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A Mirror Image To Boast About?

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Here is what Kammie Holder is writing elsewhere – Credit to Nation Newspaper (Raw Version)


Kammie Holder

What mirror image do you have, and are you happy with what is reflected? Is the mirror image that of an educated, informed, creative and independent Barbadian? Can you honestly say yes?

Did you do the right thing today? Why in the year 2010 do we have six young people in the prime of their lives dying because the Town Planning Department or the Barbados Fire Service may have been less than diligent?

We cannot allow this to be another Arch Cot, and families of these victims will be encouraged to seek redress via a civil suit, if the law permits. Did any Government institutions fail to enforce the law?

Thus, I ask these institutions what’s their mirror image? Tell us it’s not selective enforcement or complacency? Those with voices must speak for the voiceless.

After being tossed about with screaming passengers on a British Airways plane in thunderstorms 62 two miles east of Barbados, I arrived at Grantley Adams International Airport from London, only to have to walk through the rain to Immigration.

Are we visionless or have no concern for lost productivity due to delays caused by rain? What image are we sending as a tourist destination and aviation hub?

Same old, same old. Commissioners of police always complain about not having enough men. What about creatively making do with what you have? Why in 2010 do we still have our friends and protectors the police standing on a highway in the hot sun trying to catch traffic violators?

Is this not the same police force which has one of two riot suppression vehicles nicknamed the pig sitting idly by at District A.? If you are in doubt ask the Tudor fella Johnny. Are we to believe it’s a case of not knowing how to spend money and embrace technology to provide visual patrolling? Is this the mirror image we want for the best police force in the world? Perhaps, my friend Sgt Moore can tell you how to do it. Next week I will write on how the British Customs let the white Bajans pass three times, but always stop me a black tourist.

Are we to believe it’s a case of not knowing how to spend money and embrace technology to provide visual patrolling? Is this the mirror image we want of the best Police Force in the world?

Kammie Holder, was glad to see Barbados Customs Officer also searching

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18 responses to “A Mirror Image To Boast About?”

  1. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    It seems that the saying ” education is not common sense” and that “common sense is no longer common” this says a lot about us. We have given the masses free education yet it is not reflected in the way we do business. Many have taken the free education and put it in their back pockets for safe keeping, never taking it out unless to prove that they have it in writing.

    We need to have movers and shakers in many of government departments and as well in the private sector . If there are any at all, these individuals are sidelined because they are deemed as trouble makers and do not toe the line. In the recruitment process many cannot define and recognize the criteria needed for positions that are to be filled. We have too much emphasis on how many certificates one has acquired and not on the ability to think and perform. We too easily accept mediocrity as the measurable standard, because those who are in charge are of that same standard. We have to stop treating jobs in the public sector as a guarantee for the rest of our lives.

    Is there hope for us? This is difficult to predict. I would like to believe that we do. We have to break down and remove the old machinery that has been kept oiled for the past 40 years and to replace with newer and more reliable ones . We also have to stop promoting to the top on the basis of the number of years served and overlook the capability of that individual. Because I have served 20 years in a position that does give me the right to take up a position of authority.

    We send many for training and yet nothing is implemented. Many have become frustrated and just operate at the minimal level. Some leave and start their own businesses and many are successful. We need to have that fire in our belly to CHANGE the status quo. We need a few BRAVE men and women! Are there any out there?

  2. David Avatar
    David

    Leadership!

    The country is crying out for it.

    For example:

    Barbados is fighting for its survival, one caused by a lack of vision by successive governments to implement policies to buffer external economic shocks. At this time we have to listen to the same policies from the Opposition which all know are built on our capacity to borrow. Where is the vision? Is this not a good time to start building out a new/modified economy?

    Another example:

    Barbados is a country built on Christian principles. Whether agnostic or atheist all must agree. Take a survey of our churches, especially the traditional ones and count the number of doctors of divinity who now represent. Have we seen any appreciable impact on Barbadians caused by more academically qualified Shepherds?

  3. aM I crazy Avatar
    aM I crazy

    Increased offerings and hevy committments from the flock.

  4. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    It is possible to buy a doctorate these days. Has anyone ever read any of the doctoral theses of these pastors?

  5. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    Vision less our learder are.

    We do things in a half ass fashion. We start or build something and cannot finish or maintain it. We pat ourselves on the back for the most minuscule of accomplishments with public statements and press releases. We love to hear ourselves talk.

    Many leaders in the church are only in it because they have this need for money, power and adoration, ooops does that sound like the politicos?. Many want numbers and not believers. Religion has not met the needs of the people it serves, many still preach about a past that has no meaning to those that in the present. The format has not changed nor has it grown. What the preacher says is gospel and will not be challenged or questioned. That is why many get away with crimes because of a silent or brainwashed congregation. Where are the examples of good will and care shown by both the preachers and congregation? How many would dress down on a Sunday and help clean up the church yards that are in a deplorable state ? I bet that Sunday the church would be empty. Religion is used as a convenience and as an insurance policy when we get old or sick (in case there is a god, I gine go to church when I get older).

    People’s levels of spirituality vary and many don’t and won’t find it in the church. Gone are the days for the fearful and vengeful type of Christianity. What have the church and our leaders done about it? We are caught in an abyss and do not have the guts to make our way out of it.

  6. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @David, Barbados has been sucked into the vortex of unbridled Capitalism.
    There is no turning back. Bajans have been socialised to want the same things that we are avaible in North America and Europe.

