Dr. James Fletcher, June 8, 2024
This morning, around 6.30 am, I got goosebumps when I heard an Olympics announcer give a brief overview of the day’s events and state that Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia was going for the sprint double during the evening’s program.
I took a step back and reflected on how monumental this was. In the space of a few days, our country had gone from never winning an Olympics medal to now vying for the highly coveted women’s sprint double.
It dawned on me that while this was mind-boggling, that’s just how we roll in this 238 square mile island. We went from never having a Saint Lucian make the West Indies cricket team to Daren Sammy captaining the Windies cricket team in all formats and being the only captain internationally to win two World T20 tournaments.
Of course, by now, we have grown used to the mantra of Saint Lucia producing two Nobel laureates, but it is a feat that is still worthy of the highest accolades.
Today, Julien Alfred made Saint Lucians in Saint Lucia and across the diaspora, and I daresay millions of Caribbean citizens stop what they were doing at 3.40 pm AST to watch and cheer her on in the Women’s 200 finals of the 2024 Paris Olympics. She did not disappoint. She delivered! Because of Julien Alfred, Saint Lucia is leaving the 2024 Olympics with a Gold and a Silver medal in two of the marquee events.
Julien Alfred demonstrates what we are capable of. She embodies the best of Saint Lucia. Thank you for inspiring us, thank you for uniting us, thank you for making us proud. Thank you to everyone, from her parents and family, to her coaches and training ecosystem, who have made this young lady the absolute gem that she is. And thank you to my friend Cuthbert ‘Twa Ti Ne’ Modeste for nurturing not only Julien, but all of the other young athletes you have so selflessly devoted so much of your time and energy to.
Yes, I am a ‘damn proud Lucian’.
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On my way out of Saint Lucia on Sunday I was pleased to see the roadworks and the verge clearing that were taking place to prepare for the homecoming of our queen, Julien Alfred.
It was awesome that we were going to these lengths to welcome one of ours; not a member of the Royal Family on a Royal Tour of the Caribbean and not some visiting head of State. No, we were prettying up ourselves to welcome back a Lucian, a daughter of Saint Lucia.
However, in watching the video feed of the motorcade as it travelled along the east coast yesterday, I realize how much our thinking is still stuck in the past. We believe public infrastructure consists solely of roads, bridges and buildings. So we patched our roads and decorated our buildings to prepare for Julien, but we appeared to forget about a critical element of our national infrastructure.
In this modern era, infrastructure also comprises the electronic communications network that services our country. Yesterday revealed that this infrastructure is not the same across our island and that means we are doing a grave disservice to the people who live in these areas.
We need robust and reliable electronic communications infrastructure to transact business, to communicate with work associates, to access educational networks and interact with lecturers and fellow students, to network with civil society partners, and to keep in contact with friends and loved ones. Yesterday showed that where this is concerned, all parts of Saint Lucia are NOT created equal.
A few years ago, government made a concerted effort to bridge that digital divide. I believe in recent times we have dropped the ball and relaxed the pressure on both the telecommunications service providers and ourselves to provide equal opportunities for all, regardless of geography.
Yesterday, it was frustrating and disappointing to see the constant freezing of video and in some cases the sub-optimal quality of the video, and for those of us viewing the live feed it took a little something away. It did not diminish the celebration, not by any means. But the video feed should have been better. We are in 2024.
So, let us remember that public infrastructure is not just roads, bridges and buildings. It is also electricity, water and electronic communications, and every Saint Lucian in every nook and cranny of our country is entitled to good quality in all these areas.
But back to what got us here – We Love You Juju
