This week we mourn the passing of a number of Anguillians both old and young who have contributed in some way to the life ofAnguilla. We extend our sympathies to all those bereaved families: The family of Mrs. Cordelia Connor who was a stalwart in the South Hill and Blowing Point community for the more than ninety years with which she was blessed; the family of Dorothy Richardson of Crocus Hill who worked in the Old Factory General Store for many years before migrating to Canada and subsequently coming back home; the family of Ms. Ella Richardson of North Hill; and the family of Mr. Raymond Haskins of Corito.
Meaning no disrespect to the others whose lives we will be celebrating, I am strongly moved to make special mention of Mr. Raymond Haskins who is one of my contemporaries, having attended theValleySecondary Schooltogether, but most of all because of his active involvement in various aspects of the Anguilla Revolution. During the ill-advised British Invasion on March 19, 1969, Raymond, his father Mr. Lewis Haskins and his older brother Sherman were on the list of five “baddies” made public. They were all Americans at the time. The other two were Mr. Jack Holcomb and the same Pastor Freeman Goodge whose contribution as a Baptist Missionary to Anguilla we celebrated at theFirstBaptistChurchin Welches last week Sunday.
Raymond was a young twenty-year old vibrant youngster during the period of the Anguilla Revolution. He became widely known around the island because of the skills he acquired through his father who was aMachinist/Engineer. He used many of those skills to provide some specialist support to the revolutionary effort. However, when the rebellious aspects of the cause “gave way” to more peaceful pursuits he became very much involved in providing technical support in the area of household appliances; heavy equipment; shipping; diesel mechanics; and electricity generation, to name a few. The name Haskins became a household word for multifaceted services in the early modernization of Anguillian life. Raymond and his family eventually embraced the tourism sector with the acquisition and development of beautiful Shoal Bay Villas. Though not born inAnguilla, Raymond’s Anguillianism is unquestionable— from his fierce and unswerving love for our patrimony to that indomitable spirit so typical of our people. He endeared himself to Anguillians and friends ofAnguillafrom all walks of life. He will be dearly missed. May his soul rest in peace!
I listened to a guest on a talk show the other night make reference to the passing of some of the stalwarts of the Revolution, and he commented on the pain he feels when persons who made great contributions to the effort have passed on. His pain, as he described it, comes from the fact that he believes that they would have passed on without being satisfied with the culmination of that noble struggle being manifested in the manner in which they had hoped. While that guest may have every reason to feel that way, my view is somewhat different! As a young teacher at theValleySecondary School, during the Revolution, I recall the limitations we endured as a people. Few paved roads; no potable water distribution system; no telephones; no island-wide electricity; but most of all no direct political representation in our affairs. It is my view that those stalwarts of the Revolution did what they did unselfishly. Not necessarily for themselves, but for future generations of Anguillians. I am sure that they would have expectedthat the Revolution wouldbe a dynamic process that would adapt itself to an ever-changing world environment. There were as many differences of opinion among our leaders during those very early times as they are today. It appears to be the nature of Anguillians — a foible of the national character that no form of tutelage seems capable of repairing. But I am sure that every single one of them who have been blessed to be alive in this period can say that we have come a long way. Yet there is a long way to go and many other adjustments to be made.
It is a truism that “when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly — it will never crawl again”. However, it does not follow that its personality will change even though it is now exploring new plateaus. Our early revolutionaries have made their contribution, and have made it possible for a new breed of Anguillians to make their own contribution in the “meeting rooms locally, regionally and internationally,” rather than on “the beaches and in the bushes aroundAnguilla”. We need to emulate the “passion rather than the pattern” because the only real obstacles to our progress are we ourselves. We should mourn the passing of our fallen heroes, but we should rejoice and celebrate their contribution as a testimony to an ever-present hope. I see model citizens, new leaders and new hope forAnguillaevery single day even as we lament about the few youngsters who have taken a “wrong turn”, hopefully only temporarily. Anguilla’s past, like its present, has not been characterized by “saints” alone— it is equally certain that the future will be no different. Let us continue to make progress even as we falter from time to time.
