As 2014 drew its first breaths, there were those of us who were happy to see 2013 become a distant memory. However, that’s easier said than done, for we will forever remember the events both positive and negative. The investiture of our new female Governor, Her Excellency Ms. Christina Scott. We also witnessed a hat trick of sorts when Ms. Scott, our first female to hold the post, was sworn in by a female judge in the presence of the first female Speaker of the House. We also saw our senior class of the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School perform in an exemplary manner in their CXC and CAPE exams. We also saw the start of Anguilla’s first green development project, the Solaire Project at Lockrum Bay. These were a few positives of which we could truly be proud.
Sadly, the positives were overshadowed by the negatives, of which there were quite a few. We remember the drivebys in which several people were injured, one fatally. We can remember our indigenous banks takeover and the shameless manner in which it was done. We can remember the lowering of our credit rating by CariCRIS and the failure of our CM to properly address it and of course who will forget the “piece de resistance,” the passing of the bank amendment and the FFR without a quorum. The list goes on and on. We can continue to write and talk about what’s going on, but until there is an all out assault on the problem of gun violence, and all our other shortcomings and their effects, we will continue to be held hostage in our homes and continue to suffer the ills not of our own making. Let us ask ourselves how did we get to this place when our prospects looked so bright? Over the weekend, I read Teacher Arthwin’s autobiography Overcoming the Odds in which he’s been forever advocating for Anguilla’s education system to keep pace with the island’s progress, but alas, his admonitions fell on deaf ears and to no avail. Education in Anguilla took a backseat to tourism and the almighty dollar and knowing Teacher Arthwin as I do, I know that he’s not going to come out and say “I told you so.”
There’s a Chinese proverb that tells us to give a man a fish and you feed for a day, but teach him how to fish and he will be able to feed himself for life. We seem not to understand that concept. We continue to spend exorbitant sums of money in an attempt to boost our tourism numbers, but let’s ask ourselves a couple of questions. I understand that in order to make money, you have to spend money, but at the same time, there needs to be a system in place by which to measure the effectiveness of these programs. Are we getting a good return on our investment? Are we selling Anguilla as a tourist destination, or are we selling a specific property? We need to know whether or not our tourism department is up to the challenge and, if so, how effective are these programs.
To my earlier assertion of us not looking out for our people, we have failed miserably to use the words of the Mighty Sparrow in his assessment of the West Indies Federation. We did not do what we were supposed to do and, consequently, we now have a part of the population, who should be making major contributions to our society, but through no fault of their own, are unable to contribute in anyway shape or form simply because they were not taught how to. I’ve always subscribed to the theory that one reaps what one sows. You get out of anything what you put into it. Anyone not subscribing to that theory is nothing more than a parasite.
We see what’s happening around the world right now. It’s all about self preservation. Everyone is looking out for number one and I believe that’s the wrong way to go about getting back on our feet. The Pope recently took a lot of flak from the one percenters when he preached about income inequality. The London Financial Times, a very conservative newspaper, in its editorial had quite a bit to say about income inequality. The Bible says “to love thy neighbor as you love yourself.” Can any of us truly say that we love our neighbors as we love ourselves? Something to think about isn’t it? Once upon a time we looked out for each other. It was a common occurrence to see a young married couple building their house with the help of a master builder and the rest of the village. You paid the builder and when he was ready to pour concrete, the village usually came by to help out. It was a thing of beauty, everyone working hand in hand. There wasn’t a lot of money to go around. You fed the workers and at the end of the day, put a few dollars in each worker’s hand. I know that those days are long gone, and I can recall a while back when my aunt was remodeling her house on the Point, during the building boom, when the contractor had to stop work several times simply because he couldn’t get anyone who wanted to put in an honest days work. Of course the building boom has since gone bust and jobs are hard to come by these days, but there was a time that unless you paid them what they wanted, they refused to work for you.
We were a people who looked out for each other because we were convinced that no one gave a damn about us. Our British protectors sent our meager subsistence to St. Kitts which more often than not, spent the money on themselves. To give you an idea of the contempt the central government had for us, they took money earmarked for the construction of a wharf for Anguilla and built the wharf on a deserted beach in St. Kitts.
Today it’s a tourist attraction sarcastically called the “Anguilla Wharf.” There was no one around to speak on our behalf. They never listened to our lone representative who for the most part was kept in the dark and more often than not was not present for important legislation. A lot of stuff was done in absencia. We have a lot to be upset if not downright angry. Those of us who grew up during this time, who suffered under a system that was inadequate, should be mad as hell about what has happened to us.
