|
We are gathered here on this sombre afternoon to say our final good bye to Lloyd Best – a man we respect, admire, appreciate and love: an original thinker whose insight came from intense scrutiny and close examination of his environment; an intellectual entrepreneur par excellence who always felt a bit too constrained by academia; a development economist who was sanguine about the limits of economic analysis; a political analyst whose writings were heavily influenced by his interpretation of the historical record as well as the prose, poetry and drama of the West Indian literary giants; a social commentator who always probed for a deeper understanding of Trinidad and Tobago and Caribbean society; an unconventional politician who consistently refused to pander to the crowd; a citizen who gave almost fifty years of his life to the public good; a mentor to many of all ages, a teacher of many in forums of every kind and a tireless public educator, in and out of politics. Beyond these, Lloyd was a human being who was generous and warm, who loved to talk, who was in his element engaging others in passionate discussion, who loved sports, who loved music, who loved life, who learned everyday and from everyone, who consistently viewed the world through Caribbean eyes and who persistently envisioned the Caribbean as the utopian ideal of what it could be – with hard wuk and responsible citizenship, of course; “Take up your bed and walk,” he would always say.
Yes, Lloyd was a dreamer and visionary like Martin Luther King; in his younger days he wore sandals and preached his gospel like Jesus Christ or like a simple Sadhu; like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi he believed in building from the ground up, in self help, in community enterprise and in the wisdom of the ordinary citizenry and like Nelson Mandela he was for truth and for reconciliation, for understanding the past but not carrying it like baggage so that the possibilities of the future could be fully embraced by all, together in the spirit of harmony and peace.
Yes, Lloyd was a dreamer, thinker, talker, writer and activist. He did everything in the spirit of non-violence and as his particular contribution to the pot.
He never held high office, but he kept his integrity intact; he was never popular but everywhere, he is greatly admired; he never wielded real power but his influence has been immense; he never won an election but he earned the respect of the countless numbers of people; throughout his lifetime there were assaults intended to humiliate him but Lloyd Algernon Best never ever lost his dignity.
When I saw Lloyd for the last time a few days before he died, one of the things he said to me was “I have done my best under the circumstances … I don’t know if I have done enough …” I tried to ease his doubt, still his worry. To you, here gathered I ask who has done more to assist us in understanding our contemporary condition? Who has done more to call us to responsible action? Who has done more to help us to locate ourselves in the Caribbean and to locate the Caribbean in the world?
The perpetual philosopher, as his life was coming to an end he was examining its value because he, Lloyd Best has lived a full, vital, meaningful life of conceptualization, reflection, action and reflection again. For many years to come, the life that he lived, the choices that he made, the work that he did, the things that he said and wrote will be worth examining over and over again.
It is fitting that we should say our goodbye to Lloyd in this hall. For this is the place where Lloyd received the doctor of letters, honoris causa from our Chancellor. It is also fitting that our Chancellor Sir George Alleyne is here today as is our Vice Chancellor E. Nigel Harris.
Today some of us may shed a tear for Lloyd, although I don’t think that he would like that. But when Lloyd received his honorary doctorate at last year’s graduation he was so moved that he wept and tears welled up in my own eyes. On that occasion, while acknowledging that the University of the West Indies had “evolved a great deal … I don’t’ think there’s any sneezing at what we have done” he said, he soberly added: “the danger of our challenge is the temptation to congratulate ourselves on what we have done.” There are many facets to a life and different perspectives, both pro and con, inevitably emerge in the assessment of the life and work of a major figure and Lloyd is a major figure.
I, therefore, will not sing Lloyd’s praises today. There will be time enough for that. Even as we speak a team of UWI scholars is putting together a bibliography of Lloyd Best’s writings. As I said, there will be time enough for that.
For now, I offer my condolences to Sunity and all those who are near and dear to him, all those who shared and contributed to his life in some way – children, family, friends, Christianne, colleagues, my sincere condolences to all of you. |
