Graphic Design
Hairoun!
THINKING of traveling to St. Vincent and the Grenadines? Well, you're not alone. When LIAT is not on strike, people from all all over the world use the airline to get to the beautiful, independent SVG every year. Part of the Windward Islands, the Mother Island of St. Vincent rests in the southeastern Caribbean sea with the Grenadines, a chain of 32 smaller islands, stretching North towards Grenada. They say that Columbus discovered us in 1498 and gave us our name--but as far as we're concerned that's questionable and ancient history. We prefer one of our original names. Hairoun: a beautiful tropical atmosphere combined with a rich culture almost virtually unspoiled by tourism. At least, so we thought. Kija Afua Kazi, a NuBeing correspondent went International for Bacchanal Time in SVG and returned with a new attitude about her heritage.
I LAY there, basking in the sun. I mean basking, sun beating on my back, drinking water from a coconut, living like a privileged tourist. My trips to the Caribbean, particularly to my home in St. Vincent, were always pretty self-indulgent. While I am lucky enough to have many relatives in the islands, there are many alternatives. SVG boasts beautiful hotels with restaurants, bars, shopping, satellite TV, beaches and yachts and whatever else a person could desire when looking for something special in a vacation. Every one of the Grenadine Islands has something special to offer, a unique magnificence that almost defies description. Kingstown, the capital of St. Vincent, is the place to be if you want to be where the action is. There's always a good party with steelpan and calypso but today, reggae, R&B, rap, jazz and just about anything else can be encountered. The market at the North end of Bay Street is a virtual plethora of fruits, vegetables and other goods. Snack items are sold by street merchants on every other corner and, for a special treat, I appreciate a mouthwatering snow-cone (laced with sweetened condensed milk) as I relax in the downtown area.
This time, however, during my relaxation, I looked around, really looked around. Although I tried to close my eyes, the truth was looking me right in the face. Things are changing. Although I had always boasted to my friends about the innocence of Hairoun, I realized that my home had been touched by some of the same media-induced value systems and first-world problems that I had always hoped to escape.
Filas, Reeboks and Nikes pave the street and Vincentians apply the same inflated opinions about their worth. The rate of HIV and AIDS has doubled over the last year. Even worse, I found no proactive clinics to help educate Vincentians on the seriousness of the disease. No free condoms! While foreign investment is always promoted as the answer, certain aspects are damaging the rich culture that has been the source of my national pride. The Japanese, Italians and French have set up shop and brought their colonial values and general disrespect for other people along with them. Imagine my surprise when I strolled into the what was once our Public Library and was told by a French man that this was now the Alliance Français and that their objective is to "Teach the natives French culture and language!" After all this time, had Vincentians not developed a culture separate and distinct from that of the oppressor? Were we willing to put ourselves in the same vulnerable position that had cost us our rights, our land and our freedom? Had we not seen the downfall of other Black people when they welcomed colonialism in with open arms?
George A. Mclntosh, a Vincentian and an activist, served his people as a political hero. During the early 1900s, he was often persecuted for his beliefs. He formed unions, fought for the rights of the poor, was arrested for treason and was a true revolutionary to the maintenance of Vincentian culture. Where are the revolutionaries today? Where are those who won't sell us out for two pieces of silver?
George A. Mclntosh was my great-grandfather. His blood runs though my veins. What have I done for the cause? What have you done for the cause? I finally did find the library. It is in an old warehouse in the backstreets of Kingstown. My forefather's picture is still hanging there. I looked and, like Jesus, Malcolm, Martin, Marcus, Harriet, Sojourner, Farrakhan and the so many others who have fought and are still fighting for the right to question, I wept for my people. Not just in St. Vincent but all over the world.