In the foreword of his 1936 book, “Annals of Anguilla,” Dr. S.B. Jones had this to say about Anguillians: “Admiration for the sterling qualities displayed by all classes of the inhabitants – qualities of honesty, courage and determination in the face of overwhelming odds, sincere loyalty to the British Throne, obedience to lawful authority and willingness to follow wise leadership – has prompted this small tribute to a gallant and grateful people.”
Over the last several weeks, I’ve listened to and participated in discussions on the Mayor Show on KOOL FM 103.3, with regard to CM Hughes’ administration’s pursuit of political independence. As an array of guests stated their views on the topic, the general conclusion appears to be that “Anguilla had lost its way and that we really no longer know we are.” Some guests offered their take on why we seem to be lost – why we no longer possessed that savoir faire which distinguished us from everyone else. One guest in particular was adamant in his claims as to why we’re struggling. He claimed that the absence of certain modern laws, and the presence of some archaic ones, allowed some of the very same people who are/were in positions of responsibility to advocate, promote and/or legislate new appropriate laws, to game the system while the laws on the books hampered others from really being successful entrepreneurs.
The general contention was that this didn’t just happen overnight, it had been happening for some time now. As a people who never had much money, we had that enviable title of landowner. We were and are a resilient people unlike people anywhere in the world, and through hard work and sheer determination managed to survive the hard times and prospered in the process. Of Anguillians, retired Judge Don Mitchell had this to say. “The character and nature of the Anguillian individual has evolved over three hundred of years of colonial neglect, absence of natural resources and the struggle to survive. The harsh features of Anguilla’s society and economy from the days of settlement to the late 20th century molded the Anguilla of yesterday. It produced positive and negative features and harmful characteristics, such as envy and dishonesty. These are all to be seen today.”
While we still struggle to define what it means to be Anguillian, some are still questioning whether or not we are. On the Mayor Show Saturday, the 22nd of February, the topic was Black History in Anguilla. The specific points of discussion were about people who have or had contributed to Anguilla, culturally, socially and economically. Prior to that, one of our guests was famed author and radio personality from Atlanta, Deborah Y. Anderson. As many of you know, if you listen to the Mayor Show on Saturday mornings, the show has as a preamble, a piece by Ms Anderson, entitled the Willy Lynch Method. Well, another of our guests, founder of the Sunshine Theatre in Anguilla, Mr. Felix Fleming who, after making his presentation, commented on the Willy Lynch Method in that it was still very much alive and well some 300 years later and being practiced among us.
Well, no sooner than the phone lines opened, the very first caller tore into the co-host, Ms. Pam Webster, totally off topic asking her to say the name of the current governor of Anguilla. Ms. Webster did not oblige as the caller continued to lambaste the British, not once addressing the topic of Black History Month. The next caller, whose voice was easily recognizable, decided to pursue the same line of questioning never once referring to the topic at hand. This caller continued to very aggressively ask Ms. Webster to answer the question to the point where the Mayor himself jumped in to try and get the show back on topic of Black History in Anguilla. Well the caller took exception to the Mayor’s interference and decided to get personal by questioning the Mayor’s Anguillian roots. This particular caller made a total jackass of himself on an earlier show when he questioned Mayor Show panelist Mr. Conrad Rogers’ right to call himself an Anguillian because he lived in the United States and therefore should be disqualified from having a say about Anguilla. Mr. Rogers calmly set the caller straight by alerting him to where he could find his umbilical cord. I obviously jumped into the fray because my being in the US would be his next target. He did not however, attack me. Maybe it was my rebuttal at the end of the show that changed his mind.
So I will remind him again that it is because of people like me, my father (Walter Hodge), Bob Rogers, Collins Hodge and a slew of others, among them, Mr. Jeremiah Gumbs, (a name that is synonymous with Anguilla, the same Jeremiah Gumbs who took Anguilla’s case to the United Nations back in 1967), that things are the way they are. Now loudmouth, based on your arguments, Jerry had no business going to the UN. After all he lived in New Jersey as a US citizen. It is because of these aforementioned giants that you sir, and I use the word loosely, are allowed to game the system and live in a manner to which you’ve become accustomed.
It was evident that both callers had their agenda and it was nothing more than an attack on Ms. Pam Webster. While it was as subtle as a sledge hammer on a block of ice, it was also shameful and inexcusable. This crab in the barrel mentality that we seem to be practicing on a daily basis is probably the main reason that we as a people are struggling. This idea that because some of us live abroad, should not be allowed to have a say with regard to our homeland is nonsense. We have as much right to voice our opinion as you do. I say again, it is because of us and the giants upon whose shoulders you stand that you can do what you do.
This piece was supposed to be about what makes an Anguillian, and I promise to get back to it to extol some of the virtues that made us, in Dr. S.B. Jones’ words, exhibit sterling qualities of honesty, courage and determination, and a willingness to follow wise leadership.
