Sandiford calls on Barbadians to reconnect with communities

Where have all the good neighbours gone?

That’s the question that the Rector of the St. Matthias Anglican Church, Reverend Hugh Sandiford is asking. During a service to celebrate the centennial of the Barbados Poppy League and the 65th year of the Barbados Legion at the St. Matthias, Christ Church tabernacle today, Reverend Sandiford chastised Barbadians who have quietly sat back and watched and witnessed the birth of so-called sub-cultures like the block and ZR cultures and their influence on society.

“We proverbially cross the road and continue with our lives. I want to ask this morning, why? Why have we done this and continue to do this? Is this demonstrating love of neighbour?” the priest said.

His concern came on the heels of those recently expressed by Attorney General Dale Marshall regarding the upsurge of gun-related crime that continues to have a stronghold on the island. Speaking about the issue during the service, which was attended by President Dame Sandra Mason and legionnaires, Reverend Sandiford alluded to a recent conversation he was a part of regarding the positive nurturing that was once a hallmark of most, if not all communities on the island. Unfortunately, this aspect is increasingly missing as people are seemingly more interested in checking the boxes in their pursuit of the “dream life”.

“Last week I was involved in several discussions and there was one in particular a group of young men moving into middle age, like myself, and we were discussing the many shootings and this discussion was like a sublime mentioned in Amos. As we looked at our society, our beloved nation, our culture, in it we were discussing our neighbourhoods, our homes and the kinds of nurture that they receive therein,” he said.

“Several valid points were made and we all agreed the environment is of utmost importance. That we are products of our environment. Indeed, many of the persons in that conversation indicated that they had grown up in some troubled areas, they had friends or went to school with some rough individuals yet they were respected.

“But as life went on they became more and more successful. They continued life’s endeavours as they sought to attain the goals they had set. But what was striking to me was that despite these communities, these neighbourhoods that nurtured these individuals, almost if not all of them no longer live in these areas … Very often we leave the environment or community that has nurtured us and move into other communities with more attractive names,” he added.

Sandiford believes that when this happens the community is further depleted of the positive, and the new young people growing up there are now raised by those who remain and who may not all engage in constructive reinforcement. Even more, very seldom do the positive products of the neighbourhood remain connected to these places, he said.

“We might call our parents each day, we may visit weekly but the frequency of the visits unless something is wrong does not exceed once per week. And with the passing of time the disconnect grows, the bonds weaken and we are not able to pass on the nurturing of the children within our childhood communities and if we are honest, we are not even able to share the nurture of our new community because we are so busy and caught up.”

This is why Reverend Sandiford is calling for Barbadians to reconnect to their roots, not solely for themselves but ultimately so that Barbados can continue to be fruitful.

“We have become too busy and so focused on our roles and ourselves that we have become like the priest and the Levite — missing the opportunity to make a difference, missing the opportunity to be a part of the healing, missing the opportunity to demonstrate or to touch someone with love,” he lamented. (KC)