Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley’s announcement of The Road Map Following COVID 19 is a worthwhile new political dispensation, but Government must tread carefully on its pathway.
We have had similar roadmaps over the years, but were totally ignored or abandoned in the process. COVID 19 is not another example, but a new challenge which the global economy faces, and the Roadmap must be fully exploited and become the new People’s Charter for the 2020 and beyond. In fact, each country needs to write it’s on Roadmap to ensure that Pandemic 11 does not hurt all mankind so harshly and burdensome, with the fundamental human rights and freedom abridged in some instances.
Whilst political structures form part of our civilization, humility and the spirit of humanitarian important in today’s world of terrorism and political instability around the globe.
But, we must not ignore the humanity in everyone, regardless of their ethnic, cultural, religious and political environment. In every aspect of existence, people come first.
To ignore the plight of people, to ignore the humanness in every one of us brings our existence in to great disrepute. Ignoring the plight of people is a recipe for chaos, and disorder.
The humanitarian issues that the people of Venezuela and Cuba face, despite their political ideologies and fraudulent elections, more recently in Guyana must be greeted with a spirit of support, kindness and acceptance. And in Trinidad and Tobago, government and people must not shirk from their plight. The human challenges the people Cuban and Venezuela face must become part of our challenges, if we are to ever respect the reverence for life. If we fail to act, a civilization and an aura of peace could wither way. And that all of us would be held responsible.
There must be a national consensus to our problems, and whilst not encouraging anyone to break the law, compassion by business, religious organizations and civil organizations must come to the fore. It is no use just making statements, but these statements must be support with serious and urgent actions.
What we are experiencing in our backyard is not a simple challenge because the soul of our nation is at stake. If we in Trinidad and Tobago, and for that matter the Caribbean, refuse to act with great diligence and rapidity at our command, the issue at hand, could become even more chaotic and could bring the concept of international affairs and world peace in jeopardy.
The Venezuela and Cuba refugee crisis must be quickly, but carefully looked at with the strong possibility of a positive and everlasting response. CARICOM has become a cocktail circuit for its failure to tell so-called President of Guyana, David Granger where to get off, as his indiscipline and despotic behavior have put this organ in total disrepute. The time to act is now, and not wait until another natural man-made disaster encroaches on all mankind. Our leaders must not play with time, as times awaits no one.