And Still I Rise

Once again children have perished in fires here in St Vincent. This time one year old Jerad Finch and three year old Kayla Sutherland are the latest victims. Unsursprisingly, the mother of the children has come under much fire from the society for being negligent. From reports in the media the 23 yr old woman left the children at home the Sunday evening(after asking a friend to have an eye on the kids) and had not returned up to the time of their death on Monday afternoon. This even after the friend/landlord had called to say he was leaving for work.

Since then she has been charged with manslaughter. Although,I know she has been terribly negligent I can't help but feel sorry for her. For the rest of her life I would imagine that she will live with the knowledge that her actions were responsible for her children's death. That is an enormous burden to carry to your grave.

I also have to ask myself where were the father/s in all of this. Too many fathers are MIA from their children's lives leaving mothers to struggle alone and make irresponsible decisions. They say it takes a village to raise a child but obviously the village and state failed as well. You can't tell me that everyone knew these children were often abandoned but yet no intervention happened. There is a state organisation specifically designed to investigates reports like these but they are denying having ever gotten reports. Someone is either lying or someone was tardy in their response.

Meantime innocents who didn't even ask to be here pay the ultimate price. I hope other mothers will learn from this incident and do not willingly endanger their children's lives. If parenthood is proving more than you can handle seek help. For Heaven's sakes abandoning your children is never an option!

For taking both the Groovy and Power Monarch titles in the International Soca Monarch. Congrats also to my Vincy duo of Skinny Fabulous and Zoelah who I think performed creditably. Actually, I thought Zoelah would be in top four but higher than fourth.

Anyway, I am still in awe that a heavily pregnant woman like Fay Ann could take the stage and still do her thing convincingly. I guess the debate will go on as to whether or not she was being foolhardy but she certainly proved that pregnancy is not an illness. Not that I am saying every pregnant woman should jump around Kingstown on Carnival Monday and Tuesday but that it is possible to enjoy life when pregnant.

Kudos to you Fay Ann.

Today I went to a business place to do a business transaction. On my way back to work I had to pass my fruit vendor's stall. As I was passing by I noticed a rose on the stall so I slowed down to tease him about his extended Valentine' s celebration. To my great surprise he said the rose was for me.

"Me?" I spluttered. "Yes, it's for you my best customer," he said.

I walked back to work with a smile as wide as Rabacca River. Not only was it sooo good to be appreciated by the unlikeliest person but I felt thrilled to know we are still a loving people in SVG.

Growing up I was exposed to violence. My grandfather hit my grandmother, my mother's husband hit her as did my aunt's husband. Each event angered, annoyed, terrified and confused me but I always escaped to the comfort of a book or the skirts/arms of some rescuer.

All of the above females I consider some of the strongest people I have ever met. My grandmother raised generations of children on very little but the bigness of her heart and the belief in casting your bread on the water. As the wife of an oft transferred headteacher her life was nomadic but she survived his alcoholism and brutality to nurture her children to becom e upstanding ciitizens.

My mother and aunt blazed trails of excellence, strong beyond belief beautiful women but incapable of preventing abuse at the hands and lips of the men they chose. I say all this to say that sometimes it is difficult being a woman. Too often we fall victims to those we thought would be our protectors. Too often we walk around with heads bowed-beaten down by the weight of words and fists instead of glorying in our womanhood.

That Rihanna is now the face of domestic abuse should drive home the point that abuse knows no boundaries. It is not confined to the poor, the uneducated, or God forbid those who society says deserves it. The face of domestic abuse is the woman sitting next to you in church, the bank teller who deals with your transactions, the beauty queen strutting her stuff , the little child with the haunted eyes and you. Sadly, it is often kept as a dirty dark secret. If this Rihanna incident could be a catalyst for attention to the nameless, faceless women who suffer silently then I'd be happy.

I am still a bit worried, however, about the wisdom of spending so much money on mere warm up games given the state of our economy, but that is what cynics/realists like myself do. We wonder if even in the long-run we will be able to recoup the costs or at least a significant part. $40 millon or $57 million ECD, depending on the source is an awful lot of money spent on a sport that seems to be in its death throes. In addition, Regional Limited Overs semis and final were played to virtually empty stands. I hope the legacy that we keep hearing about does not turn out to be just another legacy of debt.

The above is an excerpt from an article I wrote during the CWC excitement. Then, I was expressing concern about the monies spent/wasted on Arnos Vale Ground. Last week, I was shocked to hear that the new Sir Vivian Richards stadium in Antigua, built for the foolishness that was CWC 07 was destined to join the debt legacy band. What a colossal waste of time and money. Poor foolish governments who blindly and willingly went along for the ride are now facing reality head on.

