonstrated resilience of our people have resulted in the sons of the oppressed taking advantage of the educational opportunities and placing themselves at the service of the Vincentian people to produce such a seminal work. We take the opportunity here to appeal for the inclusion of a female historian to join the present team and so provide a perspective that can only come from the experiences of our women.

We should state here that just as we have taken the revolutionary approach in entrusting committed local historians to tell our story, so too should we treat the process in a revolutionary manner. This cannot be the customary history for academic purposes, shutting out the contributions and perspectives of the makers of history, our toiling people; nor must it be treated as a document for academic purposes only. The very approach of the authors demands far more respect and engagement. Its true value would be best realized in practical terms if we begin by sharing it with our young ones, making the approach to history an essential part of the learning experience in our educational system. For instance, we can use the invaluable historical material to engage children’s authors to adapt the documentation and present it to our children in a variety of appropriate forms. Our story must become a living experience. As we profusely thank the authors, and Prime Minister Gonsalves and his government for the support for this invaluable effort, let us all try and engage in this exercise to better appreciate our historical experiences and to understand the journey “from whence we came”.