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As a son of Dominica, I will speak.
After God is the Earth. For me, in this hour, that Earth is not an abstraction. That Earth is Dominica. Not a politician. Not a collection of politicians. Not a political party, its colour, its symbol, or its leader. Dominica.
Let that be clearly understood.
I will never compromise my dignity, my character, my integrity, and my self-esteem for any politician or any political party. Nor will I ever put any politician or any political party before my country. I am a Dominican citizen first. I say that without fear or favor to anyone.
This is not a political statement. This is a moral declaration.
There comes a time in the life of a nation when silence becomes betrayal. We have reached that time.
There are too many ills and too many wrongs happening in our country today for any honest man or woman to remain silent. What we are witnessing is not mere politics. It is the slow erosion of principle. The normalization of what should never be normal. The justification of what should never be justified. And it is all being excused because the wrong is being done by “my party” and “my leader.”
When did we become like this?
We have confused loyalty to party with loyalty to country. We have confused access to a politician with access to power. We have confused a handout with prosperity, and noise with progress.
Let us be honest with ourselves: A country where citizens must worship politicians to survive is not a free country. A people who will defend the indefensible simply because it wears their party colour have lost their moral compass.
Politicians come and go. Parties rise and fall. But Dominica remains. The rivers, the mountains, the land our ancestors bled for — that remains. What will we tell our children we did when Dominica needed us most? That we stayed quiet because we were afraid to lose favour? That we traded our conscience for a contract, a job, a visa recommendation?
There are too many silent voices in Dominica today. And let us speak the truth: Many are silent not because they do not see, but because they have compromised themselves. When you have sold your voice, you cannot then raise it. When you have mortgaged your integrity, you have no currency left to speak truth. Therefore, your voice becomes of no significance. You can cheer at a rally, but you cannot counsel a nation.
I refuse that bargain.
I did not inherit this land from politicians. I inherited it from Dominicans who had nothing, but had dignity. They taught us that dignity is not negotiable. That integrity is not seasonal. That self-esteem cannot be issued by a party headquarters.
If putting Dominica first makes me unpopular with politicians, so be it. If refusing to bow makes me an outcast to party zealots, so be it. I would rather stand alone with Dominica than stand in a crowd against her.
This is what it means to put country before party:
It means you condemn wrong even when your party does it.
It means you praise what is right even when your opponent does it.
It means you understand that no leader is bigger than the island itself.
To those who have put politicians and political parties before Dominica — I ask you to search your conscience, if you still have one.
Look at what we are becoming. Look at what we are teaching our youth — that principles have a price, that truth is flexible, that patriotism is just party loyalty with a flag wrapped around it. Is that the Dominica you want to leave behind?
We cannot love Dominica and hate the truth at the same time.
Today, I stand and I speak, not against any one man, but for the soul of Dominica. That soul is not red, not green. It is not Labour, not UWP, not Freedom, not Independent. It is Dominican. It is decent. It is dignified. It is worth fighting for.
Apré Bondyé sé la Tè. After God is the Earth.
And I will never, ever apologize for choosing that Earth — my Dominica — first and always.
A Son of the Soil.
And if this spoke to you, please register to vote. Do it not for a party, but for Dominica.
