On Sunday, 28th July 2013, there was a special service of consolation and prayer held at the Methodist chapel in Blowing Point in the wake of the shootings which took place earlier that week. The random, senseless shooting left seven young men nursing gunshot wounds. As far as I know, it was the first time we had a criminal activity in Anguilla which saw so many victims at once, and I sincerely hope it is the last time, as an island, we will ever have to experience such pain and anguish.
At that service the Rev. E. Dunstan Richardson, in his homily, said that during his travels and sojourn abroad he often referred to Anguilla as “a little piece of heaven.” When the Chief Minister spoke he referred to Anguilla as a “hell” and asked the question: “How did we get from heaven to hell.” He did not answer the question, but I was challenged by it and began to seek some answers to that question. This article does not pretend to give a full answer, and neither is it a scientific research, per se, but it provides a combination of reflections and reality which should not be readily ignored if we are serious about addressing crime and violence in Anguilla.
While we do thank God that there were no fatalities, it is a likelihood that the life of at least one young man will be permanently affected. The following figures may not be one hundred percent complete but they give a very disturbing picture. Between 2000 and 2013, 23 persons have been killed violently and 4 are permanently maimed and crippled. At least 39 have been shot and wounded, and there were 11 hold-ups of persons and businesses. I hope you are disturbed enough to do something specific and concrete to address the situation. At that special service the dominant theme was “Reconciliation” rather than “Retaliation.” Given the makeup of the congregation, one can only hope that the message of “no revenge” has reached those who were likely to think of “revenge.” The words I still hear coming from persons in Blowing Point especially are: “Thank God no one was killed.Thank God none of the children got hurt. Thank God!”
To say the least, the persons who did the shootings were really wreckless and displayed such a lowlevel of regard for human life that it leaves one to wonder what they were thinking. It is certainly an indication that all is not well in Anguilla at present, that certain things have gone wrong and we are now seeing the ugly fruit. Today some of our children and youth are displaying attitudes and behaviours which are frightening, threatening and dangerous to themselves and to the whole society. As a preacher, I am reminded of that verse of scripture found in Jeremiah 31:29 – “The parents have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” At some point Anguilla did eat “sour grapes”, and is perhaps still eating.
When we seriously and honestly look at Anguilla over the last 40 years, what are we calling a “youth problem” is really not a youth problem but “an adult failure.” It is the failure of adults in the homes and churches to properly nurture young children and youth, and bring them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. It is the failure of the adults in the schools to reinforce the values taught in the home and church and to teach those values necessary for peaceful and meaningful community living and nation-building. It is the failure of adults with leadership responsibilities in the nation to be quality role models who advocate, practice and uphold the principles and moral standards which promote true community and human development. It is the failure of adults generally in the community to properly socialize the young – in the community – into the values, customs, principles and mores which distinguish Anguillians as a loving, caring, determined and disciplined people – and Anguilla as “a little piece of heaven,” or “tranquility wrapped in blue.” The sour grapes sown over the last 40 years or so are now bearing the bitter fruits we are seeing today. Put another way, we say the failure to sow good seeds is now yielding a bitter harvest.
Fortunately, all is not lost, neither is it all gloom and doom. There is still much to make us hopeful in that most of our youth are fine, decent individuals. However, focusing on the youth as the source of the problem of violence and criminal activity is to put the focus in the wrong place and on the wrong people. In a real sense, they are the victims of the failures of adults in some cases, and the adults’subtle manipulations in others.
As an adult: grandparent, parent, uncle, aunt, teacher, church leader, civil servant, lawyer, magistrate, police officer, politician, etc., etc.,I urge that we seriously ask ourselves: (i) How is my failure to do what I ought to do, contributing to the violence and criminal activity among the youth? (ii) What am I doing that I should not be doing, which is helping to contribute to the violence and criminal activity among the youth? If you answer these questions honestly, you will likely be surprised at what you see and, so a third question needs to be answered: (iii) What will I do or stop doing to help eliminate violence and criminal activity in the island?How did Anguilla get from where it was, virtually crime free, tranquility wrapped in blue, a little piece of heaven, to where we are now, 6th in crime in the world ranking, or hell? Here are some contributing factors.
