In-deep-and-dense wid no prosperity

Life foh we began in October of 1979, dat night we killed Co-loan-all-is-him, anything dat existed before dat 1979 date, King, Queen, Integrity, everyting dat will stop de Civil-lies-say-shun, we mek sure we destroyed dem all. So tomorrow Sat-dey 27th We celebrating 33 AD, as in After de Death ah Co-loan-all-is-him. {{more}}

Luckily or unluckily foh me ah was born in 1941 and ah knew Messers Co-loan-all-is-him, Common-is-him and So-shell-is-him quite well, ah real bully dey were, but Co-loan-all-is-him lived hey, he proved to us dat “Prosperity in we soil” and uses to mek we dig de soil and show we how he prosper, only problem was he uses to skim off de cream ah de milk and lef de blue water feh we. But before he left, we uses to sing one ah we Sankie ( black people anthem): “

Gi me de ole time Religion, it’s good enuff foh me!” Co-loan-all-is-him left and it was jubilation! Vibration Scakes mek ah Kaiso Anthem : Co-loan-all-is-him gone, ah nation is born!” He gone but we dieing to be on his honours list. Call me Sir!

But what is eye-run-ache, is dat Mr Co-loan-all-is-him gone thirty-three years now and de Sankie is never more relevant: “Gi me de ole time religion!” We de older folks can’t help, because thirty-three years ago prosperity was in de soil.

Men, we-men and dey children dug de soil, plant seeds and harvest crops and tasted Prosperity. Thirty-three years ago Banana was king and Agriculture had back bone; our farmers were shipping to de UK close to one hundred million dollars worth ah Bananas ah year, although Farmers got no more dan five cents ah pound foh dey Bananas, dey had ah regular cash flow.

One Banana pay check uses to meet up wid de next. But foh de past twenty years (AD), Bananas been taking ah dive, and recently it hit sea bottom, foh de first nine months ah dis year, we ain’t reach ah million dollars yet. Forty years ago we had an Our-root industry, Orange Hill was still de largest single Coconut field in de world and we had ah Coconut Oil industry; today we have no Coconut Oil.

Ah note ah few pounds ah Our-root on de Supermarket shelves, after ah few years of absence, de price is now $17. 00 ah pound package, imported Quaker Oats is $6. 00 ah pound. Forty years ago, our Traffickers ply dey trade to T’n’T and Bo-bid-us wid ground provision (no Bananas), fruits, sheep and goats, and tasted Prosperity. Of special interest, we did no Cook-in or trading wid Miss Marie Warne. One ah we biggest mistake we made when we got rid ah Mr. Co-loan-all-is-him, we failed to get rid ah Van Geest, who made ah con-serve-ah-teef figure of at least ten billion dollars just selling we Bananas in Europe. Lie-Za swares dat Amajaro is de reincarnation ah Van Geest.

DE TALKING COCOA INDUSTRY

But today In-deep-and-dent SVG has no Bananas. We talking we way into harvesting Cocoa wid Mr Amajaro. Ah said we talking into harvesting. Dat’s all ah hearing pon de Radio and TV, talk, talk. People calling de Talk Show hosts and talking bout when de Cocoa is harvested, how much money Amajaro will mek.

But nobody planting. O.K. we must not let another Van Geest rip us off, but why do we have to wait on Amajaro to get started wid planting Cocoa. Bishop Gordon didn’t just preach on Sundey, he Profit-sigh, we get rid ah Mr Co-loan-all-is-him and we stumped, we stuck wid we own Mr Co-loan-all-is-him in we mind! Foh goodness sake let us get on wid de planting ah de Cocoa.

Get yuh own seedlings and plants, we nah ha fo wait pon no Amajaro or nobody.

And dat is why my verdict after 33 years is dat we have not progressed. Progress is symbolised by Prosperity and de people of dis country have never been poorer, we Poor in Mind, Body and Spirit and worst of all we poor in de Pocket!

If yuh want to say de young people who getting opportunities to go and study is ah sign ah progress, ah will ask one question, how many ah dem ready to tek over de fishing and farming, no not one, but dey dey pon de Radio and TV talking development, and what dis country needs are. Yes dem got de “Gist” ah things, de sociolo-Gist, de Psycholo-Gist, de Legalolo-Gist, de E-con-amolo-Gist ah whole set ah Gist, but no Plantolo-Gist or Fishingolo-Gist! Please Gi me de ole time Religion, It’s good enough foh me.

Ah want to congratulate Carlton ‘CP’ Hall and Doc Adams dis In-deep-and dance. CP foh ah beautiful souvenir gift to de schools and indeed de nation, in de form of a CD or short duc-yuh-minty-tree of SVG past and present, our peoples and historical mon-yuh-mints. Ah overs he delivered copies to de Ministry, somehow ah yet to see it on TV, but dat is how it is.

And Doc Adams foh de Awe-ward he got. Sister Rainy in tribute-I-sing Doc, spoke of his writings, his acting and dancing skill, dancing on bottles and in fire etc. His culinary skills at de Fish Net Restaurant remain unmatched.

But in my book, his best skill was as my Sunday School Teacher at Gospel Hall. Nobody has ever dramatized de David vs Goliath battle like Teacher Edgar Adams. Now dat he is recognized, ah hope dey will put some ah his his-story books in de Schools. Don’t start counting yet Doc.

And wid dat, is gone ah gone again

One Love Bassy

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