Searchlight bids farewell to Renwick

THIS MORNING, family, friends, persons whose minds he touched and those who appreciated the work of this son of the soil will pay their last respects to Renwick Rose at his funeral service at the Kingstown Methodist Church. Renwick, commonly referred to as Kamara, was one of the founding fathers of Searchlight, along with Oscar Allen, Bassy Alexander and Adrian Fraser. His work and commitment was of enormous value to this newspaper. In fact, he was the one who suggested the name SEARCHLIGHT. He served as columnist and member of the Board. Apart for the times when commitments to WINFA (Windward Islands Farmers Association) and to other organisations that sought his services and led him to be out of the country, his column was a regular feature of the paper until his ailments got the better of him.

Renwick brought with him an interest and long involvement in journalism starting with the central role he played with FREEDOM and JUSTICE in the 1970s, organs ofYulimo (Youlou United Liberation Movement), and the United Peoples Movement (UPM). In 1994 he served along with Alexander, Fraser and Allen doing weekly columns for The NEWS newspaper. Misunderstanding and conflicts with that newspaper led to the four columnists leaving and starting the SEARCHLIGHT which was incorporated as INTERACTIVE MEDIA Ltd on March 7, 1995. The first edition of Searchlight hit the streets on April 7, 1995. Incidentally his first column was written while he was in England on matters related to Windward Islands bananas. His articles appeared under the pseudonym EYE OF THE NEEDLE, and he labelled himself a Social and Political Commentator. In fact, all his writings lived up to that description.

Renwick was about Public discourse and sought to lift the political and social consciousness of his readers and those with whom he grounded in the different organisations with which he had been involved. He was in 1972, at age 24, a central figure in the formation of the Black Liberation Movement whose focus was on building the population’s consciousness and pride in their blackness, seeking to remove one of the stigmas of colonialism, the issue of identity. That was a period when ideas contended as the anti-colonialism movement grew and the smaller Caribbean countries sought to move toward Independence. Renwick had a brief association

with active politics when as a member of the United Peoples Movement, (UPM) a merger of different political organisations, he was selected as one of a triumvirate of leaders that led the organisation unsuccessfully into the 1979 elections. Shortly after, he became involved in the Farmers Association and was Coordinator of the Windward Islands Farmers Association for a number of years.

Renwick in all of this continued to write, commenting weekly as part of a public conversation on issues affecting SVG and the region. His columns in 2025, despite being handicapped by his illness, maintained that trend as he commented on Independence, Reparations, the indigenous people of the Caribbean, Remembering the ‘martyrs’ of the 1935 Riots in SVG, Emancipation, Decolonisation and Independence. We celebrate his work as a columnist with Searchlight, knowing fully that what he brought was honed over 20-plus years before. Many persons since his death have commented publicly about the impact his writings had on them. In all of this what we had was a true son of the soil, a patriot, and one who wanted the best for the country of his birth on which he stood firmly, resisting the temptation to seek ‘greener pastures’.

His last column on February 13 was a comment on the Budget“The Budget Debate: Shoe on the Other foot Now”.

“We may criticise their choices, but the government of their choosing is now our government. We can’t turn back now but must seek to give shape and direction in a positive manner. On both sides of the political divide there are the sharks trying to manipulate the course of our evolution. We can neither leave it to them nor to those who greedily say, ‘this is our time’. The battle is on.”

The words of a patriot, a true son of the soil. Rest peacefully Renwick, you have made your contribution!