One Month to Independence

We are now one month away before our celebration of our 46th anniversary of the achievement of National Independence, 31 days to go to the historic October, 27 date. Yet with a mere four weeks plus to go, there is a lack of clarity as to what shape or form our celebrations would take this year.

It is some weeks now since the government announced that it was “farming out” responsibility for organizing the independence celebrations to the Carnival Development Corporation (CDC).

It is a decision with which I disagree, not based on any suggestion of incompetence on the part of the CDC to organize cultural activities, but because our National Independence is much deeper than that, and our

celebrations must encompass those aspects which reflect our historical march to independence and our

vision of the future of our country.

Previous governments, including this one, had taken an approach of appointing National Independence

Committees, harnessing a range of different skills to organize and oversee the implementation of a comprehensive programme, suitable for such an occasion. These were not perfect, but at least they attempted to get a wider body to organize and supervise the activities.

Such an approach is much more inclusive and allows for the input of a broader cross-section of perspectives, talents and ideas, a truly national oversight body.

Perhaps this year the powers that be are too busy with electoral considerations to be “burdened” with independence celebration activities, but surely, that is an irresponsible position to take. Yet, perhaps it is not surprising for over the years too many people look forward to the independence parade and then the P. M’s announcement of “goodies” as their independence package. For many of these the significance of independence and our journey towards that goal does not count as much.

The history of our march towards independence is either not known or understood by too many of our own people resulting in a lack of appreciation of our achievements.

In the first place, national independence did not come on a platter. It is true that by the 1960s and 70s, the colonial government, the United Kingdom, no longer needed to exercise direct control over our affairs as it did in the colonial years and therefore was anxious to let us take on the responsibility ourselves, provided that we remained in the western orbit.

So, whereas in Africa in particular, several nations had to take up arms to regain the right to sovereignty, in the

Caribbean where the colonial powers felt confident about the contending political parties, independence

was “knocking dog”, as we say. In the seventies. The one exception, it should be noted, where the political orientation of the national movement so frightened the British and Americans with their investments in bauxite and sugar, that it was not until they had succeeded in dividing the movement before Guyana was allowed to proceed to independence, four years after Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

The relative ease with which the smaller islands proceeded towards independence masked the long

years of struggle to regain their independence, for that is what it really was. Take our country for instance. Up until 1763 the Garifuna and Kalinago were unaware of any king of England, France or Spain. It was the aggression of the European colonists, trying to impose slave economies, which brought Chatoyer’s people into armed conflict with the British. The fight then was to maintain our sovereignty. The local authors of the first authentic version of OUR STORY, point out that not only was this a bitter fight to remain independent but it also substantially delayed the

imposition of plantation slavery in St Vincent. When we celebrate independence therefore, we must begin with Chatoyer and the Garifuna. Similarly, over the years we must also remember those who opposed British colonialism and agitated for democracy and the right to vote, George McIntosh and Ebeneezer Joshua being prominent.

Strangely, though our country was one of the first in the Caribbean to openly rebel against British colonial rule in the 1930s, a region-wide rebellion which paved the way for the right to vote in 1951, and political and constitutional advancement in the sixties and seventies leading to the reclaiming of national independence. Our own 1935 rebellion still remains an outsider where national recognition is concerned. Is it not time to “Right

the historical wrongs” against those who dared to rebel against colonial rule on October 21, 1935?

Independence did not come with a decree by the British government, a lot of sacrifice, blood, sweat and tears, a lot of jail time too, was involved. What better time than at our independence celebrations!

• Renwick Rose is a Social and Political commentator.