Errol Barrow Refused to be JOSHUA
Extracted from Open Letter to the Prime Minister: The People’s Price Tag on a Republic posted by flyonthewall.
Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow
Barbadians love their biblical stories and heroes, and they are adept at finding parallels in their own time. The story that resonates most strongly for black Barbadians, as indeed it has done for black Christians everywhere, is the freeing of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. It is not by coincidence that Grantley Adams was called the “Black Moses”.
But as we know, while Moses led his people out of Egypt, it was not his destiny to take them into the Promised Land. That responsibility – that privilege – would fall to Joshua. It would be Joshua whose army defeated the Canaanites; it would be he who would blow his horn to blast the walls of Jericho and, one by one, also bring down the other citadels of Canaan.
In 1966, there were many Barbadians who saw Errol Barrow as Joshua and were eager for the sound of his horn. The citadels would fall and the Canaanites would be routed, and within the context of Barbados at that time it’s not hard to figure out who the “Canaanites” were.
Errol Barrow shunned that role and we should all thank him for it. Had he embraced it, Barbados today would be another bankrupt experiment in democracy, a dysfunctional little rock in the Atlantic. He left the “Canaanites” in place in their citadels (i.e. White-run commercial enterprises) and set out to build a nation that would accommodate them.
I believe he knew that, in time, there would be more Israelites inside the citadels than Canaanites. What is more, they would build their own. Besides, he needed those White-run commercial enterprises – those citadels – to function well to help fund the vision he had for Barbados.
And Barrow was very adept at drawing on the talents and experience of those White business leaders. He knew that these men, despite their colour, would help him build a new Barbados. He asked them to serve and they did. What is more, they did it for free.
As I see it, Barrow chose the path of evolution rather than revolution, even though he knew it would be a far more gradual process than many wished it to be. And he made that path attractive by paving it with education and making it smoother to travel on. Across the Atlantic, in Africa, other leaders in newly independent countries chose differently.
There, a plethora of highly destructive “Joshuas” held Africa back for decades. Fifty years on, there is hardly a country on that continent in which democracy is anything but a thin coat of varnish.
Errol Barrow wanted to build a more equitable society but not by fire. What many people don’t appreciate is that, in the social hierarchy of Barbados – at least the Black hierarchy – he was an aristocrat. And aristocrats tend to value rather than despise order and stability.
He was an international thinker, extremely well educated and with a world view honed by participation in a world war. And on November 30, 1966, he knew EXACTLY how precarious his country’s future was.
Contrary to what some may believe Britain did not resist the idea of Independence for Barbados. What concerned the British Government of the day was that, having helped push the “Good Ship Barbados” out to sea, they would have to come rescue us as we foundered within sight of shore. Errol Barrow must have had the same fear. He knew that if it all went pear-shaped Barbados was well and truly f—-d.
That things did not go pear-shaped is due to his leadership and a vision that went far beyond politics. I have heard it said that he was autocratic, but in the early days of Independence he probably needed to be. (Besides, I have this said of other prime ministers we have had. From all accounts, Tom Adams was no “sweet bread” and neither was Owen Arthur.)
I’m grateful to Errol Barrow, and to the other leaders that Barbados produced since 1966. We may say they were flawed, but which of us isn’t. Fifty years on, I believe many Barbadians would willingly settle for some of that old-fashioned autocracy instead of what currently exists. We are drowning is politicians while starved for statesmen.
The difference between the two is this: a statesman thinks of the next generation; a politician thinks of the next election [BU’s Emphasis].
Barbados Underground 
@Heather
“Money is not my motivator. I am here to provide information to the People of Barbados regarding the state of affairs of the country.”
The question is, who is supplying you with the information and helping you to shape it? I think we both know the answer to that. If BU readers take the time to study your posts and read between the lines they will discover their manipulative nature. I look forward to your next post. I assume you will be sending it to all the newspapers as usual.
