Lessons of history

History is a great teacher but even the best of teachers cannot succeed if there is not willingness on the part of their pupils to learn from then, to understand the context of their teachings and to be willing to act on what they have learnt.

In my column this week I will comment on two diverse areas of historical significance which ought not to be forgotten, one local, the other international, and how we can draw on them to help to shape a better future for us all.

MAY 1981- PEOPLE’S UNITY BRINGS VICTORYMay 1981 was a truly eventful and unforgettable month for the Vincentian people and our workers in particular.

The month was ushered in by widespread industrial unrest and conflict between the Labour Party government headed by Prime Minister Cato, a nominee today for the accolade of “National Hero”, and the workers movement.

Whatever good he might have done during his tenure in office, there was certainly nothing heroic about Cato’s reactions to trade union and worker mobilisation then.

Faced with trade unions clamouring for recognition, (the National Workers Movement at VINLEC and the Workers’ and Peasants’ Union on the state-owned Richmond Vale estate), for increased wages and better working conditions, (the CTAWU at Bottlers Ltd and the CWSA, as well as the Teachers Union on behalf of teachers), the ‘Labour’ government made a mockery of its pro-labour claim by resorting to repressive tactics against, first the unions, and then the broad popular movement. After one of the most historic celebrations of May Day, the government reacted less than a week afterwards by introducing in Parliament, two Bills aimed at restricting the power and scope of action of trade unions and at stifling popular protest and mobilisation as well.

The infamous Essential Services (Amendment) Bill, and its accompanying Public Order Bill, not only earned for themselves the nickname “Dread Bills” but were the cause of the finest mobilisation of working people in our modern history. This resulted in the unprecedented feat of Peoples power forcing a government to shelve unpopular mobilisation.

The lesson to be learnt from this, (sadly one which seems to have been forgotten), is what the power of unity of the working people and common purpose can achieve.

The unions and political forces which united then under the umbrella of the National Committee in Defence of Democracy (NCDD), had their differences and varied political preferences but put the interests of people and country above all else. Thirty-seven years later, we are yet to understand that.

VICTORY OVER FASCISMOn Wednesday this week, the people of the Russian Federation staged their customary mobilisation to mark Victory Day, the anniversary of the defeat of the fascist and racist Hitler regime in Germany which resulted in some of the worst atrocities in human history.

We are always reminded about the systematic genocide of 6 million Jews by Hitler’s murderers, but just as the brutal crimes against African people under colonialism and slavery are not so highlighted, so too is the fact that 26 million people in the then Soviet Union lost their lives in what the Russians called the Great Patriotic War.

Two lessons must stand out for us today from that sacrificial effort globally to defeat not only the Nazis in Germany, but their counterparts in Italy and Japan as well. One is the danger to peace, democracy and human progress posed by the ideologies of racial superiority, right-wing nationalism and subjugation of peoples represented by those who caused so much destruction and human suffering in the two World Wars.

Many of those forces are on the rise again today, in the USA, Britain and Europe, Australia and even in Latin America. Their ideas and actions must be identified, resisted and combated.The other lesson is that of the danger of war itself for humankind and the future of our planet. The Russians put on display an awesome battery of deadly weapons, aimed at their national security. But what manner of madness has overtaken mankind in its relentless pursuit of weapons capable of destroying the planet a thousand times over? Shouldn’t we be aiming at peaceful means of settling difference without resorting to war? Have we lost the appetite for peaceful co-existence? Fighting to rid our planet from such dreadful weapons is surely in the interests of us all.

Renwick Rose is a community activist and social commentator.