BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – SEVERAL days ago, the nation took a moment out of its busy schedule to reflect on the contributions made by three great men towards the advancement and development of our beloved St. Christopher and Nevis and its inhabitants.
The Right Honourable Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw N. H., Sir Joseph Nathaniel France N. H. and Sir Caleb Azariah Paul Southwell N. H. are the Federation’s National Heroes. The memory of these men is forever etched in the annals of our minds, especially when we visit or speak of the buildings and or areas named after these men of honour.
Only three?
“Why only these three…what about the others?” he inquired.
I could tell he was serious; so the smile I wore at that moment quickly dissipated and was replaced with an expression of perplexity. And, of course, I had to ask him, for my sake, to clarify and expound…and that he did.
Washington ‘Washie’ Archibald, in a brief interview with SKNVibes, explained that he understands the concept of national heroism and, as such, has grave difficulty understanding why the Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis has but three. He opined that persons recognised as national heroes should not be limited to politicians, but should encompass those whose pioneering work created a legacy from which future generations could benefit.
“National Heroes should not be politicians. They should be pioneers; people who started something significant in our country and who died and left a lasting legacy, and you could show by their work that they were doing it for the love of their country. Why is it limited to three people from the Labour Party? Imagine we have a country with hundred of years of history and we could only find three people who stand out as national heroes…”
The historian said there are dozens of persons who, by virtue of their contribution to whatever facet of the building of this nation, are worthy of recognition.
He named some of these persons and briefly outlined their contributions.
“When we talk about National Heroes Day, we should be talking about it on a national level, not on a party level. Through our modern history, there was a man named Solomon. Mr. Solomon sacrificed his life for the cause of poor black people. He was the founder of the forerunner of the Labour Union. Now, why is he not a national hero?...Look at Matthew Sebastian. He took over from Solomon and he was an educator. He gave up his job to fight the cause of the underprivileged. He made the supreme sacrifice…He is not recorded in our records as a national hero, but he is the one who laid the foundation. What about Thomas Manchester? He was the founder of the Worker’s League which was the political forerunner of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party. The United Benevolent Association was the industrial forerunner of the St. Kitts-Nevis Trades and Labour Union. So why is Mr. Manchester not a national hero?
“Kennedy Simmonds should be a national hero too. He was the first Prime Minister of the Federation, after all. Any national list of national heroes should have Simmons’ name on it because he was, whether you like it or not, the first Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis. Simeon Daniel should be a national hero. He was the first Premier of Nevis. He modernised Nevis. How Nevis is now is how he set it out to be. So why is he not a national hero? There is a man named Mr. Hanley who worked in Sandy Point for years, building a society around his school, the Sandy Point School. Mr. Hanley was a great teacher. He left his mark on Sandy Point. He gave Sandy Pointers their distinctiveness. They didn’t even name a school after the man. He was a pioneer in Education.”
Archibald asserted that the fact that we have just three national heroes is “a prostitution of the concept of national heroism” and, frankly, “it makes no sense”.
He explained, “We must big up all the people who have pioneered in our country, whether they are politicians or not. As long as they have done some pioneering work and left a legacy in this country, that person should be a national hero. Basil Henderson spent all of his life developing the youth without any pay. Nobody ever rewarded him. He founded the 4H Movement which produced a number of leaders in this country. He kept a lot of youths out of trouble because he occupied the youths all around the island with the 4H Movement. So why is Basil Henderson not on the record as a national hero? He did what he did for nothing. He got no reward at all for what he did.
“There was a woman named Ms. Woods. She set up the Children’s Home and kept it going for young children who had no parents. Are you telling me that that is not a national pioneering woman? Why can’t Ms. Woods be on the list of national heroes? We need a longer list of national heroes because of the heroism of the people, the sacrifices they made, the contribution they made and the legacy that they left behind.”
The process in becoming a National Hero
The National Honours Act of the Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis spells out the process which must be followed in order for one to be named a national hero.
It informs that an individual – who must be a citizen of St. Christopher and Nevis – must first be nominated and the names of nominees would be considered by the National Awards Committee.
Section 7, subsection (1) of the Act states, “Any person or organisation may submit to the Committee (the National Awards Committee) for consideration a nomination of a citizen of Saint Christopher and Nevis for an award of the Order of National Hero, the Star of Merit or the Medal of Honour.
Section 6 states that the Committee shall (a) “consider nominations of persons of merit who are citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis together with recommendations and supporting material received by the Committee for awards of the Order of National Hero, the Star of Merit and the Medal of Honour; (b) compile and submit to the Prime Minister with recommendations separate lists in respect of the Order of National Hero and of each medal, of those nominees to whom an award may be made…”
The Act stipulates that “awards under Section 7 shall be made by proclamation signed by the Governor-General and sealed with the Seal of the Order and shall have effect from the date of the affixing of the Seal unless another effective date is specified in the proclamation.”
It further explains that this power given to the Governor-General “shall be exercised by him or her on the advice of the Prime Minister given after consideration of the recommendation of the Committee.”
