Somewhere, someplace in my younger years I have a sweet memory of a big brother taking my little hands in his, tenderly stroking its fingers, observing them, opining that I had the most beautiful pair of hands in the universe, later the world, then this little island and at some point, humourously, just "maybe" amongst the girls of five in our little mischievous clan.
I recall Wayne's especial pride when those hands created and presented what he considered my best, perhaps first real work of art, horses in motion, later described by him as "capturing the synergy of the horse and rider with flanks and whips flailing."
In some unspoken moment he considered that in art, perhaps not in law, I had found something of a mission, a purpose that gave him comfort as a big brother, that maybe a little sister in a big world could find a new direction and fulfilment, a different mode, purpose and purity of commitment beyond the banal, beyond the ordinary.
You see my brother, Wayne has never lived the ordinary life. In every pore of his very core and being, this man I call brother within the narrow confines of familial association and relationship, intimately and ultimately knows himself the answer to the biblical question, "Who is my brother?"
Wayne's life is a demonstration; a powerful classroom lesson taught, understood and lived by the greatest leader, revolutionary and activist to have walked this earth some two thousand years ago.
I remember the tremendous anguish of a first hunger strike, not only on us as a family but on the psyche of an entire nation. But out of this terrible anguish came a thing of beauty, a new work of art, the Armstrong Report. It came like a newly-lit candle, a light, certain of its strength, brightness and power, ready to take on its task of shattering the darkness of an unenlightened, uninspired history of poor practices, of poor development.
I recall the tenderness with which Wayne held this report in his frail hands, as if cuddling a much treasured and loved child; irreplaceable, immeasurable in potential and promise, brought into this world out of a mother's terrible pain and anguish.He called it a "bible", a template for development practices to be adhered to by responsible Government, anticipating a liberation from myopic, self-centred, and "bogus development" practiced over decades in this precious land. He could not wait to share and explain its implications to his HRM, like a proud father.
His objective? He tells us: "To protect the social, economic, financial and ecological assets of our nation, our wealth, from arbitrary destruction. Community assets are not to be regarded as disposable, liquidated without proper process. They are not to be destroyed mindlessly, without heed to established principles of development. They are not to be played fast and loose with."
In his letter to the Prime Minister dated August 30, 2014, Wayne states "Ever since the 1970s, Madame, a pattern of outrage has beset our nation. It is an outrage of the people against their governments. No sooner had our governments set themselves up, the outrage builds. Government after government after government. Outrage after outrage after outrage. Government seems almost impossible. Why is this?
"Permit me to say, speaking as an ordinary citizen, that the central reason for our deep anxiety and outrage is the failure of good governance, transparency, process. This failure leads, as night follows day, to corruption. Corruption is the unholy maggot eating away at the body politic of our nation...."Corruption of promise, language, process, conduct. The transfer of wealth from the commons, the lands, peoples and communities to vested interests. The corruption of systems and the Treasury. Must we accept that you are attacking our homes, road systems, businesses, cultural institutions, agricultural assets, wetland infrastructure, systems of inheritance and tenure, sack our communities, without proper justification?
"No one wants a hunger strike. It is a hateful thing. It might even be against the laws of the natural universe. To risk one's good, god-created life for a principle, a cause, a people. But it has to be done. If we refuse to look the beast of corruption in the eye, as it plunges its tooth and claw into our hearts, we would be shirking our duty. We are no cowards. If we fail to stand up we too are complicit in these crimes. We are a bold and principled people..."
To one man's demand for transparent government, the Pharisees have come out swinging, a full frontal attack. They come armed with the only weapon they can rely on in the face of clear, unimpugned recommendations of science, technical data, logic and fact. Distractions.Show us your medical report; Kublalsingh and his family own lands between Debe to Mon Desir; bring out the counter striker employed under the Ministry of Works of all ungodly places; he must be a human reptile; it is a farce not a fast; burn an effigy of him and kick it with all the venom and hate you could muster.
Why? Because if you dare to stand up and demand accountable government, the politician must counter attack with the insidious message that he who stands up for our democracy must be treated as an enemy of the state. They must muddy the waters with irrelevant trash and reign in their tribes. But it hurts, deep and unrelenting. What sin has this noble man committed? As my tears flow at the sheer injustice of it all, at the vileness of it all; as I stare at his now relenting frame and into bare spaces mustering the strength to support, to ventilate, to fight; as I write, this soldier and many others who are fighting suffer too.
One inciteful writer reminded that throughout the affairs of mankind, it is the tenacity of single-minded individuals who have revolutionised societies, the world. At the time of their resoluteness they have been met with derision from many quarters. Many called them egocentric, even mad. Future generations who are free of the burdens of the partisan present would later hail them as true patriots.My beautiful brother, our Wayne is astute, brilliant, a sensitive soul, a warrior, a man of honour and integrity and more. Are we going to let this good man die because his word means everything? Because he dares to speak the truth?Please tell me, this heart now bleeds for an answer, will he be or not be? Can anyone tell me?
Judy Kublalsingh-Matthews