Well, we’ve come a long way from those dark days that Dr. Jones wrote about in his book. We braved, famine, disease, starvation, hurricanes and came through them, as one guest on the Mayor Show said, like the Phoenix rising from the ashes. When things got really bad, the British wanted to take us to Guyana. We said thanks, but no thanks. We were able to weather the storm on what little resources we could muster, but we stayed. That should have been the tip off that we’re a stubborn set, not easily dissuaded from doing what we want. When other Caribbean countries were enjoying the modern conveniences of everyday life, we were still struggling to lug water from the well. It was not until much later that the government installed a few strategically placed pumping stations and reservoirs that gave us outside running water. We still had to lug it by the bucket till our drums were filled.
Anguillians by nature are very ambitious. In the early days, we built sloops and schooners like the Yankee Girl, the Excelsior, the Betsy, the Warspite, the Endeavour, the Rose Millicent, just to name a few. We had captains like Eddie and Chrissy Connor. We had Freddie Hughes, Emile Gumbs, Zilphus Fleming, Davis Lloyd and, of course, Walter Hodge and Emerson Hunte. These were just some of those Anguillians that had that je ne sais quoi, that indescribable quality, that made them exemplary Anguillians. We were always seafarers, from the very earliest days. We travelled as far to the south as Trinidad and Curacao. Not only were we seafarers, we continue to fly our own airplanes.
So having survived every form of hardship, the question then becomes what makes an Anguillian? I sincerely believe that those qualities that Dr. Jones alluded to in the foreword of his book, are the special qualities of which we seem to be in short supply these days. We have deviated from the qualities that got us to this point. We no longer behave in a manner that’s conducive to a good upbringing. The things like a happy greeting to an adult, and a simple thank you are some of the things that no longer seem important. Even the very basic concept of staying on topic has gone out the window by those who we should expect to know better. Instead, we celebrate rudeness and hooliganism. We look to those in power to set standards by which we’re to follow and, instead, we see standards being ignored and abused. We have lost our moral compass.
Dr. O. M. Linda Banks, in her 2003 Walter G. Hodge Memorial Lecture, entitled “The Impact of the 1967 Anguilla Revolution on the Anguillian Psyche,” in which she points out that while bad behavior may have been acceptable during the revolution does not mean it’s now acceptable in the aftermath. She contends that the “1967 revolution changed the attitudes of Anguillians from the good old days of jollification and Christian principles among them to the present times when they’ve developed such negative traits as being greedy, envious, abusive, materialistic and lacking in Christian principles.” The question now becomes, is it still fashionable to behave that way? I think we’ll get a resounding no. Writing in his Seven Seals piece, Mr. Colville Petty asserted that we were in hot pursuit of the almighty dollar and nothing else seemed to matter, consequently, our children were left to fend for themselves, the results which we now see and we don’t like what we see.
One of our guests on the Mayor Show, on the issue of what makes an Anguillian, said that an unlevel playing field made it just about impossible for the true Anguillian to emerge. What we see are people who know that the decks are stacked against them and maybe have the attitude of “why bother.”
So until we get rid of that crab mentality and the “I born here” and “you don’t live here” – the residual effects of the Willy Lynch Method – we’re going to think and believe that each of us is owed something. I honestly believe that it’s incumbent upon us – the older ones who grew up at a time when things were hard – to educate the younger generation and let them know from whence they came so that they will know where they’re going.
We’ve had a long and arduous journey getting to where we are, and we still have a long way to go. We’ve achieved our goal which was no statehood, and associated statehood with Britain. It would appear that after that we had no plan, consequently we’re like the movement, which is just that, a movement.
We are all Anguillians, whether we live in the United States, the Virgin Islands, Britain or Canada or anywhere other than Anguilla for that matter. That some loudmouth on radio has the audacity to question any of us about our residence is an insult and smacks of sour grapes.
So before I go, let me say this: Anguillians are a special breed of people. We have suffered immensely and have come through with flying colors. When we felt we were being oppressed, we dispatched the Warden and his police force by way of our own planes. In short order we had the temerity to launch a pre-emptive strike against our chief tormentor. Though it wasn’t successful, it showed our ability to think outside of the box, a trait that Don Mitchell refers to as a “strong dose of independent spirit,” followed by a “healthy disrespect for authority.” Our people are brilliant. Not everyone will be a doctor or a lawyer. For those who enjoy working with their hands, an equal opportunity needs to be available to them. Maybe we’ll start building boats again, maybe this time with steel hulls. We have to provide equal opportunities for all. Until we do that we’re going to have this imbalance between the haves and the have-nots. We’re better than that.
So I say again, let’s put aside the petty politics, agree to disagree, be respectful of one another and get on board and start rowing in the same direction. Until then, may God bless us all and may God bless Anguilla.
