I wrote an editorial last week about the importance of the Commonwealth and the ridiculous and uninformed reasoning by Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, to remove her country from the present list of 54 Commonwealth countries.

If judging by the turn-out by Government, our MLA’s and even the Governor’s office, at the Service in Observance of Commonwealth Day 2012, the Cayman Islands ‘officials’ have the same mentality as Portia Simpson Miller – “unimportant”.  The turn-out by our ‘officials’ was a big
fat ZERO!!

The reason given by Acting Governor Hon. Franz Manderson for not attending was a funeral in North Side. H.E. Governor Duncan Taylor was away and sent his apologies. An apology was given by the Speaker, Hon Mary Lawrence, as also did Deputy Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly. Premier McKeeva Bush was off Island and tendered apologies. I am reliably informed all MLA’s were invited to attend but apart from those mentioned only one had the courtesy to reply whilst the rest, including the leader of the Opposition, Alden McLaughlin, ignored the invitation. The one MLA who replied and confirmed his attendance was the Minister of Health Mark Scotland. But he was a “no show”. I can only assume he, along with all the other MLA’s, were at the North Side funeral. The fact that the invitation to attend the Commonwealth Day Service was largely ignored is extremely bad manners. The fact that there was not one single representative from any of these persons who attended, deputising or otherwise is appalling!

Only representatives from our ‘officials’ – the Judiciary – were present and I did not see anyone from the hierarchy of the RCIPS there. Perhaps the RCIPS have forgotten that the ‘R’ in their title is ‘Royal” and for ‘Royal’ it means HM The Queen who is head of
the Commonwealth.

We hear so many negative comments about our Country’s youth but they were prominently on display at this Commonwealth Day Service held at St George’s Anglican Episcopal Church last Sunday (11) and they made me proud. From our schools, Scouts, Guides, Brigaders, and Cadet Corp these youngsters filled their roles with distinction. All the singing was done by our youth from the very young to teenagers. Both bands were comprised of our youth and what a superb and joyful sound they made.

Our youth set an example and our so called “important” peers let them down and let HM The Queen down! They let our country down.  They are so quick with their words, the verbal diarrhea that some are blessed with. Their barbed tongues that spit out venom at every chance they get so they can appear on the television and radio talk shows. These are the people whom our youth are supposed to look up to. But most of them cannot take a minute out of their precious time to accept or offer regrets to a Commonwealth event let alone take two hours to actually attend it.

Do any of them care about the Commonwealth and its meaning? Do they care that this was a showcase for our youth. Do they care they snubbed them and our Mother Country? I bet it didn’t even occur to them.

And if they think these are the words of an Englishman who is a foreigner, then let one of them call the Publisher of iNews Cayman. Joan Watler Wilson whose ancestors the Boddens and the Watlers founded this country. She was present at the service and what does she think? She is furious but sadly is not surprised. How is that for damnation?

Yes. We know we won’t win any friends with the ‘officials’, we won’t win friends with other members of this community but we stand by everything said in this Editorial. As Joan said in her Christmas message, “I love my family, I love my Country, but I love you all. I am Joan”.