Isn’t it time we gave our children something to be truly proud about? What does it really mean to be Saint Lucian? What about us defines us as Saint Lucian? Is there such a thing as being Saint Lucian? I thought about these questions and though not conclusively, came up with some idiosyncrasies that perhaps can be described as Saint Lucian.
Let’s begin with our sense of humour; it can best be described as crude and void of subtlety. Take this story: Mavis, Miss prim and proper, walking along a busy and wet Bridge Street pavement, misses her step and lands on her buttocks, two legs up in the air, as if ready for lift-off. Nearby on-lookers are in stitches laughing. Some close enough to anticipate the fall respond in sync with her contact with the concrete pavement, “He Salop”. Now, where else in the world would that be considered funny? The same refrain visited World Cup Cricket some years ago at Beausejour, Saint Lucia’s premier cricket ground. At the hit of the cricket ball by a West Indian batsman came the same synchronized Saint Lucian response. That this falls within the culture of Saint Lucian humour remains unexplained.
And what about our attitudes to some of our Caribbean neigbours? We love Trinidadians and Vincentians all because they share our penchant for parties and having a good time. In these times we affectionately refer to them as Trinis and Vincies, respectively. We would find any excuse for having a party, to hell with work. In the area of work, however, we are weary about doing business with Trinidadians. In fact, we rename them then as Trickydadians.
Toward our not-too-distant neighbours the Bajans we are ambivalent. There is that part of us that respects their higher level of social development, to which we frequently make complimentary references. But we perceive them as tight-fisted and selfish, not the kind to return our hospitality. Most St Lucian men believe all men from St James, Barbados are homosexuals and take great care lest they be labeled the same.
We are a people living champagne lifestyles on river- water income. No Saint Lucian wants to admit he is having a hard time, at least not publicly. If my neighbour has it why can’t I? We are among the best dressed women anywhere in the Caribbean; St Lucia we say is the New York of the Caribbean, never mind our only significant product export is “figvette.” And about sex, it is the preoccupation of our men and they are irrational in their pursuit of it. Not to mention it is weaved into every male discussion, they just can’t do without it, even when they are just not up to it.
We are indeed a nation of talkers not doers. We moan about everything and do nothing. You would believe Saint Lucia is a population of one million for the number of callers on Timothy Poleon’s “NewsSpin” or Andre Paul’s “What Makes Me Mad” radio programmes. Not a nation known for reading, you wonder where the input for all this output is coming from. Perhaps all this talk is a useful escape valve for the frustrations of many citizens unable to deal with a largely dysfunctional society. If only based on the general quality of the calls to the radio talk-shows, Nino: Nothing in Nothing out, may be a more apt name for these callers. A replacement for the more widely used politically disparaging term Hack.
Just in case you thought the extent of Saint Lucian talking is an exaggeration, telephone penetration in St Lucia is among the highest in the world. Telephone operators on island have discovered St Lucia as fertile ground for making big bucks. Cell phones are among the most ubiquitous items around town. No one appears to be without one.
We are mistrustful of institutions. The vast majority of Saint Lucians believe that the country’s institutions work only for those who have the means to manipulate them. Banks only help those who have, churches are money-making ventures, particularly if they are evangelical, parliament is largely irrelevant, the police an impediment to winning the war on drugs and successful business people- are just hard-working cheats.
We still believe that foreign is better than local, whether we talking human resource or product, a legacy largely of our colonial past. We beat down on our own, providing the opportunity for the foreigner to set up shop in every sector of business life on island. We were well ahead of our politicians at Caricom forums trying to open up our country to others in the name of globalization.
There are only two political views in the country: a Labour or a UWP. Forget the one-man party Peter Alexander, it’s only an unofficial appendage of the Labour Party. And about the so called LPM, everyone knows it’s a group of disgruntled UWPees, waiting for the father’s welcoming party for the prodigal son.
There is really no St Lucian that is apolitical, not even our Governor General, a symbol of St Lucian unity. She took up office initially under a Labour government so she must be Labour, never mind she is still the GG under the governing United Workers Party. Just in case there may be doubters about her perceived allegiance we would be quickly reminded that she is from Laborie, the bedrock of Labour Party support. That is just how it is.
On the occasion we officially wish to recognize independent individuals, the national perception still remains. In the Senate, the Upper House of our Parliament, the two independent senators are not considered to be as their title suggests. These senators are perceived as sympathizers of the government under which they took office. So independent senators like Everistus Jn Marie are seen as UWP, never mind his sometimes public fights with the UWP government over margin increases for Petroleum Dealers.
After all is said Saint Lucians are a good natured people, generally kind to the stranger in their midst, even though privately, they are quick to have fun at their expense. We can be likened to children of a household without the parental care, of discipline, selfless, hard-working, fair and honest parents. We just need some good honest and hard working leaders at all levels in our country. If we can discover some way of fostering this we shall have a far better country we can all be proud of.
