In the Name of Independence?

Yesterday marked the observance of our 29th Anniversary of Independence. This editorial piece was written on Thursday, on the eve of our “celebrations”.
Somehow, on Thursday, there seemed to be a feeling in the air, hanging like a sombre cloud over our heads, that although one could point to several infrastructural and (some) social advancements that have manifested themselves since 1979, there does not seem to be any corresponding strides made in the moral fabric, the character or the pride-in-self, among the majority of our people … and in some cases, even regression seems to be the order of the day.
There are several cases that could be used to support the above but, simply to illustrate: thirty years ago, a man encountered walking with a cutlass was immediately looked on as a hard-working, farming-type individual; meet one on the street today and you would cross the street hoping to get past before the fellow (probably even mentally retarded) were to suddenly commit some mindless act of violence.
Integrity, work ethic, honour and honesty are becoming nostalgic memories of the past.
As we sat down to pen this editorial, a letter was delivered to our offices that illustrates so vividly the sentiment felt by many, that we were losing our sense of true nationalism more and more with each passing day … and The VOICE being an interactive paper, a paper of the people, we decided to let this reader say, in her words, what we were wanting to express.
The letter was entitled, “In the Name Of Independence” and this is what it had to say:
Independence Day. One would thing that the celebration of St. Lucia’s 29th Anniversary of Independence should be one of celebrating the journey of our country’s highs and lows and our progress as a people and a nation throughout the years.
Two shows that do not reflect our country’s progress is The Independence Day Show, “Garrison Reggae Jam”, which features Busy Signal and Elephant Man, artistes from Jamaica set to perform here on the 21st February, 2008. Also the Luciano show scheduled for Independence Day after the Garrison Reggae Jam, he too is a Jamaican artiste. In my opinion our Independence Day celebrations should not be centered around a bunch of foreign artistes, but should depict our appreciation for our local performers, giving them some exposure.

With the onset of the first ever St. Lucia Music Awards only a week away, I think the Garison Reggae Jam and the Luciano shows should have been replaced with a local show featuring all our upcoming local artistes who are going to be awarded on the 29th February, 2008. Upcoming artistes like Zionomi, Mariann, Baby girl Trish, Shayne Ross and many more should be granted some exposure before the St. Lucia Music Awards. This would commemorate our Independence and the St. Lucia Music Awards.
Having a bunch of foreign artistes coming to perform here, “In the Name of Independence”, is ludicrous. Our local artistes have been through so much, with sponsorship for their music and investing so much in making their albums, I think they should be appreciated for contributing so much to the development of music from St. Lucia.
I believe showcasing our artistes’ music in the name of “Independence Day”, a week before the St. Lucia Music Awards will allow our people to have a greater respect and appreciation for our music and for the artistes determination for bringing their music to life. I know shows like “Tempest” came to be, because of the lack of airplay and appreciation our locals were not getting and that show became a tremendous success. What I am saying is that we have a show bigger than “Tempest”, a show where the local music will be heard by those of us who can’t believe that’s a local singing that song. Like me when I heard Baby Girl Trish’s song. “Go Ahead baby love me”, would you believe I thought that song was sung by “Alaine” an upcoming Jamaican artist. I felt so proud that the quality of our music has reached the level where one thinks it is foreign, but it is home grown. We should be very proud of our local performers’ success, indeed there is need to celebrate the struggles and the growth of local music finally coming to light and gaining recognition.
I am not criticizing foreign artistes coming here to entertain. Just simply being very patriotic and supportive of my fellow Lucians. Having an Independence Day show, showcasing our local talent and coinciding with our music awards would be ideal “in the Name Of Our Independence”.
Sherma Janel Regis,
Beausejour
There you are, dear readers, in your words.
But all is never lost … there’s always room for improvement. In the meantime …
Happy Independence Day.