PM pays tribute to Pan-Africanist

Prime Minister Mia Mottley on Monday paid tribute to Robert ‘Bobby’ Clarke, for standing out in Barbadian society as an “ardent and fearless fighter” for the underdog.

The key figure in the local Pan-Africanist movement during the 1970s and 80s, attorney-at-law and social activist died at the age of 90 after recent illness.

Prime Minister Mottley said: “Once Bobby took on a noble cause there was no doubt that he was prepared for a battle, his aim always being to make the lives of ordinary people better. In fact, it would not be inaccurate to describe his life as one of constant battles. He battled the establishment as an avowed Pan Africanist; he battled big business and Government as a tenacious trade unionist; he also took on just about everyone as a politician.

“Without doubt though, anyone who had the honour of spending time with him soon came to understand that he was imbued with a commitment and passion for fairness and justice, with the protection of the dignity of the working class at the core.”

Also paying his tribute, Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Álvaro Sánchez Cordero, called Clarke a ‘revolutionary man’.

“Bobby was always there to provide us with valuable lessons about Caribbean history, politics, economics, culture and society. His wide experience in Grenada, Barbados and many other Caribbean countries was paramount, especially in connection to the Cuban Revolution and in the context of the Cold War. Indeed, above all, as a revolutionary man, as a progressive thinker of the left, as a true socialist, Bobby was an internationalist who kept the humane integrity of all down-trodden people first and foremost in his mind.”

Clarke, who has spearheaded many of the of the social movements on the island, was described by President of the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration David Denny, as one of the bigger defenders of the rights for the working class, particularly in the area of education where he was integral in creating a scholarship programme between Cuba and the rest of the region.

“Bobby was the person who would have created the conditions for Caribbean people to study in Cuba. For me that is a major part of his legacy because immediately after the Cuban Revolution, Boddy travelled from England to Cuba while studying, and he was the person who started to discuss with the Ministry of Education in Cuba the whole question about the academic scholarship programme for Caribbean countries.

“Under his supervision, the academic scholarship programme would have trained over 100 medical doctors in Barbados,” Denny added.

“Bobby has left a serious mark on my life. I have a lot of respect for Bobby Clarke, and I know he has done alot to help the progressive movement in Barbados,” Denny said.
(SB)