I have made the foregoing comments as a prelude to reporting on my experience, along with my colleague the Hon. Evans McNiel Rogers,on “The Mayor’s Show” last Saturday. It was not the Show and its several hosts — it was the callers that gave me cause for concern. I must confess that the quality of journalism on the program has shown a marked improvement and the topics are both relevant and educational. However, there exists a grouping of callers to the program that seem to have no intention other than to suppress opposing views to those of the present Government. One frequent caller referred to me as an “answering machine” simply because I joined my colleague in responding to one of his questions. And yet another, with an obvious “non- Anguillian” accent, proceeded to make predictions about my chances in a future election simply because he was not happy with my presentation. There were others, but I seek only to illustrate that some persons continue to believe that fear-mongering, intimidation and incivility are the only way to deal with what they perceive as the challenges facing our island at this time. And, in particular,they hold the view that our present situation is because of the Governor — and as a consequence we need to move rapidly intoIndependence. It was particularly disturbing when I asked a direct question to one of the more formally trained callers, and she likewise endorsed this irrational point of view. I therefore feel compelled to refer to factual information much of which I hope can be the basis for clarifying some of the misconceptions which have been presented by some of these commentators. In my article on June 10, 2011 entitled: “Knowledge is Power!” I made the following observation: “I believe that Mr. Ashton Bradley put it in clear perspective when he said: ‘The road toIndependenceis not an ego trip nor is it a vendetta between one man and Her Majesty’s Government.” The pride associated with the achievement of independence is not sufficient a reason to commit our people to that choice — they must have accurate information and knowledge of what they are embarking on. It is more than simply having the right to borrow or the ability to get handouts — there must be a level of self-sufficiency and dignity associated with that status.”
In that very article I quoted extensively from views expressed in a paper by Sir Ronald Saunders. (Sir Ronald has a long and distinguished career as a consultant, a writer, lecturer and diplomat in theCaribbean.) I will now reference another presentation made by Sir Ronald just last week, (March 22, 2012) at a Conference at the University College Cayman Islands (UCCI). In his presentation he mentioned the statements made by our CM Hughes at the CARICOM meeting in Suriname three weeks ago and he (Sir Ronald) made a very telling comment as follows: The CARICOM meeting “accepted the invitation from the Chief Minister of Anguilla to send heads of government to Anguilla at the earliest opportunity — to what avail is not clear”. These are the exact sentiments that the Leader of the Opposition, the Hon Evans Rogers, has expressed on several forums and in a letter to the CARICOM Secretary General, especially in light of the fact that the report from the 2010 CARICOM mission is still not available. Do the CARICOM Heads of Government really intend to come to Anguilla to hold a rally to assist the Chief Minister into convincing our people thatIndependenceis a viable option?
Outside of the positive and valued benefit of Anguillians’ entitlement to a European Passport with the right of freedom to work, study and live in the UK and the EU; or the deterrent of the high cost of external relations, defence and security, Sir Ronald makes another important point which he illustrates with statistics. He explains that the prize of independence may have lost its luster for non-independent Caribbean states who, upon looking across the Caribbean, see many independent states whose standard of living is not as good as theirs. He then presents the following statistics:
• Bermuda has a per capita income of US$69,000 three times higher than that of theBahamas(the highest in the Independent Caribbean); it is also 23 times higher thanGuyanaand more than 10 times higher than 7 others.
• Cayman Islands with a per capita of US$42,000, and theBritish Virgin Islandsat US$39,800, are also higher than every Independent Caribbean Country.
• Debt to GDP ratios are significantly higher in the Independent Countries. In 2010, nine of the 13 Independent CARICOM countries had debt to GDP ratios of over 60% and three of them well over 100%.
• Three CARICOM countries —Antigua and Barbuda,Jamaicaand St. Kitts-Nevis — have had to resort to Stand-by programmes with the IMF, and others look set to go there soon.
• The Independent Caribbean states are involved in a “beggar-thy-neighbour” relationship withChinaandTaiwan. 5 of the 14 are aligned withTaiwanand 9 are tied toChina. Any switching of that allegiance can pose serious challenges. For example, the strain Grenada is now under to repay loans amounting to US$28 million to Taiwan after breaking relations with them (Taiwan) in favour of China.
• Independencehas not made individualCaribbeancountries any less reliant on external help than the non-independent territories in the important area of defence and security.
• Political independence has not accorded to individual independentCaribbeanstates a right to participate effectively in the important decision- making bodies of the world. The cost of effective participation includes subscriptions. Many independent states have been disqualified from voting on this basis. Prime Minister Barrow once said: “It makes no sense to join the Club if you can’t pay the subscription”.
So here we are inAnguillaarguing about independence, in the midst of a global recession, when we have not fully considered the costs nor educated our people that such costs exist. And we have self-proclaimed pundits, with more passion than substance, trying to shame and bully us into action literally blindfolded. Like the AUF, Sir Ronald is not discouraging us from pursuing the goal of independence. But he is warning us that in this dispensation small states like ours require the support of an effective regional organization to replace some of the responsibilities of the administering power. To make this point he quotes the African-American writer, James Baldwin: “Nothing is more desirable than to be released from an affliction, but nothing is more frightening than to be divested of a crutch”.
But perhaps the statement from Sir Ronald that is most descriptive of what we are experiencing inAnguillais: “The urge for independence is often present among small and vocal groups who link their non-independent status to slavery, exploitation and racism and who regard formal political independence as a defining end to that experience.” I have noted that inAnguillaa few persons have rationalized their support for independence in these terms. Which leads me to consider that even though I stand by the title of my earlier article on the subject that: “Knowledge is Power” — I will also need to reflect on the adage that “a little learning is a dangerous thing!”
