Clean the cemeteries!!!
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- Details
- Parent Category: Aug 2011
- Category: Week ending Aug 27th, 2011
- Published on Monday, 29 August 2011 09:02
- Hits: 1429
EDITORIAL
The NEW TODAY welcome news from the Minister of Health, Senator Ann Peters that government has taken a decision to use workers from the Debushing Gangs to help keep some of our cemeteries clean.
It appears that gone are the days when each village cemetery benefited from that individual in the community who was responsible for burials and the general upkeep of the cemetery in the area. The complaints are coming too frequent from locals as well as foreigners that too many bushes are taking over some of our major burial grounds including the main one in the heart of the city.
This seems to be a problem in most Caribbean Islands, and is not limited only to Grenada. Even some worthless people are building houses and sleeping and cooking among the dead. There is a report on the Internet in which an Indian lady complained about the terrible state in which she found the grave of one of the best fast bowlers ever produced by the West Indies, the late Malcolm Marshall of Barbados.
The lady from Calcutta in India, now living in the United States, had braved the wrath of many of her country folks to openly support the great West Indies team of the past led by Clive Lloyd and included top players like Viv Richards, Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall and company. She was appalled on a visit to Barbados when she visited the graveside of Marshall who had died from colon cancer to see a grave that was covered in bush and all sorts of junk.
She took her complaint to Rev. Wes Hall, another former great fast bowler of the 60’s who used his influence to correct the situation around the graveside of the late great Malcolm Marshall. Is that the way we show respect to our dead and fallen heroes? Clearly, the lady thought and quite rightfully so that Marshall who brought great pride to Caribbean people all over the world would have been placed in a grave befitting that reserved for Kings, Queens and Royalty.
After all, he was a Caribbean King in his own right - the King of Pace and the lead fast bowler that ensured that our cricket remained on top of the world for over 20 years and made all Caribbean citizens feel on top of the world in those glory days of West Indies cricket.
This paper will give every support to governments throughout the Caribbean who feel a deep sense of gratitude to the deceased and respect them and will ensure that nothing is done to desecrate our burial grounds. Many of these former citizens not only contributed to nation building but also helped to “top-up” government coffers over the years as major taxpayers.
Every succeeding government in Grenada should see it as part of their duty to pay homage to our dead and not to allow our cemeteries to become forests and forgotten places. Thousands of dollars over the years have been squandered by previous governments on ill-advised projects that the nation is still to benefit from whether it was in Levera, Mt. Hartman, and Victoria, St. Mark’s.
The thousands of dollars paid to our Debushing Gangs will rebound to the benefit of the country and economy since all those who get work on these special projects not only live here but also spend back their earnings at the village level and keep the small shops afloat. The very VAT system introduced by government can only perform to its maximum if there are economic activities taking place in the country.
It is better to spend some of the VAT intake on the Debushing Gangs to not only keep our cemeteries clean but also to get these Gangs to help clear up farmers land as part of a subsidy scheme for the agriculture sector to help achieve the overall object of a nation helping to feed itself through the concept of: “Grow what we eat and eat what we grow”.
The NEW TODAY will also like to make some passing remarks on the limited State of Emergency announced in Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday night by Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar to deal with a serious crime situation in the neighbouring Twin Island Republic. It is indeed a sad day for the Caribbean when a government has to resort to a State of Emergency to combat the threat posed to democracy by bandits and criminals.
The crime situation in those hot spots areas in Port-of-Spain especially in places like Laventille and Morvant, is quite alarming and the perpetrators need to be brought to their knees in the interest of the safety of all law-abiding citizens. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has every right to look at strategies to fight crime and send strong and clear messages to all criminal elements bent on creating panic and havoc in the society.
The current State of Emergency as enforced by the Bissessar government can only be seen as a plaster to put on top of the sore that has been festering for a long time. The long-term solution cannot be a State of Emergency every time that the crime wave takes on alarming proportions but the symptoms that are the real causes need to be tackled and addressed and not swept under the carpet.
Today, it is Trinidad and Tobago that is reeling from a serious spike in criminal activities. Tomorrow it could be St. Kitts and Nevis, then St. Lucia and Antigua. Perhaps Jamaica is already too far gone where crime is concerned. Let us thank our lucky stars that Grenada is still in a far better position than some of our neighbours where crime is concerned and do not have to look at taking some of the medicine like what is happening now in Trinidad and Tobago.
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