Acting PM wants more focus on Kalinago culture in education sector

Austrie. *Photo credit: Sean Douglas

(DNO) Acting Prime Minister Reginald Austrie says more should be done to advance the Kalinago culture within the education sector.

Austrie made the remarks at the official opening of the Salybia Primary School this week.

“Let us ensure that our children continue to learn about our culture. People are losing touch of their culture and once you lose touch, you are losing touch of yourself. You can play a bigger part in teaching your children the Kalinago language,” he said.

Austrie appealed to the teachers to work with the Ministry of Education and the principal.

“We have given you this school…it is yours school…you can use the structure to train the young people in various aspects of culture for which you are world famous. I want you to do more to advance the Kalinago nation and I know you have the potential for doing so,” he said.

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18 Comments

  1. June 3, 2010

    nice post. thanks.

  2. JUST A READER
    June 3, 2010

    That may be so Reginald,all well and good….But you know what I would really want you to look into,especially for the People in you constituency.?Medical facilities/Health centres….How many medical facilities or Health Centres as a matter of fact are there from Capuchin clean all the way to Portsmouth?..Is it true that if a person from,lets say Capuchin has a serious emergency,there is no staff Health facility between there and Portsmouth Hospital?……..If there are none…well……
    That is a shame in this day and age isn’t it?….Can you do your ut-most to address that.I believe these people deserve better don’t you think?…..

  3. D/can in the diaspora.
    June 2, 2010

    Hip Hip horay!
    Merci Reggie! I recall the days when I was growing up on the Comm. of D/ca ,transporting bananas with my dad & countless brothers. My father use to make us drive the truck preparing us for his golden yrs when the froide would take control of his knees and other joints. Each of us would take turns driving that old truck. He wanted to expose us and build the confidence to one day take over the business of keeping the lands cultivated and make responsible men of us to run things. .These were the good old days of the 70’s & 80”s( early) We must have dissapointed our old man badly.We all mixed our secondary education with giving a helping hand missing school most banana days. We were six boys and 2 girls all are lost to our beloved DA and serving in the diaspora. We know our culture Reggie,sadly people like you don’t cause you are part of the problem ,selling DA one grain of sand at a time.
    You are like a monday morning quarter back as we say out here. You know all that should have been done at sundays football game on monday morning discussions by the water cooler & elsewhere.
    Reggie the take home messages are as follows: Skerrit that little twit have you and other ministers take some practice like my father did with us on our banana cultivations & transportation of the fruit.
    The culture sadly, is long gone thanks to guys like you and your boss etc the guys before you all the UWP etc. With an influx of other cultures to our 65k can our culture be preserved when the means of production changing hands? (not to the kalinago people.)Reggie I suggest you re-apply for your job at Ross and stop making a donkey of yourself. You have the intestinal fortitude to talk on the topic of lost culture when you are aiding and abetting in DA’s sale culturally and visible assets?As someone before me said: Is this not partof the next level DA is fast becoming like St.Marteen.
    Continue “ACTING”What you are not capable of ever becoming.All of you are actors. DA’s Hollywood DA?

  4. A Reggie scholar
    June 2, 2010

    Reggie! What you say?We losing touch with our culture? How can we not? This is part of the next level Reggie.Your gov’t is the one who selling more passports brought haitians , Chinese ,venezuelans & Skerrit peeps to our shores.How you expect us not to lose our culture? I know you dumb but you did not have to open your know foolish beak so all could re-confirm.
    If you did not reLIZE IT this is part of the plan of the next level sort! Just Imagine another butcher of the english language acting P.M you skerrit blackmore all need speech therapy >You all should open a center for peeps with speech impediments with all the chinese venezueal Russian french $ all you getting .Please be the first to matriculate.That too, is part of the next level for you three. Oh I almost forgot the new one with the impediment hewas on the news today the one from Castle Bruce.Where they get all you to send as repsnuh? Da’s gov’t is a reflection of it’s people? If so we there bad! lol.

    • Thunder Horse
      June 2, 2010

      What the hell is wrong with Dominicans, give all these criticisers the job and they will fall parce que yo sot, sot sot.

