I am mindful of the request or caution for me to bring BRIEF remarks, I'll keep that in mind. About two weeks ago, minutes before I got the invitation to address this audience on this august occasion, I saw a message on my BBM.
For those who may not know, its a text message sent to me via my black berry cellphone. It read something like this: "Don't just remember Jags, honor him. Honor him with the way we live and treat each other Honor him by being the best that you can be for the Turks & Caicos Islands Honor him by having the deepest love and patriotism for your country Honor him by not letting the dream of a united Turks & Caicos die Honor him by exercising your right to vote. Pass it on. Thanks Sharlene, I'm passing it on now in the most appropriate and public forum. Short but profound. She too must have been cautioned to be brief, but nonetheless demonstrated that quality supersedes quantity. Earlier on, I referred to this ceremony as an August occasion. It may not carry the royal gravity and the pomp and pride of the her majesty the queens's birthday parade, but to those of us who are conscious of our heritage and concerned with our destiny,
it is indeed august, and is more relevant than the queen's birthday, especially in times like these. Especially at this critical juncture in our history. We may not have the array of dignitaries, school children, official police turnout With the march pass and the firing of the guns in her majesty's honor, but to us who may be constitutionally
chained but mentally liberated and politically conscious, this is a most memorable and august occasion as any, that may take place in this our land. For we were taught at home, at school and at sunday school that charity begins at home and ends abroad. We were also instructed to give honor to whom honor is due, and the designation of national hero, denotes that national honor should be proffered and bestowed upon Jags. But if we forget from whence we came it makes it all that much easier to find ourselves right back there. Hence here we are today, back to square zero, not square one. We have this irresponsible habit in the Turks and Caicos of repeating history and re-inflicting its terror on ourselves and our country, then conveniently blame history for repeating itself. Lessons are taught not simply to be learnt but to be learnt from and to be applied, and Jags taught us to love one another and respect one another, he taught us unity, self worth, pride
in ourselves and in our country, and patriotism, and he taught us how to stand up and fight for what is ours even if we die in the process, Jags was an honorable man. The person that we so fondly refer to as JAGS, was actually James Alexander George Smith Mc CARTNEY Ordinary yes, but at the same time more renown for his extraordinary accomplishments he achieved in his lifetime. Common maybe, but very uncommon in his dedication and love for his people and his un-authodox way of doing things, but still got success. Regular, yet irregular enough to be held in such high esteem to become the first National Hero of the TCI Simple yet sophisticated enough to hold the highest elected position in the land and become the first Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands Down to earth, yet high enough to elevate his people with him, to an unprecedented level of pride, dignity and patriotism that gave us international recognition. Humble and meek yes, but strong and resilient enough to engage even the superpowers in negotiations and representation for his country and people and to lead the famous and
historic Junkanoo Rebellion. Paradoxical indeed. Yes! That was Jags McCartney in a nutshell. But you see, we cannot nutshell Jags, we cannot put Jags in a box, his mentality and his persona would not allow that confinement and ill definement to happen even in his death,
for in his exploits and accomplishments, he was larger than life itself. Jags was a pioneer! He was exceptional in his compassion and in his love for his country and his people, and for humanity on the whole. Jags was an extraordinaire. We as a people have a tendency to forget, we have a tendency to neglect, we have a tendency to be complacent and apathetic, and then we become vulnerable, but let's be mindful
of Jags chiding. Jags was a born leader. But it is in times like these, when the leaves of the tree of freedom have withered and the branches are dry and brittle, and the trunk is not so robust, that we need to remember the ROOTS,
for the roots were planted deep by Jags McCartney, deep enough to sustain us thought the drought and the famine, through the storms and the turbulences, through this unconscionable
interim and oppressive administration. My fellow Turks and Caicos Islanders, if only for the sake of our youth, we need to find our roots. Jags was a Legend. When we reflect on the fact that we have advanced from a system of British administrators and commissioners and a powerless legislative council, to that of majority rule government,
then we are compelled to think of James Alexander George Smith McCartney. Jags was a Visionary. When we think of a modern constitution that provided for ministerial government, with an executive council and with locally elected ministers with portfolios allowing us to ably represent our people,
we think of Jags Alexander George Smith Mc Cartney. JAGS was a deliverer When we recall the mass demonstrations on behalf of the nurses and other civil issues nation wide, Jags Mc Cartney has to come to mind. Jags was a fighter. When one remembers the very first foreign affairs negotiation ever between a locally elected government and a super power. Held in Washington DC between the US Government and the
Turks and Caicos government, concerning the US Bases that were in the TCI, there is no other to think about but Jags Mc Cartney. Jags was a Statesman. It is under his administration that we got international exposure in sports, the Commonwealth Games, the Carifta Games, the Florida and Gator Relays, the Pan American Games,
and we brought back medals way back then. Jags was an Innovator. In the political arena and as a statesman, Jags was closest . . . To being all things to all men. Jags was Resourceful. When you were frustrated, distressed, paralyzed by hopelessness and void of vision and unable to see any way forward, it was Jags who would provide the motivation. Jags was an Inspiration. He had advanced us to a status where the British were no longer our masters, but our associates and our partners, where there were mutual respect and recognition for each others intellectualism,
but unfortunately because of the forner administration, we are right back to where he took us from and there is no longer any respect for us, there is no acknowledgement of our intellect and our
proven ability to function as other educated and accomplished human beings. Jags was a liberator. Now, the British have sought to dehumanize and emasculate us. they have sought to rob us of our human dignity and the national pride that Jags has instilled in us.
