“Families become collateral damage” in tribal politics

Grenadian family attorney Jasmin Redhead has decried the divisive partisanship of Grenada politics and people’s fear of political victimisation, saying it stifles national progress and forces citizens to wear party colours just to be able to receive basic assistance.

“Tribal politics” and “weaponised partisanship” have turned Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique into a “battlefield where families become collateral damage,” Redhead, a member of the Democratic People’s Movement (DPM), charged in a platform address to Grenada nationals in New York.

She shared firsthand accounts of mothers crying because their children skipped school after bullying over their parents’ politics, and also referred to citizens being afraid to attend events of some political organisations, out of concern about retaliation against them.

“These aren’t just numbers or statistics. I’m talking about real people carrying the weight of a system that doesn’t work for them,” said Redhead, who returned home in 2009 after 12 years in New York.

A founding member of DPM, she was part of a delegation led by Movement Leader MP Peter David that took the message of inclusiveness and a new style of politics by the Democratic People’s Movement to audiences in New York and Toronto. The DPM, launched successfully in November in Grenada, continues building momentum for people-centred transformation.

Redhead, in her New York speech, championed good governance, calling it “the foundation of everything” to break the “5-year seesaw” of stalled development. She urged transparent systems that prioritise merit over loyalty, warning that poor governance imposes a “silent tax” on Diaspora investments, property security, scholarships, and retirement plans. “Good governance builds confidence because you know the system is fair. It reduces corruption, strengthens institutions, protects citizens and investors, and makes development sustainable,” Redhead emphasised.

Spotlighting vulnerable groups, Redhead highlighted and used as examples, her clients that include struggling mothers, abused women trapped without options, and hopeless youth unable to afford bus fares for classes. “Women carry much of the national burden because weak systems crush women first. We feel it in healthcare, education, childcare, social services,” she said, underscoring the need for women’s leadership to lift families and communities. “When women rise, families rise, communities rise, and Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique rise,” said Redhead.

Redhead endorsed DPM Leader David, her friend of 30 years, as the unifier capable of real change. “He doesn’t care which party you support; he’s the real deal,” she said.

She called on the diaspora to join the shift “from colour to country, from tribalism to unity, from barely surviving to succeeding.”

DPM