BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC—Days after a fire destroyed a building at the country’s Archives Department, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Culture Senator Dr. Shantal Munro-Knight has disclosed that the government is moving valuable historical assets to a disaster-resistant facility by November.
She said efforts to protect the archives had been underway well before the incident that occurred near midnight on Monday and has been vetted by the Barbados Fire Service.
“November was a sped-up time, even before the occurrence of the fire, so November is still the timing we are working with to be able to move. But we are continuing to make sure that we examine the buildings at the Archives. Still, we also have the satellite site where we will be moving other critical documents from the Archives to that location with that 4.5 rating,” Senator Munro-Knight told a press conference.
She reiterated the government’s commitment to secure all of its cultural assets.
Block D at the Archives Department, which was utterly destroyed, housed records of the Vestry, the former local government system that dates back to the 17th century; the city council; records of the mental hospital and general hospital; historical court proceedings, including the Court of Chancery; newspaper archives and other official documents. The majority of the contents were destroyed.
The minister shared that the government had received offers from historians, students, locals, and members of the private sector who want to volunteer. Additionally, she pointed out that requests have also been received from persons with businesses working in the sector who are willing to offer their expertise.
“This is how we do it as Barbadians…. When our backs are against the wall, we come together; this has been a perfect example of us being able to do that. I want to single out the Barbados Fire Service, particularly…. They have been tremendous, passionate, and supportive throughout all of this. I don’t think sometimes we realize…the human resources we have on the island that can step up in moments like these, and I want to thank them,” Senator Munro-Knight said.
She maintained that the archival records were part of our history and story and alluded to the significance of the Government’s Reclaiming our Atlantic Destiny (ROAD) Project, launched in December 2021, to create a “pathway” to secure and protect the records.
She insisted that one of the signal elements of the project was digitizing the records, which had been ongoing since 2017 at the Department of Archives.
The government had already “set the pathway for protecting these assets,” Senator Munro-Knight said.
“In fact, in 2023, the government trained approximately 100 persons in the elements of digitization and conservation to not only serve our purpose but to create a cadre of persons in areas where there is a dearth in the region for people who are specialists in the area of digitization and conservation,” she stressed.
120 Barbadians are working offsite to continue digitizing the department’s records.
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