#BTSpeakingOut – Open Letter to PM Mia Mottley

The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

by Charles Cooke, 4Wicklow Dr. Toronto, Ontario

Dear Hon. Prime Minister:

Over the recent years you have shown exemplary leadership not only in Barbados but also on the world stage where your brilliant scholarship is recognised, applauded and, quite frankly, unequalled. Barbadians are rightly
proud of you.

However, it is past time that you put in place the strictest of measures to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

That is a vaccine mandate. You, your ministers, health professionals and experts repeatedly have pleaded with, begged, cajoled, implored with tear-filled emotion, prayed for and enjoined others to do so to get a certain segment of the population vaccinated all to no avail.

You have said repeatedly that you do not want a divided society that may be caused by such action but whether you want to admit it or not that is what we have become. It is not a 50-50 split as you might fear or would have us believe. It is a minority. Period.

This loquacious minority will never get the vaccine. They are unreasonable, uncaring and hard-hearted. (Those with knowledge of the Bible and who have used it to justify their position, would know what God has to say about that condition). Please do not pander to this minority.

You have warned Barbadians on countless occasions on the fact that a mere 12 individuals are mainly responsible for spreading the false information plaguing social media worldwide.

This should be an eye-opener for all but, sadly, it is not. This Bajan minority of vaccine deniers and obstructionists continues to gorge itself on this misinformation. A testament to their stupidity is that all the while they walk around claiming the vaccine contains tracking devices, their fingers form an irremovable clasp around their smartphones. The pathetic irony is lost on them.

Madame Prime Minister, you have talked about creating safety zones. That is not a solution. Making places like the QEH a safety zone is patently obvious and ineffective and is tantamount to picking low hanging fruit. Of course! If a hospital cannot be a safety zone then where else?

Barbados, so heavily dependent on Tourism, simply cannot afford the status quo. The aforementioned minority is jeopardising the health and welfare of the country and its economy. This is an untenable state of affairs and must not be allowed to continue.

The rate of daily infections in Barbados is extremely and alarmingly shocking and exceeds that of cities like Toronto (population 6.2 million) and even the entire province of Ontario (pop. 14.8 million.)

Prime Minister, you, yourself, have been given a 30-0 mandate to look after and secure the well-being of Barbados. So, use it! Use it in the same decisive manner and clarity in which you, quite correctly, placed Barbados on the road to becoming a republic.