As Barbados on Tuesday marked the 85th anniversary of the 1937 riots that ushered in a series of social changes, members of the Pan African movement called on trade unions to return to their revolutionary roots and agitate on behalf of the working class.
Speaking at a ceremony at the gravesite of Israel Lovell, one of the leaders of the riots, at the St George Parish Church, General Secretary of the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration David Denny said not enough has been done to build on the principles that Lovell and his contemporaries stood for.
“One of the major developments that came out of the struggles of 1937 was the trade union movement but, to my mind, that labour movement is weak today. We need a revolutionary trade union in Barbados now that will agitate on behalf of the working classes because we are threatened once again by international agencies that want to roll back the gains that we have made over the years,” he said.
Citing examples, Denny added: “Because of the agreements we have made with international agencies like the International Monetary Fund and others, we are now facing challenges with pensions in both the private and public sector, as well as the growing incidence of working-class people having to resort to contracted labour. We believe that a day like today should be celebrated by all trade unions in Barbados, as well as the credit unions, the agricultural community, and all working-class people.”
He also repeated the call for Lovell to be named a National Hero.
From left, John Howell, Onkphra Wells, Michael Heslop, Sergio Pastrana and David Denny join forces together in raising the Cuban and Barbados flag over the Israel Lovell grave side this morning at St George Parish.
“[He] made a major contribution to Barbados and he suffered and died for it. Yet, apart from [establishing] the Israel Lovell Foundation, we have done very little to recognise the depth of the contribution he made,” Denny said.
Meanwhile, head of the Israel Lovell Foundation and Member of Parliament for St Michael East Trevor Prescod lamented that most Barbadians still did not know about Lovell and his contribution.
He further complained that, in general, black people did not do enough to honour their ancestors.
“When you go into the homes of white people and people from other races, you will see pictures of all their grandparents and great grandparents, sometimes going so far back that the pictures are turning brown. But yet there are few black people who can show you a photograph of their grandparents. It seems to me that in many ways we are still in the same predicament leaders like Lovell and Clement Payne faced in the 1930s, nearly 100 years later. Despite all the talk about independence and republic, we truly are not at that stage yet,” Prescod said.
In his address, Cuba’s Ambassador to Barbados Sergio Jorge Pastrana noted that July 26 was also a significant day in Cuba as a similar event occurred there on that date in 1953 which served as a prelude to the revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power six years later.
“Today, the struggle continues, waged by those of us who believe that the north cannot continue to oppress small underdeveloped countries and extract the best of the south’s riches. The type of solidarity we are seeing here with these movements today is an indication that we must continue to fight for real independence,” the diplomat said. (DH)
