CATEGORY:COMMENTARY
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By Lloyd Noel, Attorney-at-law
Inside Grenada Correspondent
Monday October 30,2006



THE THINGS WE DO in this life have a way of catching up with us - along life’s journey - during our pilgrimage on planet Earth. The old folks used to say, that the wrongs we do to others will someday come back to haunt us - even when we least expect.

Some people call the happenings retribution, others say that nothing goes un-paid - good, bad or indifferent, each gets its deserving returns. Sometimes the payback comes very soon after the wrong or un-conscionable deeds, other times it takes what looks like ages. But because of the appearance, that what was done in really bad faith does not seem to be so bad after all, many tend to come around to the thinking - that what was condemned as being so very wrong and distasteful, was really much ado about nothing, and all is well that is ending well.

The above scenario can be likened to the news surrounding the National Stadium colour scheme, and the happenings that brought the mainland Chinese to Grenada - as the Government’s preferred friend in place of the Taiwanese, who had been helping us so generously for more than Fifteen years.

To put the situation in its true context, one must recall that it is the self same NNP Government, headed by the very same leaders, who had a year or so before thrown the very Chinese Ambassador and her delegation from Trinidad out of Grenada - without even allowing them to leave the Airport to see Grand Anse Beach.

Those Chinese from the Mainland, had come to Grenada at the invitation of the then Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Michael Baptiste, soon after he and a delegation had made an official visit to Beijing at the invitation of the Chinese Government. Those Mainland Chinese Nationals were deemed un-desirable, persona non grata to our Government, and booted out without so much as the basic courtesies being extended.

Not very long afterwards - during the General Elections campaign of 2003 - some other Mainland Chinese from Communist China arrived in Grenada. They were actually allowed to enter the Island by Immigration, and had checked into a Hotel for their stay over. The Government’s Security people discovered that those Chinese were not straight - in that they had entered on the pretext that they were from the Taiwan side of the China divide - so the story went.

Before they had time to unpack their luggage at the Hotel, the Police arrived to arrest them all, took them to the Airport from where they were deported out of Grenada. The story further went out from Government sources, that those Chinese had
brought some Millions of dollars for the NDC (those Communists boys) to help them in the Election Campaign.

I cannot recall whether that story was published before the Election, or after the Election results were announced, and the NDC had won Seven Seats to the Government’s Eight Seats - and the margin in the Carriacou Constituency was barely ten votes.

But before or after the Elections, according to the story, the Mainland Chinese had financed the NDC Campaign, with plenty dollars to spare thereafter - according to the Government’s Intelligence people.

And not very long afterwards - less then a year in fact - the China/Taiwan table was turned upside down; and the longstanding generous Taiwanese, who had been funding the NNP Government since 1995, were suddenly state enemy number One, and the same humiliated Mainland Chinese were the Saviours with the dollars.

The Taiwanese were kicked out in even worse fashion than the Mainland Communists a year or two before; and the magical reasoning for the overnight policy change that suddenly recognized and accepted the One-China Policy in favour of Mainland China, was a new Super National Stadium, to make Grenada number one in the Region for CWC 2007 and beyond.

Now, who mean to convince anyone - that after all that drama, and assurance of care and concern, and whatever else have you, those efficient and slavish adherents to details, had never bothered to discuss the colours of the new Stadium with the powers-that-be, before ordering one gallon of Paint? But after having painted more than half of the new structure, the painting job has been stopped; and the rumour is that the painted area has to be repainted in another colour.

Or is it not the perception, that because John Public is seeing the “Gold” colour of the Stadium, as more closely resembling NDC’s colour of yellow, than it does to the NNP’s “green” - that the powers-that-be feel that the Chinese have given them a slap in the face?

All the scaffolding to the roof of the main building have been dismantled, so it cannot be that the colour there is a “primer” as some of the officials are claiming; and the Sports Minister’s argument, that only about 500 of the 1000 gallons of paint have been used, so it is no big thing to paint over the painted area, does not make too much sense - because all the scaffolding will have to be rebuilt to do that nonsense.

Even a scoreboard that was shown on T/V as being tested - that too is yellow-looking, so does it mean that the scoreboard will have to be replaced with another that is Green-looking?

With poor people ketching more hell now than ever before; prices in the shops going up and upwards every Monday morning, and any kind of work to help the unemployed earn a living wage, getting as scarce and non-existent as a wooden bus for a Six pence ride to St. George’s; so many people houses still with make-shift covering since “Ivan and Emily,” not to mention the absence of any colour of paint for any number of years - and now the Prime Minister has said no more free Materials, those in need must take a loan from the Authorities - if they can qualify to get one.

And I can go on and on about the Farmers and Agriculture in general, and the frustration engulfing our young people and spreading a new social disease called “hopelessness” - which is leading to a frightening wave of criminal activities Nation-wide; but the above is enough.

So who is going to finance the repainting and all that it will entail? And whether it is the very Chinese, or the new Lagoon Developer, or the People’s Treasury, does it need the Government’s Economic Consultant on the “Cement Scam” to again justify this latest scandal?

And on top or alongside this “Party-colour-madness,” I heard on the grapevine that the powers-that-be have promised a “Billboard of Ministers” in every parish, to help us remember who they are - less we should forget - and the cost of each one is only about $20,000.00 E.C.C. as they are being ordered in bulk.

An old lady, on the ball, suggested to me a new prayer - “Lord, come to our Rescue; or send us another “President Reagan” in whatever form - we cannot do it alone, and time is running out too fast to catch up.” I only hope He is still listening to us in these Isles, because we have squandered so many chances He gave us in the past - that even such a
merciful Father could get browned-off, and channel His mercies elsewhere in the Global Village - where the need is just as great and in many cases even greater than ours.

But to go back to the theme of this article, and the idea or reality that evil deeds bring back or attract similar returns or retribution. The point in issue in this “Colour Scheme confusion,” in my opinion, stems from the fact that the powers-that-be are very unsure and uneasy about their relationship with the Mainland Chinese. And that uncertain situation is ever-present, and will continue so to be - because of the disgraceful and rotten manner displayed, and the ungratefulness of those same leaders as meted out to the Taiwanese, when they opted for the Mainland Chinese.

And I suppose that the thought of the official visit to Beijing, made by the NDC Leadership after Ivan and Emily, does not make the sour taste any sweeter - in the mind-set, or the mouths and consciences of those who chewed off the hands that fed them for so long from Taipei.

But when looked at from another angle, the whole scenario makes even less sense - in the context of spending the already scarce funds that the Authorities themselves are pleading they do not have.

This Government had the first Stadium built, and whatever anyone said about that development in terms of costs, or workmanship, or paying back the financiers - the great majority felt it was a plus in many ways.

“Ivan” had its way and the damage was tremendous. The conflict between using the services of Taiwan versus Mainland China stemmed from a wholly separate issue that had nothing to do with the “One China” Policy. The colour of “Gold” is in our National Flag for the past Thirty-two years, and the new Stadium is very different in outlook and design from the damaged one; so whatever the colour is neither here nor there, in my opinion, the problems we are facing go much, much deeper than Green, Gold or Yellow, or polka dot.

The faces on the Bill Boards, wherever they are placed, and the colour on the Stadium, whether Green or Gold, will not change the problems nor help them to go away. But something keeps telling me, or trying to point out to me, that we are going to see a lot more of this pettiness in the times ahead - if only to hide the real Mc coy, or to cushion the retribution that must come.