Ovations

Dr. Martin Matthew

 

Newly Published History of a Lost Paradise by Dr. Martin Matthew

In his new book, Disappeared: How a People Who Once Lived in a Small Caribbean Village Vanished Without a Historical Trace to Mankind, it would seem as if Dr. Martin Matthew was describing an imagined paradise on earth. Released last month, the book captures the lives and legacy of ardent people in the Caribbean Basin, whose lives incorporated the essential virtues of humanity and human generosity, ideals, and kindness. He is, in fact, writing about The Village, a place where he lived before leaving to attend the University of Havana on a scholarship.

“The Village was a remarkable place, with an impeccable human value that is no longer in existence. Its people had built a society where the individual's primary duty was to neighbors and other community members,” he explained. “Their ancestors achieved an amicable, friendly, harmonious, and nonviolent society. There were some eccentric personalities, but they never deviated from the belief that equality is essential for advancement and progress.”

Matthew, a history professor at Kingsborough Community College, describes The Village as a place where culture, folklore, and heritage reigned. “I did not reveal the island in the Caribbean Basin where it was located because identical or similar villages possibly existed in the Caribbean Basin.” The timeframe stretches from after emancipation and apprenticeship to about 2015, although the last male depicted died in June 2021.

Five years in the making, the book was the product of qualitative research, conducted from interviews and other oral histories like folklores, proverbs, ballads, traditions, customs, and other narratives. “This was a community that operated solely to better society, which incorporated equality and tolerance for a free community. They had the knowledge and understanding to effectively execute rules, ideas, mores, ethics, and even unwritten customs in their daily activities.”

 It is Matthew’s hope that we use their lives as an example: “I want readers to realize, especially the youth, that a society like The Village – the unity, love, togetherness, peace, solidarity, oneness that existed there – is achievable. We do not have to live the way we are living.”

“They thought their lives were insignificant, but the essence of a people's experience can never be infinitesimal or irrelevant. These people's lives were impressive. Their experiences should be in the literature and stay forever, hoping to make a difference to conscious and progressive people on the planet.”