Former Progressive National Party (PNP) Member of Parliament Wayne Garland said that Turks and Caicos Islands people have allowed themselves to be brainwashed by the British into mounting a campaign geared at crushing each other to the detriment of the country.
Garland made the statement at the PNP rally held at the party’s headquarters on March 30, 2012, where he was one of the speakers.
“We, as a people; we, as a country have been oppressed for the last three and a half years. We have been seriously oppressed, but what I want to talk to you about is about us a people coming together, and also, as a people standing up for one another. We are not being what we used to be – having one another’s back. It doesn’t matter whether you are PNP or PDM, the most important thing for us is that, we are Turks and Caicos Islanders.
“Over the last three years, we have backstabbed, we have backbite, and we talked about one another. We only wanted to see who are going to be arrested. We only wanted to see who are going to be put in prison. But let me tell you something, when we start to wish hate on one another, we are wishing hate on ourselves.
Every single one of us, from Salt Cay, way down to West Caicos, interlocked one way or the other. We have ties by family one way or the other. So every time you wish hatred on one, we wish hatred on our own. If we are going to move ahead as a progressive nation, we need to let go of the hate. We need to let go of the hypocrisy. We need to let go of trying to backstabbing one another and this genuine hate for one another,” Garland warned.
Garland told reminded the gathering that Turks and Caicos Islanders once banded together despite political affiliation, but in recent time they have allowed a cutthroat attitude to fester among them, causing the country great pain.
“We are one people. We are our brothers’ keepers. It doesn’t matter whether you are blue, brown, purple or green; we are one people. We used to live well, what happened? We allowed some British oppressors to come in and drive a spear between us and separate us as a people.
“Now look at it, whose living good? Who is living in Grace Bay in high-rises? Who can go to the stores and buy the best quality foods? We used to be like that, we can be like that again, but like I say, we should be willing to make some sacrifices,” he implored.
Injecting a bit of biblical flavor into his presentation, Garland stressed that the torrid period that the TCI was currently going through paralleled to that of the 40 days of testing that Jesus Christ went through during what is now known as the Lenten season.
“We have been tested for the last three and a half years. We have been prosecuted for the last three and a half years. It is now time for us to open our eyes and be resurrected. It is time for us to stand and take our country back. It is time for us as young people not to sit back idle anymore, but should be able to look anybody in the face and say ‘this land is ours, and we are going to take it’. Don’t be afraid, young people,” Garland pleaded.
Garland also blasted the Attorney General Chambers for making attempts to seize and destroy the PNP Headquarters, while emphasizing that any attempts to yank the structure from that party would be fiercely resisted.
“This building behind us is an institution, this is a mark, this is something that a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into. This is a symbol for us as a party, and I will be damned if any white man or British oppressor think they can come here and take it from us. It will be a cold day in hell first. Nobody is going to mess with this institution…this belong to us.
“Today, it may be the Progressive National Party Headquarters; tomorrow it could be the PDM Headquarters. Today it could be ‘Ma Jane’s shop down the road’, the next day it is going to be ‘Sister Ashley’s house up the street’. We have to open our eyes and see what they are doing to us. They are pitting us one against other,” Garland told the audience.