Mama Mia! Barbados rocks the UN with ‘Get Up, Stand Up’
Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister, Minister for National Security
and the Civil Service addresses the 76th Session of
the U.N. General Assembly at United Nations headquarters
in New York, on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021. John Angelillo /Pool Photo
via Associated Press
Caribbean Life, OCTOBER 1-7, 2021 11
Barbadian Prime Minister,
Mia Mottley departed from a
scripted message penned for
a world stage address during
the 76th session of the General
Assembly at the United Nations
to instead school 100 heads of
nations on the militant message
of Robert Nesta Marley.
“If I use this speech prepared
for me to deliver today, it would
be a repetition,” the first female
leader of Barbados said.
And for anyone who might
not have comprehended the
bold opening statement, she
emphasized it saying — “A repetition
of what you have heard
from others and also from
me.”
True to the traditional processional
messaging from
repetitious international leaders,
Motley candidly expressed
the tedium of annually sitting
politically correct in respectful
boredom.
In any other setting, a standing
ovation might have been
expected for speaking truth to
power even before detailing her
message.
In the staunch closelywatched,
diverse, platform
within seconds of a pre-cautionary
COVID-19, escorted
entry, wearing a mask, Motley
launched into a pertinent, relevant,
honest, composed, tirade
using the reference of a lyrical
message from a Caribbean triumvirate,
to urge the assembly
to “Get Up, Stand Up.”
“In the words of Robert
Nesta Marley. Who will get up
and stand up for the rights of
our people?”
From the COVID-19 crises to
climate change, she questioned
the willingness of leaders to
act by placing global issues of
concern on a platform for scrutiny.
“Who will stand up in the
name of all those who have died
during this awful pandemic?
The millions.
“Who will stand up in the
name of all those who have died
because of the climate crisis, or
who will stand up for the Small
Island Developing States who
need 1.5 degrees to survive?”
Small as her island/nation,
the leader also advocated for
larger neighbors in the region
— particularly Haiti and Cuba.
“If we can find the will to
send people to the moon and
solve male baldness as I have
said over and over, we can solve
simple problems like letting our
people eat at affordable prices.”
“This is not 1945 with 50
countries. This is 2021 with
many countries that did not
exist in 1945 who must face
their people and answer the
needs of their people. Who want
to know what is the relevance
of an international community
that only comes and does not
listen to each other that only
talks and will not talk with
each other.”
Not since South African
President Nelson Mandela stood
at the same podium at the 49th
session in 1994, has such an
awakening message resonated
with such urgency.
At that time, the freedom
fighter focused on the topic of
apartheid, however the Barbadian
leader presented a myriad
of issues and did not skirt scolding
selfish behavior exhibited
by some wealthy nations.
She blamed some rich countries
for expanding the digital
divide and for hoarding vaccines.
“We have the means to give
every child on this planet a tablet,”
she said. “And we have the
means to give every adult a vaccine.
And we have the means to
invest in protecting the most
vulnerable on our planet from
a change in climate. But we
choose not to.”
“It is not because we do not
have enough, it is because we
do not have the will to distribute
that which we have.”
Catch You On The Inside!
Inside Life
By Vinette K. Pryce
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