They have robbed our youth of every once of hope of ever achieving anything meaningful in their own country We cannot allow it to happen, we must not allow it to happen. We too our children of the universe, and we have a right to be here. Who would have ever imagined that we would be in the state of condition that we are now in, where our greatest desire, is for us to be afforded democratic elections,
can you imagine that in the year 2012' when slavery was abolished in 1834, almost some two hundred years ago? That this would be the case? Who would have though that a democratic parliament and general elections could elude us, and that we would not only, not be able to spend our own money, but not be able to determine
how it is spent nor get an audited account of how it was spent. I would be telling a bold face lie if I say that I am not angry at the reproach that is being dealt to us so callously and arrogantly. And I make no apologies for being angry, because I have every right to be, and so does every other Turks & Caicos Islander and legal resident who has invested time,
labor and money in this country. The word says be angry and sin not! Be that as it may, anger is not going to solve this problem! We have got to first rediscover ourselves as a people and decide where we want to go from here and how we are going to get there. That is an indispensable, unchangable McCartney principle. Our problem is that we have outgrown too many relevant things, things that never change, or were never meant to be changed. We are so fascinated and overwhelmed by newness, that in our over-exuberance for change, we throw the baby out with the bath water. It has suddenly become a new thing for Caicos to be against Grand Turk and vice versa, for PNP to be against PDM in a vicious way, for the young to be against the old.
We have been duped and divided by people who had ulterior motives to personally empower and enrich themselves and destroy what McCartney had so diligently built up including his legacy. So bold in their destructive and divisive crusade, that it was openly promoted in election campaigns to pit the Caicos against the Turks and the Turks against the Caicos.
That, is partly why we are where we are today, because of foolish, immature and destructive practices by our own people, simply for political gain. For truly, Where there is no vision, a people perish. Then again, while we were partying and splurging, the fundamental pillars in our social structure were being torn down. Our health system was wrench from under us in corruption, and while we are paying through our eyes and nose, we can't get the proper health care, that we are accustomed to getting, and for the first time in this country there are people who are denied health care. That's change. That's what we have been given for progress, a six for a nine, and many of us celebrated when it was happening and ignored the warnings and resisted, scoffed at and alienated those who were wise, committed and brave enough to sound the alarm, as Jags would have done. We have been divided to the extent that we were blinded to truth and reality. The division that separated us as a people from the unity that Jags showed us, was among us long before the British came, the British just exploited it. McCartney Sank the buoy which was then the symbol of division between the Turks Islands and the Caicos Islands. Unfortunately, we had leaders that had no vision, no genuine concern and love for our people and country, leaders who were overcome by self interest, and greed, and resurfaced the buoy by re-igniting the fire of hate, resentment and division once again among our people, in this era where our people are supposed to be educated and aware. In their flamboyant style of indoctrination, they deceived, misled and divided even our unsuspecting youth. The British followed in their evil footsteps and exploited the division that they created to conquer us, and further oppress us, by emasculating our dignity, our pride,our human rights and our freedoms, the very accomplishments for which JAGS struggled and persevered, for which he fought so hard and died for. It is very unfortunate, and indeed disingenuous of those who conveniently prostituted his name for political mileage, under the guise of national pride, but did not have the common patriotic decency to attend his memorial service not even once while holding the highest political offices in this land. Jags was genuine and not a fake or a deceiver of his people. It is why his legacy has earned him the privileged status of being the sole National Hero of the Turks and Caicos to date. Let us not fool ourselves by not facing the reality of how we got where we are today in this sad state of affair. In spite of the dilemma, in spite of the oppression, in spite of the denial of our fundamental rights and freedoms, in spite of the oppressive and onerous tax regimes that are being placed on us, in spite of the fact that our jobs are being taken away, in spite of the salary cuts and the pensions being taken from us, in spite of the fraudulent National Health Scheme that is being operated with the corrupt Interhealth Canada Programme, orchestrated by the British themselves, in spite of the corruption that is still going on with