1. The failure to pay sufficient attention to the development of people and people-orientated institutions and organisations. Looking back over the last 40or so years, we realize that the way tourism was developed and managed was both a blessing and a bane. No one can doubt the financial benefits of tourism to Anguilla, and we certainly need to celebrate these;equally, no one can doubt the negative impact and fall out that the same tourism has had, and is having, on the social morale in Anguilla,because of the way the industry is “managed” or “mismanaged”. Have the national managers of this industry ever discussed and documented the vision of what they expected tourism to do for Anguilla, and are they being guided by that vision? “Where there is no vision the people perish.” Without a clear vision Anguilla will continue to flounder, and that which should be the engine of development will instead contribute to our doom. Things would have been quite different in Anguilla today if similar attention was given to the development of the people and people-oriented institutions, as that which was given to the building of projects and roads. Please understand my point. Projects and roads are necessary but more essential to national development are excellence in education and long-term economic planning. Can you imagine the difference it would have today, if Anguillians were encouraged to use their land to become partners in the projects rather than parting with it? I believe that the level of frustration and bitterness now seen in many of the young population would be at a much lower level. This failure to put the development of people at the forefront has been a failure of successive governments since 1976. How many Anguillians are in the key positions or in upper level management positions in the industry? Why is it that after all these years there are many workers whose wages are around US$5.00 an hour? Why is it that after 5 or more years employed, a worker can leave the job without a severance pay package? If people were put central in our visioning, these and many other issues would have been addressed long ago.
(2) The failure to properly envision the benefits of tourism for Anguilla, and the consequent level of mismanagement of the industry have led to a disturbing level of alienation among young people, and some not so young. Several of our youth do not see a fruitful future for them in Anguilla and so they begin to dream about leaving the island to live elsewhere. Several others, who at present do not see how they can make it are becoming frustrated, bitter and cynical. When asked, how do you feel about the impact of tourism on life in Anguilla, one not-so-young person who is resident in the West End/Long Bay area was blunt in his response: “How do I feel? Right now, very bitter, angry and hurt. As a young boy I was told that the first money I work for, I should begin to collect material to build my house. All during my years growing up I was taught that I should aim at becoming a proud owner of my own home. I looked forward to that and to living comfortably as a proud Anguillian. Today, at the upper end of my youth, all those early dreams have been frustrated and I am bitter, angry andhurt. The land I was supposed to build on was sold to an investor and I am now without a steady job, and living is getting harder and harder. I am very bitter… I want to love tourism and the tourists but it is hard.” Strong emotions. Some readers may be inclined to dismiss this sentiment but the reality is that he echoes the feeling of several young persons. Several of our youngerpopulation haveseen themselves dispossessed of the only asset they could have had -a piece of land. They have seen developers getting too many concessions but giving nothing worthwhile in return. Our managers of tourism were not visionary or intentional in ensuring that Anguillians and the developers became real partners in Anguilla’s development. They inadvertently promoted excocentrism at the expense of genuine national pride and patriotism. The reality now is that Anguilla finds itself in an unsustainable position, and those who are felling it hardest and fastest are the young who did not create it.
3. A third contributor to our present descentis the tribalism of our party
politics. Politics is meant to be a good thing but we have made it an agent of disunity and missed opportunity. Tribalism refers to: (a) The attitude which nurtures strong antagonistic feelings towards those who are not of some party and even feelings of distrust and dislike towards them; (b) The attitude which is intolerant to those who may have opinions different from yours and therefore regards such differences of opinions as expressions of disloyalty and traitorism. Independent thinking is crudely discouraged and dissent is greeted with ostracism. (c) The attitude which tends to see the “part” as superior to the “whole” – and so the party comes first andAnguilla next rather than Anguiilla first. The language of tribalism is often retaliation and the objective is denigration and destruction. Rarely, if ever, one hears ofco-operation and more rarely still one sees it. Where tribalism exists there are frequent conflicts and fights, attacks and counter-attacks, but little progress. We witness the relentless negative politicking which the island is subjected to day after day, all year round. Hear the violent, destructive and demeaning language spouted regularly from political podiums, radio stations, in the press, and even in the honourable House of Assembly. If this is not political party tribalism, then tell me what it is. Unfortunately, our children and youth are subjected to this far too often and they are influenced by it. In fact, some of them now believe that this is the way it ought to be. I am of the view that much of the violence on the streets is, unfortunately, a by-product of the tribalism of our party politics. A young man I met in Blowing Point, though he is not residing there, was very frank when asked if he thought there was any connection between politics and crime and violence in Anguilla. He said: “The way I see it is like this: our politicians are hypocrites. Everyone of them. They expect us as young people to live in peace and harmony with each other, when they who are our elders and should know better live like enemies. They fight and kill each other each day with lies and words, even in the House of Assembly. On the streets we fight and kill each other the way we know how, with knives and guns… but who help us to get the guns? They get away because they operate the system, but they hunt us down like animals…Crime is crime.”
