Pemberton: Stop playing victim and work

Historian Dr Rita Pemberton has called for an end to the culture of victimhood in this country.

She said far too often, people make demands for things through a false sense of entitlement instead of working hard to achieve their goals.

"Well, I eh get or my child ent get. He has to get a house and somebody has to give it to you or else you go in somebody else's house and take what you want from them," she said.

Pemberton made the observation recently while hosting a lecture on reparations for native genocide and slavery at the Scarborough Library, Tobago.

St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves had spoken on the topic at the 11th instalment of the lecture series, hosted by the Tobago Writers' Guild and Tobago Library Services.

Pemberton, a Newsday Tobago columnist, had raised the issue of poor work ethic in Tobago in March, while speaking on the topic, How The Cocrico Came To Town, at the Writers Guild's third lecture.

On that occasion, she also questioned how the situation would impact Tobago's goal of achieving internal self-government.

The topic later became the focus of discussions with many people, including Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles, urging Tobagonians to increase productivity on the island.

Pemberton said the issue of poor work ethic must be revisited.

"We not (sic) like wuk (sic) in this place at all and we have to correct that."

On the topic of reparations, Pemberton said the issue should be more prominent on TT's discussion agenda.

Noting Gonsalves' statement that St Vincent and the Grenadines had one of the shortest slavery experiences in the Caribbean, Pemberton said Tobago had one of the longest "and so we (TT) have much more reason to be aggressive in our pursuit of reparations."

She also revealed research is ongoing on the impact of the enslavement food experience on the diet and lifestyle diseases that exist today.

For instance, Pemberton questioned why people put salt in provisions.

"We already cooking the thing in water but why do we add salt?" she asked.