Senate pays glowing tribute to Arnim Smith

The Senate mourned Armin’s Smith’s passing yesterday, in a way reminscent of the grief that accompanied the death of  another noble Laventillian who also died in office, Morris Marshall.

The Parliament is well accustomed to paying tribute to former members, but the Upper House had the unusual task of eulogising a member whose powerful voice had rung through the chamber just one week ago. And the sight of the empty chair, and the name plate, still bearing Armin Smith’s name, was too hard to bear.  Senator Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, who sat right next to Smith, was the first to weep silently as Wade Mark paid glowing tribute “to the late and great.” Then, as Acting Government leader Joan Yuille-Williams rose to pay homage to “a friend,” she  seemed at times close to breaking down. Her voice was cracking up so much that one could barely make out what she was saying at times. Yuille-Williams struggled at first, until she eventually managed to get some composure.

The Senate abandoned convention, allowing more than one person from each bench — Government, Opposition and Independent — to pay tribute. And a total of 12 senators paid tributes — all five Opposition senators, four Independent senators (Eastlyn McKenzie, Ramesh Deosaran, Dana Seetahal and Noble Khan) and three Government senators (Yuille-Williams, Conrad Enill and Rawle Titus). McKenzie said Smith’s death brought to the fore the issue of medical care and insurance for MPs. “The confinement to Prime Minister and Ministers of Government is not good enough. Because the quality of contribution made in this place doesn’t come only from members of the Government, but from everyone,” she stated. She said she hoped Government and Opposition would come together and ensure that provisions are put in place in order that people who served in “places like these” would be taken care of medically.

Mark said Smith’s life showed that one didn’t need a PhD or a first degree to serve. “All you need is a heart full of grace, and a soul full of love,” he said. He described Smith as an ordinary man who made an extraordinary contribution to his country and community. “He will always be remembered as a soldier, warrior and a great fighter,” Mark said. He recalled how Pan Trinbago flourished under Smith’s stewardship, obtaining the Chaconia Gold and the Trinity Cross and spoke of his efforts championing the rights of panmen. Yuille-Williams said Smith “sat on the Opposition side and literally gave as good as he got. He sat on the Government side, and he never forgot. He was born into poverty, but he never gave up.” She said before his passing, herself and Smith were making plans for various projects such as a playground and a pan theatre for Laventille. She said Smith came out of the same mould as people like Rudolph Charles and Morris Marshall.

The Laventille from which Smith emerged in the 1940s and 50s consisted of persons who made themselves better not by illegal or violent means, not by abandoning education, but by an innate sense of decency and honesty, she noted. Deosaran said Smith’s rise should be a lesson to the people of Laventille that “money may be necessary, but not sufficent for a decent and good life.” Deosaran believed, however, that Smith’s talents were “diminished” by the adversarial system of politics. McKenzie recalled how proud Smith was to attend his daughter’s graduation in the US. “I want my children to know that if I their father could reach where I reach, then they with the education they have and my support, they must get further than I did,” she recalled Smith telling her. She also recalled the camaraderie which prevailed after last week’s sitting when Smith and certain members of the Independent (including herself), Government and Opposition benches sat down and talked “nice talk, no bad talk.” Saying that she felt good that despite the grind of politics, members at times were civil to each other, McKenzie urged: “Whatever nice we have to say about each other, let us say it now.”