The wise men three: a masked media practitioner much less talented than ambitious; two permanent residents of the fabled land of Mythomania, one in a stained Vybz Kartel tee and distressed jeans, the other shirtless in knee-length trousers, faces naked.
“Dey can say what dey want, dey eh foolin’ us wid dat,” said the under-dressed wonder. The media-wise man winced. If there was anything he detested more than homegrown neo-colonials in positions of authority, it had to be mindless abusers of the Queen’s English. But always he kept in mind that there can be no denying the people’s power to move political mountains when together they sing from the same hymnal, however off-key.
“You gotta admit, er, I mean it’s obvious something’s not right here,” he said. “One day after it came out that the CDC had rated Saint Lucia at stage three on its COVID-active list, the health department issued a statement claiming that out of a bunch of suspect cases 200 had tested negative. Coincidence?” There was in his voice as much suspicion as bitterness.
“Yeah man, yeah man, why only now eh?” said the tee-shirted wise man. “Is that I myself sayin’. You check it? I tell you sumfing wong. Sumfing wong, gassa.” Obviously, a Juk Bois alumnus. His half-naked neighbor coughed, spat out a mouthful phlegm on the concrete pavement, dragged his bare foot over it. “Dem people tink they can fool Looshan. Man, Allen have to go!”
The wise media man adjusted his mask, stepped back several feet. “Go where?” All heads turned to face the previously unnoticed 60-ish woman seated at a fruit vendor’s tray. “What the man have to do with COVID tests? When y’all have nothing to say why don’t you just shut your damn mouth.” From some 20 feet away the wise media man spoke, doubtless in his own defense. His mask did nothing to mute his sarcasm: “And I suppose you’re the all knowing Madam CMO?” The fruit vendor barely raised her voice, neither her eyes from the open magazine in her hands: “No, I’m not. But as a young news reporter you’re the last person I’d expect to encourage foolish talk. Dr. Belmar-George is doing a fine job. You should listen to her so you can better inform your less fortunate listeners.”
It emerged the woman was a former teacher and mother of three, two males associated with healthcare here and in the UK, the other a homemaker resident in Toronto. Not that the three wise men heard any of this. At any rate, two had absconded while the woman handed the media man a proper dressing down.
Since the recalled incident outside the Castries market last week, the CMO’s office has re-issued the following reminder: Saint Lucia is a signatory to the IHR—International Health Regulations 2005—whose purpose is to prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response to international spread of disease in ways that are commensurate with and restricted to public health risks, and which avoid unnecessary interference with international traffic trade.
Article 6 of the agreement makes it an obligation for countries to notify the World Health Organization by the most efficient means of communication available, by way of the National IHR focal point, and within 24 hours of assessment of public health information. As the CMO had publicly confirmed countless times: “Saint Lucia informs the WHO on a daily basis of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country, deaths and negative cases.” To underscore: our health department supplied the figures before the recent surge and continues to do so.
CDC is guided by the WHO, using long established processes, details of which are available online or from Saint Lucia’s health ministry! Will any of this information discourage political activists and other spitters at the sky? We can hope. The price for their ignorance, willful and otherwise, could well prove more than the thinking rest of us can possibly survive!
This article first appeared in the December 2020 edition of the STAR Monthly Review, available on newsstands and here: https://issuu.com/starbusinessweek/docs/star_monthly_review_december_2020
