The Rastafarian community in Barbados has all right to be upset about their exclusion from the recently formed Constitutional Reform Commission.
The 10-member commission was named just over a week ago and has been entrusted with the arduous responsibility of reforming the island’s Constitution over the course of the next 18 months.
Several facets of Barbados are represented on the commission including the church, youth, Muslims, trade unions, the judiciary, the disabled community and the private sector.
It is impossible for there to be a representative from every community and sector on a 10-member commission. That is quite obvious.
However, the omission of a member of the Rastafarian community is quite glaring.
So too is a representative from the LGBTQ community.
Speaking during the official launch of the commission last Friday, its chairman retired Justice Christopher Blackman announced that “significant institutions” such as the Office of the President, the Office of the Prime Minister, the judiciary, the media, trade unions, business organisations, the religious community including the Rastafarian community, political parties, professional and charitable organisations and other NGOs would be afforded an opportunity to meet privately with the commission.
While delivering his remarks, Attorney General Dale Marshall maintained that the new Constitution would reflect a 21st century and the changing societal norms.
Yet, the Rastafarian community, which currently has a lawsuit against Government for what it is claiming to be a violation of its rights in the passing of the Medicinal Cannabis Industry Bill (2019), has been overlooked for a seat at the table of the commission.
“We feel very slighted and we look at the table and we see almost everyone else represented at the table. Muslims represented, education represented, colonial Christianity represented. I feel that we’re in a confused space. I am glad that all of these other facets of the society are represented but that means that Rastafari should also be represented,” president of the African Heritage Foundation (AFH) and representative of the National Rastafari Registry Secretariat and Trust, Ras Simba expressed.
He suggested that the slight on Rastafari suggested confusion and that Barbados was not truly ready to be a republic.
“I don’t think that we are really ready for the Republic. We moved God but then we’re hearing in the prayers people talking about Jesus Christ, so there’s confusion within there. But based on what we’re speaking about here, at the 25th hour we’re still saying that Rastafari should have an official space at the table. All the pretty talk about having special meetings and private consultations, we did that with the medical cannabis and look at where we’re at. We got nothing, we still have nothing,” he said.
Grassroots organisations advocating for the plight of the ordinary Barbadian are another glaring exclusion. During the worst of the pandemic, they were the ones who made sure that people in their communities were fed, clothed and supported at the most intimate level. They too should be able to represent those who are left out of high-level decision spaces.
Similarly, the LGBTQ community around the world has been vociferous in the calls for equality and justice and has made tremendous strides in its fight to live without discrimination.
They too have been inexplicably excluded. This is a telling exclusion, given that the Government was willing to seek out their input in the creation of the Charter of Barbados. While there was push-back from some religious organisations, it showed that there was an attempt to involve a group that is often marginalized in society. Similar steps at inclusion were also made in 2020’s Employment (Prevention of Discrimination) Bill which included protection from discrimination due to sexual orientation, and the later decision to recognize same-sex civil unions which was announced in the Throne Speech that same year.
Those who have borne the brunt of discriminatory attitudes, laws and policies should be given the first opportunity to change them, from the ground up. Their voices are worth more than simply an ‘add and stir’ of a consultation.
