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I was born and spent half my adult life in Sion Hill until I migrated to the United States of America. I retired and returned to the land of my birth. Back in the day, Sion Hill was built on the foundation of unity and family bonds. If you trouble a man from Sion Hill, the entire village came for you.
Our community groups kept us grounded and elevated the lives of many of our villagers. Strong footballers and netballers came from Sion Hill. Our panside emerged from the ashes and is still going strong, not without its challenges. Hurricane Beryl in 2024 destroyed our community panyard. Now that the panyard has been rebuilt and the band is in the process of preparation for Panorama 2026, both junior and senior, politics and an ongoing family feud over power seem to be the storm. Let me say that politics has no place in community development, and it has no place in the panyard. Politics should not be the motivation to remove the manager of the band. Not only am I concerned with the welfare of the band, but also the safety of the manager of the band. Family members who were once part of the band have been going around actively trying to hamper the process of the band entering both junior and senior Panorama, to embarrass it and to make it appear as though the leadership of the band is weak.
A meeting was hosted by the area representative on April 25th, where the rep instructed Youlou Pan Movement’s president to mediate in the conflict between family members. If there are any issues between the President of YOULOU and Sion Hill, those need to be worked out amicably in the interest of pan. Family feud has no place in a community organization. Youlou Pan Movement has no place in Sion Hill’s business, for the fact that the president of YOULOU has issues with the president of the steel orchestra and is friends with the two individuals who are spearheading the campaign against the manager of the band.
Sion Hill is a community that has always thrashed out its affairs peacefully and together. The interference of all the powers that be has escalated the intensity of the situation and is currently hampering the progress of the panside. As a concerned villager, my fear is that the band’s legacy is at stake because of self-serving and greedy people. The community band is being held hostage by politics and entitlement. I am writing this as a plea to the people who have organized a coup and are using the members of the band for personal gain to stop.
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