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The
Blame Game
glewin@bluefieldspulse.com
Everyone
blames the mayor of Bluefields Moises Arana for the miscalculated
decisions he made not to include the people of the community in the
planning of the centenary events. We have all the rights to do so; after
all, it’s a free country. Blame him for everything from holding the city
hostage while the president visited the city with army soldiers dressed in
riot gear and for doing nothing for the community.
Now,
let’s stop for a minute and ask ourselves this question: how many black
leaders do we have in our community? They need to be blamed as well.
Let’s forget about Moises Arana for a moment and focus on our black
leaders. They blamed Arana for everything that went wrong during the
centenary celebration. However, they themselves did nothing about it. All
they did was publicly criticize the man.
The
events should have been an opportunity for the local black leaders to
stand and shine in the midst of the chaos. This was an opportunity for
them to show the people that they care about them, not just their votes
come election time. It was an opportunity for all the businesses and
non-profit organizations leaders to plant a seed in the community.
Unfortunately, it was the total opposite. None stepped forward. It is a
crying shame for them to have spent their energies criticizing Arana and
not organizing an alternative program for the people.
It
took a group of young people headed by Sidney Francis to form an emergency
organization called “The Black Alternative Group.” This group had
several discussion forums set up around Bluefields to discuss the history,
politics, health, and education of Bluefields among other topics. The
turnouts to these discussions were fairly ok. But how many people could be
found in Bluefields interested in these topics? At some of the
discussions, it appears that the same people who organized them were the
only ones in attendance. Our people are in their own little world, and it
looks like no one will ever get them out of it. They have no interest in
learning about their past, culture or future.
Austin
and Gregory Lewin, members of SLC INC and native sons of Bluefields
delivered and alternative program to the community at large. The Old Bank
Neighborhood was the focal point with a free open-air concert featuring
Yvonne Curtis and Bill Campbell on October 10th, 2003. Yvonne
delivered a magical show that will never be forgotten by those who
appreciated what was done for them in the midst of the chaos. Bill
Campbell performed his new single and number 1 hit in Bluefields
“Bluefields The Land We Love” written by Gregory Lewin and Bill
Campbell. The song was arranged, produced, and performed by Bill Campbell
for World Sounds Records.
To
help organize the event, we asked the Black Alternative Group to seek
assistance from the businesses and non-profit organizations in Bluefields.
The majority of the doors they knocked on said no. They all closed their
doors to the idea. Many of
them said they weren’t interested. They were broke. The bottom line is
the black leaders in Bluefields did not help with the event. One thing
they failed to realize: “You Can’t Keep A Good Man Down.”
Austin
and Gregory Lewin made the event possible financially and would like to
thank three foreign organizations for helping out. They are: FOREIBCA (ARJA)
and ASDI RAAS (Doleen Miller) in Bluefields, and KEPA (Rene Hooker) in
Managua. Also thanks to Governor Guy Cox and Mark Narcisso and Michael
Lewin for doing the run around to make sure everything went smooth.
After
the concert, a march was announced for October 11 to protest
the chaos that had befallen our beautiful city. The march was supposed to
leave the Old Bank Neighborhood picking up other protestors in Beholden
and Pointeen along the way then joining others in Cotton Tree where
speeches would be delivered. The national TV Channel 2 covered the protest
march. This was yet another opportunity for our leaders to come to the aid
of our community. The small group left Old Bank but found no one in
Beholden or Pointeen. They claimed they were scared of the arm forces that
were stationed at every corner in Bluefields. Along the way we saw some of
our so-called leaders who knew about the march but never bothered to join
in. “A leader is one who leads, one who conducts along a way; he
guides, to be ahead or at the head.”
Eustace
Wiltshire and Sidney Francis demonstrated that they are true leaders in
our community. I respect them both for leading the march. It was a shame
to see what was supposed to be a symbolic march on the evening news with
this statement. (“The black barrios organized a protest march in
Bluefields which turned out to nothing.”)
The
so-called leaders are now embracing the passing of Law 28 (Autonomy).
Autonomy in the wrong hands could go very wrong. It could be an instrument
for those who are already rich to continue getting rich while the poor
continue to suffer. I am not opposes to Autonomy, but will it really make
a change for our people? Look closely at some of the leaders running it
now. They are the same leaders who refuse to give the people an
alternative during their centenary celebration. One of them had the
audacity to go on radio and asked, “March for what? It will change
nothing.” This type of mentality is what our leaders try to instill in
our people.
Ironically,
all this happened when workers marched in Bolivia and demanded the
president’s resignation. He resigned.
If you don’t get up and fight, you will have nothing and will
gain nothing. Marching does make a difference. The students in Managua
marched for their 6%. The farmers from Chinandega marched, and the people
in the north marched. They do whatever is necessary to get attention to
their fight. Just a few days ago, the people in Waspam, headed by the
leaders of their community, stopped a Costeña
airplane from leaving and demanded that the National Transportation Agency
show up to discuss the repair of the impassable highway that connects to
the Pacific. And what happened? They will show up.
Sometimes
drastic measures need to be taken to get your point across. |
