Sometimes we’re our own worst enemies! Take alcohol: nobody puts a gun to our heads and commands us to drink!! Yet we pour it down our throats, become alcoholics, and destroy not only OUR lives, but the lives of those around us! And this self-destructive behaviour occurs at every level of our social lives.
Take our towns and villages where we live on the Atlantic Coast. Now, all of this “land” was once mangrove swamp, hence its early name, the “Mosquito Coast”. It was pretty much created from the mud brought down by our rivers and creeks – but most of all by the mighty Amazon 1000 miles away across the Atlantic!! Imagine that!! Now you know why we don’t have blue-water beaches!!
The Dutch drained the swamps – all under sea level! – through an intricate network of dams, canals and kokers, to create plantations on which they grew sugar cane, cotton and coffee. Let’s not forget that Georgetown wasn’t created on any highland or such like, but from plantations created from those swamps!! Yep—La Penitence; Werk-en-Rust, Cummingsburg, Thomas Lands etc were ALL plantations with canals leading to kokers draining them at low tide – like all the other plantations, such as, say, Enmore!!
But somehow, we insist on pretending that the law of gravity acting on water falling on these former plantations has ceased to operate – just because we baptised them “towns” and now “CITY”!! So, we filled up most of the canals that once divided East Street; Main Street etc, to create those oh-so-pretty walkaways where we can hold hands and stroll! EIGHTY PERCENT of the waterways draining Georgetown have been filled up – and the remainder is filled with debris!! And we expect that it won’t be flooded when you have four inches of rain in as many hours??
Also, those canals didn’t just drain the land, but acted as reservoirs between tides. And the now totally concreted one-square-mile basin doesn’t allow any water to percolate into the soil. We expect to pump a one-square-mile flooded basin using pumps?? Isn’t that sorta like the reverse of plugging a hole in the sea wall with your pinky?? Or pi55in’ in the wind with all your might?? Ain’t gonna work!! And the rising seas due to Climate Change – which the polluting big countries declared – “FULL STEAM AHEAD!!” — ain’t helping none!!
So, all your Eyewitness can say is: Pres Ali should take the offer by the self-same big polluting countries to compensate countries affected by their profligacy, and get going pronto with Silica City. And knowing where the (city) shoe pinches, make sure we also don’t repeat mistakes like vending!
You gotta know when to hold it and know when to fold it!! Time to fold it!!
…with symbols
Well, it’s not actually the symbols that have to be submitted by those wishing to participate in the LGE that create trouble – but those SUBMITTING them!! You see, dear reader, your Eyewitness believes that Local Government should be handled by LOCALS in its entirety. And the big NATIONAL parties prevent this from happening – even though the law says they gotta select locals.
But you, me, and those same parties know that the locals they select have to toe their line to the “T”! And this not only defeats the purpose of empowering locals who’re most familiar with where the shoe pinches and can fix things – but export the vicious national fights to the local level. Without that insistence of identification of loyalty, the locals – who may vote for different parties nationally – might’ve taken common approaches to local problems!!
Now, your Eyewitness knows that “independents” can also run. But we know how that ends up, don’t we?? Maybe we can have a referendum on this issue??
…in financial tailspin
The integrated financial system that ties our globalised world together – so we’re really run by Central Banks – have been blindsided by the Crypto-currency implosion!! So much for decentralised “democratic” means of creating money!! Greed always wins!!
