LIAT…. Again?

Yes, ah hear bout de Liat Pilot’s Sick-out, ah didn’t get de pieces ah de puzzle (both sides) surrounding de reason foh strike action, but ah find at times, our people in management tend to raise de big stick too quickly; ah not defending de pilot since he allegedly acted unprofessionally; but rather dan firing him, wouldn’t it be more in keeping wid industrial relations if dey had suspended him, pending ah hearing.{{more}}

Ah forget dat in these parts, yuh in line foh promotion when yuh thief and get entangle in all kind ah corrupt-shun, all dat happens is yuh get “ah slap on de wrist” or maybe ah transfer.

My problem wid Liat is dat at de end of every financial year, de Airline continues to show big losses, and we talking millions, but de three “stubborn like ram’ shareholders (Barbados, Antigua and SVG) continue to subsidize de company, keeping de planes and de same pilots, now on sick-out, flying.

De hard part is dat Antiguans and Bajans travelling, and are not usually affected whenever Liat Wukers decide to tek industrial action, is we in SVG who got no alternative means ah air transport, and in most cases passengers trying to mek connections wid de International Airlines.

Everybody, hoteliers, business executives, traffickers and de general public, keep calling foh an additional airline, “Liat needs competition” dey are all saying.

If Liat had competition instead ah being subsidized, dem pilots would ah bin too busy hustling ah buck, to even consider going pon sick-out.

Wid all fairness to Pry Minister Gonsalves, he wants to prove dat part ah de Carry-beyond civil-lies-say-shun, is foh we to own we space, pon de Land, Sea and de Sky, so Liat wil hold its place up dey.

But Lie-Za thinks differently, she say he got to keep Liat going because, when de Argyle Airport is finished, he must have at least one Airline to keep hope alive at Argyle.

Anyhow ah hope dis sick off call off by Thursday because, ah have ah connection flight in T’n’T Thursday, but if no changes, Lie-Za say not to worry, she will ask Que Passa to come foh me in his speed boat.

ELLS WAS AH BORN HERO

Ah was almost stunned on Monday morning when ah hear dat me good, good friend Ells got murdered, stab-up, shot, in his home. Something tells me Ells was martyred! And what ah horrible way to die!

Real sad when yuh overs his luv foh people and family, his fearless committment towards fighting crime and violence.

Remember de incident wid de youngster dat was shooting up de town just outside Ells’ clinic, he had everybody ducking foh cover, when Ells came our like Charles Bronson, de Bounty-man and wid his lie-sin gun, pelted ah few bullets and had de gunslinger ducking foh cover, he was subdued by Ells and eventually arrested by police.

Lucky foh Ells den, when de youth-man pulled the trigger on him, something in de gun, the trigger or barrel stuck or jammed.

Dat was de nature ah de man, no-non-cents and down-to-earth. Yet very free-handed and kind, Ells was de poor people Dental Mechanic.

Thanks to his affordable dentures, dem ole people were able to chew hard food and chop dumpling and turkey bones again.

Ah wonder what kind ah job St Peter got foh Ells to do up dey, because Angels got perfect bodies, no false nothing including false teeth.

May he have ah perfect rest in Heaven.

DE RUSSIANS ARE COMING

Well de Russians have finally set foot in SVG.

De space ship heading foh Mars unknowingly mek ah 180 degrees turn and when it sent back photos of what was supposed to be Mars, de physical features fitted de expectations on Mars, barren Banana lands wid no movement (de economy).

Dey went foh de crash landing, it turned out to be SVG!

Lie-Za says nobody ain’t fooling she. Dat space craft landing in SVG was deliberate, de Russians knew dat it would ah been safe to land in de Come-Red’s country.

She however has one reservation, she thinks de plan was foh de space ship to land at Argyle to hush up all dem who say dat no planes could land at Argyle.

Suppose dat space ship did mek ah safe landing at Argyle in truth, what ah space-splash dat would ah bin.

And wid dat, is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

Bassy Alexander is a land surveyor, folklorist and social commentator.