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Volume No. 1 Issue No. 71 - Wednesday August 03, 2005 |
Dominica is Ours to Build
 Speech by Thomson Fontaine Delivered to the 2005 Graduating Class of the Dominica State College
It is with a deep sense of pride and gratitude that I rise at this time to address the class of 2005. Let me begin by commending those of you that have realized your goal, understanding that this is not the end but rather the beginning of a journey that will take you places yet imagined.
I know that for most of you this will be an opportunity to move on and out, out of Dominica to seemingly better places and better things. By all means you should be encouraged to pursue your dreams and do what you must to better your life and improve your livelihood.
Let me however remind you of the need to consider your country and to do everything in your power to help move this country forward. Indeed, Dominica is at a very delicate place in its development and the very presence of a state college dedicated to training students who will contribute to the task of development speaks well for the future of this country.
When I look at you, I see faces of promise; when I look at you, I see faces of hope, when I look at you, I see reflected in you the future of this beautiful country before me. And I am encouraged, not least because I know that within you lies what it takes to make the progress and achieve the things that we all hope and long for in Dominica.
I must confess that my own enthusiasm is colored by the reality of what exists in Dominica. The vast majority of you will find that when you walk out of this place, at this time that there will be no dream job to go to. No 8 � 5; and this can be sobering; especially after all your hard work and sacrifice.
We know the reality the question then becomes how we deal with this reality. I want to point to my own experience to kind of put in perspective the reality that we speak about and the opportunities that can come out of this.
For those of you who don�t know ( I say this deliberately because some time ago, someone called me the �IMF man� as if somehow I was hewn and shaped in Washington and then dropped on Dominica). Truth however seems incapable of jiving or making sense with our romantic or otherwise overblown notion of things.
Fact is, I was born in the village of Grand Fond. Going to high school in the late seventies meant hard work. A job made doubly hard because of having to work your way through school. In my case that meant carrying the bananas, caring for the animals, plaiting vectiver, peeling coffee, plus all the other varied chores.
You know, I�m not sure which I hated most: carrying bananas or peeling coffee. I hated them both and that with a passion. But I did it�.like some of you. I know the discomfort of carrying dasheen and then out of the blue sky a sudden shower and the ensuring rush to stop the itching.
As a 17 year old out of sixth form at the time, I wanted to capture the world armed with my three A level passes. But, the sobering truth set in. My first job was preparing pay packets for the stevedores. You know, there is a wonderful verse in the bible that I think bears repeating and which I will paraphrase.
It says �whatever your hand finds to do, do it!� And boy, did I do this well. I was glad that I knew this verse. With my training in maths and economics, I soon had this thing down. But know, I�m still dreaming so I�m thinking that there must be a higher calling, so after about nine months of doing that I was called to teach at the St. Mary�s Academy.
Now fast forward to April 2002. I am sitting in an office in Kabul Afghanistan with the Vice President of that country. Several months later, I would be providing counsel to the finance minister of Vietnam in his offices in Hanoi. In March of this year, I was in consultations with the president of Niger on his vision for West Africa. I have forged ahead with various assignments including a research paper on currency crises.
Looking back, the one thing that has made this all possible is having a quality education. The same education that you the graduates have started to get. In fact, I am proud to say that some of the same teachers that molded me are still here, and I hope he does not mind me saying it, but Mr. Volney for instance taught me at the academy and we taught together both at the academy and at the CDCC.
One thing I am perfectly sure of, and that is you have been provided with a quality education that will provide the basis which will allow you to remain competitive and excel in whatever field you chose to do so.
As you move on with your life and thread through the treacherous waters of uncertainty, I would like you to remember two things: No job is too small, nor is any country too small.
I have met countless Dominicans who have gone on to excellence and who could not spare a dime for the country of their birth. I hear things like �me! Dominica?� And I�m not saying that because I feel somehow superior or otherwise. I say that more as a warning to you. A lot of you, if history is any guide will go on to universities abroad and to great glamorous careers. My only request is that you do not forget Dominica.
This country is ours to build; if not us, then who? Dominica - a country laden with promise, yet a country that have failed so far to realize its potential. Our most precious resource, our people are scattered throughout the four corners of the world helping build other places, other lands. Through my online publication, theDominican.net, I have made contact with Dominicans in far away places like Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Japan, Yemen and other such places.
For those of you who through circumstance or choice decide to stay in Dominica, don�t view this as a failure; don�t think of this as having achieved less than others who migrate, but rather, use it as an opportunity to help those around you. To commit your life, yourself and your all to the noblest of all tasks, that of Nation building.
Graduates, on this day, at this time, and in this place, I would like you to consciously commit to do whatever it takes to move Dominica forward. Let us move beyond the seeming deep political divide, let us consider our friends, our neighbors, as equal partners in this great race to save our beautiful country. And that I will hear more of us saying not �me? Dominica?� but yes �me! Dominica!.
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