We won’t forget his valour
THE DEATH of Easton Wentworth Xavier Douglas has no doubt shocked most of us. It is only natural that as we live our lives and mature into our senior years, we find that we have become so used to living that death, despite its inevitability, still comes as a great surprise to us. So, even while I was fully aware that my friend, Easton Douglas, was gravely ill, I did not accept the inevitability of his passing until I heard the news of his death.
I have always admired him for his exemplary behaviour – his inclination to ignore the partisan nature of our political relationship and his patriotism, which he always wore like a medal on his chest. He was willing to give advice to those who needed it, myself included, and was a good mentor to godson, Khaleel.
I was not surprised that he was strong enough to battle his illness for so long, nor was I surprised that in the end he would have succumbed without rancour, acknowledging that it is a road that we all have to travel, whatever our politics, our nationality, our race, our gender, or our religion, as it is an end that none of us can avoid.
A COURAGEOUS FIGHTER
They say that cowards die many times before their deaths, but the valiant never taste of death but once. In these last few years, it was obvious to me that he was fighting a courageous battle against cancer and that he knew that was the best he could have done. In the end, we will always remember his valour, because so he lived, so he died.
It was a long and difficult journey for him, from childhood in Old Harbour, St Catherine, to his death in his St Andrew home in August, after this long battle with illness. The child of a police officer and a dedicated mother and housewife, I was happy to learn that his schooling also included attending both Denham Town Elementary and Kingston Technical High, schools with which I have had very close relationships during my political career. After becoming a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Chartered Valuation Surveyor, he utilised his knowledge of the value of land, urbanisation and the environment to serve in the civil service and later, his country as a politician, parliamentarian and Cabinet minister. Indeed, it is not well known that Easton, along with stalwarts such as Gloria Knight and Coreen McClarty, was in the batch of bright young professionals selected for special training to become permanent secretaries and leaders in the public sector of post-Independent Jamaica.
SERVED WITH INTELLECT, DISCIPLINE
He will be remembered as a three-term member of parliament for South East St Andrew, a constituency which has never changed hands since his representation; a parliamentarian with the highest levels of intellect and discipline; and a Cabinet minister who was passionate in his efforts to improve the lives and conditions of the most vulnerable.
I must congratulate his daughter, Councillor Kari Douglas, who I believe has retained much of his best qualities. My condolences go out to her, as well as the rest of his family, relatives and friends. I share their sorrow and grief at his loss. However, I encourage them not to languish in grief, but to wallow in his legacy, which is what all Jamaicans expect of their parliamentarians, and the world expects of its citizens.
I am sure that wherever he is, he is repeating these words: “When I come to the end of the road/And the sun has set for me/I want no rites in a gloom-filled room/ Why cry for a soul set free”.
OLIVIA GRANGE