Serve TT, as ‘Stretch’ did

So Rev Dr Knolly Clarke said yesterday during the homily at the three-hour funeral service for Rennie “Stretch” Dumas, at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Portof- Spain. Another funeral service is expected to be held on Wednesday in Tobago.

Clarke said churches, political parties, and other organisations had become so exclusive, that they had no use for people of different positions and ideologies.

“We can not tolerate different things. We cannot recognise that Trinidad and Tobago is a diverse society... we have lost the art of listening and dialogue.” He said Dumas, 61, was a man of many talents who was involved in all aspects of national development.

He said if the people of Trinidad and Tobago were going to build up this country as Dumas did, we would have to do so as a community of communities. “If this man’s life meant anything to you, we must change.” All of the speakers described Dumas as a man of many talents who served his country and the People’s National Movement (PNM). They said he was a man who understood people and so was patient and empathetic.

Listing some of Dumas’ accomplishments, Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis said he served as president of the UWI Guild; an executive member of TTUTA; a senator; a member of the House of Representatives; a government minister; member of the General Council and Central Executive of the PNM; and as an executive member of the PNM’s Tobago Island Council.

Speaking on behalf of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and the PNM, and the Women’s League, Robinson-Regis described Dumas as a good and decent man, and as the voice that bridged the two islands.

“He gave us strength in times of trouble, wisdom in times of uncertainty, and generosity in times of happiness... He was always by our side... It was because he was a man who understood people, that in the darkest days of 2000, 2001, he lit the lamps of hope at many firesides as we traversed the length and breath of Trinidad and Tobago and released so many from the chains of despair, that by 2002, we were able to convince the nation that we were worthy of their trust.” Former PNM minister Mustapha Abdul-Hamid told the audience Dumas was “one of the most underrated politicians, a true intellectual powerhouse” and he loved Dumas as a brother.

He said although Dumas was “a mountain of strength and power” in the Parliament, “Rennie’s superior generosity and wisdom were to be found, not in academia, but in his understanding of people.” In addition Abdul-Hamid said, “He had the courage to stand on his principles, even at great personal cost. At a time when it was fashionable to ridicule, humiliate and persecute Patrick Manning, Rennie Dumas refused to join the herds stampeding in desperate search of high political office.” Delivering the eulogy, William Benjamin, a friend of Dumas’ for 30 years, was the most emotional.

He said he could not believe it when Dumas died because he was too young. In fact, he said he visited Dumas a few weeks before his death, and Dumas was an eternal optimist. He said Dumas felt confident all he needed to do was strengthen his body, undergo the surgery, and he would be back on his feet.

While that was not the outcome, Benjamin said he was happy his friend lived his life well, had done so many good things, and was loved.

He described Dumas as gracious and warm, full of love, a man with a joy for life, a scholar, counsellor, a proud father and loving companion, an educator, and an integral part of the PNM in Tobago.

Benjamin said Dumas was a walking encyclopaedia of the social, political, and economic landscape of Tobago, and that Tobago had lost a community man and a champion who understood the institution of democracy.

“It seems of little consequence now that there were political differences or objections to his legislative product, his approach to development, and his style of leadership... What matters now is that feeling of loss. That personal sense of emptiness which most Tobagonians and Trinidadians feel because Rennie, our Stretch, has left us in the prime of his life,” he said.

After the eulogy, Benjamin began to sing Hear Me Calling, Great Redeemer by Fernando Ortega.

He was not able to finish as he broke down in tears and had to be helped from the platform.