‘Stop silencing Gov’t employees for their views!’ – Sharie B. de Castro
She was speaking yesterday April 30, 2015 at Word on the Street, a forum aimed at starting a wave of patriotic effort in bringing the Virgin Islands to the place they believe it should be. It was held in the parking lot of the One Stop Mall and saw a reasonable attendance of mostly young people.
The forum gave persons a voice to speak freely on a range of issues affecting the lives of virgin islanders... from jobs to scholarships, to succession planning, to entrepreneurship.
No political affiliation
The former Miss BVI, de Castro, said the event was not about political affiliation “but what we do have is a love for country over self so we decided to come together, provide this medium and to do many more as time progresses.”
“This is the first of many and we just want to say thank you to the people who have come out….to the young people I just want to say that we are the future and we definitely have a say in the decisions made here in the BVI,” said de Castro.
Raul ‘Jugo’ Sprauve pulls out
The other person concerned with the event Raul ‘Jugo’ Sprauve said this is a very special event for “both of us and we are glad that you came out to support. It says a lot. It sends a very warm feeling not only to us but to the public.”
He stated that he works with the Teaching Service Commission and therefore he is a public servant. “It is true I am on leave from the Government of the Virgin Islands but I am still in the teaching service of the BVI. I am therefore governed by the General Orders. I could participate in this forum if I had resigned from the teaching service. It is true that I can resign immediately but that could compromise my integrity, and once you lose your integrity it is very difficult if not impossible to get it back,” he said.
“So in the best interest of the country and in the best interest of the teaching service of the Virgin Islands, in the best interest of my family and my own integrity, I have decided not to host the event at this present time,” said Sprauve.
Silencing of voices very disheartening
Taking to the mic, de Castro commended Sprauve for speaking, saying there has been a lot of word on the street, “I can say that…and I believe it is very disheartening that as a people with great concerns for the future of the Virgin Islands, especially young people, due to the fact that some of us are employed by the Government we are being forced to be silent on issues affecting us.”
She reiterated that last night’s event was about raising consciousness and not about persuading any kind of political bias.
“So I hope this clears up any misunderstanding by those who are calling under the guise of the General Orders to silence anyone’s voices,” said Ms de Castro.
One young lady said in addition to the forum held in the heart of the city, the ‘word’ needed to be taken to places where persons are hanging out and may not be that interested or motivated to come.
At the end of the two hour session which started sometime after the advertised starting time of 6:00 PM, there were a tidal wave of suggestions and questions, deeming the forum a success. Among them were the need for better job opportunities for young people, minimum wage, scholarship study areas, better customer service, locals believing that they are not suited for certain jobs and preserving VI culture just to name a few.
The organisers did not state when the next such Word on the Street forum will take place but promised that there will be many more to come.
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23 Responses to “‘Stop silencing Gov’t employees for their views!’ – Sharie B. de Castro”
By calling a snap election, voices would be silenced; issues that we should have been able to hear and discuss will
not happen; the forums and debates we should have been privy to, will not happen.
Democracy is about all persons being equally able to participate whether in discussions, to put themselves up
to represent, to have ample time to introduce and discuss the important issues of education/scholarships, access to crown lands, water-rights, beach access, pioneer status to investors, jobs for our people higher up the ladder in
hotels, marine operations, Trade licenses etc).
Democracy is not about "Hide and seek - I got ya -snap elections.
God see for us. Some folks are hoping and will benefit from this; and trust me, its not the ordinary and regular people.
May God continue to Bless and guide us
While some of us might have reason to condemn the NDP and specific individuals, the problem, the real evil, is in the system allowing the government of the day to act in such a fashion. Is the government concerned with the residents of the Virgin Islands or with sneaking an upper-cut to the VIP? Remember that at the end of the day, it is the ordinary person, the duped one, who is going to be at the S...ty end of the stick you wield.
I don't know, but people should get up and protest against such a move. There is a lot of things people here in this place should protest against. For heaven’s sake are we still back in the early or mid-1800s. Is this why at the college which is supposed to be an institution of higher learning, not one course in political science is taught?
Keep blinders on the people.
We should ask if we are still enslaved. Has the plantation system changed or is it still alive and well?
Shame on you NDP -AND, IF THE VIP WAS THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DAY AND DID THE SAME WE SHOULD SAY SHAME, SHAME! Beware, one day the bad things you do will bite you where the sun don’t shine! Stop treating your people like mindless children
Interesting that so many of us call ourselves Christians but fail to follow the principles Mind you, even if this TRICKOOGY help you to be back in office, there could be a hell of a lot of unanticipated consequences. Recall the line from the poem you learnt back in the good ole days when we were simple, humble folks, when we did not have much in the way of material things! YOU CAN FOOL SOME PEOPLE SOME OF THE TIME BUT YOU CAN'T FOOL THEM ALL THE TIME. Beware when the sleeper emerges from his deep sleep. Remember the history of the BVI. Even slaves exercised individual power. Our parents, the old folks used to say, DON't PLAY THE FOOL TILL THE FOOL PLAY YOU! So what all this have to do with that poem which some people either forgot, ignore or are overlooking? I tell you in the poem, KING JOHN AND THE ABBOT OF CANTERBERRY, there is a line which goes something like this EVEN A FOOL MAY LEARN A WISE MAN'S WITS, One of these fine days, when you are so comfortable and so pleased with what you have brought about, people, the ordinary man or woman is going to see through the BS and do exactly what should be done.
That the government is elected to serve the people, in this country, seems not to be a common idea.
And, shame on the elected who seem to profit from taking advantage of people some of who may be uninformed, naive, apathetic, or some who just don’t care so long as they feel they are benefiting from the gravy train.