Philippe Pierre’s Government: A Government That Truly Liberated the People

The government led by Philippe Pierre was unwavering in its determination to liberate the people and give them true freedom.

But what is liberation? Liberation means freedom from the control or power of others, especially freedom from bondage.

Emancipation also refers to the state of being bound, usually by some outside force or control. It is also a form of slavery.

In fact, in 1794, the slaves of St. Lucia began to show resilience and fought for their freedom. However, in 1834, the British Parliament declared that all slaves should be freed or emancipated. Nevertheless, the colonists who enslaved the people were not happy with this declaration and they still kept the slaves, albeit under less stringent conditions.

Now that the slaves of St. Lucia knew of this declaration, they would be freed from their bonds, and they became extremely strong and fought hard for complete freedom.

In fact, in 1830, the population of St. Lucia was approximately 17,678, of which 13,285 were slaves. The remaining 4,393 were Spanish, British and French colonists. Virtually all those considered slaves were in bondage.

In fact, slavery was officially abolished in the British Empire, including Saint Lucia, on August 1, 1838. An estimated 13,285 people of African descent were freed from slavery on the island of Saint Lucia.

Today, Liberation Day is celebrated as a national holiday in Saint Lucia on August 1. In fact, the day celebrates the resilience and strength of those who fought for their freedom.

In fact, as we saw in the case of slavery, declarations are one thing, ideas and practices are another. As Bob Marley said, “Free yourself from mental slavery.”

Now, slavery is synonymous with poverty. I need to point out that it is imperative to eradicate poverty. In order to do this, we, the people of Saint Lucia, must change their cognition or way of thinking. They must release bad thoughts with new, pure and noble thoughts. They should be ready to acquire new knowledge to truly liberate themselves.

In fact, this is exactly where the Government of Saint Lucia showed its resolve which I mentioned earlier in this article.

The government has launched a program for undergraduate students. The government will support individuals (red or yellow) who have experienced barriers to completing their undergraduate degree. The government provides grants of up to $10,000 to cover accommodation, flights, transportation, visa processing and tuition fees. The government hopes that by easing restrictions, the program will increase the chances of these students successfully completing their university courses.

This is fantastic support! As I am sure many of you will remember, the St. Lucia education system began with three secondary schools; St. Mary’s College, St. Joseph’s Convent and Vieux Fort Secondary School in the south of the island.

I am pretty sure that for St. Mary’s College and St. Joseph’s Convent, parents or guardians had to pay for tuition to get into those schools. Now, no matter how smart a student was, if you passed the scholarship exams of the time and got into those top schools, you could not get into those schools unless your parents or guardians could pay for tuition.

In fact, it wasn’t until 1997, when I was 45, that I received a partial scholarship to study for a degree in Educational Administration and Management. Two years later, I successfully completed the course with distinction at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies.

Now, although I received a partial scholarship, I only received 60% of my salary because I was the principal. At that time, principals who managed schools had to have a degree. Losing 40% of my salary and having to support a family was not a “piece of cake.”

Now, because I was managing the government literacy program in Marchand, I received a full scholarship to study for a Postgraduate Diploma in Adult Education at the University of the West Indies in St. Augustine, Trinidad, which I successfully completed in 1983.

I tell you this to tell you that escaping mental slavery is not easy. For many of us, we need help from the government to achieve this goal.

Now, let’s talk about the “first generation” Monroe College Scholarship. This program was championed by the Prime Minister himself. The program is designed to have at least one college graduate in every family. There are two important aspects to this idea. From an economic perspective, the graduates will be able to improve the economic situation of their families. In addition, the graduates will be able to use their skills to improve the educational situation of their families, communities, and even the country.

Now let’s talk about the education loan financing mechanism. The government has established a credit line with the Saint Lucia Development Bank (SLDB) to help poor students who are eligible to pursue university courses or programs. The government will guarantee this loan and no collateral is required. In addition, repayment of the loan will begin a few months after graduation.

I get goose bumps writing this. I must admit that this Prime Minister and this Government understand social issues and are actively and firmly trying to put people first.