HELEN HAS A SERIOUS CASE OF "BLESS"

When we wish to say in our native Kweyol that someone is seriously hurt in the chest  or spine as a result a devastating blow or a fall, we say s/he has "bless"; and although bless can be healed by alternative medical practice, it can also be fatal if not attended to in a timely manner. Today, I submit that our Helen  of the West has a serious case of "bless"

I heard the Chairman on RSL Agenda admitting that he was not aware that “there were still so many people hurting” from the pains inflicted by Tomas. Well, Mr Chairman, indeed this is the indisputable truth! You should perhaps take a “radio tour” of Choiseul/Saltibus and you will experience it firsthand.

Nightmares

Mr Chairman, in some cases, it is so serious that it has been giving me nightmares. I live and breathe the agony every time I trek the constituency.

The Choiseul Powerhouse has embarked on its own research initiative under the leadership of a renowned UWI scholar/researcher to attempt to quantify the extent and magnitude of the socio-economic and geotechnical damage by Tomas on the Choiseul/Saltibus constituency. From the preliminary inception report, the results look damning. Yet, the government and the district rep do not seem to care.

Brainwashing and mind-bending tactics

While we are trying to gather information and seek answers to get our people out of the Tomas quagmire, Tucker is busy hiring the services of the "mind-bending" Strategic Communications Labs which is already at work in Choiseul/Saltibus; and rather than advising him on an appropriate post-Tomas recovery plan, they are engaged in mind-bending political activities in the name of the government, costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars to brainwash the people of Choiseul/Saltibus. However, the community is fortunate have its own native-born watchdog team to monitor and debunk any myth and propaganda that come our way.

Fractured and badly hurt

Choiseul – as is the case with most of St. Lucia – is geo-technically and economically fractured and badly bruised by Tomas. This impact of Tomas can be compared to a massive fall into a precipice. Parts of Saltibus, Daban and Gertrine are facing serious geotechnical challenges which are on the scale of what happened to Soufriere; and the entire constituency is badly bruised economically. The Pre-Xmas crop harvest across the constituency was totally destroyed by Tomas. From Delcer in the West to Saltibus in the East, the farms were like a huge burial ground for rotten crops murdered by Tomas. Yet, the district rep reported that Choiseul was largely spared.

Apparently, the District rep does not care. Our preliminary assessment shows that while damage to housing and infrastructure was not resounding (as was the case with Allen), the farming community was plundered. In other words, the farmers’ livelihoods were taken away from them overnight and now many of them have nothing to do and nowhere to go. They are stranded in their own community.

State of agony

Rather than channeling funds into the recovery process to help bring the affected hurricane victims back on their feet, Tucker and his uncaring government are instead diverting our hard-earned taxes to pay Strategic Communication Labs for mind-bending political activities in Choiseul/Saltibus. 

The results of the last elections reveal that support for the two candidates was equally divided.  Although won, it was well within the margin of error. What was noteworthy about Tucker's win was the fact that he won in only ¼ of all the polling divisions (3 out of 12) ; Assuming that he focuses on this ¼  where his concentration of support lies (and we have reason to believe that this is the case), then ¾ of Choiseul/Saltibus would still be in a state of agony. But that’s not the whole story: a public opinion polls show that there is a substantial shift in favour of Lorne. Assuming he uses that information as the sole criterion for the distribution of supplies, then the agony will be even worse.

From the above, therefore, we ask: is Tucker the qaulity of person to represent us? Why should our representative turn a blind eye to our post-Tomas plight and instead of providing assistance for recovery, he is instead talking about mini-stadium, carnival and computers. In the midst of the fractures, bruises, hardship and helplessness facing the community, these mind-bending projects should  have been put on hold in pursuit of critical priority areas.

Exemplary Lorne campaign

The Lorne campaign has exhibited much wisdom and character in the distribution of emergency supplies. They have spent close to $100,000 in the procurement and distribution of supplies to the needy; and even that contribution pales into out when compared with the magnitude and totality of the demand for assistance that the constituency needs. However, the campaign should be complimented for the transparency and wisdom in the distribution of supplies. Based on the anecdotal feedback, NEMO may even want to consider using the Lorne model for distribution of supplies. The anecdotal reviews of their performance in that regard were encouraging.