PM pays tribute on the passing of Boneta Phillips

Prime Minister Mia Mottley today paid glowing tribute to Boneta Phillips, a former president of the Barbados Council of the Disabled and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Barbados who died yesterday at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Below is the PM’s full statement:

Barbados has lost a true stalwart and a woman of courage in the fight for the rights of the disabled in the passing of Ms. Boneta Phillips.

Whether she wore the hat of the President of the Barbados Council for the Disabled, leader of the Multiple Sclerosis Society or as an advocate for the right of chronic pain sufferers to use medical marijuana for relief, Ms. Phillips never relented from the battle.

Boneta Phillips.

However, it was her personal fight for the provision of wheelchair-friendly sidewalks, particularly in Bridgetown, that made her a household name across the country.  We are ever conscious of the need to make this a reality in our country and will remain committed to doing, especially in all of our main town centres.

Her message was clear until the very end — disability does not have to be synonymous with inability.

I trust that her message, and the vigour with which Boneta fought, will continue to live on in the hearts and action of many. And as we work to empower our disabled community, we shall forever be buoyed by the memory of Boneta Phillips.

On behalf of the Government of Barbados, I extend sincere condolences to Boneta’s family and the members of the disabled community of Barbados.