Politicians in Anguilla have for the first time come together in solidarity to express concern over the growing trend of violence, and to begin to seek ways and means of tackling the problem, saying they want to save the island.
The meeting took place on Wednesday, May 9, with Chief Minister and Leader of Government Business, Hubert Hughes, of the Anguilla United Movement, giving the introductory remarks. Those with him were Leader of the Anguilla United Front Opposition in the House of Assembly, Evans M. Rogers (who initiated the meeting); and Sutcliffe Hodge, Independent Candidate in the last general election, both representing Valley North; Curtis Richardson of the AUF and Brent Davis of the Anguilla Progressive Party who, like Hughes and Richardson, contested the election in Road South. They all came together from the two districts which are mainly impacted by youth violence.
“I must thank the Leader of the Opposition for coming up with this idea, and I know when he was in Government, he was concerned about the type of youth violence which was devastating Anguilla,” the Chief Minister said. “He has decided to take this initiative to get all of us together, as the people’s representatives, to express our concern about what is happening to our youth. Our youth, today, is killing each other…Whether it is those who have the gun or those at the mouth of the gun. They are both in the same boat. Some are dying, some are maimed for life; some are ending up in jail; and others are living with their consciences.”
The Chief Minister said that although the Governor was responsible for internal security, it was necessary to look beyond that and, as national leaders, “put our heads together to see what we can do to save this country.” He went on: “It is not just about the tourism product, although that is of prime importance because the whole Caribbean is considered to be a crime-ridden society. It is about the society, internally, where people are torn apart, village against village; family against family; and we have got to find some way of healing this rift in this society.”
Mr. Hughes added: “There will be no Anguilla left for any of us if this youth crime is not stopped…Let us see how we can put our heads together and tackle the dilemma head-on.”
Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Rogers, said: “I am concerned about what is happening in Anguilla from a number of fronts, but I must make it absolutely clear that the criminal activities among our young people…negate anything else … That is of utmost importance to us all.”
He said it was a noble idea to meet on the issue and to come up with strategies to address the root causes, outside influences and revenge. “Let me say that I condemn violence in all of its forms in Anguilla,” he stressed, saying the criminal acts and results were all a travesty for the people of Anguilla. “This whole idea of revenge, which we used to call ‘the last lick’, is not going to work anymore. We have to be able to communicate with our young people who are actively involved in this type of activity.”
The Opposition Leader continued: “We, as representatives of the people, must be able to come up with a strategy and certain solutions to address the situation. We of the Anguilla United Front have been coming up with strategies which we hope to present to the Government in dealing with the situation we have in Anguilla…We are hoping to have such a meeting when we can present the strategies, seating in an open environment. It will be an opportunity not only for elected and non-elected politicians, but for the church, civil society, the Anguilla Youth Council, and a number of other bodies who are concerned about the situation inAnguilla.”
Mr. Rogers contended that there was a need to give law enforcement agencies what they required in order to remove some of the guns off the streets. “Amnesty is not working anymore and, as a people, we ought to be concerned. I will continue to work with the Chief Minister, and the political operatives, to make sure that we are of one accord in terms of addressing the criminal situation in Anguilla. Too many of our young men are disabled, and we are losing too many of them via the gun,” he added.
Sutcliffe Hodge extended his sympathies to the families affected by the most recent shooting and to all the other shootings previously. “I sit here not as a politician, but rather as a citizen of Anguilla,” he stated. “I am very concerned about the deterioration we are experiencing in Anguilla with respect to values, love and respect…We were a community of one family… and to think that we are allowing the youth, for whatever reason, to create a divide among us, is something that is sad and we must do something to retrench it.”
He said there were young men in Valley North, in particular, who could not work at West End, or who could only travel in taxis to Blowing Point to go to St. Martin, as their lives were at risk – and this was unacceptable.
“We are here as leaders of the main two communities impacted right now,” Mr. Hodge concluded. “We are here in solidarity as Anguillians, I hope, and not as politicians. We are prepared to engage with other people in our community to see what can be done to stamp out this kind of behaviour. We can move Anguilla in a direction that would work in the best interest of all the people of this island.”
Curtis Richardson said in part: “We have suffered tremendous pain in the Road South area…The kind of pain that is now being felt in The Valley is the same sort of pain felt in Road South. It is very unfortunate that, as Mr. Rogers said, everybody is now looking out for who gets the ‘last lick.’ There are mothers in Road South who have lost their children to gun violence and this has now been carried over into The Valley. It is something we have to deal with and it is very sad.”
Mr. Richardson cautioned that the youngsters in Road South were having a lot of issues. “They have a lot of pain over things that have been inflicted upon them, and the sense of retaliation is very high,” he said. “I get the impression that it is something that is mounting in Anguilla. If we do not deal with it between now, and August, we could basically be living in Syria or Baghdad.”
Brent Davis said he had been crying over the past ten years for youngsters he had brought up, both in the Road South and The Valley areas, during his community work in basketball. “It hurts my heart when a young man dies from Blowing Point or The Valley or anywhere else in Anguilla,” he lamented.
“It seems to be a very complex social problem that started years ago, in terms of the way we, as adults, or politicians, treated each other. Young people look to us for leadership so we have to start among ourselves to be more positive in our outlook on each other; and how we talk to each other in the House of Assembly. These things count because young people look to us for everything.”
Mr. Davis declared that the interests of young people must be looked after, and it must start at the top. “Leaders must lead… and pave the way for the youth,” he emphasised.
Sutcliffe Hodge, who called for a clasping of hands, summed up the purpose of the meeting: “We stand in solidarity to condemn violence, but especially gun violence in Anguilla.”
