Guest Opinion: Hypocrisy Beyond Words
Guest Opinion by Caroline A. Browne
The U.S. Virgin Islands is one of the most (if not the most) lucrative places in the Caribbean.. Millions and millions of dollars flow in and out of our economy on a pretty regular basis. Yet, we are plagued with socioeconomic crises that threaten to totally destroy our very fabric of life. How far down the road of desperation must the people in our community travel until they see some hope?
Every day rumors of deferred pay days, shortened work weeks and layoffs are heard. Any and all of these proposed events will affect the quality of life of everyone in our village. Who is preparing the community for the hard times we may all fall on? How are these changes going to affect the children, the elderly and the working man and woman struggling to hold on to a declining quality of life?
How can we expect our children to grow up to be productive adults when many of the community centers are closed or if open operate from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.? Can we truly expect our children to believe that they are important when more times than not they do not have the tools needed for a quality education? Where do our young adults go when they do not fit into the “normal” academic mold? Fortunately, in spite of us many succeed. How is it we can find money to economically support a business like Diageo and on the other hand, close=2 0down another school? Is it really about the children or is it more about development? Does economic development in it’s present form truly for the benefit of the people Virgin Islands or only a handful of people who live in the Virgin Islands?
When I look around, this is not the Virgin Islands I grew up in, where people had much respect for one another. This was a place where people were courteous and everyone knew your mother, father or grandparents and you knew to do the wrong thing would bring disappointment to your family roots. I am old enough to remember people coming together to find solutions for problems facing our community. Even the fact that people had a right to voice their opinion, even if others disagreed, without being harassed and ostracized, says we have come a long way from those days.
Based on what I understand a slave plantation to be, more times than not, I feel like I am on one. I wonder how is it our ancestors fought for our freedom so long ago and today we are kept enslaved to others because of the greed of many of our elected officials as well as our worship at the feet of our material gods’.
Be greedy, but make sure Virgin Islanders have access to the best healthcare in the Caribbean. Be greedy, but ensure that the Virgin Islands has the finest education system, including those who have different needs. Be greedy, but make sure we have the most economic and effi cient transportation system to move our population as well as private enterprise. Be greedy, but make sure we have clean air to breathe. This would only be the beginning but is this too much to ask? Presently the Virgin Islands are for sale and we the people falsely believe that we do not have the power to exercise change, but we do.
When we own up to the reality that we have continuously mismanaged, misguided and misgoverned the resources we have under our control, things will get better. Way before the hurricanes, before 9/11, before difficult world economic hardships and negative press, our government has not done the right thing. We will only experience positive change when people in leadership positions are honest about decisions made and choose to do what is best for our community. We deserve the “Truth” (good or bad) about where we stand financially, because ultimately it is the us, the community that has to bear the brunt of whatever changes are coming down the line. For example; How much debt are we carrying overall? Who do we owe and how much?
Every two (2) and four (4) years we go through the electoral process and place people in leadership positions. Here is my question. Why is it that when people are in the position to honestly do what’s best for the people of the Virgin Islands they do otherwise? It would seem that the greed of our elected officials stand in their way of truly do ing what’s best for the Virgin Islands and her people. We cannot ask for forgiveness and then continue to operate as usual. Our community will grow by leaps and bounds when our public officials no longer spout half-truths and outright lies. We the people can be part of the solution if we are told the true state of our affairs.
As people belonging to a greater society, we must look into and around our dear community and seek out people who have demonstrated the will to do the right thing especially when faced with difficult decisions. For too long we have placed ourselves in the position to be guided by people who are not leaders. Things should be done for the further and overall good of the Virgin Islands instead of a select few. Those who have demonstrated leadership abilities cannot effect change without truly rallying the people to support their good works.
When will we stand up and collectively say, “No more untruths, No more compromising our future generations by giving away or islands for short term gains, No more backbiting, No more hatred of ourselves, No more settling for less, No more, it’s not my problem. No more sitting on the fence. We have much work to do!”
Use the paper ballot option to vote people into political office and have the children count the ballots, if we genuinely want true accountability.
Caroline A. Browne
St. Thomas, VI
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Many people have lost hope in having any real change, many are afraid to stand up against the powerful and organized politcal corruption now going on.
What leaders do we have that can bring us together?
Who is to be trusted?
Who really cares about the children and the future when they are grabbing all they can get today?
If the politicians could be greedy and still deliver services to the people, all would look like leaders. Unfortunately money can not go into their pockets and fund the needed services and projects for the people.
The answer for them is clear, be greedy and borrow to meet the gov’t obligations.
It is a cynical view;however, it is a sad reality. How do we find competent, honest and compassionate individuals to serve in elected positions? The electorate continue to re-elect the same greedy politicians.
Imagine if the USVI was to become an independent nation. It would probably end up being like Haiti. This country has a predominantly black population and it is the poorest,most corrupted nation in the Caribbean. The politicians use religion to oppress their people. The poor & ignorant are deprived of ascending to the first-class category ( This is what I’ve been told by a Haitian who is part of the bourgeoisie class). The country has a cast system resembling that of Pakistan.
What cause black people to oppress their own people? My theory is that we have not fully recovered from the effects of slavery. Some are still in mental slavery & it will take a while to emancipate them. Let’s not give up hope, though. Remember the message of our beloved President Barack Obama: “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
Verdel once again nails it: “My theory is that we have not fully recovered from the effects of slavery.” This is the very root of all the ills that ail the islands, from Haiti to Trinidad.
Since we are focused on STX, STT and STJ, what can be done?
It’s popular and easy to trot out the same old tired slogans: it takes a village to raise a child, or, if not not, when, or blah blah blah.
First and foremost, realize that the current generation is lost. Energies must be redirected to the up-and-coming.
What energies? More education might be a rallying cry. And that would be wrong, in the traditional sense. The education and guidance we need to teach is 1) life skills and 2) financial acumen. Those core elements are the missing links, the gaps in the I-don’t-know-how-others-are-so-successful-and-I’m-not mentality.
Now, zip back to the ghosts of slavery. Yes, it’s a major blockage. A huge amount of people, violently uprooted, transported under incredibly horrendous conditions, separated forever from family and friends, beaten and abused, made to work for white people… and then, abandoned. Until the 40’s and 50’s, when ahem, white people starting coming to the islands, buying land from the disadvantaged locals… and today, we scratch our heads and wonder why we have problems? That politicians are just wind-bags? The best of our young ones shoot each other? That many get their education from TV? That the highest ideals are cel phones, heavy neck bling and a car with huge speakers?
So let’s drill it way past the interference most of us get caught up with, the day-to-day bright flashes that blind us from the root causes of todays problems.
We need to go way back to know and understand what we must do today.
And that means supplying the basics. Right now. Basic training, as it were. In money. Finances. Life skills. Self-control. It starts there. Money is not the root of all evil. Lack of money is. No money = poor education, no travel , poor nutrition… the list is endless.
The faster Virgin Islanders can really and truly get well-rounded in these and other important skills, the faster we can assume a professional and fair and balanced position of control of our destiny. Until then, life will continue to be slow and agonizing chaos.
The clock is ticking.
Well said.