The Gift of Division

For weeks, the debate had persisted; the subject had been on everyone’s lips and on the country’s collective mind, gaining intensity as time went by.
Finally, this past Tuesday, during his budget presentation, the Foreign Affairs Minister dropped the bomb … clearing the air and putting an end to all the speculation.
St. Lucia will establish full diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
At the risk of appearing redundant – but just in case there could still be even one of our readers who does not have a full grasp of the situation – we point out that originally, Taiwan was a part of the country of China, that took a decision to break away and declare its independence, establishing itself as a sovereign state, autonomous and separate from “mainland” China.
In effect, one country was fragmented into two.
More importantly, one people was fragmented into two.
The deep division that exists between those one-time fellow-countrymen follows them wherever they go, manifesting itself in every corner of the world and influencing the policies of other countries … the extent of the influence being dependent on the extent to which each country feels the need to accept (mainly financial) help from one or the other of the two protagonists.
The United States for example, will hardly feel the effects of the rivalry between Taiwan and China, while a poor, struggling country may find itself in a position where it must dance to the tune that the piper – whether it has chosen that that piper be Chinese or Taiwanese – plays.
In the real world, it is inescapable that countries as poor as ours look to survive by accepting handouts from larger, richer “friends” in exchange for favours. Under normal circumstances, there is no dishonour, no shame, in seeking, making and maintaining alliances with those who help a country and its people develop and sustain a decent standard of living.
There are few “rich” countries and innumerable poor ones.
One very important aspect however, of this entire China/Taiwan scenario that is being played out in St. Lucia at this time, that is perhaps being overlooked, is that we do not allow the divisiveness that exists between these two one-time brothers to transfer itself to our people and cause us to take sides, in a way that would create as deep a rift between us, as seems to exist between them.
We are – and have always been – one people. As a result of the “occupation” of at-one-time one and at-one-time the other of these strangers, one can already almost feel the country being divided between the SLP/China and the UWP/Taiwan factions.
Our country is no stranger to differing points of view: for ages, we have been either Catholic or Protestant; La Rose or La Marguerite; Flambeau or Labour; pro-life or pro-abortion … and the list goes on.
But underneath it all, we have always remained fiercely St. Lucian, proud to be identified as such; and whether we come from Laborie or Gros Islet, Tet Chemin or Bouton, the Pitons, Pigeon Island and the Sulphur Springs belong to us all … and whether we are white, mulatto, Indian, black or shabine, we remain – and we make no bones about it – St. Lucian.
We have here, within our shores at this time, a people who were once brothers, living together as unified as blood, heritage and common ancestry can make possible, who now insist that were you to associate with one side, it would be inconceivable that you have any dealings with the other.
A people divided into factions that can no longer coexist with each other.
Whatever material things they give to us in exchange for our allegiance, we accept; it is a pragmatism we live with, because of our situation on the world stage and our level in the international pecking order.
We must however, beware of also letting them give to us that element of divisiveness that follows them around, that seems to want to transfer itself into our affairs … and that could split us apart, taking away one of the things that is so important to us as a nation:
Our sense of unity.