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Nevertheless: Focusing on the wrong picture
9/25/2009
By Eric Lewis
As you are aware, last week Friday Barbadians welcomed World Champion hurdler our own very Ryan Brathwaite home and celebrated his success with a motorcade and festivities down at Kensington Oval. The Prime Minister was there, representatives from corporate Barbados were there, the man in the street was there and thousands of school children came out to celebrate with Ryan and show their love and appreciation for his well deserved success. In all of this Ryan get land and car and money and all kinda nice things, which he well and truly deserved.
But coming out of all o’ this was a lil game of politics… I don’t know if to call it a lil nasty game, but a lil game of politics was being played. First we heard that Tom, Dick and Harry received official invitations from guvment to be at the dooflicky down Kensington, but members of the Opposition aint get no invitement from guvment so them ain’t went.
According to Mia, when the then BLP guvment feted Obadele for winning an Olympic bronze medal a few years back the BLP saw it fit to extend invitements to the then opposition DLP members and as such she was disturbed that for Ryan’s celebration dooflicky that DLP guvment chose not to reciprocate and extend invitements to them.
Furthermore, George Payne who is in opposition but is the elected MP for St. Andrew from whence Ryan hails, was delivering an address at another dooflicky held in honour of Ryan, and Payne apologised to Ryan for not being down at Kensington to celebrate with him but the reason he didn’t come down there was because he didn’t get no invitement form the guvment. So while Barbados continue to bathe in the sunshine of Ryans’s success, these fellas in my opinion using the opportunity to play politics.
I don’t normally put my mouth in these things cause I is a small fish and when these fellas from both parties get behind close doors, them does pour some big mout drinks and laugh and hug up one another and leff small fish like me for the sharks.
However, I would say this. I feel that on occasions like these that we should put partisan politics aside and let all Barbadians enjoy the moment. If back then the BLP was so gracious to invite members of the opposition DLP to join with them and celebrate Oba’s success, then I think that this time around the favour should have been extended by the DLP guvment to the now members of the BLP opposition.
Them kinda things does show that you ain’t holding no petty grudges and it does also send a message to the electorate that you ain’t frighten for the Opposition and that when it comes to celebrating the success of Bajans all o’ we is one family.
Now having said that, I would tell George Payne, if as you said you are a true fan of Ryan and you have been following his accomplishments and wishing him well all along, then I don’t think you should be making excuses bout the reason you ain’t went down Kensington is because you ain’t get invite.
If you is really a Ryan fan, invitement or no invitement you wouldda gone down Kensington and sit down between John Public and celebrate the moment with all Barbados instead of stopping home sulking and complaining bout not getting an official invite – it ain’t like it was a wedding.
But as I said um is politics being played and fellas does use these opportunities to juck at one another rather than focusing on the real picture which is that a lil two by nought island, lil Bim, has produced a gold medal world champion hurdler. Well done Ryan! See ya.
(e-mail: madderic@hotmail.com)
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