Preservation of Baliceaux will be a solemn act – Opposition leader

Leader of the Opposition Dr Godwin Friday believes that the preservation of Baliceaux is a solemn act, and not a cause for celebration as one cannot “celebrate in a graveyard”.

During his address at the National Heroes Day wreath laying ceremony at Dorsetshire Hill on March 14,2024, Friday reflected on the “great sorrows” that Garinagu men and women suffered while being exiled on Baliceaux.

He said that one should not “absolve the perpetrators of this monstrous crime” by saying that it occurred in a different age and in a different time, and that morals and mores excused and accommodated such actions; but that the exile of the Garifuna people was not so long ago, and it is an occurrence that Vincentians should never forget, “because like the vastness of the universe, [their pain] was unimaginable”.

“Can we imagine what it must have been like to suddenly go from a fierce assertion of liberty and sovereignty to be trapped on a barren island; their home in sight but unable to go back because hostile ships patrol the waters, and would soon take them further away from their homes, never to return?” Friday questioned.

He said that though there can never be an atonement for their suffering, it does not mean that there is nothing that can be done.

“We speak now of legally acquiring Baliceaux, and making it a protective heritage in our nation. That time has finally arrived and it is welcomed. We speak also of reparations for the harm that was done, that too is welcomed; but of course, the declaration of Baliceaux as a heritage site is not really a cause for celebration,” Friday continued, adding that ‘Celebration’ would not be the right way to describe this new development.

He said there is too much suffering, pain, deaths, sorrow, and graves of our captives ancestors on the island. He continued that for the descendents of those who were exiled, it is a sense of loss “and we do not celebrate in a graveyard”.

“Rather, the preservation of Baliceaux would be a solemn act, a solemn act of recognition of that pain and suffering, and it will be a promise that they will never be forgotten, and that we will forever mourn those who have suffered and died in the genocide.”

Further, he said we owe it to our ancestors because it was upon their struggles and indomitable spirit that we now continue to build our nation. He pointed out that the obstacles that we confront today may appear different, but the struggle is the same for human dignity and the people’s sovereignty.

Among the scores of those who were present at the ceremony were Governor General, Dame Susan Dougan; Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves; Leader of the Opposition Dr Godwin Friday; Deputy Prime Minister Montgomery Daniel; Minister of Tourism Carlos James; Minister of Agriculture Saboto Caesar; acting Commissioner of Police Enville Williams; and members of the Garifuna Heritage Foundation.