We may wish to disagree with some of the thoughts expressed here but the fact is, it is a view on the street and, as a perception, it is the reality for those who hold it and so they take justice in their own hands. Very unfortunate, but that is where we are. Again, we see that the failure of adults to be the role models, that they should be, is negatively impacting our youth. I therefore plead with the leadership of both parties to think and speak “national unity” and let your behaviour show that you mean it. For goodness sake, put “partyism” aside and let “nationalism” be the goal of all. Anguilla is bigger than your party and deserves better. What a difference it would make if we can stop fighting each other and live again as one people, united in fighting for peace, progress and prosperity.
4. A fourth contributing factor to our descent is the perception by some that the personnel in the judicial system are often inconsistent and unfair in their application of the law. We know that for most persons “perception is the reality,” therefore perceptions must be taken seriously. Where, in fact, perception is wrong because it is not a reality, then intentional action must be taken to change it because, if it is allowed to persist, the result will be loss of respect and confidence in the system and the system’s personnel. Unfortunately, there seems to be a slow but gradual erosion of trust and confidence. If, on the other hand, an objective analysis suggests that there could be the appearance of bias, hence the perception, then appropriate response is also needed. I believe that it is important, and I urge all concerned to do everything possible, to ensure that everyone in Anguilla does have confidence in the fairness and justice of our national institutions, especially the judicial system. Where there is no confidence in the system of law and order individuals will be tempted to take justice in their own hands and, if this begins to happen, the consequences will be ugly and grave. I therefore plead with everyone in our justice system: “Do not be satisfied simply because in your view justice is
done, but be satisfied only when you are sure that justice is also seen to be done.”
While I am unable to confirm or render a personal opinion on any of the views expressed below, I nevertheless share them so that persons in the system can be aware of how things are being perceived by some other persons in Anguilla – in the hope that appropriate response will be made in the interest of respect for law and order in Anguilla . There is the view that if a person is caught possessing, using or trading an illegal substance, the way that a person is treated is influenced by his or her personal and family connections. Some persons are convinced that if the individual who is caught is well connected, that individual usually gets off completely or a very light penalty is imposed. On the other hand, a person whose connections are deemed insignificant will often receive a very heavy penalty which is usually disproportionate with the gravity of the crime. Another view is that some young persons are marked and targeted by the law enforcementand when a crime is committed in the area those persons find themselves frequently and unfairly suspected, and even unjustly held for questioning. When this happens, it generates anger and distrust of the system and some feel that their opinion is to take things in their own hands. A variation of the view was recently expressed this way: “It is very unfair because I am the victim of a crime today that I should become the crime suspect in one tomorrow.”
Much more can be said as we look at the question:How did we get where we are today, along the path of crime and violence? But this article is already lengthy. As I conclude, I appeal to every adult to become more responsible and take your leadership role seriously. Be enthusiastic and courageous but sensitive, understanding and caring. The new Anguilla we want to see is everyone’s business to help build.
My word to the young is simply this: You have only one life tolive here, do not waste it but cherish it. Learn all the good and positive things you can, as early as you can, so that you can live a productive life. Be strong and resist evil. Be wise and make right choices. And while you are young and idealistic, remember there is a God who wants the best for you and expects the best from you.
