This year we celebrate the 38th Anniversary of the Anguilla Revolution without Atlin Harrigan. He had a previous appointment which he kept on 2nd February 2005.
If Ronald Webster is the father of modern Anguilla then Atlin Harrigan was its mother. The idea of the Revolution, which brought it about, was conceived in the womb of his fertile brain. A visionary – a dreamer – Atlin was the first person in those difficult days of the 1960s to propose that Anguilla break all ties with St Kitts.
As a young electrician (27 years old), who had spent some years in Britain and the US Virgin Islands, and who had become disillusioned with conditions in Anguilla, Atlin was of the view that the British Government’s plan to create the Associated State of St Kittts, Nevis and Anguilla would mean Anguilla’s continued domination by St. Kitts. He was convinced that the proposed constitutional arrangement was to Anguilla’s disadvantage and was determined, therefore, to prevent its coming into being at all cost.
In the absence of print media in Anguilla, Atlin published a letter in The Democrat (of St Kitts), dated 6th August 1966, in which he called on the Anguillian people to reject Statehood and “stay Colonial.” The letter said in part:
We don’t have electricity, our roads are next to nothing, our hospital is inadequate [and] our schools are overcrowded, especially the East End School. . . . We all are worried about hurricanes, but if a fire breaks out in our island with this drought we have, it would be more disastrous than a hurricane [because] we don’t have any fire trucks. . . . Our airport is even getting worse so it can only be served by small aircraft. We have the most boats in the Colony [but are] without a dock to tie up and unload cargo. The few battery telephones we had are now gone. The water situation is unbearable . . .
It was because of those conditions, and the recognition that the Anguillian people needed to chart their own destiny, that he advocated a break with St Kitts before Statehood. His letter to The Democrat pleaded:
Let everyone sign a petition that will be drawn up and sent to the Secretary of State for the Colonies protesting self-government with St Kitts . . .
We [sat] and take too much too long . . .
I say again let’s stay Colonial and be a colony of our own and be better off.
With those words, the Anguillian people were spurred into action. Atlin had lit the flames of the Revolution which changed Anguilla’s socio-economic and political environment forever. With those words, he opened his people’s minds to the realisation that it was about time they controlled their own destiny which was achievable if they worked together. Having lit the flames, Atlin was one among those who ensured that they kept on burning.
Atlin was in the vanguard of the Revolution. One of its principal planners and strategists. And he was no armchair leader. He was in the trenches with the foot soldiers – feeling the heat. In the early days, he and Webster spent several cold nights in the bushes not only trying to avoid capture by the St Kitts policemen, but also brainstorming about the way forward. During the 1984 general elections campaign, Kennedy Hodge alluded to those times. He told a public meeting how Atlin and Ronald Webster “had to hide up in Junks Hole,” and that his “mother (Olive) used to carry a pot of food for them every night, sunset, through the bushes”. Actually, Atlin was everywhere. For example, he was captain of the boat which landed a party of Anguillians on St Kitts on 10th June 1967 where they carried out attacks on the Defence Force barracks and Police Headquarters. The attacks fizzled out.
But not the Revolution. In Anguilla a Peace-keeping Committee of 15, of which Atlin was a member, was established and took responsibility for managing the island’s affairs until representative institutions were established. It was later replaced by the Anguilla Council on which Atlin sat from 1968 to 1972.
Atlin had great concern about the Council’s decision-making processes. There was hardly any debate or discussion. Actually, his sojourn to Britain made him an admirer of British parliamentary democracy, a system of government in which he was a staunch believer. For this reason, among others, he was determined, from an early stage of the Revolution, to ensure that the seeds of democracy were planted in Anguilla. As a beginning, he started the publication of The Beacon, Anguilla’s first newspaper, on 27th September 1967. It was the principal medium of expression of all shades of political opinion.
The Beacon, which was intended to be the people’s mouthpiece, came at a time when there were serious divisions within the ranks of the leadership of the Revolution. A main bone of contention was whether Anguilla, having forcefully severed links with St Kitts, should declare itself independent of Britain or continue seeking a direct link with Britain. Webster and other radicals in the leadership favoured immediate independence while Atlin and the moderates urged caution. According to The Beacon: “Amputation (independence) is a very serious operation, only to be taken at the last resort if all other methods of saving the limb should have failed. A skilled surgeon only takes such a step when he knows that all other means have been tried”. Atlin had taken the position that independence should come only after all avenues to a peaceful resolution of the constitutional impasse, brought about by the Revolution, had been exhausted and after the people had expressed their wishes by means of a referendum.
