Let me also extend condolences to the family of late Sir Emile Gumbs, former Chief Minister of Anguilla, who was laid to rest last week. Many persons would have varied opinions for and against his tenure and style of leadership. That is just the nature of human beings. I am wise to the fact that you cannot please everybody. If you think you can make everyone happy, and that everyone will like you, you are definitely in the wrong world. We were all born to be different, but to collaborate for the betterment of humanity. That being said, my article for this week focuses on what does the Anguilla Revolution mean to the average Anguillian?
We are again celebrating this week another anniversary of the Anguilla Revolution. I will be forever thankful for the freedom fighters who laid a foundation so that we can be where we are today. We have come a long way. However, if you ask the average Anguillian, especially the youth, what does the Anguilla Revolution mean to you many will be lost for words or would shrug their shoulders. We often blame and chastise the young people for not knowing their history. What do we expect? To this day The Anguilla Revolution is not a significant part of our schools’ curriculum. Imagine the most important era in the island’s history is not being passed on from generation to generation in a deliberate and holistic manner. When was the last time surviving members of the Revolution visited the schools and informed the students of their experiences during the Revolution? It is said that “you can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been”. Marcus Garvey summed it up even better by saying: “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” I trust and hope that this issue will be addressed going forward.
I congratulate the Heroes and Heroines of the Anguilla Revolution who were awarded with Badges of Honour and Queen’s Certificates this year and over the past years. These brave men and women should be treated like Kings and Queens and assisted as much as practicably possible. In fact, we need to have a Hall of Fame for all the Heroes or Heroines of the Anguilla Revolution. Another celebration of the Anguilla Revolution has come and gone and yet we fail to honour some persons who played critical roles during the Anguilla Revolution of 1967-1969. I do not know if it is out of ignorance or otherwise. However, there are many stories of persons who risked their life fighting for this country and they have not been given the recognition they rightfully deserve. Sadly, we are a society that openly shows favouritism toward others and disregard for the least in society. We must give jack his jacket irrespective of his or her political association, religious beliefs, ethnic origin or status in society. The Anguilla Honours and Awards Committee needs to address this issue and undertake further research to verify and honour persons who are worthy of such recognition.
I applaud the call for unity and healing as we celebrate another anniversary of the Anguilla Revolution. However, our actions must speak louder than words. The Heroes and Heroines of the Anguilla Revolution demonstrated what we can be accomplished when we work collectively as a people. We are now in dire need of this team-oriented spirit. We are a resilient people, proud and strong, but the system stifles creativity, fairness, equality, keeping the majority socially, economically and politically marginalized. These were the same causes for the revolution in 1967. The system needs to work for everybody, if not we may have another revolution never imagined. Like Reverend E. Dunstan Richardson, I also pray for one Anguilla, and not two separate Anguillas, as is, where there is the privileged on one side and the oppressed on the other side.
