Raining on our parade

INDEPENDENCE DAY will be observed in a few days’ time, but few are in a mood to celebrate.

Indeed, our current circumstances as a nation are a far cry from what was envisioned when our flag was first hoisted in front of the Red House in 1962.

We remain under the yoke of a global pandemic that has precipitated a state of emergency, whatever its merits. More than 1,000 lives have been lost to covid19, with the death toll rising daily.

On Wednesday, as parliamentarians debated the merits of the state of emergency, the Ministry of National Security quietly announced the Independence Day parade will again be cancelled, owing to covid19.

Many will no doubt seek to mark the upcoming holiday in more muted ways, but none can escape the implications of our present-day situation.

If there has been any lesson taught by the pandemic, it has been that the very notion of our sovereignty is a tenuous and fragile one. That we are independent and yet not free was demonstrated to us through our struggle to obtain covid19 vaccines.

Not many countries have the capacity to develop and manufacture vaccines, but international bodies had been set up to guarantee equity between nation states premised on the idea of equality. Those bodies, until quite recently, failed and it will be for history to assess the true costs of the delays.

Also within this framework of collapsed regional institutions is Caricom, which proved itself ineffective on this occasion when it came to lobbying, as a united bloc, on behalf of its people as a whole. Whereas in some parts of the world, unbridled globalisation has resulted in countries closing ranks, Caricom seemed fragmented in this key area, despite efforts by regional leaders to appear on good terms.

In terms of our own systems of leadership, there are disturbing signs of apathy and of lack of trust. Vaccine hesitancy and poor communication remain serious challenges.

The upcoming holiday will be the first in three years without a substantive Commissioner of Police at the helm – in the middle of a state of emergency that has placed considerable strain on the essential services. Not only is there no commissioner, there is no word on when that situation might change.

In Tobago, the House of Assembly impasse that followed the election in January is yet to be resolved. An election is now due, though none can say exactly when.

Small-island developing states like ours also face particular threats posed by climate change and the global economic environment.

What, then, does “independence” mean in this context?

That there will be no parade come Independence Day offers an opportunity for serious reflection.