By Caribbean News Global contributor
BASSETERRE, St Kitts – The people of St Kitts and Nevis have been promised a fair and equal chance of that illustrious Kittitian and Nevisian dream in a land where they can establish their beautiful families, seek economic advancement, live in peace and pursue their happiness, says the St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) National Political Leader Dr Terrance Drew.
In a message to mark the 90th anniversary of SKNLP, delivered at a Thanksgiving Service at the New Birth Gospel Tabernacle in Cayon on Sunday, political leader Dr Drew said no matter one’s socio-economic background, political stripe or creed, none can deny that the history of the St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party is woven together in the tapestry of progress of the political, social and economic development in St Kitts and Nevis.
“It is a rich and storied history that stretches back 90 years to that glorious day in January 1932 when the St Kitts-Nevis Worker’s League, the predecessor to the St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party, was officially launched, after many, many years of struggle and sacrifice. January 25, 1932, marks the turning point when after almost 100 years of struggle since emancipation from the brutal and inhumane slave system, that the working people of St. Kitts and Nevis finally got their breakthrough. They finally got their breakthrough with the formation of “a new body that combined a genuine concern for the welfare of the working class with the middle-class objectives of representative government and introduction of the elective principle,” Dr Drew told the large congregation.
He noted that it is that time, a downtrodden and oppressed people recognized that their power to transform their circumstances lay in each other.
“In their ability to organize together, to march together, to fight together, informed by an unwavering commitment to serving their fellow countrymen ‘For the Good’ that they ‘Can Do’. This noble ideal and idea was the spark that ignited the flame of revolution, which precipitated the Buckley’s Uprising in 1935 that set ablaze a new vision in the fight for the humanization and self-actualization of a people through the attainment of industrial and political rights not only in St Kitts and Nevis but throughout the English speaking Caribbean.
Dr Drew said as the newly-elected national political leader of the SKNLP, he is filled with a great deal of humility to take up the mantle of leadership of the SKNLP after a distinguished chain of eminent and stalwart leaders.
“I am very proud of our rich legacy and you too I am sure is indeed proud. As a political party and as a movement, I pledge like you, to give my all, my everything to advance our motto ‘For the good that we can do for all of our people.’ I stand here and I pledge to work with others to create a modernized health care system that is based on the principles of accessibility, affordability, quality and efficiency to meet the healthcare needs of all of our people. I stand and I pledge to work with others to fulfil the dream of our forebearers to have one of the most educated countries on earth and it is achievable because these men in the 1960’s when they gain the political power gave us universal comprehensive secondary education, which was unheard of in the entire Caribbean. We have to complete the job,” said Dr Drew.
To fulfil the dream, the medical internist pledged to work with others – making sure that workers can enjoy the privileges that were given to them by the creator and not by men to make sure never again that somebody will be fired on the principle of no-jab-no job and to help to usher in integrity in public life policy so that the following principles of good governance and decency to clean up a system that will represent the people and represent them well and wholesomely.
“This was the dream of those who gave their lives in 1935 during the Buckley’s Uprising and we must never allow the blood-shedding to go unrecognized. I pledge to work with others and so irrespective of your sex, your race, your country of origin, whether you are from town, or country whether you are rich or poor, whether your name is recognized or not recognized, we pledge to work with others so that you can have a fair chance at the Kittitian and Nevisian dream,” Dr Drew said.
