My People,
We just celebrated the Fiftieth Anniversary of our Revolution last year and in that historic year we also had the privilege to lay to rest, with fitting ceremony and expressions of appreciation, the Father of the Nation, the late Honourable James Ronald Webster. Today, March 2, 2018, we celebrate in quiet reflection his contribution to our patrimony memorialized on this day especially named in his honour.
In his typical humility, Mr. Webster asked a few years ago that we do not make a big fuss about this day — his birthday and National Holiday. But even as we recognize that wish it is important to the furtherance of nation building that we never waste any opportunity afforded by a milestone to bring attention to the positive aspects of our times.
The occasion at this juncture is of course the birthday of this icon of our revolutionary and our political history. Mr. Webster is no longer with us in the flesh but his contribution has been of great significance to where we are today as a people. His influence on our island’s politics will always remain. In fact, the entire political development of Anguilla is centered around persons who have worked with him at some time in their lives — and as evidence to that fact — every single Chief Minister in Anguilla’s history, including myself, have worked with him in some capacity. That fact, in and of itself, is an important commentary on his service. Whether one was for him or against him, he was the central figure in the shaping our path to nationhood.
The strength of Mr. Webster’s campaign for self-determination was in the existence of a community united in its quest to make Anguilla a nation proud, strong and free. The overwhelming support for his vision from Anguillans all over the world was the foundation upon which the success of the Revolution was constructed. And the difference of opinion among the leadership from time to time also helped to fine tune the process. The strong individual views within the leadership groups was important to temper the exuberance of the more radical elements of the period and bring the focus back on creating a stable society for the future.
Today Anguilla is still searching for self-determination. In this new world where the focus is on global stability and security, the notion of being independent is relative. No country great or small can survive without relationships of one kind or another with regional or international groupings and sometimes even colonial relationships.
I just a few days ago returned from Europe and the United Kingdom where discussions and negotiations about our future and the future of our sister Overseas Territories were held. It is imperative in this period that whatever we do we must recognize that the source of our strength is in being united in the pursuit of our common goals and aspirations. Unfortunately very often those goals and aspirations come in with conflict the several agendas of the very nations and groups of nations from whom we seek support.
This is the dilemma of small fish in a large pond. It requires that we must oftentimes be more accommodating than our pride and dignity may dictate. We may be called upon to become second-class states just to ensure that our people survive. Mr. Webster and his colleagues had to retreat from a Unilateral Declaration of Independence and opt for a more direct relationship with the UK — just to secure a better future for their people.
At the end of the day leaders must make decisions on the greater good rather than the individual concerns of some persons or groups within the community. Mr. Webster led as all leaders must lead. It was his resolve to pursue the greater good as he envisioned it — that led to the success of the Revolution.
But it would be remiss of me not to put my thoughts of Mr. Webster on this national holiday in the context of the severe weather events that most unceremoniously visited our island in the Jubilee Year of our Revolution. Of course I am speaking about Hurricane Irma and to a lesser extent Hurricane Maria. I believe that in terms of the way we as Anguillians, residents of Anguilla; and friends of Anguilla conducted ourselves in the aftermath of those hurricanes — Mr. Webster would have been proud. We proved once again that we can overcome every challenge and adversity if we present a united approach characterized by unselfish support for the cause at hand. The resilience that we as an island demonstrated during the last six months is indeed rooted in the examples of that history of which the Father of our Nation was an integral part.
So today I am privileged on behalf of the Government and people of Anguilla to make a small tribute on this holiday granted to the honour of the Father of our Nation to keep his memory alive in our hearts even as we struggle with the challenges we now face.
Let me also use this occasion yet another time to thank his dear wife, Cleopatra and his entire family for supporting Mr. Webster during his life of outstanding leadership and service to Anguilla and its People. On this national holiday to his memory we make a collective pledge to be faithful to the cause of building a nation, proud, strong and free. May his memory continually serve to refresh the vision of the founding fathers in our service to Anguilla.
May God Bless You and may God Bless Anguilla.
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
