Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.
by Guy Hewitt
My duality as a Brit and Bajan came under immense pressure during the Windrush scandal when the UK Government denied the rights of Barbadian and other West Indian-born British citizens. While cognisant of the historic injustices, which informed my decision to raise my children in a Black rather than White country, this overt act of ethnic and racial discrimination demonstrated how far some will go in pursuit of the anti-immigration, populist agenda. The battle is not yet over.
As the UK along with the realms, the Commonwealth, and the world mourn the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, while also celebrating her life and legacy, Anthony ‘Gabby’ Carter, a Cultural Ambassador for Barbados, brought dishonour on Barbados with his piece of invective, directed towards the Royal Family disparagingly titled Good Riddance to Rubbish.
It is purported to have been written on Thursday, 8 September 2022 between 5.01 p.m. and 5.23 p.m.
Not only was it in poor taste, especially as less than a year ago Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was the Queen of Barbados, but the doggerel produced by this gentleman displayed his ignorance of the role of a constitutional monarch, history of the Commonwealth of Nations and late Queen’s role in it. It is noteworthy that last year King Charles III was awarded Barbados’ highest honour.
A key factor in the success of the Commonwealth, an intergovernmental grouping of 56 nations, was the Queen’s performance as Head. Understanding that the modern Commonwealth was a multiracial and multinational association, she, unlike many other European leaders in the post-colonial era, set aside redundant ideas of imperial loyalty or European superiority and instead emphasised a shared history, ideas, and values of the Commonwealth.
Although the Commonwealth’s ties to the former ‘mother country’ were eroded by decolonisation and globalisation, the umbilical cord that linked states constitutionally to the monarchy was transformed by her astute and congenial headship to create a new context for collaboration and coexistence as equals.
In 1961, despite civil unrest in Ghana and concerns raised in the UK, the Queen adamantly made an official visit. At the time, the Commonwealth was under threat as the Soviet Union sought to win over African nations particularly Ghana, a leading African and Commonwealth member, which was a symbol of a successful transition to independence from the British Empire.
It is reported that during the visit which included President Kwame Nkrumah carrying an umbrella for the Queen, he said: “She is not a chief. She is the chief of chiefs.” She was primus inter pares – first among equals. Former Commonwealth Secretary-General Sir Shridath ‘Sonny’ Ramphal said: “[then] Prime Minister Harold Macmillan may have talked about the winds of change, but the Queen knew they were blowing.”
Under the Queen’s headship and Ramphal’s leadership, the Commonwealth’s most prominent and acclaimed role was in the struggle against Apartheid in South Africa along with the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in Rhodesia.
The economic and diplomatic sanctions imposed by the Commonwealth in 1986, coordinated with other countries with significant economic links to South Africa, had the intended consequences as stated by Sonny Ramphal, “that apartheid be dismantled with a future for all South Africans that is truly non-racial and democratic within a united and non-fragmented country.”
Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney recognised the Queen as a “behind-the-scenes force” in helping to bring an end to Apartheid. Similarly, Sally Bedell Smith, author of Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch noted that during Apartheid she offered encouragement to Nelson Mandela. In 1994, following the end of Apartheid and the election of Nelson Mandela as President, South Africa re-joined the Commonwealth.
Mozambique’s joining of this ‘family of nations’ in 1995 followed by Rwanda in 2009, with Gabon and Togo admitted this year as 55th and 56th members respectively, underscores that membership is more about sharing common values than a shared history of British Empire.
As former British Prime Minister Sir John Major and others have affirmed, the Commonwealth was held together by an invisible glue that was Elizabeth II.
The reign of Queen Elizabeth II was marked by resilience, dignity, and a sense of duty along with a quiet faith and piety that have been – and will continue to be – an example for us all. We all should honour and cherish that.
I don’t know if it is age or unknown circumstance that reduced Gabby from social commentator par excellence to a purveyor of ignominious prose, but he knows better, and Barbados and Her Majesty’s memory deserve much better.
In their book How Democracies Die, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt make the point that often there is no single moment – no coup, declaration of martial law, or suspension of the constitution – in which some democracies ‘cross the line’ into dictatorship.
Instead, they note that the means used by many governments to subvert democracy are ‘legal’, in the sense that they are approved by the legislature or accepted by the courts. Some may even be portrayed as efforts to improve democracy. Similarly, newspapers are bought off or bullied into self-censorship. Citizens that criticize the government may find themselves facing tax or other legal troubles.
People do not immediately realize what is happening. There is nothing dramatic to set off society’s alarm bells. This sows public confusion as many continue to believe they are living under a democracy. Those who denounce the government may be dismissed as exaggerating or crying wolf. Democracy’s erosion is, for many, almost imperceptible.
Recalling Good Friday and the Red Sea, I am reminded of the poem on the Nazi regime First They Came by Martin Niemöller which ends: “Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.” It’s never too late to do the right thing.
Guy Hewitt is a London-based Anglican priest and social justice advocate.
