When one think of paradise one wonders for whom paradise exist. Certainly not the inhabitants of what is regarded as paradise but for the people who come to exploit the beautiful scenery of the seas and high mountains. They come to take advantage of the
somewhat agreeable climate and return home to carry on their normal lives of luxury homes and affordable standard of living. Leaving behind the inhabitants who catered for their needs. The real lifestyle of these islands can hardly be regarded as a live of paradise. There are still homes without modern toilet facilities and running water. Infact, in some cases the situation takes me back forty years, I remember living on these islands as a boy and had to bring water from the local stand-pipe for my grandmother to do the washing of clothes by hand.
I spent a period on both islands in order to research the standard of behaviour on both and compare the patterns. The larger of the two island is more or less a working island.
Sugar cane is still planted and harvested and their demeanour is one of hard work and when the work is done much enjoyment is the style. In colloquialism this is called “liming” and they are quite good at that. On the smaller island the pattern of life is more of a conservative way of life. Most of the land is privately owned and the lifestyle is more rual. Pigs, sheep and goats are kept in housing surrounding. Dogs copulate and reproduce at their will and the pass time of young men is to arrange dog fights. Mothers rebuke their children with the “F” word and one father has been seen holding a machete to his son to chastise him from doing wrong. The local church digs graves in the church yard and leaves it open for two weeks without being used. These practices are all contrary to good environmental health behaviour.
The standard of education on both islands is regarded to be good. The school children are seen to be well turned out in uniforms and there is now a college to ascend to. However, the way of life as regards parenting leaves a lot to be desired. Most children descend from one parent families. In some cases the fathers are known but he regards his role merely as providing a weekly support fund and no contact is made with the child. The pattern of life then is that the mother is out working and older sisters are left to look after the younger children. This is a recipe for unruly behaviour and avoidance of school attendance. This results in most children dropping out of school and walks around the village with no future of work in sight. Therefore, bad behaviour is the accepted way.
All this sounds of none paradise from my point of view. The question is what the political leaders are doing about all this waste. Perhaps they are talking about cessation. If two small islands cannot pool their resources and produce a better way of life for their young, I can hardly see the situation improving when they are separated. Somewhere along the way paradise is lost.
