National Heroes Month

This coming Sunday will usher in one of the three most important months in the history of our country. The month of March has been officially designated as National Heroes Month with particular focus on March 14, the date of the death of our only National hero, Paramount Chief Chatoyer, as a public holiday –National Heroes Day. The other most significant months in our calendar are August, in commemoration of Emancipation Day and October when we celebrate the anniversary of our country’s reclamation of independence in 1979.

Each year on March 14, we go through the ritual of journeying to Dorsetshire Hill, the location of an obelisk on the site believed to be where Chatoyer was killed by the British colonialists, and stage a ceremony in homage of his brave defence of our independence. There are also activities hosted by the Garifuna Foundation, Chatoyer’s people, in memory of their contribution towards this country.

It may well be the time for us to take stock and reflect on whether these are enough and to seek to go deeper. While we welcome the positive step to officially recognize March 14 and honour Chatoyer, a lot still is left to be done to erase the legacy of genocide, expropriation of Kalinago and Garifuna lands and the centuries of discrimination and racism against these native peoples.

If we are honest with ourselves we must admit that there is still the stigma of very negative images of these people and unfair treatment of them. Many of us still use the term “Carib” in a very negative sense and we have not even admitted or apologized for the sexual exploitation of indigenous women over the centuries. There is need for a concerted effort to deal with these issues.

In this light, we welcome the move by the government to engage four local historians to document our history and express every confidence in the team to write OUR STORY for future generations. There is still a big gap in our confidence which needs to be addressed and still many wrongs to be righted.

March is also the month marking the birth date of one of the persons nominated for the designation as national Hero, trade union pioneer, social and political activist, pharmacist and patriot, a man who earned the title “Tribune of the People”, George McIntosh. He is among four nominees that are being considered for the award. However, it is clear that there has yet to emerge any clear consensus on who should join Chief Chatoyer on the lofty national pedestal. It may therefore be best not to be hasty in this regard and continue the educational process before arriving at any premature decision. After all, the nominees are all deceased and surely can wait. There is much more to be done in uplifting the national consciousness and imbuing the spirit of patriotism among our people.