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Georgie Porgie
My information is that Barrow was an avid horseback rider and he died in the saddle on board a mare called Celine.
Sent from my iPad
>
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Caswell Franklyn January 18, 2016 at 12:23 PM #
Georgie Porgie
My information is that Barrow was an avid horseback rider and he died in the saddle on board a mare called Celine.
CASWELL I GOT THE SAME TRUTH FROM THE MAN WHOSE SHOP HE STOPPED AT IN ST JOHN ON SUNDAY MORNINGS AND DRANK TEA
HENCE I WROTE HE DIED IN ACTION
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Bush Tea January 18, 2016 at 12:00 PM #
Bussa what……nothing more than a figment of someones imagination.
We need to get back to understanding the complex individual called EWB……he covers a lot of basis…european/african mix,planter class,ww2 vet,educated in the UK,womaniser,bon vivant,socialised easily with all,to mention a few.
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@Vincent
And based on all you mentioned what was his philosophy and was it good for Barbados. How can we build on what he galvanized.
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GP, In fact et al is short for et alia…and other things or alii…and other persons. “Aliter” means otherwise.
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David January 18, 2016 at 1:42 PM #
I am asking the same question as you….. I am awaiting insights especially from those who knew him,as opposed to of him…..I have already indicated that he was a complex man and he was in character with the era and his background.
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Origin of ALITER Latin, from alius other
“et al.” is also short for “et aliter”, “and others”,
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Well Well & Consequences January 18, 2016 at 11:49 AM #
Yeah….GP I heard a very similar version. Neither of them were cut and dried.
nOTE WHEN TH HEART FAILS IN A CLEAR SKINNED PERSON , THE FACE IS A BLUE GREY ASHEN COLOUR
IN TOM’S CASE THE FACE WAS EXTREMLEY FLUSHED INDICATING THAT MUCHO BLOOD WAS RUNNING UP IN THE FACIAL ARTERY AND ITS TRIBUTARIES AS WELL AS THE OTHER VESSELS THAT COME OF THE INTERNAL CAROTID
THIS PATHO PATHOSIOLOGY IS OF DIAGNOSTIC IMPORT
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GP…hope it was quick for both of them.
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IN TODAY”S NATION WE READ AT http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/letters_to_editor/76793/leaders-bit-madness
THAT ” in the 1980s when Tom Adams was Prime Minister, several political pundits apparently held the view that his vision to upgrade and modernise our road infrastructure was more like a science fiction fantasy and was neither realistic nor achievable.
Today, as we commute on what may have been viewed as pure madness at the time of its conception, it is evident that the advent of the industrial estate access road (ABC Highway) has substantiated Thomas Sankara’s assertion that you cannot carry out fundamental change in a country without a certain amount of madness.
SOME FOLK CALL VISION MADNESS
ADAMS ALSO HAD A VISION FOR OUR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IN THE 80’S ALSO BASED ON WHAT HE HAD SEEN IN THE UK AS A YOUNG ADULT
HE WAS UNWILLING TO SEE THAT THERE WAS ANOTHER VISIONARY WHO COULD BRING HIS LIMITED VISION THAT IMPRESSED HIM IN THE 50’S INTO THE 80’S
I WONDER IF HE HAD NOT DIED IN MARCH 85 IF MY IDEAS WOULD HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT OF DAY
THE HATRED FOR THINGS BRITISH OR CANADIAN IN TERMS OF MEDICAL CARE LED TO THE AMERICANS IMPOTENT IN THEIR THOUGHT PROCESSES TO PROPOSE THE RUBBISH CALLED OBAMA CARE
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I must insist. Aliter in Latin means otherwise! Et al. is short for et alii or et alia or et alios. Check it, please.
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i DID.
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Busta and GP
My use of et aux was in reference to …et auxilia,literally and helpers,aids etc
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ok sir
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@ the Flyonthewall you are insulting my intelligence. For your information I possess a BS in Economics and Management and an MBA. The only being that supplies me with information, a sound and analytical mind and wisdom is the Father above.
