THE SILLY ERUPTIONS IN SOUFRIERE

The eruptions of violence in the town of Soufriere had some hallmarks of a “cluster bomb” terrorist attack which momentarily threatened the national security of the Tourism Capital; but, at best, it was simply a silly and “out of character” transient juvenile explosion which threatened to mar the image of St. Lucia's world-renowned triply honoured rustic town.  In more ways than one, when it comes to honour, Soufriere is to Saint Lucia what Derek Walcott and Sir Arthur Lewis are to us. She is indisputably our Tourism capital, our only World Heritage Site and our historically renowned famous breadbasket.

Whether or not the gangs from Soufriere caught that “virus infection” of gang violence from the Jamaican Garrison culture and they are in turn unleashing it out on the innocent Sulphur City is a matter of wild conjecture; or whether or not the genesis of it is linked to circumstances peculiar to to Soufriere is equally a matter of conjecture. The concern remains that Soufriere may be potentially infected with the deadly virus of gang warfare and we need to deal with in a profound way to weed it out with a sense of urgency before it takes deeper root and spread to the neighbouring communities of Choiseul, for example.

The volcanoes may not have erupted in millions of years; but suddenly, the town of Soufriere is facing an unexpected eruption of volcanic proportions.

Some restless young men from the town who have organized themselves into unsavoury gangs are engaging each other in a deadly game of fire which in my view is much too large for a town as small as Soufriere.

Notwithstanding the commendably strong and decisive response by the Soufriere police to nip that organized violence from the bud, the scars have been carved and the marks may remain etched on the landscape for some time. We can only pray that there's never a recurrence again.

However, the police intervention is definitely not the total solution.

Soufriere, despite its awesome and breath-taking geographic magnificence, is the third poorest community in Saint Lucia. Unemployment and vulnerability are also very high. Poverty is estimated to be at a whopping 42% with vulnerability at 57%. Unemployment is estimated to be at 19%.

Why would a town which is so viable in tourism and potentially agriculture which was once boasted as being the breadbasket of St. Lucia and now boasting a highly successful tourism sector with world-renowned and award-winning resorts like Anse Chastanet/Jade Mountain, Jalousie Resort and Spa, Ladera, Hotel Chocolat, etc be ranked as the third poorest community in St. Lucia? Why would a town with a successful and model institution like the Soufriere Regional Development Foundation which to some extent is a kind of “redistribution mechanism” of the tourist dollar be plagued with social and economic problems of the magnitude which it now faces? Something must be wrong, somewhere.

Except for the “occasional vagrant” on the street, the indicators of poverty are however barely visible to the visitor until s/he journeys into peripheral Soufriere. If you want a bird’s eye appreciation of the magnitude of socioeconomic problems facing Soufriere, then you may have to take a trip outside the mainstream town to the communities like Baron's Drive on the Southern flank and Palmiste on the northern flank and draw your own conclusions.

But are those epicentres of poverty also the epicentres of the eruption of the violence? Preliminary analysis suggests not at all!  The young and restless of Soufriere's poorest community have hitherto conduct themselves admirably despite their economic and social poverty. 

According to police reports, the epicentres of the gang warfare are in the centre of the town from Market road to Bridge Street. However, according to a police source, the extent of the warfare may also have tentacles in neighbouring Choiseul.

A young man from Morne Sion, Choiseul who is allegedly a very close associate of the alleged Gaza gang leader from Market Road was arrested and charged for gun-related offenses related to the warfare.  A police officer disclosed to the writer that the presiding magistrate agreed to grant temporary haven to the apparent Gaza gang leader in Morne Sion, Choiseul in lieu of remand at Bordelais; but that apparently didn’t abate the feuding.

Sources close to the family of the accused man from Morne Sion indicated that a major police raid happened in Morne Sion shortly after the magistrate agreed to the arrangement, resulting in a series of new and fresh charges against the alleged culprits. 

An eyewitness told the writer that on the day of the fierce gun battle and missile war, another man from Choiseul believed to be a gang member was seen running for shelter along Market Road when the battle got too hot for him. It is reported that the police also had him in custody.

So the big question is: what is going on? How did this thing start? How did the "fellas" from the normally peaceful Choiseul Community get entangled in a gang warfare in Soufriere? The police must do thorough investigation into the potential criminal networks or pockets thereof spanning Choiseul and Soufriere and swiftly nip them from the bud.

The Members of Parliament must also do their bit. Both Hon Harold Dalson (MP for Soufriere and social transformation minister) and Hon Lorne Theophilus (MP for Choiseul and the Minister for Tourism and the Creative Industries) are well-placed to design intervention modalities to limit and control the unnecessary delinquent skirmishes.

Indeed, Hon Dalson has proactively pledged to intervene to help forge peace and unity among the warring factions.

In conclusion, the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force deserves the highest commendation for taking the bull by the horns to restore the town of Soufriere to normalcy. The troublemakers are now all behind bars and a strong deterrent has been established.

The cooperation of citizens was also exemplary. All in all, a strong and decisive message was sent to potential troublemakers and Soufriere can now celebrate  Easter and their Kweyol Jazz in the peaceful environment the town is accustomed to.

However, the problem may not necessarily be over! The real challenge ahead is for the stakeholders to work with target communities, developing programmes which specifically focus on the "restless", unemployed and vulnerable youth and help foster a greater sense of social responsibility, social competence and ultimately a deep sense of psychosocial reciprocity leading to a profound sense of national pride and national responsibility.

