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Babonneau May 6th, 1985

End of the day. Clouds hang on hilltops of the tropical forest as the sun going down reveals all shades of green from the colour chart. Music is loud, and the traditional glass of rum is served. Raphael takes his, while working in his vegetable garden by the house. Electricity, sound system, refrigerator, all came from Raphael’s annual work abroad, in the sugar cane fields of the United States. Read More….

“End of slavery “, says he ! Will his small banana plantation and his garden be enough to earn a decent living? His wife is expecting again. Francisca places her own glass in the cabin that serves as her kitchen in the yard. She complains about her husband’s infidelities, but she has one, unlike so many. A thing to be grateful for in a country where 86% of the children are born out of wedlock.

I sit down to take it all in. A reggae tune is playing as I savour the famous rum of the islands and enjoy the sun setting over the plantations. I feel good. I even think this is what happiness could be. With such a fine view, how can one not be happy? When I ask the Popo family about it, they say yes, but then add: “All the same, it would be better with another room for the boys and a kitchen inside the house.”

Alvin, the older boy, loves the animals, the garden, the plantations. He is always the first one up to prepare the coffee. His mother tells me, “This one, he is no good!” When I ask her why, she says he does not like school. “Well, but what if, like you, it is the garden and the beauty of the countryside that makes him happy?” To this she simply replies: “Bah, I’d never thought of that.”

Quiet Reflection Does Francisca see the sunset as I do? And, will Alvin be able to study for very long anyway? From 3360 requests for secondary admission, only 1261 students will be enrolled. What will happen to those who have been refused? The exams come from London buthere, it is a dialect that is spoken. What kind of education is now given in the islands? Today, Raphael and Francisca Popo are divorced. They have left the Babonneau house. Raphael lives in the city, but still has a small garden. He is a cook in some hotel, Francisca lives in New York and Delia is studying in Toronto. She has married a man from Trinidad and they have one child. Delia says that her mother has changed a lot. For her, the violence and the children’s departure took the beauty away from life on their nice Caribbean island.

Unanswered Yet Is the Popo family still a fair representation of the “majority” in their country? Have the men of the islands become more responsible for their off spring?
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