Commentary by Lincoln ‘Toro’
Depradine
Every
nation has an inalienable right to self-determination, no matter how small or
large; no matter how rich or poor.
Except
for a tiny few, we doubt there is any among us who regrets Grenada’s severing
ties with Britain to become an independent nation on February 7, 1974. Yes,
there was protest at the move to independence by politicians opposed to Eric
Matthew Gairy.
Let it
be said, however, that people like former Prime Ministers Maurice Bishop and
Herbert Blaize were not against independence for Grenada, Carriacou and Petite
Martinique. Their concern was that independence under Gairy, giving wider and
unfettered powers, would increase what they regarded as his penchant for
dictatorial and repressive rule.
Nonetheless,
amidst protest and an electricity blackout, independence was ushered in and
Gairy became the first Prime Minister of an independent Grenada.
By and
large, the nation has embraced our independence as belonging to “all ah we.’’
We proudly fly our red, green and gold flag with the nutmeg and stars. We gloat
when Grenadians, individually and as national teams, achieve regional and
international success.
In the
37 years since nationhood, we also have had our trials and tribulations; some,
such as the devastation of the country by Hurricane Ivan in 2004, have been
beyond our control. Others, particularly the political ones, have been
man-made, such as the period from 1979 to 1983 when we moved from Revolution to
the assassination of our Prime Minister; to the invasion of country by foreign
soldiers.
It is
during our times of testing – political, economic and social – that we often
hear whispers that perhaps we should have just remained under British colonial
rule. We disagree with that viewpoint. No self-respecting man or woman should
remain under the control of another for a lifetime.
But
even among those not yearning for a return to direct British colonial rule, there
seems to be an unwillingness to completely rid themselves of the trappings of
the old Mother Country of Europe. We think this mentality makes a mockery of
our claim to being an independent nation.
The
most urgent area of change needed in order to consider ourselves genuinely
independent is with regard to our laws.
Many of
the laws that are enforced today, in 2011, were enacted decades and centuries
ago to protect the British colonial ruling class; at a time when the property
and the interests of the ruling class were more important than the life and
limb of the native black population.
The
laws, frankly, were meant to keep the local population in the place; take, for
example, the criminal libel laws under which journalists are still being
prosecuted in Grenada.
We are heartened;
however, that change appears to be underway. Government has embarked on a
review of the Constitution that was adopted on independence in 1974. At the end
of the review and consultation, a new “made-in-Grenada’’ Constitution will be
voted on in a referendum.
Prime
Minister Tillman Thomas has also announced that a review of the Criminal Code
has started. He promised that changes will be made and posted on the internet
for all Grenadians to read.
We
congratulate the Prime Minister and his government. Let’s all celebrate our
“Grendianess’’ on February 7, 2011. But let’s also remember that the
independence journey continues with work still to be done in changing our laws,
and even in changing our attitude to one another and to our nation, especially
in the realm productivity.
We need
to produce more and import less. A nation that cannot feed itself is in
perpetual peril and at the mercy of others.
Commentary
published in the February 2011 edition of Grenada’s Barnacle newspaper
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