our airports, again engineered by the British and a few puppets we have among us, in spite of the disrespect and the lack of transparency in government and the continued squandering of our money on criminal investigations that deliberately exclude and elude the criminals in the UK who have and still are masterminding this evil that is going on among us, I am persuaded that we as a people are not forgotten, God knows our name, and we shall overcome someday, and justice shall prevail not just for those among us but for those who continue to exploit us criminally in the UK. As Jags would have said, nobody is beyond the law, not even governors and Foreign and Commonwealth office Officials, british Ministers of government, not even those who are known as peers in the highest echelons of British affluent society, they too shall be brought to justice,. Mark my words. Jags taught us, equal rights and justice for all, not some. It isn't just for blacks and not whites, not only for TCI'S and not for British. Justice is not for just us as is now the case. Let me just remind you that the Turks and Caicos youth organization was founded because of the oppression of our people by the British, then the Junkanoo Club which birthed the
Junkanoo Club Rebellion in 1975, then it morphed into the People's Democratic Movement, of which JAGS was at the heart of all these groups and from their very inception.
All this to seek justice, equality and progress for our people. But one may now justifiably asked, "where have all the flowers gone? JAGS was all about, Mobilizing, agitating, advocating, demonstrating, fighting, reforming, building, all for the good of our people, for their liberation, for their representation, for their pride
and dignity, for the fundamental rights and freedoms and for equal rights and justice for all. It was not just a dream, it was a vision, it was a cause, it was a mission and it became a movement, for the people, by the people and of the people of this our beautiful by nature
Turks and Caicos. Jags taught us that freedom was never free and never achieved without a fight. Nowhere and at no time. Now we are being challenged to a fight once again, we are being pushed into a corner, we are being marginalized in our own country once again and treated as idiots. But the sparks of revolution though they may only be smoldering, are not extinguished. The will to be free and to be treated with human dignity, though seemingly dormant, has not been eliminated. The aspirations of our youth to take their rightful places in this society, in the work place, in the business and investment arena and in government, have not been totally killed. The desire to be given a fair chance in our own country, to do what is best for our people and what is in their best interest, is still very much alive, for JAGS has planted those roots of freedom
and the will to fight for it, deep, much deeper than the British or anyone else is able to reach down and uproot. Unemployment, hunger, hopelessness, rejection, oppression, disrespect and suppression, are all taking their toll on our people, and there seems to be no one who cares and no one to turn
to who can help us. But my people, this too shall pass. For if my people that are called by my name etc. - That is the comforting words of the God in whom we trust And when this is over, let's not kick God aside again, let's not dis acknowledge his goodness toward us. Let's not forget that the British is the oppressor now, but remember the oppressor before
the British, let's not forget how we get where we are today and why the British is here, otherwise it would all be fruitless, and for the fourth time, the same people, would bring us to the same
disgraceful status, yet once again. Remember also that, "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. The philosophy of McCartney and the McCartney Doctrine have never been more in demand, more appropriate, more relevant and more applicable than it is today, when this our Turks and Caicos
and its humble people are being so unconscionably exploited by a superpower. A superpower that has taken our meekness for weakness. A super power which by association, is supposed to exhibit parental qualities, instead, if this situation were to be humanized, one would have no choice but to categorize this ill treatment as
child abuse. According to the proverbial saying, McCartney must have a multitude of restless nights, having being forced to turn over and over in his grave at the abusive suffering of his people and the
deteriorating condition of his country. First at the hands of a careless, callous and corrupt regime comprising of our own people, and now at the hands of this colonial superpower whose commission was to rescue us, but instead
seems hell bent on burying us as deep as they possibly can. But we shall resurrect as a people and we shall with the help and direction of the almighty God, resurrect this country out of the dust and the ashes, and once again be a thriving and
prosperous people, who will once again hold the reins of our destiny and chart our own course, a course that would put us back on the highway of self determination, and restore this
