The age-old teaching in the Christian world is that Christmas is a time of hope and great expectation in the redemption and salvation of mankind through the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Some, rather than referring to Christmas, simply interchange it with “the holiday season” or even, the more modern term – “the festive season”. The truth is that whatever meaning, secular or religious, that is attached to this most joyous time of the year, there can be no doubt that it denotes some extraordinary and significant goal post in the universe. The Biblical phrase “Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men” certainly means a lot to us down through the corridors of time. Happy or Merry Christmas is a term commonly used everywhere and that is our wish to all our people in Anguilla and the wider world.
Unfortunately, some of our loved ones here in Anguilla, to whom we may have extended those felicitations, are no longer with us in life as 2018 slips away and, as a close-knit small community, we miss them dearly. For us, Anguilla will never be the same. We, who remain, must in some respects take up the mantle in wherever they demonstrated leadership, goodwill or patriotism to make our island home the kind of society we desire for our present and future generations. In order to achieve this, and more, we must be a responsible and mature people and pay attention to our young people who are in fact tomorrow’s leaders.
In retrospect, we have a great deal to be happy about as 2018 fades into history. In September 2017, our beautiful island was brutally raped by Hurricane Irma. For many, it appeared to have been an almost hopeless and dismal situation. Given the devastation of our tourism plant, its importance to our economic development and to the livelihood of our people, we were understandably unsure whether our investors would pack up and leave our destination. But thankfully they stayed, others came and together they re-invested, solidified and expanded their properties. The end result is that it is springtime in Anguilla. Our enviable resorts, villas and guesthouses are up and running, hundreds of our people have at last found jobs and, despite the whipping from Hurricane Irma, Anguilla has won the number one destination title in the Caribbean. To have won that high rating for two consecutive years speaks volumes about our lovely destination, its people and its tourism product. Although there are pockets of difficulty in other sectors of the economy, and in our communities, we think that Anguilla is poised to significantly rebound in the New Year.
What is more is that there has already been a marked increase in activity in the construction industry – in terms of rebuilding the tourism sector. There are other areas of building and reconstruction ready to take off. It is no wonder that 2019 has been dubbed “the year of pouring concrete”. The projected spending of 32 million pounds of the 60 million pounds allotted to Anguilla, under the UK Government’s programme in humanitarian aid, is a considerably large outlay of funds notwithstanding its insufficiency. But the building and rebuilding of schools and a new passenger terminal at Blowing Point are among the projects that will make Anguilla a very busy construction place. Then, under a proposed private/public sector partnership, there is hope later on for a significant and costly expansion of the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport.
Things are looking both bright and prosperous for Anguilla as 2018 disappears and 2019 is ushered in. May all of us have the patience, hope and great expectation that all will be well with our beloved Anguilla in the New Year.
Happy Christmas and a Prosperous 2019 to all!
