Good day Fellow Anguillians. I am obliged to speak to you today as a result of certain unfortunate statements that have been made about me recently in the media. My name is Mrs. Rebecca Webster and I am the Chairperson of the Miss Anguilla Pageant Committee. I have held this post for the past four (4) years and during that time, I have given selflessly and worked tirelessly to showcase our beautiful women ofAnguillain a tasteful and elegant manner. As a former Miss CCB Talented Teen Winner and Miss Anguilla contestant, I have always sought to make the experience of entering the Miss Anguilla Pageant a pleasurable, beneficial and productive one for all the contestants and to this end I have dedicated an insurmountable amount of my time and personal resources to my post which, I add, is not a salaried one. Not only do my duties revolve around the Pageant during the Carnival Period but it also involves me assisting the reigning Queen during her representation of theislandofAnguillaoverseas. In several cases in order to assist in this manner, I have personally incurred some of the expenses associated with this duty. As a further testament to my dedication to this Pageant I was recently hospitalized with a heart condition and, upon my release I have, instead of resigning from my post, continued my duties whole heartedly, mainly because the contestants in this year’s Pageant have and continue to depend on me and hold me in high esteem. The caliber of my work and the manner in which I carry out my duties in this post have, as far as I am aware, never been criticized in the public.
It therefore came as a surprise when, I heard the Honourable Parliamentary Secretary responsible for Tourism and Finance say the following on 25th July 2012 on the Carnival Countdown Show (A Radio Anguilla Programme):
“I believe umm even as it relates to the Ms. Anguilla, Ms. Anguilla there’s so much uncertainty. I remembered when Nurse Nanton was in charge of that that that committee, you know; you had a beautiful , elegant, trim lady coming to your home and say “hey, I want your daughter to be in the Ms. Anguilla” and you was like wow, Nurse Nanton beautiful, intelligent and so forth. But today we probably need to look at the person who’s going to their homes and asking to come out to be in the Ms. Anguilla contest. You know, when when when someone who’s um 300, 400 pounds come to your door and say I would like your daughter to be Ms. Anguilla, to be in the Ms. Anguilla contest…”
Inasmuch as I am the person now in charge of the Ms. Anguilla Pageant Committee, it is clear that Mr. Hughes could only be speaking about me. In light of not only my dedication but the dedication of past chairpersons and the committee itself, I was shocked, extremely disappointed and appalled by this malicious comment made by Mr. Hughes. Not only did the comment lack taste but it was not a constructive criticism and was highly unbecoming of the Parliamentary Secretary who is responsible for the Ministry of Tourism and Finance, a portfolio closely related to the Anguilla Summer Festival, one ofAnguillatourism’s premier selling points. The Miss Anguilla Pageant has produced many Miss Anguilla winners which have aptly represented Anguilla on behalf of the Ministry of Tourism, inAnguillaand internationally.
Mr. Hughes’ statement, which could only be considered defamatory, was intended to give the general public the impression that due to my holding this position, there has been a reluctance of young women to enter the Pageant and as such the Pageant’s success has been hampered. His statement also suggested that there was a problem with my chairing the committee, leading one to conclude that I am ineffective and not functioning in my role as chairperson. More importantly, however, Mr. Hughes’ comment regarding my weight is not only discriminatory, but disrespectful to me personally and to women on the whole.
I would like to make it clear that I am a part of the Anguilla Summer Festival in several capacities, but my role as the Chairperson of the Miss Anguilla Pageant is separate and apart from my from my calypso personality. As Queen Bee, the calypsonian, I am a part of a practicing art which from the beginning has been a catalyst for the views of the people, and as such is rife with social commentary. My social commentary as a calypsonian should not in any way mean that I should be personally attacked about my skills, competency or weight as chairperson of the Miss Anguilla Pageant.
Mr. Hughes’ comments were so offensive, that I am now obliged to make this statement and, further, to urge Mr. Hughes to issue a public retraction of his malicious, defamatory and derogatory comment, especially in light of his position as Parliamentary Secretary responsible for Tourism.
I am in the process of assessing the extent of damage which the comment has made inAnguilla, our small community. In the interim, it is my belief that as a result of this attack by the Parliamentary Secretary responsible for the Ministry of Tourism and Finance and despite my affection for the Pageant, I have no other option than to step down from the post of Chairperson of the Miss Anguilla Pageant after this years pageant.
Signed
Rebecca Webster
Chairperson of the Miss Anguilla Pageant
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