country's economy, and its peoples' hope and dignity, way beyond our former glory. My people in Providenciales, Pine Cay, Parrot Cay, North Caicos, Middle Caicos, South Caicos, Ambergris Cay, Grand Turk and Salt Cay, in remembering Jags, the young the old, the
blacks the whites, remember that we need each other. Remember that we are our brother's keeper. Remember that what we are going through is rougher than many of us ever experienced, but this too, shall pass. In honoring our National Hero, remember that to take our country forward, we have first got to take it back, take it back from those who are insensitive to our needs and our suffering. Remember that we must change some attitudes if we are to salvage our country. We must stop the bickering, the backbiting, the mistrust and the disloyalty among ourselves. Let us not be so blinded by contempt for each other that we fail to see the bigger common enemy. Be not deceived, for the common enemy is not so common after all, but is persistent and strategic in its relentless attempt to smolder our dreams and aspirations and derail our destiny.
But the saints can say with power and authority "Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world" I noticed this paragraph among others in the Governor's statement last week; that the TCI Government will develop and introduce a ‘diversity policy’, as part of the ongoing reform of
public sector human resources and staff management – this will set a standard for all managers and employees, and will be designed to ensure fair treatment for all staff and a zero
tolerance for bullying; and . . . . . (Our TCI Civil Servants are being disrespected and bullied now by British advisers; and where is the European Union or any other Union for that matter? Of course This paragraph here sticks out like a sore thumb, this is the very first paragraph; "Tomorrow, 17 May, is the annual International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.
This is the day when the international community campaigns to STOP DISCRIMINATION , in all forms, against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. However, we have not seen such discrimination against our people in this country since before 1975 when the Junkanoo Rebellion took place. Only certain people are getting any major government deals Only British people are getting any top civil service advisory jobs, while our people are being sent home. Even when we get jobs, there is a British advisor, making a big fat paychecks,
living in extravagant accommodations and flying first class. I had unintentionally embarrassed the former Governor in front of the British minister, when I spoke about the Blacks being put out of the Governors offices in the governors yard and
placed in a building outside the gate, across the street, while the White British were kept in the offices in Governor's yard. And no disrespect to his excellency who is sitting right here, talking about discrimination? It is amazing that the governor is worried about his British homosexual colleagues being
discriminated against verbally, in the Turks and Caicos, because it goes against our moral and I spiritual fibre? This is the spirit of Antichrist. As a man of God I can't stand here and
ignore the word of God that tells us that Eve and not Steve was made for Adam. When our people are suffering career discrimination, job discrimination, location discrimination, salary discrimination, and every other kind of discrimination imaginable by the British and
this governor, they have the effrontery to talk about discrimination against imported homosexuals. I am looking closely at that Tomb because Jags can't be lying still in there, not at all. If our National Hero was alive today, he would lead us, and inspire us to stand up against the injustices and the oppression that is raining down upon us. He would vociferously object to and reject this onerous Value Added Tax that is designed to wipe out what little chance of recovery is left of our devastated economy and what little
hope is left of our oppressed and overtaxed people. This I declare, is the straw that breaks the camel's back. Jags would cry foul, to the immoral, unjust, undemocratic, dictatorial British muscle, that is inflicting widespread taxation without representation He would say no to the British bringing in their own people all the way from Britain to take our jobs, paying themselves huge, fat salaries, while they retire our qualified and capable
Turks and Caicos Islanders, leaving them jobless and hopeless, not caring if they lose their homes, or if they can't afford to send their children to school any longer,
in fact not in the least caring if we all suffer and die from starvation and lack of proper health care. If Jags was still here with us today, he would undoubtedly renounce the skulduggery that is behind creating laws to prevent our own qualified and democratically elected ministers, from justifiably
spending our own money; the money of the people who would have voted them in government to spend their money on their behalf, for their benefit, but rather bringing a British CFO to spend it
to their whims and fancies. This is nothing short of misrepresentation and misappropriation in colonial disguise. I so renounce the same. Jags would have certainly demanded transparency and the revelation of the crooked hospital deals, a secret deal that demands our people to pay exorbitantly high medical fees and taxes for
