In defence of Paul’s Lot (My humble submission)

Your worship, in light of the continuing negative slurs being made about the community of Paul’s Avenue in Kingstown, more commonly known as Paul’s Lot, I hereby beg the Court’s permission to appear before this Court of public opinion in defence of the goodly citizens of this community whose reputation continues to be besmirched by events beyond their control. First, let me declare my interests in doing so. I am a son of a son of Paul’s Lot, Reynold Rose, and both sides of my family have deep roots in the community.

Secondly, most of my working life, starting from my teaching stint at the Bishop’s College, Kingstown, and continuing for three decades afterwards, first with YULIMO and the UPM and then with the farmers movement, WINFA, was entirely quartered in this same community, not elsewhere.

Thirdly, almost my entire social life, from my teenage days up to my retirement some years ago, was in one way or another wrapped up in the Paul’s Lot community, my umbilical chords bind me there. In the process I have witnessed ambitious youths overcome the social stigma and fight their way right through universities to become valuable contributors to our society. It is true that there are others who chose other paths preferring to take the supposedly easier route and have paid a heavy price for it, but the community as a whole has suffered in reputation because of it. Many young people, in seeking opportunities for advancement, in education or employment, sometimes have to hide their origin or abode for fear of discrimination. Having said this, let me repeat my quote of October 2023, invoking the unforgettable words of the late, great calypsonian Lord Hawke, “Right in de Slum”. Like Hawke, incidentally a “Metlist school” boy too, (we used to mispronounce Methodist school), I must confess that “it does really hurt me as man, to hear them calling Paul’s Lot De Slum”.

That immortal calypso gives the lie to the idea is just a “wutless place” and establishes the historical contribution of that community to the development of our country. I will come to that later.

Before I do, let me deal with location. Paul’s Lot is located, not by the choice of its citizens, right next to the Prisons, a tempting location for communication between prisoners and their fellows on the outside. The residents of Paul’s Lot did not choose this location. True, it is right in the heart of the capital city, next to the Courts, Registry and, until recently, Parliament. Up until the scrapping of local government in 1973, it also hosted the Headquarters of the Kingstown Town Board. For some reason unknown to me, it never was enshrined in the minds of young residents how privileged was their location. That has grave historical implications, including almost creating a sense of inferiority and often lawless rebellion in response. I will continue next week.

To say more, Pauls Lot merges into the heart of the business community, adjacent to Back Street, the hub of business and the vegetable, fish and meat markets. Were our children ever imbued with pride over that? Or always taught about the “negatives” of Paul’s Lot? Today, this community plays host to the commercial headquarters of our electricity services, VINLEC; the headquarters of our National Lottery Board; one of our major secondary schools, Bishops College; in addition to two book stores; two of the three major national newspapers; and several thriving business enterprises.

In contrast to the image painted of this community, Paul’s Lot hosts one of our prominent evangelical churches and borders the major churches of the Methodist, Anglican and Catholic faiths. Which other community throughout the length and breadth of our country can boast of such a location. Yet we have never made it a source of pride to the youth born and bred there, only, to quote another deceased calypsonian, lord Melody, “Woe is me, shame an disgrace on me family”.

Let’s go further to the lack of improvement from official sources to the community. The one housing development, called “The Plan” is more than 70 years old. Which government has sought to improve either housing or health conditions in the area? The Plan dates back to the days of the venerable George McIntosh, a candidate for a National Hero award. Yet McIntosh’s residence was sold in an auction sale, while I was a teacher at Bishops, to become a warehouse for lumber, steel and cement. Supposedly to honour McIntosh, a craft market was built and opened but seems not to have grabbed official attention since then.

• Renwick Rose is a Social and Political commentator.