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fly the lady is telling you that “the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” James 3:17
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Tom used to insult and berate Keith Simmons in the house on matters over which Keith had no control.When Tom died and a story went the rounds,Keith called for a post mortem.I think he had information not in the public domain.Afterwards the rumours and gossip started.Similarly when Errol died,despite the man driving through traffic signals on Red,the rumours and gossip started again.
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@ Sargeant January 18, 2016 at 11:34 AM
“All leaders have associates/peers who work directly with them or indirectly to achieve the same objectives there is no merit in belittling the achievements of some to build up the resume of others. They trade ideas and strategies with each other and adjust to suit the tempo of the time.”
That’s a lot of idealistic hog swill that does not wash in the real struggle for power. There is only one objective in the political game: Power for the maximum leader like the Alpha male in the monkey kingdom.
Machiavelli would have treated your ‘treatise’ with disdain. Any open challenger to the maximum leader is either sidelined or conveniently disposed of. The real movers and shakers (including the spouse(s)) behind outstanding leaders are recognized only after the death of the maximum leader.
It would be interesting to find out how Freundel fits into your hypothesis as he goes about trading ideas and strategies with his Cabinet to ‘suit the tempo of the time’. Maybe you don’t consider him to be a leader worthy of any consideration or intellectual discussion.
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@Miller
Are you suggesting all political leaders practice a Machiavellian style of politics?
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David January 18, 2016 at 5:44 PM #
Chuckle………when will you understand that all Machiavelli did was put in book form the traits that are required to lead,he did not invent them……..and yes any leader requires some or all of those traits depending on how long he wants to last.
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In the video on Barbados in the launch for 50 years of independence, I didn’t find it as bad as Bizzy and some were upset about but I was wondering, what does it mean that Barbados is the freest Black Country (or one of the freest, can’t remember exact words) in the world? I thought all black people in the civilized world are free now. How is Barbados any different than other Caribbean islands in that sense or North America or even South America?
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‘Remember that famous opening paragraph where it was written (and deeply inculcated in the minds of blacks) that Columbus “discovered” the West Indies?’
or that Barbados is in the Caribbean sea./ or that the east coast of Barbados is towards the Atlantic sea and the west coast towards the Caribbean sea.
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A great leader who went to the mountain top A real Moses
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We tend to worship politicians. If Barrow were alive he probably would have wanted us to get up and effectively govern our little country.
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David January 18, 2016 at 8:42 PM #
This post boded well but has degenerated to nothingness.
EWB eschewed idolatry and objected to his statue which was the greatest slap in his face by OSA…..he wanted to lift this country by its bootstraps out of the mire it was in…..50 years later Bush Tea is correct in analysis……sad,sad,sad
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@Vincent Haynes January 18, 2016 at 9:15 AM “I remember decades ago I asked an elderly cane cutter in St.Andrew about the “riots” of 1937…..he looked at me and asked what riots all he could recall that somebody came in from town some days after the riots and said they had been a commotion in town by some wild boys…”
Well I grew up hearing my parents talk about the disturbances of 1937. My parents were 26 and 21 in 1937 and the parents of my eldest sibling who is still very much alive and my parents told me differently. They lived in the country but right beside a main road. They told me that they were aware of the disturbances, that the police were up and down about the place,and that they were many gunshots, and that they were afraid to go outside.
They lived in a community close to where Hilary Beckles’ grandparents lived, so maybe some people in Barbados experienced the 1937 disturbances as more than “a commotion in town by some wild boys…
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@Vincent Haynes January 18, 2016 at 9:15 AM…I also listened when my parents talked about the hardships and injustices in Barbados in the 1930’s and before the 1930’s.
I heard my mother talk about the food rationing during WW2, and about the ration cards that had to be shown to the shopkeeper to receive the barest of necessities.
