A water, foam and powder-carrying Crash Fire Tender, is Anguilla’s gift of love from the Princess Juliana International Airport. It is to complement the other two fire trucks now in use at the Clayton J Lloyd International Airport, home of the Anguilla Rescue and Fire Service.
The additional Kronenbrug MAC 11-7100 1997 vehicle was handed over at a ceremony at Anguilla’s airport on Friday, February 13. Those in attendance from Anguilla included Government officials, headed by Chief Minister, Hubert Hughes; Board members of the Anguilla Air and Sea Ports Authority, led by Chief Executive Officer, Vanroy Hodge; and Airport Manager, Lyndon Hodge, and staff. From St Maarten, the delegation included Regina Lebega, Managing Director of the Princess Juliana International Airport; and Michel Hodge, Chairman of the Airport Holding Company.
Speaking on behalf of the Anguilla Air and Sea Ports Authority, Mr Vanroy Hodge described the handing over ceremony “as a contributory symbol of generosity, goodwill, partnership, unity and fostering improved relations” between the neighbouring Dutch and British territories. He said the donation of the fire tender was a significant contribution to Anguilla’s regulatory compliance and operation capacity at the Clayton Lloyd International Airport.
Mrs Lebega spoke on behalf of the Princess Juliana International Airport. She made the point that “the historical, social, cultural, economic and family bonds between our two islands run very, very deep.” She went on: “We, at the Princess Juliana International Airport, are happy to have been able to assist in this matter, not just because we are neighbours, and co-partners, but because it is also in our own interest to do so.”
Mrs Lebega used the Valentine Eve occasion to stress the love between the two next-door territories. She added: “The love that binds Anguilla and St Maarten… is rooted in the blood, sweat and tears of our ancestors – in the joy, laughter and togetherness we have shared throughout the ages. It is a love that has been tested by natural disasters; it is a love that has weathered storms – and blossoms in the warmth of our sun. I dare say it is an abiding love that will never die.”
Minister of Infrastructure, Evan Gumbs, saw the donation of the fire tender as “an important mitigation measure that should not go unnoticed.” He expressed thanks and appreciation to the St Maarten airport authorities for their kindness and for attending the ceremony. He hoped that the partnership between the St Maarten and Anguilla ports would be part of the Anguilla Air and Sea Ports Authority’s future endeavours.
Chief Minister Hughes flaunted his usual catch phrase that “if there was no St Maarten/St Martin, there would be no Anguilla”. He observed that there were three neighbouring European territories – the French, Dutch and British. He charged that Anguilla was the most underprivileged of the three and that “what happens in French and Dutch St Maarten is testament of the fact that we are a neglected people”.
He was in fact suggesting that Britain does not love Anguilla as France and Holland love St Martin and St Maarten respectively.
