And Still I Rise

Recently, a 67 year old man was sentenced to twelve(12) years for raping an eight year old girl. I wanted to blog about it but was just too disgusted to actually get around to it. Imagine my shock when I picked up a newspaper this weekend and read where some persons were upset about the sentence. Their concern was that the sentence was harsh given his age and ill health and therefore should have been given a ligher sentence.

The thing that makes my blood boil is that these predators still manage to arouse sympathy. No one seems to have remembered that he was not a first time offender or that the liar initially claimed the child had requested the sexual act. Most of all, it appears as if the rape is just worthy of a passing comment. Where is the concern for the child whose life has been shattered? Who cares about the damage that has been done to her psyche and more importantly who is willing to help repair it? Instead, persons worry about the predator dying in jail while an innocent dies every time her peers make fun of her misfortune.

Then you know that twelve years is not nearly enough. As far as I am concerned he has forfeited his right to be a part of society and his sentence should be such that ensures he will never walk out of jail. Let the courts speak loudly on behalf of all the little children whose voices are silenced by these criminals.

See My Alma Mater,GHS reacting to the 44th President. The girls made it all the way to the Situation Room and Wolf loved it.

I wonder how many people will contract Obama fever tonight and be unable to go to work tomorrow. My bet is a sizable amount will be absent and those who show up will make sure that a television is not too far away. I still pinch myself to see if am dreaming and I suppose tomorrow I may have some wet eyes when the 44th president delivers his address. The truth is am apathetic about politics and politicians but the significance of this inauguration is not lost on me.

At this moment am thinking of all those black Americans who were treated as second class citizens and for whom this moment is extremely gratifying. It is something I simply cannot begin to understand. So, blessings and good will to Barack Obama on whose shoulders the world has placed the awesome responsibility of the hopes and dreams of a better tomorrow. Walk good Obama, walk safe too

Sometimes, life in small island societies can have immense drawbacks. Tongues wag and rumours quickly take root, spread like wild fire and at times cause irreparable damage. None moreso than the whisperings about persons with HIV and the subsequent ostracism that takes place. Lately, a trend has been developing where persons have go to the newspapers with their negative HIV tests to dispel rumours circulating around them.

I find this annoying on so many levels. I want to think that by now people would realise that the face of HIV is the one they see in the mirror. I want to think that by now the education process would have ensured that persons with HIV would not be refused entrance on public transport. I still don't get the hounding of persons with HIV,not in this year of our lord 2009. I hate to hear people adopt this holier than thou attitude with respect to HIV as if only "bad" people contract it and then it is deserved. Who died and made us king?

I so wish those persons were strong enough not to give a damn about the rumours. I know I would not give the gossipers the satisfaction of divulging my personal business. Instead,the onus would be on them to prove their case. Neverthelss, it is about time some folks grow up and stop making persons lives miserable because of a disease that so many of us are exposed to. Sooner or later, I believe every family will be touched by HIV and folks would be forced to confront their fears.

Whilst growing up,there was this ad used around football time that always caught my attention. It went something like this "From a stadium in Surinam,St Vincent shows the football world that it is not the size of the country but the quality of the team work that counts". I would later learn that this was in response to SVG's wonderful showing in what was probably its first outing on the regional football scene.

Back then in 1979, Team SVG astounded the major teams with its footballing skills to place second in the regional tourney. I am told that in the final four they only lost to Haiti who I guess were eventual winners. Since then Vincy football has had an up and down ride performing creditably(brilliantly even)at times and others well the less said the better.

This time the year is 2009 and the Vincy under 20 team is bent on making a name for itself. Their ultimate goal is getting to Cairo for the under 20 World Cup but first they must qualify for the Concacaf final in Trinidad. Thus far, by knocking off the Dominican Republic and the highly fancied Haitians, Team Vincy has once more proved that size is nothing compared to its skill. It is even sweeter given that they are playing the Caribbean Zone finals in Kingstown.

As I write,Team SVG who heads the table will play Jamaica in the final game. Hopefully, this time around we won't be second best but whatever the result" And Still I Rise" salutes the real Vincy Heat for reminding us what SVG is capable of if only we could get it together.

What's up with our Law and Order folks? All of a sudden it seems taking a photograph is a no no. Last year, the late lawyer Bertram Stapleton was upset with the print media for taking a photograph of his client as he exited the Court. If memory serves me right he advised his clients to mash up the cameras if any journalist wanted to take pictures.

I didn't understand the rationale then and to this day I still don't. Now, there is the incident where a journalist claimed the Police not only prevented him from taking photographs at the scene of a fire but also detained him for a couple hours at the CID.

Who knew that taking a photograph was or could be forbidden by law. If that were so then all those persons that take shots of Carnival revellers,the market scene etc would be severely restricted. After all, I have heard vendors expressing concern about what will have to their photographs when tourists leave our shores. Who is speaking for the disgruntled or is it only certain sectors that have a voice?

Journalists ought not to be subjected to such embarrassing situations. Like the police, they are doing a job with a readership to please. I find it extremely difficult to understand separating the journalist from the camera. It just seems like too much madness for my taste.

The year 2007 saw thirty six homicides recorded in St Vincent. For most of 2008 I agonized on what the toll would be come the 31st day of December. Everytime there was a lull my heart relaxed and when the murder reports became more frequent I feared we would equal our infamy. Thankfully, 2008 saw 27 deaths, a figure that made me breathe a sigh of relief. Now, I am not by any means saying that 27 homicides is acceptable but if it had equalled or surpassed thirty six I would have been devastated.

Then I would have been certain that we are firmly on the path of self destruction. The faces at the Serious Offences Court would get younger and younger as young men and women live and die by the violence that is eroding society's fabric. While am happy that the numbers saw a decrease I still wonder if this happened because of measures aimed to reduce crime or is it just the lull before the storm. What are we-all of us doing to ensure that 2009 doesn't have a repeat of a mother burying two children, a son killing his mother and two precious little children whose lives were brutally snatched away?

Are willing to be our brother's keeper? Will we at least form neighbourhood watches and ensure that at the level of our commmunities there is some education? Are we willing to give evidence rather than protect criminals out of fear for our very lives? I fear most of us have given up.