On July 11th, 2011, the island of Nevis with a population of merely over nine thousand was plunged into the sea of political, moral and social corruption. It appalls me because I never thought that the place we hold so dearly, “O Land of beauty, our country where peace abounds,” would allow greed and power to overshadow morality and integrity. Over 200 Nevisians had their names unlawfully expelled from the voting list and denied their constitutional and God given right to vote.
This is cause to reflect on the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]”. So much of what he said is wrapped up with what is happening in our federation of St.Kitts and Nevis.
Regardless of our political persuasion we should never let immorality permeate our way of life. We must know and separate right from wrong. What took place on 7/11/11 is not only unlawful, it is unjust and an utter embarrassment which have shaken and ushered in a new threat to our democracy. Are we to stand by idle and watch? Or, are we a people who will stand up and fight for what is at stake? - Our democracy. “Injustice” has rooted its ugly face in our ever so tranquilizing soil. I am a Nevisian who resides in the USA. However, I cannot repress the pain and frustration over what has taken place in the dear land of my birth. As Dr. King puts it, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial ‘outside agitator’ idea.”
When the OAS (Organization of American States) visited the shores of St.Kitts and Nevis one week before the election one was of the notion that they will be:-
(1) Collecting facts to determine if injustices exist (not merely confusion).
(2) Negotiating on lawful practices
(3) Direct action based on (1) and (2) above.
However, it turned out that they were merely there to observe the peace and tranquility of the day.
Dr. King asked the question, “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?” He also asked, “What is the difference between a just and unjust law?” The people of St.Kitts and Nevis are intelligent and morally sound so I would not seek to spell out what is a just law. But, for those of us who are still struggling with what is an “Unjust Law?” – it is, “Any law that degrades human personality,” and as it fits the current case at hand it is, “A code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself.” According to Dr. King, “A law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law.”
So to my fellow Nevisians I say, “Uphold the law in its fullness.” I am merely reflecting on what Dr. King wrote while he was confined to a jail cell. Let us all sit and ponder for a while. What if individuals like Dr. King did not pave the path for justice to exist for all people? Would we even have the right to vote? I thank God and I thank him (Dr.King) for toiling for our people which makes it possible for a black woman like me (immigrant) to have the basic right to vote in the land I have adopted as my own. Yet, my own people are being disenfranchised. Why would we want to go back in time? Shouldn’t we be appreciative? He noted that, “An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.” I would have hoped that the political tyrants that exist on the shores of St.Kitts and Nevis would have the understanding that law and order exist for the purpose of securing justice and when “this have failed they become dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress”.
Dr. King wrote so eloquently about his great disappointment with the church. I too share his sentiment. Are the churches in Nevis asleep? Some religious leaders may feel that the issue at hand is a social one and has no connection with the gospel. According to Dr. King, “Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists.” He reflected on a time when the church was very powerful—in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. Oops – or is it that our religious leaders see nothing wrong with the present situation? We will touch not the Lord’s anointed, but we must uplift them in our prayers and pray that they will come to the understanding as the judgment of God is upon the church as never before.
I write this not as a NRP or CCM follower, but as a Nevisian. So, I say to all of you, “Act now and restore DEMOCRACY” to our little Nevis. I feel that Dr. King not only wrote for the past, but for trying times such as now. If you can I encourage you to read his entire “Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]”.
