Alred C. Frett. Photo: VINO

Furthermore, I have marched at least twice alone and a major reason why I contribute my time, effort and money by playing in the Noel Lloyd Positive Action Park on Thursdays is because Noel and others marched in the People’s interest when others thought it a waste of time… The storms demolished his statue in the Park but his spirit lives and it was a privilege knowing Noel in person.

Many who never met him now speak kindly of him while some who actually knew him considered him certifiably mad or crazy and distanced themselves from him until getting on his bandwagon for self-interest after he was dead… Perhaps his madness came from despair at seeing the corruption and hypocrisy of leaders who would alienate his country and accept colonialism as VI’s way of life.

There is no National Heroes and Labour Day to honour and teach off Noel and other local Heroes or you would learn that while he is credited with saving Wickham’s Cay and Anegada, the same politicians who ridiculed him ended up controlling and distributing these lands according to their own agendas and not in accordance with the ideology of Noel – He marched but they reaped. 

Without Fairness & Justice, who has the Money makes the Rules:

As freed slaves who were never compensated for our labour or property, we remain a poor people conditioned to act against ourselves as martyrs for the benefit of others… In this system, who owns the lands think they own the people and act as rulers and deciders of our fate with zero interest in our history or destiny, provided they collect wealth and power on the way to our destruction.

Subsequently, those with more money and less love for our People and Country can persecute us, prosecute us, destroy our businesses, buy our lands for little or nothing, erect ‘no trespassing’ signs on our beaches and establish real-estate prices that locals can never afford… Noel marched to prevent this, yet we remain strangers in our homes; afraid to whimper for fear of victimisation.

His work is unfinished but we have learnt to expect nothing for ourselves while fighting for causes that benefit Masters rather than Slaves… We have learnt to console ourselves with dust from their wind so less than 2-years ago a black man was president of the USA and less than 2-weeks ago a black woman married into the UK’s Royal Family and we laud these as the death knoll of racism.

Not so fast - While these head in the right direction, they also serve as distractions that hide the increase in Blacks being degraded, harassed and murdered in America and disenfranchised in the UK and other Countries… Racism still exists and the more racist you are the happier you are to live in denial as Trump kills Affirmative Action and the UK applies the Windrush racism of restrictions. 

Marching in Circles or marching towards Danger:

We have every right to march but we must first know what and who we are marching for… I would have marched for the People but did not after being told the agenda was strictly to do with being anti-UK’s decision and no other opinions would be entertained… You may have seen me and my Banner at a location that did not benefit from Noel’s efforts and thought I marched but I did not.

I remain concerned when so many marchers appeared unable to accurately explain the issue for which they were marching – Some seemed to think they should have the right to spend other people’s money as they choose and many expressed a desire for independence in order to make their own decisions and determine their own destiny without the advice or interference from the UK.

Very few knew that the matter they were marching about would not be enforced before 2021 which means they had over 2-years to talk rather than walk… No one seemed to notice that except for the organisers there appeared to be an acute absence of professionals such as lawyers and trust company representatives when these are the ones more likely to gain from a successful march.

We all should be concerned about the perception of expatriates being coerced into participation and teachers & students being used as props while those who would benefit most participated least… We should all care whether this was about the People or just another master’s game of using servants and slaves to defend them while they feast and spectate in the comfort of their safety. 

If we know the Answers then let’s apply the Solutions:

Our People deserve better and I only speak out because I fear the publicity and repercussions of this march may carry the potential of worsening things for our people… Maybe I was wrong not to march but marching is easy and what we need right now is the foresight and leadership to realize that before we take another step there are questions we must ask and answer for ourselves.

We should question whether all this publicity and commotion may depict a leadership out of control and trigger these concerned Companies to start looking for escape routes away from the VI…

We must also ask ourselves whether demanding the right to spend monies not belonging to us would irritate Financial Sources who would then cut off their access to us.

As regards calling on UK for independence - I seem to recall UK’s readiness to grant this based on a referendum showing it as the will of the People so we must ask, what happens if UK grants us independence?... Do we have the resources, self-sufficiency and Leadership to stand on our own and will there be fairness and justice for all or will the rich and powerful destroy the poor and weak?

Leaders already know things are going wrong and our People are in need of help here and now… After all, Backbenchers and Junior Ministers have been claiming visions from God and openly calling on him to correct the wicked ways since they seem unable to do so and other leaders seem not to listen or care… Perhaps we should remove the timber from our eye before tackling UK’s splinter. 

PS: I will continue addressing some of your Questions & Comments on Live BVP Radio Programs