There is no other person more qualified to lead the Labour Party than the gentleman who came from humble beginnings and knows what it is to struggle to survive against the odds. He knows what it is to suffer under the vindictiveness of PAM.
He knows what it is like to have people from PAM, peddle vicious series of slander, lies and hatred against him. Hatred is like cancer. It eats out the person in which it is stored rather than the person on whom it is poured. Just the other day, a young lady met me by the Public Market and was relating a story to me.
She told me that she hated Dr. Douglas, not from anything he had done to or said about her. She hails from a PAM family and PAM said that he is bad, so she accepted the fact that he was bad.
One day, she happened to be in a group of people and the Prime Minister was passing. One of them hailed out to him "Dougie, I want to talk with you." To her amazement, the Prime Minister's vehicle backed up and he said "What do you want my dear?" he came out of the vehicle and began speaking to them. She told herself " "But this cannot be the bad man everybody in PAM say that he is? She herself was able to speak to the Prime Minister. The very first time she did so since 1995.
She could not believe the man was so humble. She had to tell him how bad PAM people say he is, yet he could come and speak to her on the street. He is so humble. Dr. Simmonds and Lindsay Grant never spoke to her. Never called out to her; never even spoke to her mother who has supported them over the years.
The Prime Mister's Gala was coming up in January and she vowed that she was going to attend, even if she had to borrow the money. She went to the Prime Minister's Gala and PAM supporters cursed her off for attending. Do you, dear readers, see the hatred " the venomous hatred that is being engendered by the supporters of PAM?
She was reported o the PAM Leader, who found time to look for her to ask her, how could she attend the Prime Minister's Gala?
He never spoke to her in his life, but he is now willing to ask her about attending the Gala of the Prime Minister.
Richard Caines and a few more highly respectable supporters of PAM, went to the Gala, but Lindsay cant be so forward and me-case, to ask them why thy attended the Gala of the Prime Minister of St. Kits and Nevis - The Prime Minister of the Federation. She went and she enjoyed herself.
We cannot run a country based on this hatred for one another. Somewhere down the line, we are going to suffer disastrous consequences. We, because of our hatred, are going to draw all manner of negative things toward us; hurricanes, earthquakes, droughts and perhaps volcanic eruptions. We have to begin thinking and generating love towards each other. Support your party or your person, but don't hate the party and its leaders. Hatred is cancerous. Stop the hatred. Prime Minister Douglas has done a tremendous and marvellous job since becoming Prime Minister of the Federation. Even the blind can see the tremendous transformation St. Kitts has undergone since 1995.
The rebuilding of the airport; the construction of the terminal building of the Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw Airport; The renaming of the Airport from Golden Rock to Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw; the construction of the Marriott and the Angelus Hotels in Frigate Bay, thereby changing the landscape of the Tourist Industry.
The reconstruction of Port Zante after it was destroyed in 1998 by Hurricane Georges. The complete decoration of Port Zante with gift shops for the tourists and locals alike; the construction of low income homes for those who work at the Industrial Site; the construction of a brand new hospital; the construction of the new Round-About at Needsmust; the Bypass Road under construction; the hosting of the World Cup, the complete renovation of Warner Park; the hosting of many International Conferences here in St. Kitts, thereby putting us higher and further on the tourism map; and many more investments which are to come on stream soon.
There is no other leader who has done more for St. Kits, except Mr. Bradshaw. For the fifteen years which PAM enjoyed in the governing of this country, point out their achievements? Name them one by one. Only the caring attitude for people could make the party and its leaders work in the common interest of the country and its people.
How many Labour Leaders have you heard taking government land for their family and themselves? Which government Minister in the Labour Administration has used his/her office to enrich himself or herself? The Labour Party has weathered five hurricanes and a flood. If any of my readers were to visit St. Thomas, they would still see the blue tarpaulin, covering the roof tops of houses which suffered damage in 1995 from Marilyn. In St. Kitts more than 90% of the houses have been restored. The country, under the Labour Administration, has done remarkably well.
Dr Douglas now has the responsibility to ensure that the general public becomes aware of all the accomplishments of the Labour Party from its inception to the present time. He needs to come face to face with the youths of the land and educate them about the privileges they now enjoy through the struggles of the Labour Stalwarts.
In order to diminish the significant role that Dr. Douglas is playing in the advancement of the country and its people, the people on the opposite side of the political fence are now saying that Bradshaw would have done this and Bradshaw would have done that. Sometimes, I wonder how they manage to call Mr. Bradshaw's name when they cursed and abused him so derogatorily during his life time. They cursed him even when he was on his dying bed. They mocked him when they learned that the end of his earthy existence was coming to an end and they jumped up and rejoiced when the end finally came.
Those same people are, today, trying to water down or dilute the great strides and accomplishments which Dr. Douglas has brought to this country from 1995.
The hands of history cannot be tampered with. Like the hands on the clock, they will always go round and around, displaying the historical and true picture of the part played by this Labour Administration and its present day Leader " Dr. Douglas. There is no old or new Labour. There is only Labour. The philosophy of the party is still the same. Dr. Douglas must ensure that the present generation of Labour supporters must be conscientious of the history of the party. They must be aware of the contributions made by the earlier pioneers and they must now work hard to leave their mark on this great Party.
Dr. Douglas has to keep the party united " the old, blending in with he new and both forming a Brimstone Hill Fortress of defence against an enemy who is coming in sheep's clothing, trying to hoodwink the youths, by giving false hope, money and propaganda, to make them believe that they are on their side. Continue to listen to people. Continue to make yourself easily identifiable to them. Continue to exert the winning smile of yours and don't ever drop those hands which are always waving out to the people.
You are performing a marvellous job of going on the radio stations to repute the many adverse and negative information people with an axe to grind, are paying some people to go on the air and propagandize about you, the country and the Labour Party. Just like how the young girl saw you as being different, other people would see the same in you.
You are a born leader. You have been given the task of leading a great party. You came out of the bowels of the struggles. You were born in the same village as our first National Hero, Mr. Bradshaw, who left you a legacy to follow. The enemy will try anything and everything, for they are desperate for power ' just for the sake of power; where the privileged few want to wrest the political power from the masses, to combine it with the economic power they possess, thereby turning themselves into our new Massas.
Dr Douglas, you have a duty to avoid this from happening, because, if it does happen "history will not absolve you.
Long live the Labour Party- the Party of the working class and ordinary people of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
Long live the early pioneers who brought this great Party into existence. Long live the achievements of the Labour Party.
Long live the memory of those who died in the 1935 Riots at Buckley's Estate, so that we can now enjoy better working conditions.
Long live the memory of those who defied the plutocracy in 1948, during the Thirteen Weeks Strike.
Long live the Labour Party, its Leader Dr. Denzil Douglas and his team of Government Ministers and supporters who have transformed St. Kitts to the point where the country is now an International name.
Long live the Party whose motto is, "For the good that we can do".