      DOMINICANS DON’T LIKE TO TEACH THEIR CHILDREN THEIR CULTURE, ALL THEY DO IS WANT TO TALK LIKE ANTIGUAN AND JAMAICAN WHICH THEY SOUND RETARTED ANYWAY.

      We don’t have to wait on Government to tell us to teach our children our patois or Kalinago language. We have a mandate to train our children in our language and i’m glad the Hati

      • Thunder Horse
        June 2, 2010

        I’m glad the haitians are here because these people will jJOG Dominicans to speak the patois and remember our culture. Look at the many Dominicans who find refuge and buy passports for other islands, we better shu up our mouths because we are no better than our goverment, we looking like we seeking political asylum in antigua and st lucia, not to mention the usvi and canada and the uk. Dont look to the government to train all you children, take up your responsibility and train them in the way they should go.

        • JUST A READER
          June 3, 2010

          There you go again…popping crap…….That you know zip about……Hatians don’t speak the same “patios” as Dominicans, it’s totally different…….
          And Jackbackside,if your govt. were creating jobs and most of all opportunities for the People,then they would not have to seek it elsewhere!…….Everyone want a better life for themselves and their families…Unlike you who seems to be quite satisfied with handouts from Politicians…Damn disgrace!…You have absolutely no clue…none whatsoever!…..

      • JUST A READER
        June 3, 2010

        Man, why don’t you learn to spell before you put all this crap up there?..you are an embarrassment to yourself….and you are not very articulate either!…..Are you a mouthpiece for the Govt.?..Man your head is soooo far up their butts……Pleaseee!

  5. GREEN
    June 2, 2010

    Would really love to see some photos from this ceremony…thanks DNO for keeping us updated on developments in the nature isle..

  6. Concerned
    June 2, 2010

    And African Studies too!

  7. Kalinago
    June 2, 2010

    Imagine after 10 plus years in GOVT. AUSTRIE admits that the People are losing touch of their culture and once you lose touch, you are losing touch of yourself. The question is what has the DLP GOVT done in all those years to advance our indigenous culture. Times have changed, and the culture now being advanced is being a mendicant, waiting for people to give, instead of a culture of hard work to earn as Dominicans knew it before. Did I read properly? Austrie exhorts Kalinago people to teach their children the Kalinago language after the thing is dead and gone. Kalinago cannot sell their arts and craft which they have developed over the years. Cheap goods from China sold by the Chinese business people in Dominica are flooding the market and throwing the beautiful Kalinago products and business out. Agriculture is dying. Kalinago are hard working farmers, but find it extremely hard now to live off the land. They used to sell copra to DCP in abundance, that gone. They used to make some money from the production of bananas, that gone. Those are the cultural activities that Kalinago were engaged in, but is pressure and more pressure.

  8. Anonymous
    June 2, 2010

    dominica needs an international airport in wesley

  9. Anonymous
    June 2, 2010

    Where are the pictures of the school?

  10. Foriegn exchange losses
    June 2, 2010

    Great
    This month is time for this Dominican to take and keep the post as PM

    Well done PM Austrie

  11. OOOOOOOOOOOOHSH@@@
    June 2, 2010

    It is interesting to note that those Acting PMs of Dominica are more in the news than the Prime Minister himself. They all seem to be keen to be seen and heard on one thing or other. Good for them I say….keep your light shining and the public informed as it’s meant to be. Wonder why the Man promoted to run things so shy with public information?

    • stupz
      June 2, 2010

      lol but you is a damna** man first time i seeing that mostly everyday he is on the news or their is something about him on DNO. What happen you want him to fly from where he is and give the speech in the ceremony my gosh man.

  12. dominique
    June 2, 2010

    More than just learning about their culture the Kalinago people need to take some drastic measures with the aid of the Government which they voted to alleviate the poverty within their communities. I believe that they are already doing a good job of passing on their culture to the younger generation what is needed is more advancement in terms of employment and better housing for the Kalinago people.

  13. lightbulb
    June 2, 2010

    BIG MOVE…
    serious man.. is long time we acknowledge the roel of the Kalingo people in Dominica’s struggle and survival.

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