Not everyone may like the theme of Small Island Unity (SIU) in this year’s Rotterdam Summer Carnival and at Notting Hill Carnival in England (see related story). The Windward Islands troupe opted for the Hurricane Season.
It’s no doubt a fitting choice considering events in St. Maarten, Statia and Saba last September, but perhaps also a painful one. After all, many went through traumatic experiences they would gladly soon forget.
However, modern psychology teaches that suppressing grief, fear and other bad feelings can be counterproductive both mentally and physically. Sometimes it’s better to express these and “get them off one’s chest,” whether verbally, through art and music or – in this case – with costumes.
People should therefore not be surprised that they named the various sections Categories 1 to 5 and went a step further by depicting looters too. They are touching on a sensitive subject in doing so, but one on which the entire community should reflect to hopefully learn valuable lessons for the future about such anti-social, criminal behaviour and its consequences.
SIU will remind particularly spectators in the Netherlands and Great Britain what the islands went through, but also illustrate that tropical systems are very much part of their reality and send a message of standing strong together. The 50th anniversary edition of St. Maarten’s Carnival is to be promoted as well.
So, the initiators ought to be commended rather than criticised for acting out what kept many islanders in Europe preoccupied for months and ultimately inspired them. Surely, if there were such a thing as weather-gods even they would be impressed.
