St Vincent PM sheds tears for Manning

St Vincent Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves shed some tears yesterday after he visited his friend, former prime minister Patrick Manning, at San Fernando General Hospital. In the full glare of media cameras, Gonsalves took out a handkerchief and wiped away tears, admitting it had been a very emotional time for him, seeing someone he loves lying in bed after suffering a stroke. “My tears are tears of joy for seeing him and to see how he is recovering,”  he said after his hour-long visit with Manning, who he referred to as “my brother.” “A remarkable recovery is taking place, for somebody who had had a stroke,” Gonsalves said.

“But, of course, there is still a journey to travel...They have to give him time to rest and heal. “I met the doctors and he is, obviously, getting excellent treatment.” Gonsalves flew in to Trinidad yesterday morning and was chauffeured by Special Branch officers and police outriders, courtesy the Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration, straight to the hospital, at around 11 am. At the hospital, he was was met by executive members of the South West Regional Health Authority, family members and officials of the People’s National Movement. Gonsalves called on people, who were waiting for service at the hospital, to “pray for Patrick.” Manning, suffered a stroke on Monday night, and visits have been restricted to close relatives.

Gonsalves thanked the Manning family and hospital authorities for the “very special” concession they made for him to see his friend. Speaking with the media after his visit, shortly before 1 pm, Gonsalves said: “I must tell you, I love Patrick. I love him. He is my friend since we were at university. We played pan together, we did a lot of things together.” He added that they worked well when he was in government, and “I remained his friend through all the ups and downs of politics...He is my brother.” Gonsalves made reference to the passage in the Bible about a man laying down his life for his friend to describe his relationship with Manning.

He said: “What is between Patrick and Ralph is not politics. Politics cements it. It is beyond that. It is a higher grace.” He said he first heard the news that the former prime minister had suffered a stroke, while he was at a meeting in St Lucia. He said: “I cried, I prayed, because as I tell you, I love him. I am happy to see him recovering.” Gonsalves said since then, all he wanted to do, “was for him to see my eyes and I see his eyes and to know the love that we have for each other.” He did not reveal details of his conversation with Manning, but said the San Fernando East MP was surprised to see him.

He said: “His eyes lit up and he smiled. I can’t...I wouldn’t tell you what we spoke about, but the bond is there. There was a lot of joy. “I prayed with him. I gave him two books. One is an autobiography which contained some pictures of both of us and, the other is a diary I wrote when I was on Mt St Benedict’s for ten days in 2005.” Gonsalves said he also brought greetings from the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines who have been praying for Manning. He said: “Patrick Manning is a revered political leader in T&T. The fact that he lost an election does not mean he is not a person of extraordinary merit and worth.” He said in the Caribbean, “we have this thing when people lose an election, they don’t have merit and worth. He added: “We have to forget that. “That is an old fashioned colonial notion. We have to value our people.”