    Bajans aspire to living in big wall house,driving bimmers and benzes and eating steak,caviar and single malt scotch.

  7. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    The majority of Churches in Barbados are profit centres for the Church leadership and owners.

    Religion has served Barbados well. It has helped some of us to control or natural evil tendencies.

    @Islandgal246,
    Barbados has always had Leaders with vision. Barbados is a remarkable country that has achieved a whole lot without having significant natural resources.
    There are always errors and omissions in governance but you should be happy to live in comfort (which you have chosen to show us on your blog.)

    “We pat ourselves on the back for the most (fill in the blanks)of accomplishments with public statements and blogs.”

  8. David Avatar
    David

    @Hants

    There are always errors and omissions in governance but you should be happy to live in comfort (which you have chosen to show us on your blog.)

    It seems you have defined success in this instance by the measure of material accumulation. What about the moral compass? Which direction has it been pointing for awhile now in your opinion?

  9. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @David that comment was directed at Islandgal and her blog.

    you also wrote “What about the moral compass? Which direction has it been pointing for a while now in your opinion?”

    Barbados always had an illusion of a moral compass. Back in the day people were good at hiding what they were doing and pretending to have high moral standards. ( At least I speak of myself. )

    I have no answers as to how to make Barbados a more “moral” society. I will leave that to our learned friend Dr.GP and hopefully others like Jeff Cumberbatch.

  10. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @David,
    off topic but I notice that Mia Mottley is getting a lot of mileage in the Nationnews and Barbados Today online in their coverage of the Tudor street tragedy. mmmm

    She is resplendent in her black and white mourning colours.

  11. David Avatar
    David

    She is doing what she needs to do at a PM in waiting i.e. sympathize with a nation in mourning. Do you recall when Arch Hall tragedy went occurred there were pics in the media of Thompson then opposition leader and Arthur former PM?

  12. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    @Hants,
    If only you knew how comfortable a lifestyle I live, you would be agog. My house is nearly 300 yrs old, the old roof leaks, my windows are hanging by a thread yet I can find comfort with what I have and I still owe the bank. My dream house is a cabin surrounded by beautiful gardens where I can live off the land and be away from the bloodsuckers of society. Am I asking for too much? I use my blog to inspire and let people know that Barbados is a beautiful country. I share and exchange ideas and recipes with bloggers from around the globe. I have made wonderful friends in India, USA, Canada and Trinidad who share my passion for plants and gardens. I have learnt that you can live on less if you have to, (after leaving a well paying job). I don’t have much money on the bank but you know what? Who cares, the money will come , if it doesn’t I’ll find a way without having to steal, kill or prostitute myself. As I grow older I realize that my needs are less. How many rings and watches do we really need? How many pair of shoes? How many fancy cars and clothes? I need to have friends who will be there for me and not what I can offer them, friends who will remain friends whatever my status in life is. Have friends that we can talk openly with without being judgemental and bias. I am for a simpler life.

  13. David Avatar
    David

    What about that foundation/committee which was set up to manage monies collected for the Arch Hall victims? Is the committee functioning? Has money been distributed? How can the public get a looksee?

  14. Nationalist Avatar
    Nationalist

    There are two kinds of leaders, those who stand tall and can see all the way to the horizon,in all directions, and then they are those who thrash around blindly, like whales, using sound waves to work out their positions.
    Tom Adams and Dipper Barrow are some of the few who fell into the first category.

  15. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @Islandgal246,
    I admire your perspective on life but at 59 I am now reaching a mid life crisis.
    Hants lusting after a Bmw M5.(doan tell muh wife dat.)

    No quiet corner of the garden for me yet unless I am placed there as fertilizer.(GP lol).

  16. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    @Hants,
    LOL, Lust away brudder man, nothing wrong in dreaming, it is what keeps us alive and kicking.

  17. Crusoe Avatar
    Crusoe

    From the Nation, on the matter of the young St.Leonard’s boys and the CXC results, I quote one young Jordan ‘ Jordan recalled how he got 176 in the Common Entrance Examination.
    He said although most people tended to frown on the Common Entrance Examination, it had worked well for him by allowing him to be placed at a school where he could excel at his own pace.
    “A lot of parents are ashamed when their children pass for St Leonard’s, or what they call the lower schools, and they try to get them somewhere “higher”, but when they get there then it is a struggle for them. I’m glad that I was placed here ’cause I didn’t have to struggle – I moved at my own pace, and look where it has gotten me,” he said.’

    This is food for thought, from one well spoken young man.

  18. BDs Hot Sauce Avatar
    BDs Hot Sauce

    To become a truly moral society? Is a form of peace I long to have if only this could be implemented would I be living a much better life along with many others. As I have noticed over the years for many it seems to be more about saving face instead of ‘saving grace’ .

    The question is what is a free democratic society going to do. After all, the water aiding in the growth our children has to be nourishing, there are too many broken hearts, and hatred in homes that fester in to resentment either to be turned in to a positive drive for a better quality of life through earnest efforts or to manifest itself as rage only to result in robbing, drug trafficking etc. truth being told these are individual decisions but how can these be influenced in the early how possibly is it to go around to every suspecting family or child at school. Perhaps there needs to be mandatory family planning classes for parents and guardians, as it is mandatory for children to be in school.

    We can hope, and pray and be the little steps to change in our own hearts.
    Hugs.

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