I head my mother tell that her eldest son almost died from hunger, that our uncle who was a carpenter build a coffin for the toddler because the family was sure that the toddler would not survive.
I think Vincent that even though Barbados is a small place people who have lived through the same time period experience things differently. Trained historians draw these threads together to help us to decipher historical truth.
Right now my belly is full and a roof is over my head. That is the truth. Right now there are some Bajans who are hungry and who are sleeping on the street. That is also the truth.
I am still here to bear witness
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Whose dad was it (eminent black Barbadian) who during the 1937 disturbances ran to the neighbouring plantation (white plantation owners) and said to the people there “the niggers are here to get us”
I am still here to bear witness.
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That too is the truth.
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Simple Simon January 18, 2016 at 11:11 PM #
I think Vincent that even though Barbados is a small place people who have lived through the same time period experience things differently. Trained historians draw these threads together to help us to decipher historical truth.
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
Well said SS,totally agree and this is critical to understanding our history e.g. 2 melanin rich/poor individuals despite the same pigmentation can have a totally different life experience,which is why lumping every one together due to their quantity of melanin is idiotic as you so ably pointed with the chap who ran to the plantation house in 1937,your family and my cane cutter.
Question where do we find these trained historians that have no agenda to advance?
A historian who is true to his calling should by research show the facts uncovered without extrapolating a fairy story from it.
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Simple Simon January 18, 2016 at 11:14 PM #
Whose dad was it (eminent black Barbadian) who during the 1937 disturbances ran to the neighbouring plantation (white plantation owners) and said to the people there “the niggers are here to get us”.
Vincent…here is where interpretation comes in, a black man, because him and others of his ilk consider themselves better than the other niggers, runs to a white plantation that exploits said niggers, to tell the white plantation owners whom the rioters are fighting to free themselves from said white oppressors, warning them that….. “the niggers are here to get us”. And you can’t see that ‘imminent nigger’ as a sell out and traitor and part of the problem, main reason that blacks stayed in slavery for so long, sold by their own. Main reason the same mentality still exists in 21st centurt Barbados today.
Interpretation Vincent……interpretation.
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Well Well & Consequences January 19, 2016 at 9:39 AM #
Listen carefully and try very hard to comprehend…..
The pigmentation of ones skin does not make you good or bad/rich or poor/sensible or foolish
In Africa the individuals of the same pigment sold each other….note the sellers got something of value to them
In Europe people were barbadoesed/kidnapped and sent to the “new” continent as indentured servants……no seller involved
In Bim we had before the end of slavery Africans and their descendants owning plantations and slaves,also owning land and running merchant establishments.
Can you understand yet the point being made???
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There was a well known city businessman about whom a tale was spun.He was a passenger on a Central bus to Deacons Rd via Fontabelle where he resided among folk of a fairer complexion.Rioters stopped the bus and ordered “all whites get off dis bus now”.The first off was this man,at best a dark brown man.The rioters beat him badly’for thinking he white”.
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History is mostly written after the fact. Much of history is oral. So interpretation is always involved.
There are still a lot of people left in Barbados who were born before 1923 and so who were older than 14 when the 1937 disturbances occurred.
We MUST ask them before they die.
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My parents told me that they were afraid that if they went outside they would have been shot by the police, and remember that in 1937 they needed to go outside to use the pit toilet, to bring water from the standpipe, to buy necessities from the shop (outside). Remember that they had a one year old infant. One year old infants need to have their diapers changed many, many times a day, and in the days before “Pampers” and other brand name disposable diapers, diapers had to be hand washed (outside) with water fetched from the (outside) standpipe which was 1/4 mile away and hung out on the line (outside) to dry. They mentioned nothing about being afraid of “a few wild boys.”
The one year old infant is still alive.
We are here to bear witness.
