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#BTEditorial – Distracted from the President

by Barbados Today
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Today was a day of paradoxes for Barbados as the country entered a new phase of its development process following the joint sitting of the Lower House and the Senate to approve the appointment of Dame Sandra Mason as our first President.

Dame Sandra has been and continues to be an exemplary daughter of the soil. She has proven that Barbadians from the humblest of backgrounds, have the capacity to rise to the highest levels.

The St Philip-born has enjoyed an enviable track record of accomplishments. She was among the first cohort of the Law Faculty at The Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies and has had a successful career as an attorney, Chief Magistrate, High Court and Court of Appeals Judge, Governor General and now she enters a new phase as President.

There is something quite special about Dame Sandra that has made her among the most admired national figures. For despite her achievements, she has remained personable and without airs and graces, but carries herself with pride, dignity, and a disarming warmth.

Prime Minister Mottley’s commentary was quite appropriate. “Barbadians do not like boastful people, that is not our nature. But we like confident people . . . proud people . . . industrious people . . . people who fight for the underdog, who believe in social justice, who believe in fairness.

“That is who we are. I can think, therefore, of no better person at this juncture of our nation who can reflect . . . those values, and who also, by dint of their life, has shown you that it is not simply about fighting for rights, which is absolutely essential in a post-colonial society, but . . . recognising the responsibilities that must go hand in hand with the gift of those rights.”

On the other hand, Leader of the Opposition Bishop Joseph Atherley addressed Dame Sandra’s appointment this way: “We have elevated to the highest office in the land, in this new context, one we consider to be worthy of this signal honour; one who has achieved excellence in her public and professional life; one who has worn all the trappings of her current office with dignity, polished bearing and the requisite mix of pride and humility.

“One who, by manner of service and appreciation of office, constitutes again both symbolically and substantively, a unifying force in the practice of our political and governance model.”

Dame Sandra is probably, the only person who could have been appointed to the post of President at this juncture, who would not have attracted the barbs and taint of the politics of the day.

But we described today also as one of paradoxes because the importance and symbolism of the day was mired in controversy over process, as Opposition Senator Caswell Franklyn made it clear that while he was not opposed to Dame Sandra, he had extreme difficulty with how the process was undertaken.

It is interesting because while Franklyn’s party leader Bishop Atherley also knocked the process, it would appear the process did not disturb him enough to take a similar stand as the man he named to be one of his party’s two representatives in the Senate.

We know that Senator Franklyn is a man always prepared to stand apart if he is philosophically opposed to an issue. He takes his position and lets the chips fall where they may. We believe that every citizen should have a right to stand on principle in these matters.

As the country’s leader articulated, Barbadians like “people who fight for the underdog, who believe in social justice, who believe in fairness”.

And we the country hailed its first President, as we concretise our pathway to republican status, the realities of the times in which we exist were on full display.

Director of the Pan American Health Organisation Dr Carissa Etienne reminded us in Barbados that we have a monkey on our backs in the form of exploding COVID-19 cases and rapidly rising deaths.

In her most recent update on the situation in the Americas, Barbados had the unenviable status of joining the Dominican Republic with a 40 per cent jump in new COVID-19 cases during the past week. Dr Etienne rightly warned us that surveillance and testing for the disease were crucial to an effective response programme.

We are happy to celebrate the elevation of our beloved Dame Sandra to become the first President of the Republic of Barbados, but we suspect that this monumental national process was lost on most citizens and took a backburner position to the mounting fears, division, and anxiety among Barbadians about the COVID-19 pandemic.

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