Lef arwe beach alone

Ah remember as ah youth playing Ring Games, singing Folk Songs in de Moonlight by Pappy Joyette’s gate, “haff-ah-foot Duncan” (he had one leg) uses to teach us games and songs. De one dat coming back to haunt me now goes something like dis: “White Sand or Black Sand, no one want my Black Sand, who will buy my Black Sand,!” We, Carry-Beyond people have always had problems wid our beaches, in particular our White Sand Beaches! About 40 years ago de Beach Rights caused an uproar in Bo-bathe-us, way de White hotelier wanted to block Beer-Jons from using dey beach, in front his property.{{more}} It was scandal-us and prompted Gabby, Kaisonian and Floklorist to pen ah bad Kaiso: “ Jack! Dah beach is mine!”

Around de same time, just like Bo-bathe-us, we had ah Shake Up too. Our noble White folks wid White Sand Beaches in Villa blocked off all access thru dey properties to de beaches. De Quest-shun den was, “who owns de Beach?” And dat was sorted out once and foh all: “All Beaches in SVG including PSV, Palm Island, My-row, Mustique, Young Island, Villa and now Can-One is public, ley me repeat dat “Is Public!” In other words, White or Black, Far-reign or local people who own property along de Beach “Do Not Own de Beach!” Dey can stop yuh from trespassing thru dey private property, so way dey’s no public access Go-venom-mint is obligated to acquire lands to mek access and save us from having to use ah boat, swim or fly to get on de Beach. Right now ah hearing ah serious rumbling coming out ah Can-One involving a Far-reign investor and beach rights and restrictions. Dey’s even talk bout Swimming Zone. Whatever de plan is we need more discussion and explanation as to what is going on. We need investors but not to de detriment ah de locals, de born-hey people.

It was ah terrible mistake by Sir James 20 years ago, when he alienated three-quarters ah Can-One to de White Investors. Ralph was so opposed to dat decision den, but not now. Immediately after dey arrived, dey was trouble when dey attempted to stop de locals from getting to de Beach. Terry Boy-no, de local activist who like Chatoyer, defied dem all, got ah good physical beating from de Israeli security guards recruited by Far-reign white investors to rough up Black local born-yah citizens.

Ah don’t know what is it dat our White Sand do to dem White Investors. As Lie-Za say,”birds of ah flock feather to-gather!. Not even if we tell dem dat de Black Volcanic Sand is therapeutic, good foh de Arthur-right-dis. If dey must buy or lease ah Black Sand Beach, dat getting dug up and replaced wid White Sand, check our Buccama.

I have been, and will always be opposed to Go-venom-mints giving away our lands, not ours really, dey belong to our unborn generations. No Prime Minister or politician got de right to sell out our country to Far-reign. We and dey are de custodians of de estate of future generations. When dey arrive and can’t find dey birth-right and leg-ah-see, dey will dig up our graves and hang whatever remnants dey find in de Heritage Square, and dey will flog us mercilessly to death again!

De can-One situation smacks of dis-crime-ah-nay-shun. Lie-Za seeing spite wuk, de people of Can-One, in fact Grenadines people are loyal to Sir James and by extension de NDP, and those who know how de Grenadines people were spitefully neglected by Go-venom-mints before Mitchell, will understand, ask Snag-he and Her-man. Those islands were under-developed, never had electricity, telephone, paved roads. Deys now an Airport on every island, except My-row. All to Mitchell’s credit.

Ah have not seen any documents related to de Beach Fiasco in Can-One, but ah will get one and comment further. In de meantime, let me warn dis ULP Go-venom-mint to warn far-rain investors, to respect de Rights of de people of Can-One, Jah beach belongs to We! Dis one is serious and could get real nasty.

TWO IN AH ROW

Dr Jules Ferdinand has foh de second consecutive year, copped de Best Lecturer Award 2015, at de Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business, at UWI in Trinidad and Tobago. De selection is made by participants’ evaluation and de criteria raise ah thought “Lecturer’s delivery, Command of de subject area, relevance of de material presented, the learning outcomes, de programs rigour, de quality and timeliness of de Lecturer’s feedback.” So de thought has to do wid our dwindling Business community and ailing Tour-is-him industry, wouldn’t Jules wid his “Two In Ah Row”been a much better candidate dan Cess de Mess wid his “Four in a Row?” And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

Bassy Alexander is a land surveyor, folklorist and social commentator.