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Simple Simon January 19, 2016 at 12:13 PM #
I am not disagreeing with anything you have said,I merely repeated what a 70 odd year old cane cutter from St.Andrew told me decades ago.
I have no reason to doubt your parents or him and we have agreed that individuals can have different experiences of the same event.
I wonder if a historian would have reported both experiences or only the one that would suit his thinking of the event?
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Vincent…I understand that you are ducking the issue, by saying something which has nothing to do with interpreting what happened in 1937 and the continuation of ’eminent’ blacks who still sell it each other everyday because they believe they are truly ’eminent’ and not just black……do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth…….lol
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Well Well & Consequences January 19, 2016 at 1:27 PM #
I hope you fully understand what you have just said,because I have been trying to tell you the same thing since we met on this blog,about Mans inhumanity to his fellow man that has always existed and will always exist irrespective of melanin content and whether we are of the same pigmentation or not.
I know that understanding what you said will shock you and you will change it up in order for you to stick to your agenda.
I wonder when you rid the world of whites and men,who will you turn on next?
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Lol…..Vincent, you just want me to say it how you want to hear it, but not going to happen, you get too defensive when anyone says anything about whites, but everyone gets their fair share when I get going.
The next generation of females will be no easier and ya’ll will long for females like me….
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@flyonthewell,
Thank you very much for your extremely interesting post. Your adoration for the late great Errol Barrow was a joy to behold.
I am sure that you would agree with me that it is difficult to remain objective on a subject especially when the writer is infatuated with the cult of celebrity.
Having read your article it confirmed my hypotheses as to why the spirit of revolution has rarely taken root on the island. I take the opposite view to you. I found your limp wristed views disconcerting and your views on Africa highly offensive.
The softly, softly approach of Barrow and those who followed him would ensure that the Negro would never ever be in a position to be truly masters of their own fate. Their approach from day one was to remain faithful to the old order.
I have just been perusing through a tourist information booklet called “Barbados in a nutshell”. On page ninety-four under the section Real Estate in Barbados, it states that the country remains an attraction to outside investors due to her “………long-standing political integrity and social stability that makes this country a safe jurisdiction for investment.”
Long-standing political integrity is code for government corruption and is a tacit statement that our many corrupt governments over the years have always been prepared to have their palms greased; social stability is code for a government that has always been content to create the conditions which would ensure that Barbadians remain docile and non-militant.
May the revolution commence!
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Well Well & Consequences January 19, 2016 at 6:46 PM #
Chuckle……girl chile,you have already agreed with me and you know that I have no use for the hierarchy of melanin levels,because it signifies nothing,except in your warped brain box……so wheel and come again.
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Vincent….may I remind you that you have a very short memory and that I have no such problem.
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Well Well & Consequences January 19, 2016 at 7:43 PM #
I am listening,tell me all that is in your memory.
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A possible solution to solving the endemic corruption in Barbados?
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/19/honduras-juan-orlando-hernandez-oas-international-corruption-maccih
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Vincent…it does not work like that. You will hear all that’s in my memory soon enough…lol
I quoted from your post Exclaimer:
“Organised crime’s infiltration of weak and corrupt state institutions has helped make Honduras one of the poorest and most violent countries in the region.
Maccih will be led by the former Peruvian prime minister Juan Jiménez and is backed by the Organisation of American States (OAS), with an initial mandate of four years.
How hitmen and high living lifted lid on looting of Honduran healthcare system
Read more
The move comes after a wave of public fury last summer when Hernández was forced to admit that his 2013 election campaign had benefited from $300m stolen from the country’s social security institute. By some estimates the fraud left thousands dead as a result of medical shortages and the health service in ruins.
The scandal triggered a wave of protests as students, middle-class families, civil society groups and the political opposition united to demand an end to endemic corruption and impunity, and the resignation of the president.”
