Emancipation – a distant dream

THE EDITOR: The anniversary of emancipation uploads the injustices inflicted on our foreparents and wells up animosity and vengeance. Luckily, the status quo provides no avenue for the re-enactment of that brutal era of the history of African descendants. The movement for Black Live Matter (BLM) stirred up the fires even earlier.

The dehumanising yoke and shackles are replaced by a refined version of cruelty. After decades of fictitious freedom and 58 years of independence we are drowning in the quicksand of the dependency syndrome. We dress like massa and we even send our children to massa to be educated so they become the splitting image of massa.

You can hear in some circles “if it was the white man, things would have been different or if you can’t handle the white man thing, leave it alone.”

Men adorn themselves with three-piece suit and tie and our women masquerade in long dresses walking on stilts (high heels). Our women have traded the picky plaits and canerows for imitations, long flowing wigs, rope and animal hair. As if disgusted with their black features they are bleaching their skin for a lighter complexion. The abuse of cosmetics strikes fear in men that in searching for a mate they may end up getting make-up.

Our system of government is so British and the behaviour in Parliament is brutish, a relic of the black-white relationship.

The BLM situation only highlighted how we are perpetuating slavery. We are still responding to “black man,” “black people” and “black lives.” When are we going to elevate ourselves to people with black skin?

There are black-skin people in high places who do not even acknowledge receipt of your correspondence. Massa left in the public service the protocol of acknowledging receipt and promise of a response.

We are claiming that Black Lives Matter, not the ones in front our door, but we do not have a system to harvest new ideas from these heirs. Instead the establishment dumps and muzzles creativity, asking what does a field slave know about development?

Climbing to the top of the corporate ladder is a no-no for people of a certain hue. When we get to that ivory tower slavery is re-enacted: negotiations are late and dreadful; increases are difficult to come by; we underpay and benefits are withheld.

The house slaves that are skilled in sports and academia are shipped to more prosperous plantations (jurisdictions) where they are fully absorbed in the cultures and later denounce their homeland – “I can’t live in TT.”

Recreation clubs established by massa’s representatives to restore some dignity to descendants of slaves have been closed by the offsprings of former house slaves who feel that this luxury is too good for the successors of field slaves.

The descendants of slave owners continue to haunt us. International organisations employ predominantly whites as executives and the minority group as foot soldiers.

We patronise international games and institutions with laws that are repressive and discriminatory. Our cries to help formulate policies only echo in the wilderness.

The status of the descendants of slaves is still one of second class and reparation a plead for sympathy.

Emancipation is but a distant dream of a people that adopted culture.

LENNOX FRANCIS

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