Are vigils the new wakes . . . but without booze?

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]tanding up at the candlelight vigil in support of justice for Kimberly William-De Leon and listening to the several disquisitions and drawn-out speeches, it occurred to me I may already have attended too many such functions. Four in only a few months says a lot about a country with a population of about 180,000. At the Kimberly vigil there were the usual pledges that “justice must be served . . . we must pressure the authorities” and so on, and I couldn’t help wondering about the effectiveness of such assemblies. Who were “the authorities” to be pressured? How exactly was justice to be guaranteed?

At the time of Christal St. Omer’s death in 2012 many were at once angry and fearful. It had taken three days to find her body, miles away from home. In preparation for a candlelit vigil in her name I had gone to a store to purchase my candle, only to find its stock had already sold out. Hundreds of people walked the several miles from the Aquatic Centre in Rodney Heights to Christal’s home in La Retraite. Then a second vigil was held, this time at Vigie, and even more concerned citizens attended. In the case of Christal a man was arrested and charged with her murder. Had the low-key protests and the prayers and the minutes of silence delivered?

Have vigils taken the place of wakes in Saint Lucia? Are they held only for victims of violence? In times past, wakes were held in advance of funerals. The community would come together to offer the bereaved comfort and assistance where required. Today they’re held for a few hours after a funeral, with attendees apparently more interested in socializing and filling their bellies with food and booze. The deceased and relatives are forgotten soon after. I ask again, are vigils the new wake, with participants doing what they do on a particular evening then going home to concentrate on living their own lives?

Not long after her violent death, even the media reporters could not remember the correct spelling of Chereece Benoit’s name. The most popular version was Cheris Benoit. The special t-shirts worn in remembrance of her and others may have soon become cleaning cloths. Related questions to the police about such cases are answered with a routine “It’s an ongoing investigation”.

It was at times difficult to tell whether the local reaction to the shooting death in America of Saint Lucian Botham Jean was protest or an opportunity to vent some spleen while socializing. I can’t remember the last time I heard his name mentioned locally, even though the turnout for his vigil was massive. (Evidently it’s who the victim was that matters, not life per se!)

The messages at Kimberly William-De Leon’s vigil were strong. Candle bearers were reminded that together they can guarantee justice for the deceased. Did the entreatments go into one ear and out the other? Education minister Gale Rigobert seemingly had her doubts. “I do not have the luxury or the privilege of waiting to see what will happen next,” she said at the vigil outside her ministry and workplace of the deceased, “because there are too many people who have met their untimely demise and too many vigils held and what was the outcome?”

She spoke about the the Constitution being under review to help curb the number of future vigils. Also the #IAmPartoftheSolution campaign.

Police Commissioner Severin Monchery told this reporter: “Vigils are good. They show that Saint Lucians care and are concerned about the victims of the country. People have the right to demand justice and they should always demand justice. The police, too, stand for justice.”  But aren’t they also expected to deliver that justice?

I was happy when Allison Jean, Botham’s mother, came to the podium to warn Saint Lucians against turning Kimberly into just another hashtag. “Let us remind ourselves what standing up means,” she said. “Standing up means let us put the pressure on the authorities to make sure that her killer gets arrested. We cannot be such a passive nation.”

I end with the words of a colleague: “We need to go back to the protests of 1979. They worked. It’s so sad now that I feel nothing will come of Kimberly’s case.” It occurs to me that the ’79 protests were of another time, when Saint Lucians believed in our ability to bring about positive change. It is also true that the leaders for change in 1979 are either dead and forgotten . . . or are soon to be!