FOR THE LONGEST TIME NOW I have been talking ’bout the cash fuh gold craze and all the lot o’ advertisements and the tiefing it causing and it didn’t look like anybody was listening or even paying any kinda attention, up tuh the other day when I write ’bout how duh break in tuh my house in the day and carry way the only few li’l pieces o’ gold dat I had. But ya see wha’ happening now?
Duh had tuh wait, as usual, ‘til the horse bolt outta the stable tuh shut the door.
Ya see how people bawling now? It didn’t have tuh get tuh this stage. This sort o’ lawlessness could have been nipped in the bud long ago but duh had tuh wait ‘til it hit the few tourists dat does come ’bout here and fuh the hoteliers tuh jump up and keep nuff noise, fuh anybody tuh do anything ’bout it.
Now it is only a matter of time before dem international people start publishing some negative things ’bout this Barbados not being safe because o’ this thing or the next ya hear? Ya gine hear how unsafe it is tuh walk bout because ya gine get robbed and a whole lot o’ things dat get blow up, all because the authorities does sweep evahthing under the carpet as long as it doan affect dem directly.
Evahbody know how much we does rely and depend pon the tourist dollar tuh hold up this li’l rock and evahbody know dat if we get any kinda negative international publicity at this stage, given how fragile the market is and how stiff the competition is, the dog dead fuh we, ’cause it gine affect evahbody, all o’ we in one way or the other.
The competition in the Caribbean ain’t easy. We got a whole lot o’ islands, some even more picturesque than Barbados. Some less developed and more laid back than Barbados and some dat would go tuh any length tuh attract the tourists who decide tuh come tuh the Caribbean. Look, these people could take up duh money and go tuh all the other exotic destinations around the world, but duh choose tuh come tuh the Caribbean, and Barbados in particular, tuh relax, only tuh face this sort o’ foolishness from a few tiefing, lawless young men who decide dat dem ain’t driving a stroke fuh a boy and what is yours belong tuh dem.
I hate fuh write ’bout this sort o’ thing so again but the truth is, it burning my insides tuh think dat in evahthing we does have tuh wait ’til things get outta hand tuh bong and do something.
Right now things hard as France and fuh anything so tuh happen now, it gine be even harder, and who needs dat? Something got tuh be done ’bout the lot o’ tiefing though dat gine on ’bout here. If it ain’t the farmers’ crops, it is duh livestock. If it ain’t the schools or people business places, it is the private homes and now dat the police telling people tuh stop wearing duh jewel’ry, duh on pon the unsuspecting tourists.
You see wha’ we coming tuh? You see the kinda children we raising? We raising a generation of beggars and thieves. A generation dat seem tuh believe dat what is yours is mine and what is mine is also mine. A generation dat decide dat dem want the best o’ evahthing but ain’t got the slightest desire tuh drive a stroke fuh it.
We raising and living round a bunch o’ young people, especially men, who does sleep in a bed like me and you; wake up and take a shower like me and you; get up; eat and drink just like me and you; dress; put on clean clothes and go out just like me and you; and it goes on like dat day after day but duh ain’t gine tuh nuh kinda work when the day come, yet duh living better than me and you who gine out there and bussing we chops tuh make ends meet when the days come.
I tell wunna a’ready dat people gine start tuh take matters into duh own hands if the authorities doan do something ’bout it soon, hear? Awright! Wunna know my word doan drop tuh the ground.
• Mavis Beckles was born and raised in The Orleans. She has an opinion on everything.
