Giving flowers to the living
On Sunday evening, July 11, 2010 the Ministry of Education conducted a Recognition Ceremony, could have been the first of its kind, when they simply honoured and recognised the services of a few persons who were retiring, either had retired or had resigned from their services.
The ceremony was simple and the Minister of Education, Health and Community Services Colin Riley stood throughout the presentation and gave out the awards and Certificates to the very deserving employees.
They ranged from a retiring Director of Education, to a retiring Bus Conductress and a maintenance officer. Some persons had given over 40 years service and some only two years, these last resigning and moving on.
Mention is made that the Ministry and the organizers are to be congratulated extensively for the honour bestowed on these persons who listened to citations which were shared with the invited guests, other employees and friends. These people were reminded that they were and are appreciated because they had done well while they are alive and well to hear it said, being told to them and shared by others. This is especially so because far too often it is only at a funeral one learns of someone’s achievements and how well they have served their people. It makes that saying all so relevant, “please give me my flowers while I am alive.”
Montserrat Constitution
In the meantime may we take a flash back at the Montserrat Constitution which the Government wanted to foist upon the people with the little hidden self interest clauses that would serve themselves and keep them in power for as long as they still had the privilege to make laws that govern how elections took place, when and where. It has been almost a month and where is the program to do what should have been done for the last three years at least.
It should be obvious now that the Government did not willingly accede to any request for more discussions and input. They pretty much had little choice and time simply happened to be in the people’s favour with the Privy Council uncertain timing to review the ‘backward’ Constitution.
The lone opposition member and hopefully the former Chief Minister now in opposition have the job to harness the desires to look at and correct the efforts to thrust a selfish mesh of desires on people under the guise that they were elected to make the decisions for them. No, not a Constitution.
Upon serious reflection, and in any case, it is now believed that Montserrat should go the Anguilla route. That is let the British as it has done in the past hand down their Constitution for Montserrat, rather than pretend modern partnership which is in any case one-sided. If not the Anguilla route, then carefully look at the Tortola’s Constitution and improve upon it.
That is so because those who were asked to review what the Constitution Commission had done, make additional, change or correct clauses to meet the aspirations of Montserrat and to meet “’the present aspirations and expectations of the people of Montserrat’, as Sir Howard had written in the Commission’s report”. These expectations may well have and should have changed since 2002. Time does that to things and people.
Sir Howard had also written in that report, “We believe that HMG welcomes any aspiration which Montserratians might have for self-determination and are willing to assist them in the preparatory process… The new Constitution must be based on principle and especially that fundamental principle of self-determination so vital to a people in a long and checkered march out of the night of slavery into the daybreak of real freedom.”
So that any Constitution that this government seeks to send to Britain that does not speak to speak to the above should be discredited, and unsupported. The Privy Council should know that it does not represent the wishes and desires of the Montserrat people.
It is by no means too late to make that expression known especially that it has been spoken about and mentioned there. There needs to be some specificity as to the expectations of these people to want some day to be able to make some self-determined decisions. Obviously anything less is saying to the world that for the foreseeable future Montserrat wishes to be colonials.
