Men should recognize their responsibility

EDITOR: Some time ago I raised the issue of the rampant effeminisation of the men of the society and made the observation that this erosion of manhood was putting a tremendous strain on our beautiful and precious women.

Prominent on my mind then was the loss of one of our vibrant women, Nicole Sylvester, a distinguished lawyer, who had at a young age already made a significant contribution to this society of ours.

At the time of her death she headed the Parent Teachers’ Association of the St. Vincent Grammar School and I had made the point, that because of her nature to pursue excellence, she must have spent many of her late-night hours devising strategies for the addressing of the sensitive issues confronting her organization. I am still of the opinion that those burdens were heavier because of the traceable indifference of the men-folk of our society and I believe that the weight of that responsibility contributed to the shortening of the life of Sylvester.

So when some weeks ago at a press which was advertised, we expected to hear from the Ministry of Health officials, but to which the Prime Minister turned up and was invited to speak by the Permanent Secretary and chairman of the proceedings.

When the Prime Minister went on to speak for quite a long time, during which he raised and repeated quite a bit of what he had addressed at another forum just the day before, my mind went back to NICOLE SYLVESTER and my heart was pained for Dr Simone Keizer, the Chief Medical Officer.

Considering the stresses of her responsibilities as Chief Medical Officer in this period of crisis in which we do not as a nation have the wherewithal to comfortably respond, Dr Keizer should not have been burdened to sit and listen to PM Gonsalves talk for so long. That time could have been better spent if the Chief Medical Officer Dr Keizer had used it to take a rest.

We cannot be indifferent to the welfare of those citizens who are on the “Front-Line” of this battle against COVID-19. The P.S. could have steered her withdrawal in the interest of all of us!

Leroy Providence