With the October 19, holiday fast approaching as it’s been declared by the Government, and for the first time since the tragedies of that day in 1983, the general feeling of one of the soldiers in that era shows that efforts towards healing have not yet been instituted.
Usually when this time comes around, there’s always conflicting viewpoints as to what occurred on the then Fort Rupert on October 19, 1983, which led to the killing of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and a few of his Cabinet colleagues, as well as civilians.
Several others were wounded.
Since the actions of a military junta which brought the People’s Revolutionary Government to an end 40 years ago, the soldier, Devon Romain, who experienced the happenings believes its way enough time for healing, but is of the view that not much has been done to bring the truth to light.
Romain laments the fact that people need to come together, share information and let the truth be told, so there could be a great deal of comfort going forward.
Romain rests the responsibility on the backs of civil society to galvanize action in bringing people together to tell their story.
As it relates to those who were directly incarcerated for the atrocities on October 19, the former Finance Minister, Bernard Coard and 16 others, they have not yet come forward to tell their side of the story and it may appear they have sworn to secrecy.