Anyway, I am happy to see the return of the ARG to test cricket. ARG means so much to me as a person living in the sub region called the Organisation of the East Caribbean States. It was in 1981 after fifty three years of playing test cricket that the smaller islands were recognised by the WICBC as a worthy test venue. Antigua and the ARG rose to the occasion with King Viv delighting his subjects with a well played 114. Antigua and ARG's trail blazing days were not over yet as Chickie and his turn tables introduced a brand of entertaintment that others quickly followed. Who can forget the inimitable Gravy and his sidekick Mayfield?

I still remember running out from school and finding my self under Singer's gallery to watch Brian Lara erase Gary Sobers's 365 n.o. Ten years later, I watched from the comfort of my home as Lara again scaled mountains hitherto unconquered. As I write, I remember King Viv again treated his subjects to the fastest test ton back in 1985/86. How England must hate the ARG!

Nevermind England, Australia had the shock of their lives as West Indies played out of their skins to rack the biggest successful run chase ever in Test cricket. I still don't know why anybody would have wanted to close down the ARG, the home of such nostalgic moments. Here's to many happy more memories!

For the first time in almost 6 years you are going to be alone on Valentine's Day. I know you are not really a Valentine person but some things tug at you more than others. How does that make you feel? I can't hear you, can you speak up a little louder please?

You thought you would be sad but you aren't. You see heart, you knew exactly when it all went wrong. You knew when the lies began but you reasoned that somehow it was your fault. Of course you knew it wasn't but you thought somehow you could fix it or die trying. So while your friends cursed, pleaded and cajoled you to treat your beautiful self better you just got angry. How dare them tell you what was best for you? Thing is you knew all along they were right but the stubbornness in you refused to admit. So you shed the tears they never saw and wished that things could go back to the way they used to be.

And you got angry with yourself for becoming someone you were having a hard time recognising. Remember all the times you shut your friends out because the truth was annoying or the focus was on him? Remember all the trips you missed, the hanging out, the long convos about everything and nothing? I know you do, but it's okay because your friends still love you anyway. Now you are leaping for joy because by letting go you have found yourself again.

Suddenly,this alone thing is not too bad at all. The road ahead looks chock full of adventures that you actually want to discover. I am smiling again, the real smile that makes my entire face come alive, the one that comes directly from you. You know, the one that makes the whole world smile with me.

And guess what heart? I am so incredibly proud of you for continuing to fiercely beat through it all. Heart, we are going to be okay!

The spectator holding up the card that read "Yes W.I Can" caught my eye. At 26/7, there was no doubt that W.I would and in fine style as well. I sat there in disbelief-matched only by England's obvious bemusement as wicket after wicket fell. It must have been a mind numbing loss to a team that the media had hinted was using the Wisden series as "practice" for the upcoming Ashes.

I first had an inkling that something special was going to happen when the score was 11/2. Never in my wildest dreams did I think though that a lead of 74 runs was going to be enough for an innings defeat. However,the rampant Taylor and his supporting cast were intent on showing all the jaded people like myself that they could rise to the occasion. I entertained the possibility of England going under for 44 and Taylor racking up 7/11 or better. That would have gone a long way in correcting the indignity of England bowling out West Indies for 47 some 5 years ago at Sabina.

Nevertheless,there are 51 reasons for West Indian fans to be ecstatic and to hope for continued success. Meantime, my co workers are eagerly waiting to crow at my Doubting Thomas self.

The bailout has reached the Caribbean with the news on Monday that the CL Group/Clico is is trouble. Now, I am not an expert on financial matters but I know that I have a policy with CLICO which is supposed to bring me some financial "windfall". Apart from that, my medical health plan is linked to CLICO again and apparently our National Insurance Scheme has investments with them as well. Anybody who knows me would know how well acquainted I am with hospitals, doctors offices and the like so nobody better not be messing with my health insurance. Now,I have plans to live to recover my NIS pension and all the other available benefits i.e if CLICO's woes doesn't throw everything out of sync.

Yes,I am officially worried. Will somebody clear the air please?

PM Gonsalves is taking the heat in some quarters for some comments he made at meeting held with senior civil servants. The Ministry of Works got a scathing criticism for turning an apparent blind eye to the potholes in Kingstown as did the General Hospital for its untidiness,pilferage and other evils. It didn't take long for the airwaves to be flooded with irate callers angry with the PM for dumping on hard working civil servants.

I couldn't help but smile as I listened to persons build a defence for the civil servants. It appeared that suddenly the Civil service was a well oiled machinery which conducted its business swiftly. Teachers did an awesome job, likewise police officers. In short all was well with the world. Nevermind,that just a few short months ago,teachers were villains for daring to strike especially since they don't teach. As to the Civil service, public opinion has always made it seem that civil servants are time wasters and street walkers. Politicking is such a very funny thing.

By the way, if business continues as usual and the same faces keep their jobs despite the inefficiences then the public scolding would be laughable. Then again, I don't know that public servants get fired like those in the private sector. So was it just frustration on the PM's part or a gimmick? Politics, politics, I will never get it.