A Society In Need Of Transformation

EVERY year at this time as the island marks ‘Nobel Laureate Week’ my mind turns searchingly for signs that the people have embarked on the road to transforming themselves in a way that deserves of their two Nobel Laureates. I have tried very hard particularly in the last ten years to search for a glimpse (a slight inference if you prefer), that a transformative journey has been embarked upon by the rank and file. Alas, there are still too few markers to distinguish it from the Caribbean herd.

The creation of new nomenclature for the former Ministry of Social Affairs styling it as Ministry of Social Transformation was at first interpreted as a hopeful signal. But after careful observation it became clear that the new style was not underpinned by new policy directions to purposely use the new nomenclature as a new foundation upon which the work and life of the island’s Nobel Laureates would be used to transform the people and country from darkness to light.

It also appears that there may have been a meeting of minds, so to speak, of Caribbean Governments (Caricom Heads perhaps?), wherein it was agreed to introduce the word transformation, into the lexicon of government services perchance to indicate that there was something to be transformed. Implicit in the idea of transformation is that something needs to be changed from one state to another – leaving an unsatisfactory past behind it. Such migration implies moving to a better, superior, and more modern progressive situation – and citizenry.

Notwithstanding the above observations the question regarding the transformation of the internationally accepted works (and scholarship), of the island’s Nobel Laureates and their relevance to national development solicits a question or two. Who amongst her sons and daughters is prepared to undertake the long and arduous task of applying the economic thesis of Sir Arthur Lewis to the island’s long term development? When will a resolute leader with the vision, tenacity and selflessness, of one such as the former leader of Singapore Lee Kwan Yew, arise to chart a new and transformed way for Saint Lucia and Caribbean? For how long will the region be stuck in a colonial and slavish mind-set, and who will help it leap frog into the twenty-first century?

When will the life of the poet laureate (forget his deep and incisive spiritual writings for the time being), be made required reading in the island’s schools? Who is left to tell the story of these two great sons of Saint Lucia to the youth of the Caribbean? Who will instruct the people that only the love and dedication of their struggling parents (and the power of the Holy Spirit?); distinguish these two men – the Nobel Laureates – from many youngsters in towns and villages in the Caribbean?

These two great sons never set out to change the world or to transform their homeland. In the colonial era wherein they were born and raised, the dream of international fame was remote and unimaginable. Arthur Lewis was denied entry into University to study Engineering, his first love. Derek Walcott was frustrated out of the University College of the West Indies and ended up in England. In a way, today’s youth enjoy an advantage the Laureates never had. There are more opportunities and more assistance to achieve greatness in a wider field of disciplines, including sports. Parental love and guidance, discipline and determination are necessary ingredients to emulate Lewis and Walcott.

The opportunity to throw up a leader who can and will lead the charge to transform Saint Lucia into the New Jerusalem deserving to be called the birthplace of Nobel Laureates remains a challenge. But it is doable. We need to think positive thoughts and to keep hope alive. The fact that some better minds have failed in the work of transforming society should not deter those who work with faith in their hearts from trying, even in the midst of pervasive fear, ignorance and self doubt.

These and other thoughts come to mind whenever I hear someone say Saint Lucia has the most Nobel Laureates per capita. What does that mean? I would wager that when one takes a realistic look at the physical state of the island, that is, the sight and smell of its towns and villages, including its capital and seat of government, there is little to recommend it as deserving of the birth place of its Nobel Laureates.

Still, there is hope. Today, Saint Lucians travel more and are therefore able to compare their island to others in terms of cleanliness, loose animals and vagrants on the streets, green open spaces and such like. Those who remember what Castries was like in the sixties and before will know of what I speak. Truth is the island has retained its raw natural beauty, and its people are still largely friendly. However, wherever one turns today one sees and smells the decay and sees the abuse particularly in and around Castries.

In addition, a new generation seems bent on inventing a new language which imports a smattering of bastardized Kwéyól, a little broken English, and spoken with a Jamaican-patois twang – a mix seemingly designed to anger their laureates and perhaps as a mark of protest, separation and apartness – this, at a time when the world is leaning towards excellence in every field of endeavour.

Such developments appear to leave the voice of the poet laureate and that of the master economist crying in a wilderness. The new junk language reminds one of a line by another great Caribbean poet: ‘Our colour beats a restless drum but only the bitter come.’ As if to add insult to injury, the junk gains credibility from the Ministry of Education, (not the Ministry of Transformation), to teach Kweyol as an alternative to English.

However one chooses to look at it, Nobel Laureate week forces us to question the efforts, aimed at transforming the island for better. Policies need execution and supervision. These in turn need constant monitoring at all levels so that such a thing as happened at the official opening of “Wallcott House” instead of ‘Walcott House’ never repeats itself. This sad example confirms that we are a society in need of transformation from top to bottom.