Fellow Anguillians, wherever you are. It is an enormous privilege, as Leader of the Opposition, to have this unique opportunity to address you at this very special time of year. The Christmas season is a time of hope and renewal, when we pray that there will be better times to come and that we will have peace and good will among men.
In 1981, when I was just starting at university, I remember something President Ronald Reagan said in his 1981 Christmas address, and I think it is as relevant in Anguilla today as it was in America when he said it:
“Even as we rejoice, however, let us remember that, for some, this will not be as happy a Christmas as it should be. I know a little of what they feel. I remember one Christmas Eve during the Great Depression, my father opening what he thought was a Christmas greeting. It was a notice that he no longer had a job”.
For much too long now in Anguilla, many of our people have suffered hardships. And over the past weeks we have had to bear even more difficult news; news that foreshadows continued hardships for the less fortunate of our people, especially those without a job and those who are financially dependent on family members who are themselves currently unemployed. And while I have no magic wand that will guarantee instant results, I encourage you to have hope. We are a resilient people, and we are not only resilient, we are caring. I know that there are many good people out there who will do everything within their power to help those amongst us who are less well off.
The true meaning of Christmas is about faith and hope. Anguillians are people of faith, and challenges in whatever shape or form have never been able to break our fortitude. Our past has taught us how to meet these challenges together. With our collective will, and with God within our midst, we shall overcome and experience true peace.
So let us not forget that “it’s the season to be jolly”. Let’s bring back the old time Christmas of “jollification”; the jollification practised when we look out for each other, providing comfort for those that are suffering, and food for those who are less fortunate. Let us commit this Christmas to welcome the stranger and offer hope to the most vulnerable among us.
It is my firm belief that there are many enterprising people who will provide the spark that will generate new jobs and new prosperity in Anguilla. I myself shall be doing all I can to encourage those who are in a position to influence events and initiatives, to play their part in reviving our economy.
Added to that, it is my strong belief that the technocrats, the politicians and our mother country will, when they have together focused on the potential consequences of their current economic course, find a better way to pilot us out of our current situation – a course, I pray, that will be guided by compassion and fairness, and that will be targeted for the benefit of those amongst us least able to help themselves.
As Paul, Jesus’ apostle, said to his companions, when he faced his darkest moment: “Wherefore Sirs, be of good cheer; for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me”. [Acts 27v25.]. Paul was encouraging the men on the ship taking them to appear before Caesar in Rome to cheer up; in other words entreating them not to be sad; not to be worried; not to be scared or depressed. But instead persuading them to cheer up! So to you today I say: Be of good cheer. Be happy, be positive, be upbeat and smile.
Our goal today in Anguilla is the same goal that America had when President Ronald Reagan spoke in the early 1980s: the long, hard work of economic recovery; an Anguilla in which every citizen who needs and wants a job can get a job. With your help and prayers we shall achieve that goal; we shall win the battle against inflation – we shall control runaway government spending and taxation – and that victory will mean more economic growth, more jobs, and more opportunity for all Anguillians.
May God Bless you and keep you all this Christmas season and in the New Year ahead, and may God Bless Anguilla always.
