Amidst the constant preoccupation with “youngsters at risk,” and others involved in criminal and violent conduct, we tend to overlook the positive achievements and attitudes of many of our young people. Just last month the results from the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School showed a marked improvement in the examination results and two extra ordinary young men, Jose Vanterpool and Cordane Richardson, led the pack with 15 Grade One CSEC passes each. I personally have never heard of such high performances at our high school so, like another commentator, I also can subscribe to the remark that “they put many of the old and the new academic records to shame.” Whatever the circumstances they show that we have youngsters coming out of our education system that are both focused and driven. This augurs well for the future because if we know what can be achieved we can then do it again and perhaps even better.
However, it was not the academics that drew my attention this week but rather Sports and Athletics because, quite recently, two young Anguillians have made us exceptionally proud, namely, Miss Shara Proctor and Mr. Zharnel Hughes. Miss Proctor who is only our second Olympian in twenty-eight years, but the first female; and Mr. Hughes for his regional and international performance as a young sprinter. These young athletes could only have gained our notice, and that of the world of Athletics, through their discipline, focus and determination to achieve — indeed to excel. And just the other day, Miss Nzingha Banks was rewarded through her prowess in Tennis with a full academic scholarship for tertiary training at a University in the United States. Miss Proctor has also been the recipient of scholarships based on her talents in Womens Long Jump – and Mr. Zharnel Hughes is off to the International Amateur Athletics Federation’s Regional High Performance Centre in Jamaica for a period of study and training.
All of the foregoing point to the fact that there are opportunities for our young people in whatever discipline they apply themselves. And that our focus with young people need not be only about “beating the books” but utilizing all of their God given talents in positive and wholesome ways. In Music and the Performing Arts, I can also speak of the achievements in recent times of Roxanne “Roxxy” Webster because even though a seemingly more difficult road — some success can be realized. We hear about other Anguillians: Jaine Rogers and Amalia Alberto Wattyand their vocal stylings, Nyne, British Dependency and so on. And, in the furtherance of these causes, the work done in the School System by Lennox Vanterpool, Daphne Jacobs, Michael “Dumpa” Martin, Kimberly Southwell and Lois Hazell-Carbon – as well as the production efforts in the community by Davon Carty of AMMP, and Crispin Brooks of Blu Symphony Entertainment. The list goes on.
I recognize the frustrations of the local Bands and Artistes(Calypso, Reggae, Soca) as they struggle to get some return from their efforts. Using a local expression, their experience has been that “de lights cyan pay for de dance!” There is usually a big splash around Carnival time with a lot of songs on the stage and the road— then it ends up in disputes about pay and debts. The following year the cycle repeats itself. To put it briefly, to date our experience with youngsters in Music and the Performing Arts has not been as rewarding as Academics, Sports and Athletics. And, to make it worse, regional and international artistes come in and exploit the resources in the economy that could be available to support local artistic expression, with high-ticket prices to sometimes mediocre performances. Unfortunately, Music and the Performing Arts are usually measured by very subjective criteria and, as a consequence, performers are at the mercy of some fickle audiences whose tastes can be very unpredictable.
But this is not by way of discouraging youngsters involved in Music and the Performing Arts, but rather to challenge us to find ways to make it a viable platform/avenue for their development. It appears that we are on our way to improving our approach in academics, sports and athletics but we continue to fall short in this area. Are we preparing our youngsters to take up the entertainment opportunities in the hospitality industry in a way that they can be productive – or are we allowing them to wallow listlessly in the fantasy of becoming another Buju Banton, Machel Montana or Rick Ross at the same time losing their individuality and their creative talent?