(HON) FERGUSON JOHN SPEAKS: "AS I SEE IT . . ."

FERGUSON JOHN

"It has to be understood that constituents don’t vote for Ministers.  While constituents would like to see their representative performing admirably as Minister, their primary concern is his relationship with them and his demonstration of care and concern.  And being a Minister carries no advantage. Can any one guess when last a Minister won in Choiseul/Saltibus? It was 1969.  In the eyes of the constituents, it is the District Rep not the minister that matters." 

                                                          - FERGUSON JOHN LLB (HONS)

                                               

Perhaps all St. Lucia knows that when it comes to speaking his mind, (Hon) Ferguson John (former two-term parliamentary rep for Choiseul/Saltibus, former Minister for Physical Development, Environment and Housing; and former vice chairman of the Saint Lucia Labour Party) does so fearlessly. In this feature article, he openly and frankly shares a few words of wisdom with us regarding the relationship between Parliamentary Rep and constituents! READ ON!

 

"AS I SEE IT": BY FERGUSON JOHN, LLB (HONS)

Politics is serious business and cannot be a hobby.  It reminds me of the old saying “Many are called but few are chosen”.   No one should ever underestimate its value to civilized society but the reality is many do. Indeed, many have paid dearly for doing so but like children clamouring for their own experiences, they continue to.  Many will continue to pay for doing so.

Politics is about people; more so, parliamentary politics. The first political lesson for any aspiring politician should be one that leads to understanding our people.  This assumes even greater importance in a system that is constituency based.

Some of us treat political parties like our tribe:  “Mwen ki tjè labar La mama mwen mété mwen la mwen ca wété”. Political parties understand that - so they expect their base to remain solid whatever the weather. But there’s also the principle of reciprocity. Do you expect the base to stand solidly behind you and you show me no love in return? That where the question of maintaining the base comes in!

So how do we maintain the base?  In my view, the starting point is to understand the base.  We should therefore ask ourselves: Do we know how they think?  Do we know what they expect? If these questions can be answered positively then there’s the likelihood that we remain in power forever.  But these simple questions are so inherently difficult that we may be still searching for answers long after we’ve retired.

In any event we must maintain the base. So we must learn the simple things and we must do them.  Simple things like loving our people, demonstrating that love at every opportunity, and building a relationship based on love.  The saying “love conquers all” is pregnant with meaning in any sphere of life and even moreso in politics.

When cracks appear in a relationship, one has serious decisions to make.  Do I work on keeping it?  Can I afford to keep it?  Should I cut my losses and run? The person who is determined to keep the relationship should begin to reflect on the wrongs that have been done, and the right things that have not been done. He should rewind, listen to the complaints that he dismissed a thousand times before, and address them in a manner that he expects his partner to approve.   This is no small challenge.  It requires an abundance of courage and humility.

In our constituency, whether we like it or not, cracks have been visibly appearing in the relationship between constituents and representative.  He admitted as much in his latest speech to the SLP South Zonal Conference. His constant references to the representative being in the work on the ground, as opposed to being visibly present, were in themselves revealing. It was like telling your partner I put food on the table so shut up.   I don’t know of any relationship that has been mended with that attitude.

The Saint Lucia Labour Party should never forget the year 2006.  It was generally felt that Labour had delivered. Things were looking good.  Optimism flowed; yet we lost by a margin of 11-6.  Post mortems suggested various scenarios; but there was one common factor:  That A word.  Yes, arrogance. We had become an arrogant lot. Some of us found it hard to accept but some recognized it.  All the good work was undone by the arrogance and we were dealt a fatal blow. 

There’s nothing wrong with chest-beating and bellicosity.  When directed at the opposition, it sounds good, creates effective punchlines, and invites resounding cheers; but when directed at the very constituents we represent, our own base - I’m afraid, we are playing with fire. We run the risk of marginalizing rather than building our base.

Experience and wisdom have made it clear that constituents ought not to be taken for granted. Of course people will forgive. Of course a lot of the “not voting for mate” will subside come election time. But a lot of repair work will be required and a lot of time will have to be spent on doing what should not have been necessary.  The obvious result is that there will be little time to do what is absolutely necessary.

Politicians must understand that in a world as volatile as ours, to deliberately ignore constituents for the greater part of the term in the hope of providing sweeteners near election time is an old trick that constituents have learnt how to handle. Much deceit and bad judgement is a natural consequence.   It weakens rather than strengthens the base.  It confuses new voters.

It may be quite difficult but, the politician must be skilled at massaging.   Again it’s not a matter of scratching the surface. Some constituents will need thorough and professional massaging.   Many are passionately in love with their party and events have led to much disappointment and frustration. A lot of time must be invested in the constituency.

It has to be understood that constituents don’t vote for Ministers.  While constituents would like to see their representative performing admirably as Minister, their primary concern is his relationship with them and his demonstration of care and concern.  And being a Minister carries no advantage. Can any one guess when last a Minister won in Choiseul/Saltibus? It was 1969.  In the eyes of the constituents, it is the District Rep not the minister that matters.

Our constituency needs massaging, not bulldozing. Lovers of Labour now have the unenviable task of ensuring that the love affair between party and constituency begins to blossom again. We must not forget that all the fanfare of 2011 gave us only a ninety five vote majority.  If the opposition is allowed to fire, then ours can only be an uphill task.