Why we are still behind God’s back!

THE saying, who pays the piper calls the tune, meaning the investors, stakeholders and those who manage the industry and the general grouping of employees, remain satisfied with how things are.

But there is growing discontent among the masses trying to eek-out a living.

In the beginning, it was all about Bed and Breakfast, coupled with beachfront leisure, selective site-seeing tours and enjoying our rum punch and unique cuisine and from its inception nothing has changed. To a certain extent it still remains the same and since the advent of all-inclusive resorts, all that is possible to offer is provided from within the resorts themselves.

So, the many trying to obtain a ‘kaka-dann’ from the so-called lucrative industry are struggling to profit from the thousands that visit by land or by sea.

Ironically, when persons selling in the venders arcade, or the general market or sidewalk, hustlers (be it by the beach or elsewhere) see the harbour full of cruise vessels and also hearing that most hotel resorts are full, they all have difficulty in understanding why they have difficulty in making a decent buck.

To date, there are no museums, no major art galleries, no ready-made performance venues and by day or by night craft artisans struggle to showcase their creativity, so, how are we supposed to profit or benefit from Tourism?

When a visitor comes to the island, are their experiences curtailed to tour agencies’ dictates? Or only selective adventure that’s usually controlled and owned by a selective few?

When will the concept of ‘all of us should benefit’ start to emerge? When will the non-academic students get a chance to express themselves creatively through craft or music and dance, theatre, or other related survival means? Are our local foods not good enough to be eaten at a local food outlet? Can’t our jelly coconuts or mangoes and other local produce become a daily diet here? Are cocoa tea or cinnamon or bwaden not good enough to satisfy the taste buds of our visitors?

And may I also ask: When will a good local spliff be seen as a local product? Or sea moss and local juice be offered as a ‘must sample’ product, rather than carbonated soft drinks?

Why are such products like castor oil, virgin coconut oil and our varying spices not seen as must-buys? Why do we keep cutting out the local inputs? Will Marchand and other city areas remain treated or seen as prohibitive? Is every ghetto labeled with criminals and therefore ought not to be visited? Can our security and our police force not be present in numbers to ensure visitor protection and also give small business persons a survival means?

Why can’t we educate, liberate and de-stigmatize our city? Is the Tourism Dollar only for a selective grouping? Can’t we not think outside the box and redirect our purpose and be resolute with our intents?

Is there no room for our local dress designers and ornament producers to make a living? The world is changing, but we remain rigid in our methods and we give no hope or aspiration to the youth. We continue to give them no alternative but to join or remain as criminals.

We continue to divide and rule, set the bar above their reach, keep them in check, as if all the other parts of the world are crime free and we are to be restrained because we have not evolved.

We are still behaving as primitive and should be feared and as if visitors should keep their distance. Our local crime statistics are high, I do agree, but we are the cause, we created the environment that we now live in, and we have little faith in our people as it relates to a change of values and habits.

Putting People First should not be made to look like it’s about a selective few. I believe that through education and strategic planning we can change. But we must believe in the power of change for our people, if not, this mindset will forever keep us divided.

Why can’t our stayover visitors not go to a sporting meet, be it cricket, football or other on-island sports? Should they not be encouraged to mingle and share in our joys? After all, they come here to enjoy our culture…

Check the crime statistics in other destinations: are we the worst? Should we remain hopeless? Is there no means to charter a new course?

Or, could it be that are we just afraid of the unknown, or maybe we are badly advised?

As per usual, there are still more questions than answers, but the longer we take to answer all of them, the longer we will remain way “Behind God’s Back” like the soles of our shoes, kon day talon soulier!