PM Browne: ‘No one should ever be written off’
Prime Minister Gaston Browne has said his family’s own struggles shaped his conviction that people should never be abandoned, no matter their circumstances.
Speaking on his weekly Browne and Browne radio show, he recalled how his mother and uncle “fell through the cracks” after losing their mother at a young age. Despite receiving a good education in Trinidad, both faced hardship without support from their father. Browne said the experience left him with one guiding principle: “Never turn your back on loved ones.”
He argued that this philosophy extends to society as a whole, particularly young people dismissed as “troubled” or “hopeless,” a mindset he described as “backward.”
To illustrate, he recounted the case of a young man once involved in gangs who has turned his life around through a government-backed skills programme. Run by the Department of the Environment, it trains at-risk youth in areas such as shutter installation and air-conditioning repair. Browne said the man’s mother personally thanked him for the change in her son’s life.
The prime minister also spoke of the harmful stigma faced by teenage mothers, recalling one girl expelled from school after becoming pregnant. He said she endured humiliation and pressure to end the pregnancy, but overcame the ordeal with her father’s “unconditional love.”
“These are the stories that remind us why compassion matters,” Browne told listeners. “With the right support, people can rebuild and go on to achieve great things.”
For Browne, the lesson is simple: families, communities and government all have a duty to ensure no citizen is left behind.
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This is why I love this man with a pure Agape love. I am also a believer in showing compassion…of training the youth so that they can lawfully support themselves and their families instead of living a life of criminality. I believe that behind criminality is poverty and if that can be reversed then 95 percent of the battle will have been won. I believe in the adage: Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, but when you teach him HOW to fish. …… man the sky’s the limit for he will eat for a lifetime. Not everyone is a scholar but there is something s/he can put his hand to and make a living at doing. So keep on looking out for youth and for those in need, my beloved Prime Minister, and God will certainly continue to bless you and yours and your legacy will be secured.
Our Prime Minister. A man with a story to tell. A story that will have many shed tears. He came from the very same humble beginnings. Experienced abject poverty. And can therefore relate to the stories of the poor and the down trodden. But God lift him up to the highest office in the land. And now he stands as a symbol for us all. That anything is possible if you just believe. God always takes the least amongst us to show his power. For the same reason Jesus our Lord and Savior was not born in a palace but in a manger.
May the Lord God keep blessing you and with you our entire nation of Antigua and Barbuda.
It’s refreshing to hear a Prime Minister talking about compassion and second chances. Too many times society forgets that people can change.
Gaston is absolutely right! No child, no one should be written! Chances can be given because everyone has a purpose and but once you see your light! You are big
Give Jack his jacket. The PM is right
So much talk, chitter chatter and waffling from a Prime Minister that shows again that being “reactive” on serious matters rather than being “proactive” remains his raison d’être in governance; and is anyone really surprised that his loyal Gastonites, acolytes and sycophants cannot see through his continuous window dressing performances.
They never hold him account for anything!
Browne wouldn’t even be talking about “second chances” if some of these feral youths were behaving themselves.
How about an equal opportunity for those well-behaved youngsters that are a credit to their hardworking families?
Believe you me there are many …
As much I agree with that you’re saying the entire jail system need to be rebuild if you truly believe in that, not only have a couple of programs but a system that prevents repeat offenders for not only young people but everyone.
Pure hypocrisy and slick Willy talk..that’s all this man has. The proof is not in the pudding Gatson Browne, no sir.
if a leader have compassion, it is reflected in his people and policies. Someone with compassion doesn’t teargas their own voters because they protest a man made vaccine. If someone has compassion, they do not live behind their gated community, while the very city they govern over turn into a crime zone.
Where is the compassion for the families of the missing and the murdered young man that was gunned down by your goon squad Gatson Browne?
All now, not one word or action taking against Manny’s killer( a cop) or the 18 year old that was just gun downed.
Weren’t these two souls part of the so-called ” forgotten” you just spoke of?
Where is justice for Manny, Chantel, and many others..people with compassion do something about these things, especially when they are in the highest office of the land.
This man is all talk..people with compassion do not hurt innocent people, period.
Where is the compassion for your buddy Asot,Gatson Browne? Why was he found murdered on his own kitchen floor?
People with compassion find answers for the broken hearted, not just talk.
You keep talking like youyr running for office. 😂. Let me remind you Gatson Browne, you are the Guy.
The time for talking has been long gone 14yrs ago. Antiguan’s want immediate actions, long overdue actions, not just talk talk talk.
So yes Gatson, this proof is in the pudding. Antigua has become a crime infested madhouse under your tenure.
Stop the talking sir..because faith without action is dead.