The Government and people of Anguilla have taken a decisive step to condemn and stamp out gun violence which is disrupting the peace and quiet of the island, the lives of families and putting at risk the up-market tourism industry on which the economy thrives. It is the first time that there has been such a coming together to address crime on the island.
At the outset, both Government and Opposition spoke out against the latest violence at the swearing-in of Governor Christina Scott in the House of Assembly on Tuesday, July 23. That followed theviolent incident the previous night when, for the first time, there was a mass shooting in which seven young men from Blowing Point were injured reportedly by three masked persons. Since then, the shooting has beenvociferously condemned by church and community groups and individuals across the island.
Two special events were organised on Sunday afternoon, July 28, to speak out against the gun violence. The first was a civil society group which organised an island-wide motorcadeduring which calls were made, at various whistles stops, forthe violent attacks and retaliation to end. The second event was a service at Maranatha Methodist Church at Blowing Point to comfort the families grieving for their sons and relatives who were injured in the shooting.
The young men sustained various injuries and two of them have had to be flown to Puerto Rico for further treatment. The youngsters, who are largely in their early twenties, and who are fortunate to be alive, have been named as follows:
Nekyle Davis, Kefentsi Davis, Dillon Romney, Demar Wright, jeron Fleming, Jelani Leonard and Lenroy Gumbs.
The motorcade was organised by Dr Patvin Adams, Yanchie Richardson, Conrad Rogers, Serene Carter-Davis (two of whose family members were injured), Irose Connor-Richardson, Allister Richardson (of North Hill), Jason Brooks and Jasmine Connor.
The three-and-a half-our motorcade commenced at 2.00 pm on the perimeter grounds of the airport, called “Freedom Park”, where Pastor James Harrigan of No Walls Church offered prayers. The first stop was at Blowing Point at the road area where the shooting occurred. There, a number of persons, including former Policewoman Donalee Richardson and Serene Carter-Davis, spoke.
At Blowing Point, like the rest of the whistle stops, it was a very touching praying event with the speakers calling for faith in God and His protection; an end to the shootings and other forms of violence; an end to retaliation/revenge; and calls on parents to control their children. A distinctive feature of the motorcade was the blaring of the song “Give Peace a Chance” on the loudspeakers. The lead vehicle carried the following appeal: “To the youth of this country: stop gun violence. Give Peace a Chance.”
The motorcade moved on to West End, then up to Long Bay and South Hill. The second whistle stop was at South Hill where the speakers included the Minister of Communications, Evan Gumbs (who was present on his motorcycle at all of the routes of the motorcade); and “Pantha”, Band Leader/Vocalist of Pantha Vibes International (Anguilla).
The third whistle stop was at Sandy Ground where Anguillian Methodist Minister, Rev Erica Carty, gave a stirring delivery and appeal. The fourth whistle stop was on the grounds of Zion Methodist Church at North Hill where the speaker was Rev Lindsay Richardson, a Counsellor at Her Majesty’s Prison, who spoke about the indifference and attitude of prisoners to violence.
The motorcade drove through East End then on to Island Harbour where the fifth whistle stop was at the courtyard of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church. There a prayer and address were delivered by Teacher Catherine (Laverne) Webster.
The sixth whistle stop was at Little Dix where the speakers were the Elected Representative for the district, Evans Rogers; Conrad Rogers and a member of one of the prayer groups.
The motorcade travelled up The Valley – at the entrance to Roaches Hill – then down to the area of the Landsome Bowl Cultural Centre where the main speaker was Mr Victor Banks, former Elected Representative of Valley South. This was the end of the motorcade and where the organisers introduced themselves.
The special church service commenced at 6 pm with the Rev Candis Niles and Superintendent Minister, Rev Dunstan Richardson, officiating. It was a touching experience with family members of the injured and other persons moved to tears.
Rev Niles began the service with Scripture reading and prayers for the injured victims, their families and the various communities in Anguilla.
Rev Richardson said in part: “We stand in this evening hour in sympathy with our brothers and sisters who are in crisis due to last week’s senseless shooting. My brothers and sisters, we empathise with you and seek God’s protection over you and your loved ones. We are still our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. Let us look out for each other. It is being said that when your neighbour’s house is on fire, you must throw water on your own.
“Whatever happens in Anguilla will affect us directly or indirectly, but remember we are all Anguillians and as such we are all one family. I think we have had the larger number of casualties from the Methodist denomination. I know them not just from names, but I have known them in worship service on Sundays, and it so happens that one of them is my Godson – and this touched me even more when I went to the hospitaland just looked at him, and then thought that it could have been even worse than what he was then experiencing. Nevertheless, we give God thanks that there is still life and that God is a God of healing.
(at Sandy Ground)
(at North Hill)
(at Little Dix)
(at Little Dix)
(at Landsome Bowl)
“I want us all to remember that this is our homeland and we must protect it. We should not allow it to be destroyed by violence and violent crimes. This is a land I used to call heaven. Let me very strongly urge you not to think, less speak, of retaliation. We cannot, and should not, fight fire with fire. God is a God of justice. He has said vengeance is mine I will repay. But to me there is a sin of silence in this nation. Let us no longer be silent but speak up and up. Too long we have been a silent people. Let us be a vocal people and also a praying people.
“I urge parents to be proactive in parenting, for the root of our problem today is due to poor parenting and broken family life. To the perpetrators…of Monday’s senseless shooting, you think that you are free, but I have good news for you: God knows everyone of you by name. You may hide from the law, or from man, but you cannot and you will not hide from God.
“We give God thanks…this afternoon that none of the children, that night, were hurt – and they were not because they were under the protecting hand of God who, through those adults who were there, sheltered them. To us, to the families, God has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us. He has also promised that He will never allow us to suffer more than what we can bear. We live today not on our own strength; we live today not by what we have attained or what we will attain. We live today by the sure mercies of the living God.
“And so I urge us as Anguillians to rise up. I urge us as Anguillians to remove the blinkers from our eyes and the dead locks from our lips. Do not be afraid of anyone for God will be your protector – and if God is for you and is with you, you have no fear of anyone for he who lives by the gun will die by the gun, but our God is a God of victory and a God of Justice. May this act of worship bring some solace to you in that we, as God’s people, we, as your brothers and sisters, are with you even as you falter at this time…”
Reverend Dr H Clifton Niles, one of the persons from the congregation who spoke during the allotted time for comments, appealed to all persons with any information about who did the shooting to report it to the Police. “Please pass on their names to the authorities. There are people who look after this,” he urged.
Chief Minister Hubert Hughes charged that there were persons, even at the service, who were ‘‘guilty of the situation we are in today.” He went on: “What is happening in Anguilla today is uncivilised. It means that each one of us has to look inward at ourselves and ask how much we contribute to this…From 2000 to the present time, how many senseless killings, and how much maiming, have taken place in Anguilla? All of us are guilty.
“Each one of you contributed to this situation today because you lost your way…Anguilla once was a heaven, now Anguilla is a hell because we all made it a hell. We use politics to turn it into a hell; and we use envy and grudge and greed to turn it into a hell. Anguilla is no longer a heaven. We need to get back on our knees…Something is fundamentally wrong in Anguilla, and each one can make a difference.”
Many other persons expressed outrage at the shooting, called for an end to violence in Anguilla, and a return to the peace and quiet the island once knew.
