Classmate Saboto – a youth leader in SVG

04. APR.08

Editor: Few things are as important to the human mind as individual progress: we possess an unadulterated and unflinching desire for change, amelioration, and fulfillment.{{more}}

Developing societal inclinations and succumbing to our gregarious nature, we have begun as a species to accept the reality that on a planet of 6 billion people, the progress of the individual is dependent on the progress of the society he inhabits.

The establishment of community leaders, representatives, and governments is our attempt at focusing on the progress of the whole, with the undying hope that we will benefit as individuals. With regard to these representatives, we in the Caribbean presently face a significant challenge. That is, the replacement of a generation of celebrated revolutionists who would have championed the cause of independence from Trinidad to Jamaica with young and enthusiastic minds who will lead us into a 21st century commanded by the specter of globalisation.

In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, our search for leaders capable of taking us into this new future must begin with a calculated examination of our youth. The people we are looking for will be easily identified because the requirements for the position are substantial. Our leaders must first be honest; I say this with disregard for our common association of politicians with deception because we are entirely beyond the point where we can allow stereotypes to define our activities. They must also be educated, self-motivating, and responsible. Perhaps most importantly, our leaders must be capable of bridging critical gaps in our society: gaps between rural communities and urban centres, between rich and poor, between educated and uneducated. We need individuals who are charismatic enough to engage a country of 120,000 souls, and knowledgeable enough to guide our developing nation as we aspire to create and sustain our own global identity.

In my own search for a Vincentian youth leader I would follow, few candidates have impressed upon me the aforementioned qualities as strongly as Mr. Saboto Caesar. When we started 1st form at St. Martin’s Secondary, it became immediately obvious to the others in our class that Mr. Caesar was a peculiar 11 year old. I had not until that time encountered an individual who was so comfortable mingling with classmates from every part of the country, of every ethnic background, and belonging to every economic class. Throughout our time at secondary school and A-levels, Saboto consistently impressed us all with his open countenance and zeal for self-improvement. His willingness to lead from the front and the pride he held for his South Central Windward community convinced me that he was destined to fulfill a significant position in the political future of our tiny nation.

Saboto’s conduct since finishing the A-Level College has only strengthened my opinion of him. His educational and professional advancement coupled with his continuing commitment to community development and youth empowerment exemplify him as precisely the type of motivated individual that our country needs if we are to progress.

In the end, it will take significant efforts and compromises from both sides of Parliament to ensure the sustained development of St. Vincent and the Grenadines: the current partitioning of our nation along political borders must not be allowed to continue. It is necessary that we realise, my fellow Vincentians, that we are simply too few to be divided.

Any future that exists for our country will impact all of us: on both sides of the mainland and in the Grenadines. And so we must find a way to work together. We must find youth leaders that we can all believe in and rally behind.

Saboto Caesar is such a youth

leader, in the humble opinion of this individual.

Jean-Saville Cummings