BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FORMER Minister of Government G. A. Dwyer Astaphan said the passing of his good friend Sir Cuthbert M. Sebastian is an opportunity for the nation to reflect on and consider cataloguing the life and times of great men of our society for posterity.
Sir Cuthbert departed this life on Saturday (Mar. 25) about two weeks after the death of former Governor Sir Probyn Inniss.
Astaphan described these men as “giants”, reminiscing on their contribution to the Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis.
Focusing on Sir Cuthbert however, the Operation Rescue co-founder said he made great contribution to the Federation’s health sector.
“Sir Cuthbert lived a long and full life. He was an outstanding medical practitioner and even before that, he made a very strong contribution in the health sector of the country; and of course his public service in a number of capacities, climaxing as the Governor General of the Federation. He was exemplary so he has really made a massive footprint on the history of the country, following in the steps of his father J. Matthew Sebastian, who of course was the leading person in the Union Messenger Newspaper and one of the fathers of the Labour Movement in the country.
“So we give thanks to the Lord for having allowed Sir Cuthbert to be with us for such a long time and to have such a fruitful and productive life and bringing benefits to so many of us.”
Astaphan said the connection between him and Sir Cuthbert goes as far back as his birth, as Sir Cuthbert’s signature appears on his birth certificate.
Although he said he has already personally extended condolences to Sir Cuthbert’s family, he took the opportunity to reiterate same while highlighting the importance of documenting the contribution of these individuals to the development of our nation.
“I’ve done so personally already but thank you for the opportunity to do so through the medium of SKNVibes. Condolences to the family again. This is another moment for us to reflect on the necessity for us to document the lives and times and contributions of men like Sir Probyn Inniss, Sir Cuthert Sebastian, people like William Dore who is still with us, Sir Probyn’s brother Mr. Vincent Inniss, who played a massive role in the education sector in St. Kitts and Nevis and a number of others.
“We are not documenting and appreciating the contributions of our giants while they are alive and modern society is a society that does not encourage memorializing goodness, just living in the moment. So I hope that we can let the passing of these two giants cause us to reflect on the importance of recording, and our children knowing whose shoulders brought us to where we are.”
