{"id":162522,"date":"2016-05-18T22:11:06","date_gmt":"2016-05-19T02:11:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/?p=162522"},"modified":"2016-05-18T22:11:06","modified_gmt":"2016-05-19T02:11:06","slug":"commentary-a-muzzled-nation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-a-muzzled-nation\/","title":{"rendered":"COMMENTARY: A Muzzled Nation\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Jeffers
Jeffers Joseph<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There is a deafening silence pervading my country today that’s truly frightening. Rather than taking to the streets to protest the litany of blatant corrupt practices hence opaqueness of our government (one man), Dominicans continue to be inherently complacent with remaining unmoved. They are seemingly quite satisfied to allow their fingers to do the walking, while they remain anonymous as they habitually complain on the telephone and other social media. From fraudulent activities like shady affiliations with NG LapSeng, to erection of luxury villas, money laundering, acquisitions of New York apartment buildings, display of insensitivity toward sexual abuse, MDTH passport deals with unsavory agencies all over the globe, to the recent Panama Papers bombshell – nothing appears to be able to phase them. Whether through fear of victimization, suppression, or mere apathy, passive-aggressiveness appears to be the prevailing method of rebellion in our country today.<\/p>\n

But let’s connect the dots by examining how the blueprint for this blue wall of silence was carefully crafted by Roosevelt Skerrit. It is based on two fundamental principles of Dictatorship: 1. Centralize power – one party, one leader; keep power in the hands of one man.\u00a0 And 2. Total dependency – keep\u00a0the people as impoverished and dependent upon government as possible, so they are left with no other choice than to be totally reliant on them (one man) for their very survival. Recall the “infamous and now defunct” Red Clinic – the epicenter of handouts, as well as the National Employment Program (NEP) – a pseudo employment agency – both of which were designed to keep the populous in complete poverty. With hardly any other means of livelihood (approximately seven out of ten people are currently unemployed), Dominicans have largely been morphed into the culture of looking forward to monthly handouts of chump change, to enable them to provide for their loved ones; this allows for a perfect breeding ground for preying on the vulnerable.<\/p>\n

It is therefore no accident that the economic vibrancy which Dominicans had become used to – through agriculture, farming, tourism and the like – have been virtually eradicated under this current administration. Instead, they have been replaced by sales of the nation’s passports, with most of the proceeds ending up NOT in the vaults of the people’s treasury, but rather, hidden away in off-shore business accounts under fictitious names, stolen identities of unsuspecting citizens, as well as the deceased. Such misappropriations allow the government and his operatives the latitude to convert most of the country’s revenue to personal usage, while amassing enormous wealth, at the expense of the people’s afflictions. We experienced this firsthand during the last couple of elections, where monies and supplies were lavishly distributed and used to bribe constituents into relinquishing their votes. Meanwhile, the people remain muted and continue to quietly suffer as the economy, the infrastructure, and employment remain at an impasse or more appropriately, in a state of abyss.<\/p>\n

However, all eyes and ears will be focused\u00a0on the upcoming by-election – on June 7th – to fill the Parliamentary seat in the Soufriere Constituency. As we are aware, the position became vacant ensuing the sudden resignation of Ian Pinard, who stepped down due to charges of indecent assault of a minor. Contesting the seat will be Denise Charles, as standard bearer for the Labor Party, vs Hidges (Higgs) Adams, representing the United Workers Party. Not surprising, much like previous elections, the government has already infiltrated the constituency, meeting and greeting locals, while vamping up their handouts of money, materials and empty promises to constituents. Meanwhile, the people’s general needs such as employment and healthcare facilities have been neglected over the years to the point of deplorability. Therein lies a perfect example of why the country’s revenues are being misappropriated and tucked away in offshore banks to be used against the will of the people, when the time arises to choose their representatives. How much more can a government diminish the self-esteem and self-worth of a people?<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, it will be up to the constituents to assert themselves by choosing the candidate who has been there for them throughout the years, and has their interests at heart. More importantly, they should not rely on handouts offered only prior to an election, but instead, go with the one in whom they place their trust to provide sustainable jobs to afford them the ability to maintain their families. Once again, the people of the Soufriere, Scotts Head, Pointe Michel, and Galion Constituency, are being given another chance at making the right choice. Seldom does one enjoy the luxury of a second opportunity to redeem oneself; these constituents should therefore consider themselves lucky to be given a second chance at redemption. This time, however, let’s hope that they will let their voices be heard, by voting with their consciences. After all, allowing themselves to be fooled a second time would simply mean the joke is on them.<\/p>\n

Opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author and do not reflect those of Dominica News Online and its advertisers.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is a deafening silence pervading my country today that’s truly frightening. Rather than taking to the streets to protest the litany of blatant corrupt practices hence opaqueness of our government (one man), Dominicans continue to be inherently complacent with…","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":162523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-162522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCOMMENTARY: A Muzzled Nation\u00a0 - Dominica News Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-a-muzzled-nation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"COMMENTARY: A Muzzled Nation\u00a0 - Dominica News Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There is a deafening silence pervading my country today that’s truly frightening. 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