Who Would Do Something Like This?

Imagine yourself a parent. You wake up earlier than usual last Saturday morning to calls and e-mails from friends at home and abroad congratulating you on how handsome are your sons, one ten the other twelve, in their picture with Saint Lucia’s prime minister that is all over the Internet. You are taken way off guard. You thank the well-wishers anyway, and excitedly inform them that you and your family had attended the historic Pitons Cup races in Vieux Fort the day before, how much your boys had enjoyed meeting Mr. Chastanet in the flesh and having their picture taken with him.   

Throughout Sunday the congratulations poured in. Then came Monday and the call from an older family member several years resident in Atlanta, Georgia. She is anything but thrilled. She has not yet seen the lauded image of your boys. Barely able to get her words out, all she wants to know is why her two grandnephews are on Facebook in chains, reminiscent of Kunta Kinte of Alex Haley’s Roots. 

You freeze. You promise to get back to her and abruptly end the call. You are in a state of indescribable terror. What is this all about? You try to access Facebook on your cell phone but your fingers won’t cooperate. You fiddle around for seconds that feel like eternity. You’re losing your mind to mocking devilish howls and images that spell the end of every aspiration you and your kids have been dreaming about. In your discombobulated mental state you’re thinking—this is it! All over for your boys, their once bright future ripped away from them even before they hit their teens.

As destabilizing as had been the images conjured up by your relative’s words, as devastating as were her squeals of concern, reality proved worse. A lot worse. In the first mentioned photograph the kids are neatly attired for a day of outdoor fun. One is smiling broadly, eyes bright as only very young eyes can be, and holding up his fingers in the victory sign. His older brother is typically more subdued. Both are obviously enjoying the moment in the close presence of their country’s prime minister on this particular National Day with all its precedent-setting activities. 

In the doctored version that had grabbed their Atlanta-based relative’s attention the boys are half naked, their chests smeared with dirt, metal dog collars and chains around their necks. Only their original happy demeanor remains untouched, as if to suggest they couldn’t be more euphoric in their circumstances. The prime minister is also pictured in his original position slightly behind the boys, now manacled, smiling still. But although his image is unedited the cynicism now projected is palpable; inescapable: Massa showing off after a day at the slave auction! 

The question arises: What kind of mind could’ve conceived such an atrocity? Only last week I published in this paper an article that included a reference by former prime minister Kenny Anthony to George Odlum and other members of the short-lived Alliance group, borrowed from his book At the Rainbow’s Edge: “They are those pedigreed by birth and by power. These charlatans believe they alone have a divine right to rule and to control . . .” Words as stinging as they are revealing. I could not help wondering as I revisited his published comment how Kenny Anthony arrived at the quoted conclusion—and whether it says more about his own lofty ambitions than his perceived aspirations of his targets!

But back to the innocent young boys whose special day at the races had been turned into a nightmarish remembrance. For as long as they live the portrayed “slaves” will be accessible on the Internet, a stomach turning reminder of how many of us, in our immeasurable insecurity, too often imagine ourselves in roles imitative of our colonial masters—always with our own at the receiving end. At a time when, ideally, we should have been reflecting on our slave past and celebrating our freedom, some had chosen instead to flush down the toilet every noble aspiration normally associated with National Day and other dates especially set aside to remind us to redirect our eyes from the mud of stagnation to the stars above.  

But there is more to this desecration of the cited two innocents than readily meets the filtered-at-birth Saint Lucian eye. For one, there is the matter of child abuse behind its several disguises. Not so long ago this ostensibly Christian society seemed to lose its virgin mind over the recorded and disseminated brutal battering of a young female by another female, reportedly a close relative. Yes, even though most of us grew up accepting the rod of correction as the symbol of parental love, and regular beatings as the most effective means by which to get others to do our bidding—a fact that may have contributed more than we know to the way we treat one another; loved ones or not.  

It is remarkable that this latest instance of gross child abuse, with all its countless sickening coatings, has not drawn public comment. Not from the holier-than-thou callers to our talk shows, not on Facebook, not from the relevant state-sponsored entities, not even from the self-advertising protectors of the rights of minors. Might the season of elections have something to do with the resounding silence? Or have we lost whatever it is that separates us from wild animals and in consequence are incapable of feeling as do regular human beings? 

In all events, there are the laws on our statute books that say children should not be subjected to abuse by whatever name. It would be a sad thing indeed if the police should say they are unaware of the meme that inspired this article and which has been in circulation for several days, thanks to stop at nothing unconscionable individuals who imagine they are doing irreparable harm to Allen Chastanet’s political aspirations. During the 2016 election campaigns the opposing party had declared war on him and his family and by all indications have not called off their war dogs.    

In closing I need remind the authorities of the deadly consequences of cyber bullying—suicide included—especially on its younger victims. The prime minister owes the latest known casualties his special attention. After all, since he is the main reason the two young boys were targeted, there is every chance the next victim could be much closer to home! To do nothing about the boys at the center of this nightmare is to offer encouragement to the multi-profiled cyber cowards—and a warning to parents to keep their kids as far away as possible from politicians, especially in the coming months!