by Karl B. Rodney
The mountainous bilingual country has English as its official language, but speaks a French Creole whose origin can be traced to the 17th century; when France first took control of the colony and shared it at different times with England for more than 150 years.
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St. Lucia has virtually wiped out any adult illiteracy and has upgraded and extended its network of roads. The country has raised the level of healthcare facilities and assures easy access to secondary and tertiary education for almost every youth.
That is an impressive track record and speaks volumes about the vision of
succession of leaders, beginning with the late Sir John George Melvin Compton, led the country into independence and continued with Vaughn Lewis, Stephenson
King, Dr. Kenny Anthony, who was succeeded by Allen Chastanet, and now Prime Minister Philip Pierre.
St. Lucia for the past 44 years, has enjoyed an exciting era in the Eastern Caribbean. With a population of just about 200,000, it has transformed itself into an economy of over 1.5 billion gross domestic product. So on February 22nd, the parliamentary democracy whose peaks are an attractive site for those seeking to get away from the biting cold in North America and Europe will have much to celebrate.
The diverse Saint Lucia history means it is a melting pot of various cultures. Carib culture still has a strong influence on the island, even though it is mixed with African cultures brought over during colonial times. English, French, and Dutch elements also blend with the others on the island, making Saint Lucia’s culture unique to those who visit.
It has economic and social stability, in spite of, the pandemic downturn over the last two to three years, St. Lucia has come to deal with the jolt and is recovering nicely from the aftershock of Covid-19. It has been placed in the top 50 friendly states in the world as chosen by the conservative Heritage Foundation.
And of course, St. Lucia has produced to Nobel Laureates Professor Sir Arthur Lewis in economics in 1979, and Derek Walcott, who won the Nobel prize in literature in 1992. So while St. Lucia is making progress, it is suffering from what most of the Caribbean and probably most of the world is suffering from, the matter of crime.
Crime and violence have been at the door of the region and St. Lucia has not escaped that. There is also the issue of illegal guns coming into the region and of course the issue of the appetite for drugs that creates the drug trans-shipment market in the region, and St. Lucia has not escaped those issues either.
Overall, St. Lucia has done exceeding well since the day of its independence and, and it has earned the respect and praises from Caribbean countries and institutions. With the hundreds of institutions that have made New York their home, they will not be left out of the celebration and they too are looking to their country to transform it into a country of much higher quality of life and a brighter prospect for everyone, especially the youth.
Carib News joins the St. Lucians in the diaspora and certainly the St. Lucians at home in wishing all a successful 40th anniversary celebration and continued success the country has much to offer, and we look forward to a bright future.
Happy 44th Independence to the country and people of St. Lucia!
