IT has been barely two weeks since the funeral of our Nobel Laureate, Sir Derek Walcott, on March 25, and barely three months since the funeral of Sir Dwight Venner on January 4. Thankfully, the story of these great individuals and proud Caribbean legends does not end with their deaths.
It is fitting that their respective legacies, colossal contributions and sheer genius are remembered, in part, with iconic institutions which leave a mark on the landscape. According to the son of Dr. Owen King, after whom the new national hospital is named, “we must honour ourselves” and the memory of our ancestors. Just ask the denizens of the ECCB headquarters in St. Kitts or visitors to the Walcott Place on lower Chaussee Road.
A legacy does not need not be a building, museum or dam. It could also be intangible, such as a system of laws or new ways of working that promotes progress or otherwise brings honour to the wider community.
On Tuesday, in the House of Parliament, we witnessed the strengthening of anti-corruption measures by the removal of the time limit on pursuing actions against persons who misuse public funds. If nothing else emerges from the current UWP administration, it would have contributed a strong platform to deter corruption, long after its term of government has expired. This change should be welcomed as a fitting legacy to improve governance and may, hopefully, inspire successive administrations to outdo each other in a virtuous circle of improvements to our benefit.
In recent computing terminology, the Bluetooth wireless technology standard was named in honour of Harald Bluetooth, a medieval king of Denmark, who united several dissonant tribes and converted his kingdom to Christianity. One thousand years later, his name is spoken aloud in the technology that we use!
In the poem entitled “City” in the Night Vision collection, Saint Lucian poet KendelHippolyte questions what happens to a heartland when the original dwellers leave. This is clearly a question of the legacy of those dwellers, in the face of ongoing development. Hippolyte offers a hint of hope, in hearing the “whispers of those no longer there.”
To share your views, contact the author at: www.datashore.net or via The VOICE.
About the Author
Dr.Lyndell St. Ville is an ICT Consultant based in Saint Lucia. His expertise includes systems analysis, design, and capacity building.