To those of you who are saying that this writer should get down off of his soap box, I’ll say to you in return, I won’t. We have come too far and have suffered enough to let these jokers that you call politicians ruin it for us. These guys have taken ineptitude and turned it into an art form, the likes of which we’ve not seen in quite some time. Just recently a joint resolution was passed in the House of Assembly to which everyone signed off on, and all of the members agreed that it didn’t go quite far enough, and none of them had the temerity to stand up and say here’s what our police need in order to effectively fight crime. Rahm Emanuel, President Obama’s former Chief of Staff, was quoted as saying “you should never waste a good crisis.” I think our guys wasted an opportune time to get on the floor of the House of Assembly and really put some teeth into the law that was passed. Instead of saying it’s a good first step, they should have said, let’s get our policemen what they need, let’s meet with law enforcement and chart a path forward in which to successfully fight crime. Where is the leadership? Is there no one among you who is willing to stand up and take the bull by its horns? What ever happened to that Anguillian ingenuity? We’re a can do people. We’ve been always been able to adapt.
In the old days, we had people whom we looked up to. We had our elders whom you knew were there. No matter how bad things got, you knew that you could go and talk to the elders, people like my grandfather, or whomever the elders happened to be – and you felt better once counseled by that older and wiser head. Today, because of our leaders’ inability to prepare us for a world that’s constantly changing, we’re woefully inadequate in many respects and sadly to our detriment. We are sitting in a classroom ready to take a test for which we haven’t studied.
My grandmother, bless her soul, used to say what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger. Because we were tempered by both hard and difficult times, we learned to adapt and make do. Our history tells us that things got to be so bad that the British had ships standing by to transport us to Guyana, but the British learned about Anguillian resolve. They did not have a clue who they were dealing with, but they would find out many years later. We bluntly refused to abandon our homeland in the face of very difficult times and chose to ride out the storm. We had the British just where we wanted them. They should have taken a hint from those early years. My point here is that we’re a stubborn people and it takes an awful lot to get us down, and from the ashes like the Phoenix, we will rise.
Having grown up during a time when things were difficult, I can identify with what’s going on and I defy anyone to say anything to me about any of this. We deserve better and it’s hard to stomach what we’ve had to deal with simply because of a few selfish politicians concerned with what the history books will say about them. Gentlemen, you were elected to serve at our pleasure. Can any of you truly say that you are serving at our pleasure? I think that means that you do what we want you to do. We are an Overseas Territory and we look as though we’ve reverted to backwater status. We’ve been at this now for over forty odd years. It’s time we joined the world community and start acting like the intelligent and educated people that we are.
Let us use 2014 as a jumping off point to righting the ship. Let us pass legislation that will actually benefit the people. We are our brother’s keeper; therefore let’s look out for each other. Let us behave in a way that’s respectful of each other. Let us remember what it was like when we were all struggling to get by. We actually helped each other. In African folklore, the Sankofa bird says it’s alright to look back in order to see where you’re going. Sometime we have to resort to old methods to get things done. If this generation was subjected to some of the old ways, maybe, just maybe, we’d be much better off. I can recall getting a look from my aunt that instilled a fear that we all had growing up. Maybe what’s missing from today’s generation is that fear of long ago.
As a people, we’re going to have to figure out what went wrong and how to go about fixing it. Growing up, we were taught to be respectful, how to behave in public, the difference between right and wrong, some things that are sadly missing in today’s youth. There was no talking back and, if you chose to do so, you did so at your own peril. Today’s youth feel abandoned by the system. For whatever reason, they’ve fallen through the cracks and we’ve done nothing whatsoever to help them – and finally the chickens have come home to roost. We’re going to have to deconstruct what we’ve built up, analyze it piece by piece and perhaps perform selective surgery on the body.
Until we are willing to stand up and are willing to be counted, it will be business as usual. 2015 will come around and we’ll probably see the same old tired politicians spouting the same shopworn crap. I’m going to say don’t be fooled by these jokers. Let’s retire the lot of them. Loyalty, this time around, is going to be a hard sell. I think common sense and sound proposals will carry the day. Constituencies all over the world are getting wise and are demanding more from their elected representatives. There has to be a way to keep these guys in check. If you don’t do what you’ve been elected to do, we’re gonna’ throw you out on your behind. That’s it plain and simple.
And so it remains, where to? No matter how hard we try, it always comes back to where we wind up hitting the reset button. Is there anyone who can truly tell us where we’re heading? The fact is that we’ve got another year till an election and it is somewhat scary. Leadership is content to run out the clock and try for another term – and if that happens, which I sincerely doubt that it will, it will come back with the same old promises and hope to get re-elected once more. This is a scenario that I find hard to envision, though anything is possible.
It seems that our region is suffering the same as any other – Dominica, St. Lucia and St. Vincent – from terrible weather. The eastern seaboard of the United States is suffering some of the worst snowstorms, just to name a few of the places that have started off the new year with difficulties. There is an old saying that says no matter how bad you think you have it, there’s always someone who’s having a worse go of it than you. So let us put 2013 behind us and look forward to getting 2014 off in a rip-roaring fashion. Let us hope against all odds that things start to pick up and that talk of new jobs for our people is not just that: “talk.” Let’s hope for a safe and prosperous new year and may God bless us all, and may he bless Anguilla as well.
