Dear Nesta,
MUHGIRL, from de time de Minister o’ Finance utter de words indicatin’ free tertiary eddication was comin’ to an en’, you cyhan believe de uproar it cause, an’ still causin’. An’ I don’ believe it gine stop in a hurry, neiduh. Yuh know de sayin’ “openin’ a can o’ worms”? Well, dis is mo’ lke a “can o’ scorpions”, wid sting enough in duh tails, lemmuh tell yuh.
De Opposition, as yuh know, hot ‘pon de guvment trail to change back t’ings to de way it was – aldoh I wonder ef, sometimes deep down, Opposition parties might well ‘gree wid de ethuh side, but know dat dem job is to oppose….. bare political games. When fortunes change an’ duh tek up de reins, sudden-so, duh get a “revelation”, an’ any action dat was “onfair”, is now de right t’ing to do. It does happen wid bofe sides. Wuh wrong today, right tomorrow, leffin’ de res’ o’ we ……wonderin’.
But dis time, t’ings diff’rent. Evahbody in de Party pressin’ hard, so duh mus’ really believe in dis “cause”. ‘Long wid de Opposition, ‘nough Bajans rallyin’ to de students side, urgin’ dem to stan’ firm an’ see it to de en’. Some voices even advisin’ dem to tek de matter to Court, ethuhs tellin’ dem not to pay one cent, but it all amounk to one t’ing – don’ accep’ guvment decision.
De students don’ need nobody to tell dem wuh to do, is obvious duh en got de slightes’ intention to tek dis decision lyin’ down, ‘cause a’ready duh got a petition goin’ wid mo’ dan 1 000 signatures, an’ duh inten’ to keep on “as long as it takes”. You would remember how dem English students carry on de ethuh day when duh fees went up.
Ef neithuh side back down, I wonder how Mr Sinclair gine handle dis matter, neh? I might need to tek out muh crystal ball. Philomena went to de Opposition meetin’ de ethuh night – people like peas was dey – an’ sence dat time, she tell muh she onderstan’ de Education Minister to say dat guvment en ‘gains’ lissenin’ to any worfwhile suggestions fuh de good o’ all concern. I en know ef duh en like how t’ings lookin’ – de country re-action mussee surprise dem – an’ dis is de start o’ tryin’ to put in reverse gear to “ease t’ings up”.
But we got to admit life “brown”, an’ guvment mus’ get some urgent money from somewhey, so cuttin’ an’ contrivin’ mus’ come, aldoh it seem as ef mekkin’ de students pay fees en turnin’ out to be sech a brilliant idea, after all. Sure, ethuh Bajans – an’ a whole lot, too – ‘gree wid guvment, but dem voices gettin’ drown out.
From a chile, I come ‘long hearin’ when yuh gi’e somebody somet’ing an’ tek it back, or try to, yuh get trouble. An’ dis look so, to me. Dis is a generation dat only know ‘bout “freenesses”, so to start tryin’ to tek ‘way anyt’ing from dem now – anyt’ing a-tall – duh en gine re-ack nice.
Y’see, whichevah Party in at de time – evah wid a eye ‘pon de finishin’ line – always like to “sweeten” de pot, sometimes onnecessary, fuhgettin’ tummuch sugar bad fuh de blood. So even doh it might now be a necessary evil, cuttin’ dis partic’lar “freeness”, sudden-so – widout rhyme or reason – from Bajans, dat ‘ccustom to summuch “freeness”, might cause ‘nough bodies to fall by de wayside five years down de road.
Well fellas, yuh mek yuh bed…….
Tek care o’ yuhself. uh frien’, Babsie.
