An Orwellian state of affairs-Is there any Justice in Paradise?

George Orwell’s classic Animal Farm is a cogent reminder of the need to be ever vigilant as ordinary citizens.  The book which is a political allegory, is based on Russia’s 1917 Revolution.  That revolution overthrew an autocratic system and put in place a set of people who were thought to be more benevolent with ideas for fairness, justice and prosperity. What started out as a promise of a free and just society became a brutal dictatorship and misery for ordinary people.  

In Orwell’s story-Animal Farm- the animals live for years under duress until they find the courage to strategise and overthrow the farmers, their masters. What began as a hopeful experiment ended in disillusionment with the pigs assuming leadership of the farm and enlisting the protection of the dogs. At the end of the novel, as the ordinary animals who do the majority of the work peer into the Great House, they can no longer differentiate between the pigs and the humans. Such became the behaviour and mannerisms of the new leaders that they only served to protect their own selfish interests.  

The most enduring line of Orwell’s novel is the saying, ‘All animals are equal but some are more equal than others’. It highlights the fact that many countries start out with peaceful and democratic ideals, yet inequality festers and the law is in favour of the most powerful. The pigs in Animal Farm demonstrate this point as they continuously changed and manipulated the rules to suit their needs. Such rules were reinforced not by the consent of the people but through brute force in the form of the well-trained dogs.  

Though written in 1945 Animal Farm has an enduring lesson for our societies. The rights of ordinary citizens are frequently trampled while justice is swiftly meted out when they transgress the laws they have no say in. In our Caribbean scenario, St. Lucia is presently facing a scandal of enormous proportions. A recent independent report revealed substantial evidence of extra-judicial killings by members of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force. No senior officials have been suspended or charged and families of the victims remain in the dark on justice and compensation.

In Jamaica, less than two weeks ago two policemen were involved in the shooting of an unarmed civilian who they claimed was resisting arrest. However thanks to video evidence the two were identified. Jamaica’s Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) issued a press release stating that one officer was charged for murder while the other was charged for perverting the course of justice. Had it not been for the video capture of the situation there would likely be no arrest.

One can only imagine how the family of the deceased must feel having his life taken so callously and unjustly. After years of police brutality and extra-judicial killings, Jamaica has managed to resolve some of these issues by appointing independent bodies to oversee wrong doing by law enforcement officials. A people cannot feel safe knowing that the authority of the state instead of being used to protect them is actually used against them in unjust ways.

Under the Constitution of Barbados the right to life is guaranteed except where a court imposes a death sentence for a criminal offence or in justifiable instances such as the defense of a person from violence, the defence of property or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained.

With the 50^th anniversary of independence approaching and talks of completing the independence project by becoming a republic, Barbadians must critically reflect on what really is the rule of law and whether justice actually exist.

The death of Selwyn Knight is clearly an unconstitutional act. What is even more worrying is the glaring delay in justice, the lack of transparency and the obvious double standards in this matter. Were it a civilian who had pulled the trigger on two plain clothes policemen, justice would have been executed swiftly and severely.

However as Orwell reminds us, some are more equal than others. The lesson for ordinary Barbadians is not to become complacent as the animals in Orwell’s allegory did. By the end of the story with the treatment the animals received they became disillusioned and could not distinguish between their current leaders and their former masters. Having independence does not guarantee a free, fair and just society. We must be ever cautious that history does not repeat itself.  

May Mr.Knight and his family find justice !

When Silence is not Golden

When I first started contributing to this space, I was aware of the fact that I was opening myself to public scrutiny. It wasn’t the first time I was sharing my personal thoughts in a public forum but it would be the first time doing so on a consistent basis. Given my background in youth work, I naturally gravitated towards commentary on societal issues particularly impacting young people. 

I was well aware that Barbadian society though considered democratic does not always encourage diversity of opinion especially when people feel they are the object of your concerns. For instance I have been accused of being an operative for the opposition party when raising awareness of youth unemployment and then labelled by opposition supporters as being partisan when endorsing government measures to address the same issue. 

The lesson I learnt was that it was impossible to please everyone but to always canvass the ideas of the young people who I represented and express their fears and concerns with as much conviction as they did to me.   

Being outspoken did not happen overnight. It came from taking small bold steps and through the advice and encouragement from other outspoken people. Even now I do not consider myself sufficiently outspoken much of it stems from the fear of victimisation which has been passed down from generation to generation in Barbadian society. 

Evidence of this was highlighted in another section of the media recently by way of an interview with a University of the West Indies Student. The interview took place after a planned protest against a range of tax measures and cuts taken by government. When asked why she was present when many of her peers were not, the student noted that her parents had always encouraged her to be outspoken. On the other hand several of her colleagues were warned by their parents of jeopardising their career prospects if they were associated with the march.

It reminded me of my UWI days when I was one of the very few Barbadian students protesting the planned hike in amenities fees among the scores of non-national students who helped to bring some sanity to the debate.

But it is not only in Barbados where being outspoken gets the disapproving eye. The current Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be invoking condemnation from countries all across the world. Improper actions have been committed on both sides but disproportionate use of force from Israeli raids resulting in the deaths of mainly civilian women and children ought to be condemned by the international community. The claim has been that militants have been using civilians as human shields but among these deaths included four children who were playing football on a beach.

In response to the ongoing tragedy NBA star Dwight Howard who has a following of 15 million on Twitter posted #FreePalestine. He was immediately blasted for ‘choosing sides’ in the conflict and deleted his tweet with an apology.  Barbadian Pop Sensation Rihanna did likewise but later deleted her tweet and offered a lengthy apology. The support from both of these international icons to the plight of thousands of women and children could have gone a long way in forcing people across the world to take note and place pressure on their respective governments to speak up about these atrocities. Sadly however commercial and political interests have won out over human rights issues.

The events in Palestine are but one of the many situations across the world which requires the voice of the international community. History is replete with tragic lessons of the evil that flourishes when we sit back and watch those with economic, political and military power muzzle our voices while promoting their agendas. It is always tempting to sit on the fence and allow other persons to do the speaking or to await the outcome of such situations, that is until we find ourselves in similar predicaments and then wish for others to rescue us as we struggle to find our voice.

Over the past two weeks I have been fortunate to engage three colleagues who have done humanitarian work in the Middle East and in Palestine. From the information they shared and from critically assessing the various media reports I have come to the conclusion that silence is not the best option from my end. I asked my colleagues what I could do to bring awareness about this issue to my small sphere of influence. Their simple message was that if each person raised their voice in unison in whatever way they could, it would force world leaders to stop turning a blind eye. It would also give hope to the children of Palestine that they have a future beyond fleeing bombs and being treated as less than humans. 

Whatever our ethnic, religious, national or political origins and persuasions we are all human beings and the unfair treatment of any one group of people will eventually cause great discomfort for several other groups. Our silence is not always golden.