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Dear Sir:

Grenadians like to make simple issues big problem, and in the long run sometimes it leads into chaos. For example, the conflict between a landowner and the villagers of Snell Hall, St Patrick can be solved very easily. All the government has to do is give the people what they want. The villagers want a playing field and a community centre, and if the government is working in the best interest of the people, the needs of the people should come first.

I was born in the northern parish St Patrick on mainland Grenada, in the village Hermitage. However, Snell Hall village is about two and a half miles bordering Hermitage to the closet point in the same parish; therefore I can say that I know Snell Hall and some of the people who live in the village. As a matter of fact I played cricket against the Snell Hall team, and they were the only village team in St Patrick that did not have a playing ground. The St Patrick Cricket Committee had to make the fixtures so that Snell Hall cricket team can host matches in Plains and Mt Rich playing fields.

Those of us who were born and raised in the western part of St Patrick grew up surrounded by lush green vegetation and rolling mountain terrain. We always have a lot of natural food and fruits to eat in abundance, but that alone is not what modern day human beings need to enjoy happiness. We need modernity, and with modernity all communities need the facilities to create activities. Children need to play and the youths and older adults should have a place where they can gather together to discuss what is best for the community. Unfortunately, Snell Hall villagers do not have that privilege.

Based on what I read about the present land owner, she is a Canadian married to a Grenadian national who died some years ago and she thinks that it is not right for the government to acquire a portion of her land for community development. She is saying that Snell Hall residents should go to the neighbouring villages to enjoy recreational activities.

But what I find puzzling with her complaint of injustice, in Canada, where she was born and raised, all communities have proper planning. Schools, libraries, playing fields and daycare centres are very essentials in all the various Canadian communities.

Additionally, the Member of Parliament for St Patrick West is Joseph Gilbert, and presently Joseph Gilbert and Prime Minister Tillman Thomas are not seeing things on the same level eye to eye on many issues and it is no hidden secret that they have different political ideas, even though they are in the same political organisation.

As a matter of fact, the prime minister fired Mr. Gilbert from his ministerial post just recently, so it is very difficult to understand the whole issue. And based on what I read on (Grenada Broadcast) which is a pro NDC media internet website loyal to the prime minister’s faction, some citizens who are sympathetic towards the landowner think that the villagers should not have a playing field and community centre. They are saying that the young people need to go work the land and a playing field is not important.

However, if the residents of Snell Hall do not get a playing field and a community centre their MP claims he promised them, they will be disappointed and in the future they will continue to struggle for their social needs. Politicians are elected by the people who give them power for five years but, in the long run, it is the people who have the power. Therefore, these same politicians will have to go back to the people and beg them for their votes in the next election. On the other hand, the owner of the land does not want anything from the people in Snell Hall. All she wants is to keep her property, while the people want recreational facilities.

Historically, all communities in the rural parts of Grenada started with slave owners and African slaves as workers. Some of these communities have playing fields that were once used by the slave masters to graze horses and mules. Unfortunately, Snell Hall does not have that grazing pasture. So the big question is should Snell Hall remain a village with no place for social activities for its residents? Should all the people of Snell Hall become Seventh Day Adventists, because the Adventist Church is the only place villagers can go and socialise, if not going and drink rum in the rum-shops?

Personally, as a Grenadian from the parish of St Patrick, I support Snell Hall villagers’ right to have a community centre and playing field, with no political bias. It is time for us to stop making everything a big political issue. If I was a resident of Snell Hall, I would surely support the struggle for a playing field and community centre for the village. I believe who feels it knows it, and the residents of Snell know what they want. It is a moral obligation for the government to give the people want they want.

Hudson George
Toronto, Canada

Reads: 1164


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