The National Trust has failed to do its job

05.OCT.07

Editor: An article in the Searchlight of Friday, September 28th, “National Trust on quest to save ruins,” has sent shockwaves through the archaeological, historical and cultural communities- locally, regionally and internationally.

The intention of this government through the International Airport Company to destroy the Argyle petroglyphs, which stand out as outstanding items of major natural and cultural significance for Vincentians, is nothing short of barbarism, and will be a deliberate act of cultural genocide.{{more}} The destruction of the Argyle petroglyphs, and the Catholic Church, cemetery and shrine is a blatant disregard of the protection and conservation of the nation’s heritage and the people’s patrimony, just to make way for a proposed international airport.

The decision to make life-size replicas of the petroglyphs is ludicrous, since the replicas have no significant historical or archaeological value.

When Kathy Martin of the National Trust presented a proposal to the International Association for Caribbean Archaeologists (IACA) Meeting in Jamaica last August to remove the stones and place them in strategic location in the Airport lobby, those proposals were met with shock and disbelief by the professionals in attendance, and was considered unacceptable. The stones must remain in situ! To an archaeologist and historian, context is what is most critical. It is the place (physical location) where the artifact was found, the environment in which the myths and stories of society were preserved by the early inhabitants of Yuremein. Once you take an artifact out of its context, you have removed its historical and archaeological significance, and it becomes nothing more than a pretty or quaint object for the garbage.

So upset were the delegates at the IACA meeting that a Special Committee was formed to review all archaeological and endangered sites in the Caribbean, including those in St.Vincent and the Grenadines. The Committee comprises many professionals who have done work in SVG, including Dr. Petit Jean Roget of Martinique who had investigated our petroglyphs many years ago. The committee no doubt will make its recommendation(s) to UNESCO in Paris, and this report could impact negatively on SVG’s further nominations of sites for World Heritage status.

The Argyle petroglyphs are currently under consideration by UNESCO for short listing as a world heritage site. The willful destruction of those sites by a government agency will immediately result in a loss of confidence by the international community- especially the funding agencies -in the government’s and people’s commitment to the maintenance and protection of their natural and cultural heritage . It will send tremendous signals to the world that we are not serious about our cultural heritage, and that it is expendable, unimportant, and that preserving symbolic representations of our distant past are not important considerations in this modern world. You cannot deliberately pick and choose what aspect of your heritage to destroy and what to keep. You cannot be so cold and calculating and expect help to preserve those that managed to survive the power of the bulldozer!

I believe the National Trust had not done enough in presenting its case to the government and soliciting advice and assistance for retaining the petroglyphs in its present location. One can say that there has been a total lack of transparency on how the cultural items in the Argyle area will be dealt with to accommodate a proposed airport. The Trust is hamstrung by its lack of true independence from the dictates of government officials. Its mandate must be revised to enable it to act more independently, if it wants to earn the respect of Vincentians. It must get help from regional professionals to handle the Argyle petroglyphs issue, preferably professionals not contracted by the government.

I, therefore, call on the Minister of Culture, Hon. Rene Baptists, of Garifuna descent, and perhaps the only member of Cabinet who has some genuine interest in cultural matters, to let her voice be heard, and to challenge the move by the cultural philistines, in Cabinet and elsewhere, who are hell bent on destroying the Argyle petroglyphs. I also call on the Minister of Tourism, Hon. Glen Beache, to raise questions with his Cabinet colleagues about the wisdom in destroying the Argyle petroglyphs. The credibility of many Vincentians and cultural organizations is on the line, and how much they retain will depend on how they handle this important heritage issue.

Paul Lewis