To the naked eye, Anguilla seems like an unspoiled paradise: a perfect place to relax, unwind, meet new people, experience local culture and bask in the sunshine. Truthfully, it is all that. However, for those of us who have grown up here, live and work here, and call here home, it seems like a country of paradoxes. By world standards, even by regional standards, Anguilla in many ways has remained relatively undeveloped. For some persons this is desirable, but I believe for the majority it is not. Most of our people would like to see more progress made in Anguilla, in a number of areas, in order to make the economy more sustainable and less susceptible to external shocks, and to ensure that people enjoy a high standard of living. As Anguillians, we want to see an improvement in education, health and other social services. We would like to have improved road, water, electrical and communications infrastructure. We want the country to thrive. I think these are things which most of us can agree on.
However, as a country we seem to be at a crossroad – not knowing where to go, so choosing instead to stand still. We seem to be afraid of making the wrong decision, or to lack confidence in our ability to decide for ourselves what direction we ought to take. So, instead, we satisfy ourselves with bickering with each other and going nowhere. This has been our modus operandi for several years – spanning several governments. I will give just a few examples.
Anguillians have been crying out, for some time, about the need for Government to invest more in health, education, sports and road development. However, Anguillians also have no appetite (not even in good times) for paying more taxes so that the improvements can be made, even though they will ultimately benefit. Why complain about what currently exists if you are not willing to make the sacrifice to change it?
In relation to health insurance coverage, people have been begging for mechanisms to be put in place to make quality healthcare more affordable. Yet, when the system of National Health Insurance was devised there was so much outcry in relation to it that it had to be shelved. Other countries in the region which have followed Anguilla’s lead have long implemented their health insurance schemes while we do nothing.
Constitutional reform is yet another example. We have asked for reform over and over. We have grown tired of report after report being completed with no tangible results. Finally, steps are being taken to have the reforms we have asked for implemented, and again several persons are voicing vehement opposition because they do not approve of the order in which the implementation is taking place. What will the outcome be? Your guess is as good as mine. Again, this was an area in which we were the first out of the starting blocks, and while others have reached the finish line we are still running around the track.
Let us consider our approach to tourism development. How often have you heard that we need to explore new markets, think of new ways to attract visitors to Anguilla, venture into something different? Yet, when marina development or cruise tourism is mentioned people react as if Anguilla is being sold to the lowest bidder. Surely, before dismissing an idea, we should be able to suggest ways in which we can make it work, or suggest alternatives. We cannot expect things to change when we do not have the desire to try anything different.
Immigration reform is another issue. Many persons have expressed the view that we need to increase our population to make the economy more sustainable. They have suggested that we should be more relaxed in our immigration requirements to encourage people to migrate to Anguilla. Yet many of these same persons can be heard denouncing the recent move by Government to establish an economic residency programme. Others often harp on the number of businesses owned by Chinese nationals – even suggesting that Government should put a stop to them. On the one hand, we are asking for population growth but on the other hand we want to dictate where the people should come from and what nationality they should be. It pains me to say this, but it is becoming increasingly obvious that when it comes to other nationalities living in Anguilla, Anguillians are some of the most xenophobic people you can encounter.
I say all this to say that as Anguillians we have to decide whether we want to continue lingering at the crossroads or choose a path. I believe we have the talent, intellect and ability to choose a development path and make it work for us. Our biggest obstacles seem to be our unwillingness to change our attitude and approach – and our lack of confidence in ourselves to take Anguilla to the next level. Until we make a collective effort to surmount those obstacles, Anguilla will remain in a state of stagnation – neither coming nor going.
