As Barbados remembers the horrors of the slave trade,as well we should,I think it is a pertinent time that all who have the power should do something about that ever present sore that remains in Bridgetown,in hero's square of all places.If there is one thing that history has taught us is that a racist is not a hero and for the 95% Africans in Barbados Horatio Nelson was more than a terrorist.A good place for that statue would be to the bottom of the wharf.
I hate to look at the Barbados tourists site that give the history of Barbados.The ones that talk of Columbus discovering these islands and the other foolish tales that the Bob Marley and Burning Spear called 'mis-education'.I agree with them as a matter of fact Burning Spear referred to Christopher Columbus as a 'damn blasted liar'.Thank god for Rastafari. One of the funniest stories is the one of the bearded fig tree and the name Los Barbados which was supposed to mean 'the bearded one'. In the words of Gary Cole from the book reflections; The Colonization of Barbados is one of the darkest events and evil stories of modern history.Four centuries ago,Spanish and Portuguese slavers started to kidnap,kill and drive out the thousands of peaceful Indians found on the island the Indians called Ichirouganaim.The exact location of the island was a carefully kept secret but Spanish and Portuguese soldiers and sailors knew the island as the barbarous island,"Los B
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He was a hero to the Barbadians who erected the statue in 1813. Accept it.
If 200 years from now Bajans of the day say "what the hell did Errol Barrow" do for Barbados or "why do we have a statue to a sportsman (Sir Gary)?" or a fictional character (Bussa), will you be happy for them to tear down our statues?
When independence means nothing to future Bajans they will not respect Errol Barrow, when the trade union movement is dead or dying who will care about Sir Frank Walcott?
We chose the heroes of our time, while respecting our history (Sarah Ann Gill, Samuel Jackman Prescod, etc).
Let's respect the choice made by Bajans 200 years ago, in the hopes that our choices will be respected by future generations.