WHAT’s de WORD with NICKI- 36 Years of Independence and Political Madness- Part 2

The day was 3^rd November, the year was 1978 and the vibe was patriotic. Independence was in the air, and the masses revelled in the presence of a new life, free from the mental chains of British Colonial Rule which stunted the free and independent growth of our dear nation.  Dominica was now dominated by persons of African descent; the Kalinago Tribe was no longer our defenders from conquistadores and the Father of the Nation was in the hills of his home town, distanced from the current political scene. Educational opportunities past Primary School were very few and there was little sight of growth or let alone a future for the poorer youth.  In the wake of our independence, things were about to get real interesting, real soon.

Prime Minister Patrick John ruled the new nation, now economically fuelled by the export of bananas, but conflicted with a struggle between the Bourgeoisie and Lower Class.  As it usually does, the spirit of the throne slowly began to corrupt the mission of Hon. Patrick John. The hunger for power and abuse of it led to the beginning of a state of unrest and political tension. Many allegations were made against dear old Pat; some including claims of investment schemes with Barbadian gun runner Sydney Burnette Alleyne, an illegal South African Connection with the Dominican Government, and the usual allegations of general corruption. With growing rage in the dear patriots of our country, came what can now be possibly dubbed as the greatest and most epic political revolt of our nation.

The media, at that time, was limited to print and dominated by The Chronicle, the major newspaper, owned by FranK Baron, former chief minister of Dominica.  Stories were now being published of the political evils lurking within our newly independent state and at its own 1970’s pace, news of Pat’s discrepancies spread through the island causing further unsettlement in an already enraged populace aggravated at the manner in which the country was being run and the lack of sufficient answers to intense questions being posed to our leaders.  Anti-government groups were now being formed and the legacy of late Prime Minister Roosevelt Douglas was at its birth. As a student of the Sir George William University in Canada, ‘Rosie’  had been imprisoned for two years for his leadership role in a student uprising in 1968, amidst the era of black power and later deported to his home land. He, Pierre Charles another familiar name, and others strengthened the National Youth Council to stand in the fight for political fairness in our dear Dominica.

As imagined, Pat too became enraged by the allegations of corruption made against him and while more stories emerged in the print media, he opted to curb the occurrence by amending the law. Both the Industrial Relations Act and the Libel and Slander Act were to be amended and with that, people were NOT happy. The Dominican public was not about to let Pat rearrange the laws to suit his own corrupt acts  and so, did what they believed to be the only solution to a vice; revolt!

Cue the anticipating action music! It was now the 29^th of May, 1979 and the large British clock on the Bayfront struck 8:00 AM. A massive crowd had gathered in the environs of the Government Headquarters, where parliament hearing was to take place and the laws were to be amended. A menacingly, heated crowd of civil servants, students, farmers, unemployed youth, and others, gathered, determined to prevent passage of the two amendments. Armed and dangerous, an equally determined Dominica Defence Force stood in opposition of the revolutionaries.

Then, all hell broke loose! By now, a crowd of about 10 to 15 thousand people had gathered in the direct vicinity or in the environs of the ministry building. Led mostly by a group of very young and dubbed the DFS were students from the Sixth Form College, St. Mary’s Academy and Dominica Grammar School. Pulling at the rails which separated crowd from Police, a rebellious chant of “Leo Must Go!’’  serenaded the scared souls of the 50 police officers stationed in the Government’s defence.

Ministers began to enter into parliament, some of whom were vigorously booed and others like Mary Eugenia Charles and Michael Douglas were cheered. Stones were now being pelted into the Attorney General’s Office and the crowd was increasingly impatient and fearless of the government. At this uprising, the DDF (Dominica Defence Force) sought to instil calm by lacing the crowd with tear gas grenades. Pelting through the masses, in an unexpected attack from behind, grenades burst and shattered toxic sleeping gas into the air. But our Dominica was not made of the now docile and technologically distracted youth, for instead of fleeing from the terror to a virtual world, the crowd became strengthened and counter attacked with the largest rain of stones ever seen; stones against the DDF, stones at the Parliament, stones at the bank, stones from the heavens; a terrifying rain of stones.

The car of Prime Minister Patrick John was now speeding to safety inside the ministry building, only to be attacked by darting stones. The DDF’s response was that of militant action, setting off live rounds of bullets into the crowd, injuring many and killing one 19 year old, Phillip Timothy. Others as young as 13 years old suffered bullet wounds and were to be rushed to the Princess Margaret Hospital. My father, to whom I owe my love for social and political science, was shot in the left thigh and left crawling , through his stream of blood to his home on 88 E King George the V Street. Political terror was the onset of Dominica’s independence.

Without getting carried away, the revolt was basically calmed and the country was in a state of neither here nor there, with the formation of the Committee for National Salvation taking leadership of the confusion and initiating an interim government until the next general election was due in 6 months.  If you want to read more of this you can check out a piece by Gabrielle Christian on the Dominica Academy of Arts and Sciences website through this link: http://da-academy.org/revolt_1979.html

In 1980, elections were called and won by The Dominica Freedom Party, under hard-core female politician and lawyer, Mary Eugenia Charles. (AKA greatest female role model in Dominica) Now, back to the stuff that we already know. The Dame served as our strictest leader yet, earning the name “The Iron Lady,” as Prime Minister of a now independent and politically settled state for the next 15 years and was replaced by the United Workers Party under leadership of the eloquent Edison James in the 1995 General Election. James was then booted off the throne and beat by a coalition party of the Dominica Freedom Party and The Dominica Labour Party. The coalition led by political rebel Rosie Douglas was stunted with the surprising death of the people’s champ only 8 months after his initiation unto the throne. He was succeeded by another political faithful, Pierre Charles, who also coincidentally passed away after having sat on the throne for about 3 years. After the unfortunate deaths of two of our historically significant leaders, Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit sat on the throne as the youngest ever prime minister of Dominica at only 32 years, in 2004.

The political journey of our nation has not been one of smooth sailing and the rebels responsible for our state of independence today should forever be iconized. Now, the most rhetorical question slithers around the translucence of Dominica’s political crystal ball. Who will next sit on the throne and what other great rebel leaders will emerge in the fight for this nation in epic battles of democracy and national growth? Only time will tell. Unless you want to clear out your bank accounts and take a brave visit to the Obeah Man to peek into his crystal ball…

Happy 36 Dominica!

Your Daughter,

Nicki