mediocre health care. I demand the same. A system that allows our people to deteriorate before the eyes of their love ones who watch them suffer and die, rather than referring them abroad where they can get the level of treatment that's
required and available to nurse them back to life. As our beloved national hero would do, I demand that the books of Interhealth Canada be opened, that the raw deal that was hatched in London, signed in London, and sanctioned in London
by FCO officials and government ministers, be revealed and exposed. I insist as Jags would insist without desisting, that the credentials of the doctors that we pay for to treat us, be made public as is in any democratic and transparent society. Jags would say a resounding no to a draconian constitution that is designed to emasculate us; to rob us of our fundamental human rights, our pride, our dignity and most of all our mandate
given to us by fair and democratic elections. My brothers, my sisters, my friends and even enemies, Jags is no longer here, but the indelible resounding echo of the voice of justice is still here. His un-ebbing will to fight is still here The relentless determination to take back what God has given us, the exuberant fervor to fight for justice, equality and democracy, will never die as long as there is the breath of God in my
lungs and in the lungs of many others, who refuse to sit any longer and see our country go down to the dumps. Jags, this is our pledge and our tribute to you and to your legacy, and in spite of everything that's going on in your country, that would provoke you to roll over in your grave, may your soul rest
in peace, for the dream will not die and the legacy will not be snuffed out. No, not ever. Yes we invited the British in to clean up the mess, the truth of the matter is that I knew that they were involved, but not at the depth that I have since discovered and still discovering. The thing is,
it's like inviting the police in your house to deal with some criminals, they come and end up raping your sons and daughters. Just recently, the governor fired Sharlene Cartwright from the Consultative forum, simply because she has expressed her intention to run for upcoming democratic elections. That sort of high handed, dictatorial victimization, against one who is simply desirous to exercise one's democratic human right to represent one's people by standing in democratic elections,
this is the kind of stuff that revolutions are made of. These people are dream killers who are hell bent on snuffing out even the dreams of our youth. It is dream shattering, when one considers that all that Jags fought and died for, has been systematically compromised away, over the past 9 years, and it's now to the point where enough is
enough, for we are strangers and outcasts in our own homeland. We deserve to enjoy some fundamental rights especially in our own homeland, we deserve some kind of respect especially in our own backyard, we deserve some level of democracy especially on our own proverbial dung hill, for if we can't crow here, where can we crow? Nobody seems to be listening, the interim government is busy carrying on the corruption, selling our land, and cays just like the former administration who they kicked out, and we are supposed
to sit idly by and allow all this to happen to us all over again. It is time to wake up and step up to he plate otherwise it's a waste of time celebrating Jags as a national hero, while we are here accepting all this outright abuse. It is oxymoronic, in other words,
it is an outright, hypocritical contradiction. It is an insult and a slap in the face to Mc Cartneyism.. It's a show and a sham, and that's all it is if we can't recapture McCartney's dream and retake our country, represent our people and let's live again as a people who belong here and not as third
class, bastard strangers in our own God given land, while others live high on the hog with all the rights and freedoms, while lavishly spending our money on their immoral lifestyles, without our
permission, or without being transparent. If it was wrong for the goose, it is wrong for the gender, regardless of color, class or creed, and it must stop or be stopped. Finally, we've got a nation to build, we can do it, and must do it. We did it before and we shall do it again. We have a whole generation to rescue and a nation of youths for which to provide a future and restore a country. The only way we can do it is by retrieving what Jags has given to us in the 1976 Constitution. That is, a majority government. That is, a democratically elected government with a meaningful
mandate. The only way we can get that mandate as a people, is to vote, and the only way you can vote, if you are registered. Now you see how important it is that you go and get registered.
That's what Jags would want. Then! we shall get our country back, then! we shall rebound, then we shall rebuild, then we shall recover and then and only then, we shall restore. In so doing lets keep God first and foremost and remember that, "we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. God bless you and God bless our Beautiful By Nature Turks and Caicos!