It’s the people had to say enough and take a stand in Honduras, Exclaimer, people had to die before something was done. Too many people in Barbados still don’t believe that corruption practiced by politicians, their lackeys, business partners and esteemed friends can cause them to die by the thousands, it will have to happen first before you get any reaction.
Who will make the first move to push for an investigation by outside agencies, ya can’t have them investigating themselves. Everyone is waiting their turn to try their hand at corruption while pretending all the frauds of respectability, conservatism, self importance. It will be a gigantic task. What family I had remaining there, already left for that same reason.
The people on the ground in Barbados will have to make that first step seeing that most of the leaders are pretending that there is no problem, some people are pretending there is only half a problem and others just don’t care unless personally affected. I hope you don’t plan to put yourself in the middle of that battle because most will tell you, they like it so.
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Well Well & Consequences January 19, 2016 at 9:04 PM #
Chuckle……I expected that response girl chile,in bajan vernacular,you have “hard onne” as far as whites,indians,other races and men are concerned…..go forward and enjoy.
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Vincent…ya ain’t sleeping yet. I thought you said there were no other races…remember, short memory, not even 4 hours yet…lol
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Well Well & Consequences January 19, 2016 at 9:51 PM #
Chuckle……I am quoting you…..
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Lol….hope ya slept well Vincent.
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Mirror Image “Your mirror image of yourself is that your ambition in life is to and get away from this country. And we could call ourselves an independent nation? When all we want do is to go and scrub somebody’s floors and run somebody’s elevator or work in somebody’s store or drive somebody’s taxi in a country where you catching your royal when the winter sets in? What kind of mirror image do you have of yourself? Let me tell you what kind of mirror image I have of you, or what the Democratic Labour Party has of you. The Democratic Labour Party has an image that the people of Barbados would be able to run their own affairs, to pay for the cost of running their own country, to have an education system which is as good as what can be obtained in any industrialised country, anywhere in the world.” Prime Minister Errol Barrow addressed a political rally on May 13, 1986 where he introduced the 27 candidates for the next general election. –
See more at: http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/76908/remembering-barrow-quotes-errol-barrow#sthash.SqKRFCwc.dpuf
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ERROL WALTON BARROW began his political career as a member of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) 36 years ago, but when he died, he was a “Dem” and the BLP’s staunchest opponent. –
See more at: http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/59267/remembering-barrow-blp#sthash.4ZLugyX4.dpufhttp://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/59267/remembering-barrow-blp
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An interesting link about our love affair with colonialism.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/shortcuts/2016/jan/20/empire-state-of-mind-why-do-so-many-people-think-colonialism-was-a-good-thing?CMP=fb_gu
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There is no way colonialism would survive in today’s Information Age.Part of the mystique was the ignorance,in church and in state.Not so with today’s youth.
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@Exclaimer
“Thank you very much for your extremely interesting post. Your adoration for the late great Errol Barrow was a joy to behold.
I am sure that you would agree with me that it is difficult to remain objective on a subject especially when the writer is infatuated with the cult of celebrity.
Having read your article it confirmed my hypotheses as to why the spirit of revolution has rarely taken root on the island. I take the opposite view to you. I found your limp wristed views disconcerting and your views on Africa highly offensive.”
Obviously you knew him well and can correct my lack of objectivity. As for the revolution, why don’t you come back and start it?
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ac January 18, 2016 at 8:23 AM #
“@balance ..i believe his Mirror Image Speech was a Truth . A Truth worth repeating”
Worth repeating I suppose you would say as well is Mr Barrow’s remarks in Parliament that only he and Bree St John had breeding because they were from plantation stock. Was that the mirror image he had of himself?
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@ balANCE Barrow ay have said many things but the truth of the matter that the Mirror Image Speech is distinctive and underscores the psyche of a barbados which remains prevalent then as well as now
On close examination of the Barbadian psyche one would still find barabados have a love /hate relationship with self and country which for the most part always find them being driven by others rather than being the drivers of their own destiny
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