The PMC: Sleeping Giant

The People’s Movement For Change (PMC), as a title, is a combination of two concepts which, when they come together, can explode. A movement for change always speaks of hope, of the dawning of some new thing. This change, this hope, usually belongs only to a few, a sect or cult or a minority. So, a political party may speak of its change movement as “refreshing”, or it may speak of a change in government as an “alternative” power. A church speaks of its growth, the “planting” of new congregations, as a glorious change.{{more}}

 

A business firm has its own “movement for change” when it buys over, absorbs or joins with other companies. A sports club, or a gang too, defines its movement for change in its own way. All these are “movements”, changes, but the benefits are small-time. They improve the cult. In fact, sometimes they only have the talk, the looks of change, but the old order remains intact. A movement for change becomes an explosion when it is a people’s change movement. When the people and change move together to define what the change is to be, to govern and manage the process of change, and to put the change properly in place, then that is no small-time change. The hope has become erect, the dawn is a beauty to possess.

In the bosom of SVG, a hoping dawn is being fed. The movement for change – Big–Time – is lonely, not forlorn, but waiting, trusting, anticipating the movement of the people, the waking of the giant. Our People’s Movement for change must emerge from slumber. Because in SVG, people are hurting, and hoping. Thousands of our young people have only known hurt and hope against hope. After they have struggled through school, the road ahead is closed. They are stuck at home without work opportunities, without self-employment assistance and depending on their own resources, which may lead them to prostitution, violence and the drug trade. Their hurt is deep and broad. Adult citizens are hurting and hoping that what the Government holds out is true, that our hurts will be over when the airport starts to operate. Others are hoping that NDP opposition is to bring their hurts to an end. Still some others are hurting because the vicious system of governance makes them cannibalise their consciences.

 

They “sanitise” topics for school debate. They perform strange contortions. They hurt. People are hurting others instead of exercising tolerance. The media glorifies brutality in movies, hardline fundamentalism rules in our Parliament, and callous authorities rule, which leads to “civil” war in North Africa. When we hurt, we hurt back with lethal intent and the justice system cannot heal our hurts. We need substantial instruments of hope and healing, a people’s movement for change. Our culture is hurting. We turn culture into a show round Victoria Park, without aesthetic conversation about the condition of our national spirit. We name as ambassadors persons who do well in their art form, without affirming what the art form brings to the table. Her Excellency Ambassador Nero may be the exception. We hover like vultures over cultural reality. We displace moral aspirations.