BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - REPORTS reaching this media house indicate that the JNF Hospital was in the dark for 45 minutes last Friday as a result of a power cut. Upon investigation, it was learnt that a similar happening occurred twice in one week in recent times.
It is just not possible to remain mum on so serious a happening. When inefficiency becomes a life and death matter, one begins to wonder whether our normal life span will be allotted to us. We cannot afford to remain silent about the sad fact that the upkeep of our hospitals does not appear to be a top priority in our spending budget.
Psychologists talk about the ‘fatigue syndrome’ which is apparently affecting our nation. The fatigue syndrome is a condition whereby if an event occurs often enough, it is regarded as a normal happening. Nerve cells become fatigued and no longer report it as a stimulus for action.
First we become numb to the fact and then we become dumb. We no longer even talk about it.
How many of us, when there is a power cut, simply reach for our candles or mini-lanterns, which we now keep nearby, and try to continue functioning in our deprived state as if it were normal? We do not even bother to phone or text anyone to report that “lights gone again”!
Sadly, the ‘numb and dumb fatigue syndrome’ is spilling over into our reaction to the worsening crime situation.
When a middle-aged lady at the Ferry Terminal was told that another teenager had just been murdered, without blinking an eyelid, she said, “Well, you know how they killing one another these days,” and resumed her conversation as if she had been told the sea was rough today.
The most frightening occurrence in St. Kitts today is the resignation and acceptance of our present state as the norm. The most alarming comment is “It is happening in other places, too”.
We must realise that we are all equally affected if the hospital’s electricity supply is faulty or if increase in crime is allowed to continue.
First, we must reject the idea that this is a political matter. We must also reject the accusation that speaking ill of your country means that we are helping to blemish its image abroad or that we are being unpatriotic.
Talking about it, among friends or to God, is not enough. Putting heads together to arrive at an effective plan of action involving every single person will pave the way for a new St. Kitts and Nevis.
It is not a matter of pointing fingers. It is a matter of saving lives!