And speaking about Rick Ross, who was the talk of the blogs just a few weeks ago — what is the deal? To tell you the truth, I never paid attention to the name Rick Ross until just around that same time. But while I cannot name a single one of his songs/raps — the comments were sufficient to suggest that there was nothing wholesome or “socially redeeming” about his productions. In that regard, though I may never be one of his fans, I am certain that he has an audience and a fan base that loves his work and generates large incomes for him. But I must hasten to question whether there is anything about his work that can provide positive reinforcement to our young people. Is he a person with whom we would want to identify ourselves at the highest echelons of Government? Can he like Shara and Zharnel make us feel proud as Anguillians? Will the young women who were encouraged to participate in the production of his video get any real benefit? I hope they do! But I suspect that they were simply “Extras” on an action set. And as one of my young friends so aptly put it, many of them who may be thinking they have “arrived”, as a consequence of this “exposure”, may in fact have arrived into an empty room.
Apparently, the Parliamentary Secretary has been “out front and centre” to ensure that Rick Ross’s videotaping received Government’s seal of approval and cooperation. He obviously believes that this is positive promotion for Anguilla. And in fact one of the comments on the blog under his name reads: “number one rap artist — number one tourist destination”. I hardly think that the core clientele we are targeting as a destination see themselves as Rick Ross fans — neither do I believe that Anguilla is the kind of destination that Rick Ross fans visit. But that is just my opinion. However, my main question is: should the Government of Anguilla be associating itself with the lyrical content of these productions in the way that the Parliamentary Secretary has?
I may have traveled a long way to make this point but I trust that it will become clearer. I was extremely happy to see all the elected members (with the exception of the CM who is off-island), the Governor, a wide cross section of the community, and all Media come to the Airport on Monday to welcome Miss Shara Proctor home. During her participation at the Olympics, Government gave time off to its public servants to watch her perform. Cheers rang out through the community when she qualified ahead of the field in the first round of her heats. The local press gave her extensive commentary when she broke a 29 year-old British record. She has become a household name throughout Anguilla. And every Anguillian is looking forward with great anticipation to her future hoping that she will medal in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. And now here is my point! Shari’s performance in Athletics has opened doors for her; brought recognition to Anguilla as a destination; made her a role model for, and an incentive to, other youngsters; and built up a strong sense pride in Anguillians. Only the products of our own system can do all that. In other words, any investment we make in the development of our young people is an investment that keeps on paying dividends. Bringing Rick Ross to Anguilla cannot do that. Sports, athletics and academics can do that. And, with the right strategy, so can music and the performing arts.
Zharnel has not yet received the level of accolades of our Olympian, but when you consider that he is the fourth fastest male youth athlete in the world for the 200m; and the fifth fastest for the 100m dash in 2012 — there is a lot to celebrate now and anticipate for the future. It is obvious that if Anguilla, without proper training facilities and coaches, can produce such top quality athletes we would do even better if we had the resources to provide them. The same will also be true in other areas of sport, and must be certainly true for music and the performing arts. Indeed, if we take the example of Jamaica, music can be a major foreign exchange earner and the basis for various other spinoffs, jobs and linkages. Can Anguilla become such venue? My answer is simple. If we make the investment in this form of training it will find expression over time.
So after the big parade at the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport to meet Shara, do we really understand the possibility for finding solutions for the crises among our youth from these achievements? Let me answer by saying what it is not. It is not about exposing our young people to the negative elements of a foreign culture through vulgar lyrics; it is not about depriving the national cricket team of funding so as to spite the Minister of Sports; it is not about paying lip service to national athletes to make political points; it is not about disrespecting any of our young women in a way that could destroy their self-esteem; it is not about downplaying the value of education in national development by blocking the Education Bill for more than two and a half years; it is not about exploiting the delinquency of youngsters for political advantage; it is not about encouraging incivility as a means of usurping the democratic rights and freedoms of others; and it is not about blaming others. It is about accepting responsibility.
Our investment in these areas – that have been proven to cultivate discipline, focus, persistence and excellence – if well directed and managed can determine not only how many Sharas and Zharnells we produce but also how we progress as a nation. And perhaps we may have several more Olympians with a chance to medal in Brazil!
