By
Fernando Johnson
Grenada has a brand new stadium with state of the art technology which is the envy of many. While our pride of this edifice knows no bounds; do we know the true cost of the stadium? What is our "pride and joy' costing us?
Coming on the heels of this bigger and better stadium is an army of Chinese, who are eating up our jobs. Is this the cost of the stadium? Have we agreed to allow the Chinese to come here and compete with us for the few jobs available, as payment for the stadium?
If the answer to the question is 'yes' is there any wisdom in selling our lifeblood for a sporting facility?
There are some among us who view the stadium as a "sacred cow'. By the tone of my writing, you no doubt assume that I do not share that view. If you so assume, you are right - not at the cost of the Chinese taking away our bread and butter.
Let us be clear, I have nothing against our Chinese ("friends' - if our friends they are . To put it simply, I am more pro-Grenadian than anti-Chinese. For that, I make no apologies. I hope you expect none.
The Grenada I know, when sanity prevailed, is not to give work permits to unskilled workers. We allowed in, persons who had the expertise which we did not have, with the understanding that locals will understudy them to acquire the knowledge and skills which we lacked.
Now, out of the blue, we seem to have gone so "basodee' over the stadium, no price is too much for us to pay for it.
If my memory serves me well, I recall the folks of Montserrat, our neighbours, our own people, were not allowed to resettle here (except a few) when volcanic eruptions forced them to flee their country. But we have willingly embraced the Chinese. Is this the cost of the stadium?
So far, I have not heard the politicians, labour, business or the NGO's pronounce on this state of affairs. The chinese army marches on, first they are chewing up the construction industry jobs. Look out ! They would soon branch out into other areas.
There is an argument the Chinese construction firm(s) are able to build cheaper than our local firms. If that is so, let them come in and build using local labour and pay, at least, our minimum wage.
If however, they are paying the imported workers less than our minimum wage, they may be breaking our laws, in addition to which, they have an unfair advantage.
If the Chinese workers are working for less than our minimum wage, we may be participating in slavery. How can we, in good conscience, participate in the repugnant act of employing slave labour?
To think of it, we used to criticise the colonial powers for having done the same thing. Oh! How money changes everything.
It seems to have escaped our attention that the Chinese spend little or none of the money they earn here. Most of it is sent to China and is never again to be seen in our economy. Is the stadium worth that?
When a local business person pays the Chinese to build his or her building and the money has taken flight to China, is it fair for that business to expect us who have not earned any of that money from that business to patronise that business?
What would happen if a Chinese businessman offers to supply labour to the Port Authority for forty percent of what it now costs to operate that facility, would the Port Authority refuse it? What about our hotels, the police force? Is this the cost of the stadium?
What about agriculture? Would the Chinese be given large plots of land to farm and compete with our local farmers? Would they be allowed to bring in buses to compete with our bus operators and tour operators?
If the answer to these questions is "no', why have we surrendered the construction of roads and buildings to them?
If we do not wake up, our "friends' the Chinese, would cut the earth from under our feet. With friends like these, where is the need for enemies?
Our true friends the Canadians, over the past many years, have given millions of dollars to help us, without wanting a piece of our country. The United States, the EU and other countries have given us more money than we can count over the years, without any strings attached.
The Taiwanese have given so much without taking from us. After we had experienced back-to-back hits from hurricanes Ivan and Emily, Trinidad and Tobago led the rest of the region in gifting money and service asking for nothing in return.
Our friends in Cuba have helped and continue to help us in all manners of ways at no cost to us. Other countries recognising our indigence have assisted us - gifting from the heart.
Now, the Chinese have come and are, apparently, demanding and getting our collective souls, for what - the stadium? We had a stadium before they came. And even before we had a stadium, we produced sportsmen and sportswomen.
Nonetheless, the Chinese are preying on our pride. We want to be able to say we have a big stadium - the best outfitted stadium. We want to hang our hats where our hands cannot reach. That suits them fine. We are giving up our birthright for a stadium. This is worse than the bible story of Esau who sold his birthright for a pot of stew. At least he got something he could eat.
What are we going to say to the little child who has to go to bed hungry? Or to the sick child whose parents have no money to buy the prescribed medication because the Chinese have taken his father's work?
Are we going to tell them to make a few laps around the stadium and they would feel better? Is the stadium worth that?
Children are going to school without breakfast. Sometimes without lunch meal, or, without any meal at all, and we are talking nonsense about our stadium. Can they eat the stadium?
Let me prophesy, one of these days, our people will wake up and realise that the taking away of our jobs by the Chinese is a grave provocation. This coming to grips with the reality of the situation can have grave consequences.
When, not if, but when that happens, the Chinese government may invade Grenada to protect their citizens and their property; then and only then would we know how much of Grenada, if any still belongs to us.
By the way, the Chinese, not satisfied with taking away our jobs, are now into the shops and groceries business. The poor shop-keeper who was making a little turn-hand, now has to compete with very prosperous China.
In all of this, the politicians, all the politicians are silent. Those who are in power are confident the national Stadium will keep them in power, while those who aspire to rule are afraid that if they speak against the stadium they will be less likely to ascend to the seat of power.
It seems to me that the politicians are more concerned about maintaining or attaining power, than there is for seeing to the welfare of the people.
I know it would be said I am anti-NNP, anti-NDC, anti-stadium. I might even be accused of being unpatriotic. The fact of the matter is while I am all for the stadium, I care infinitely more about the well being of my people, than I care for the stadium.
I would readily give up the stadium any day of the week if it would benefit one single person of this tri-Island state.
Our politicians, those who are in power, as well as those who aspire to power, seem not to care about the country. They have polarised us to the extent some of us would rather die than wear the green of our national colours.
Others do not even want to see the colour yellow. That is because the main political parties have each chosen one of those colours as their party colour.
Now with the election just around the corner, the politicians are in a frenzy. They are tripping over one another as they try to fool us, saying things they think we want to hear and dropping a few crumbs here and there; but who really cares? They do not.
We are invited to vote for change - what change? Who will get the Chinese out? Who will fight for the interest of the people and not in their own self interest? Not the current crop of politicians, they would not. They are "six' in one hand and "half dozen' in the other.
Consider this situation. We were being encouraged, by the government, to buy shares in Cable and Wireless. We were told we can take a loan from the bank to purchase the shares.
The opposition parties, which profess their love for us said nary a word. They did not care. That had nothing to do with them.
It is only when Allan Bierzynski pointed out that the loan would cost us eight percent, while the shares would earn us only three percent, did Grenadians step back from the brink. Interestingly Mr. Bierzynski is not running for political office, as far as I know.
Recently, there have been dramatic increases in the price of food items. Poor people are struggling to make ends meet. Where are our leaders? What are the politicians doing? Have they gone around and encouraged the poorest among us to form themselves into groups and buy wholesale to save on food cost?
Have our politicians gone into the towns and villages to educate our people how to survive in these difficult times? Have they encouraged us to go back to basic in order to survive these difficult times of high prices and the Chinese?
Does it matter to them if we survive, as long as we survive long enough to vote for them?
Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique, we have to pray as we wait the unearthing of a true leader, as we await the birthing of a caring political party, if there is such an animal, and we pray that the Chinese will go away, so we can have jobs to be able to buy the very expensive food.
Let me ask for the last, what is the true cost of the stadium? Is there any politician, in the government or the opposition who truly cares for the people?
History, my friends, will be appropriately harsh on those who choose to remain silent while the Chinese gobble up our jobs and our people catch their nen-nen, all for a stadium.
(Fernando Johnson is an ex-policeman and former broadcaster with Radio Grenada in the 1970's)
