Farewell, Mr Seales

Desmond Seales was a visionary and pioneer. For he was in the vanguard not only of those who began publishing newspapers and magazines (as well as launching TV stations) in the Caribbean four decades ago, but also of those who began publishing news-oriented web sites on the Internet only a decade ago.

Clearly, he was a savvy businessman. But Mr Seales’s legacy will undoubtedly be distinguished by the heroic battles he waged as a guardian of the Fourth Estate. Most notable in this respect were the reports, commentaries, and editorials he published on the machinations of political leaders, which empowered and emboldened ordinary citizens to hold them accountable.

His influence was such, however, that there are many others with far better standing to sing his praises. Indeed, it shall redound to my eternal regret that I never met Mr Seales; notwithstanding years of email exchanges and telephone chats that were punctured with his fatherly bon mots, which invariably began “Anthony, my boy”.

Instead, I would like to take this opportunity to make public my eternal gratitude to him for publishing my commentaries on the epidemic of political corruption in the Turks and Caicos Islands at a time when local leaders there were censoring all dissent.  

Those commentaries gave voice to a silent majority of my fellow citizens who were living under the kind of oppression (and kleptocracy) we in the Caribbean usually associate with African dictatorships. And it’s no exaggeration to say that, but for his publications (Caribbean Net News and Turks and Caicos Net News), TCIslanders would still be living under that oppression.

In addition to this, we will be forever grateful to him for providing our only source of news and information during Hurricane Ike in September 2008. He did this by publishing a special print edition of the Turks and Caicos Net News and distributing copies throughout our country at his own expense.

Mr Seales died quite unexpectedly in Miami on Saturday, following what we were led to believe was successful heart surgery ten days earlier.  He was only 71.

Nobody can fill his shoes. He will be sorely missed. But our loss pales in comparison to the sudden loss his family and close friends are now suffering. Accordingly, my prayers and thoughts go out to them.

Farewell, Mr Seales.

NOTE: This and other tributes as well as details for his funeral, which will be held tomorrow, are published today at Caribbean Net News.