But Ronald Webster and his advisers were adamant in their advocacy of independence in the short run rather than long run. Further, Webster felt that because he was the revolutionary leader he was vested with the right to chart the island’s political course. He told a political meeting on 22nd December 1968 that, as leader of Anguilla, “I consider I have been given a very special trust, and I would use my judgment constructively”.
Webster’s decision to go down the independence road without consulting the full Anguilla Council, and his one-man leadership style, were regarded by Atlin as signs of creeping dictatorship which he abhorred and vowed to resist. Atlin, therefore, was engaged in battle on two fronts. On one front, he was involved with Webster and others in the fight for freedom from St Kitts which ended in triumph for the Anguillian people. On the other, he waged an internal struggle (a struggle in Anguilla) for participatory democracy, transparency in government, accountability, freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
But Atlin had an uphill battle because the charismatic Webster, having been popularly recognised as the Revolutionary Leader, attracted considerable public support and respect. The people followed him blindly. And whatever he said was gospel and met with a loud “Amen”. According to the late John Thomas: “When Webster is wrong, he is right. And when he is right, he is double right”. The Beacon observed: “It is true that some people in Anguilla will jump over High Cliff (near Long Pond) if they are told to do so by a certain person [Webster]. So how in the world can one get across the truth to these people?”
It was indeed difficult for Atlin to get across his message of democratic governance. Webster had become a God and to express a view opposite to his was sacrilege – was blasphemy. No one dared criticise the Lord’s anointed. In this situation, Atlin was portrayed as anti-Revolution and anti-Webster and his battle against dictator-type leadership led to his political ostracism. But he did not throw in the towel choosing, instead, to continue the fight for what he believed in and to keep The Beacon in circulation despite the odds. The Beacon was a constructive critic of social and political phenomena in Anguilla. And Atlin’s observations were honest, genuine and fair. Regrettably though, Webster’s supporters, and the less informed and misinformed, thought otherwise and The Beacon’s press was confiscated. It was later returned and the newspaper remained a symbol of hope for the growth of democracy in Anguilla.
And so, in spite of the many difficulties and threats, and ever cognisant of the political fallout, Atlin kept up his campaign against Webster’s one-manism. Atlin could have condoned it, and “suck up” like many others, but that was not him. He refused to compromise the principles he valued dearly.
It was in furtherance of those principles that the Atlin-led Anguilla Constructive Democratic Movement (ACDM) was formed in April 1969. The Beacon’s editorial commented: The ACDM “could not sit idly by and see our island taken over by elements that seemed even worse than Bradshaw”. The ACDM’s formation had formalised the split between Atlin and Webster, the two most prominent leaders of the Revolution.
There is no doubt that Webster wanted the best for Anguilla, but things had to go the Webster-way and no other. In response to those who criticised his leadership-style, Webster’s often replied: “If at times I appear to be a dictator it is for Anguilla – it is in the interest of Anguilla”. As expected, his followers believed him and saw nothing wrong with it.
The kind of difficulties which Atlin experienced in his fight for democracy, and its attendant freedoms, came out quite strongly in his editorial in The Beacon of 3rd May 1969:
The pains one has to go through are often unwarranted . . .
We have to speak out when vital things are happening that could jeopardise us . . . Today we have a group who feel that only their voices should be heard – anyone else who expresses his or her opinion, right or wrong, is termed a crook . . . We all know that ‘Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely’.
Atlin observed in a subsequent editorial, 12th July 1969, that he and his supporters had seen many pitfalls in Anguilla’s struggle and tried their “best to guide the ship clear”. However, and I quote him: “Every time I attempt to recommend something that conflicts with Webster’s ideas, it is used as if I were the enemy and not Bradshaw”.
Indeed, he was branded an enemy and left in the political cold. Following the coming into force of the Anguilla (Administration) Order 1971 which, among other things, provided for a Legislative Council, Atlin contested the 1972 general elections and lost against Webster for the Island Harbour seat. (Between 1977 and 1980, he had a stint as a Nominated Member of the Council.) He suffered another defeat by Webster in the 1980 elections. The fact that Webster chose to run against him ensured his defeat. Atlin, after having helped to free Anguilla from St Kitts, was paying the price for demanding democratic governance for Anguilla. The price may have bothered others, but not him. A further price, perhaps, was the burning of his motorcar during the night of 18th June 1983 in circumstances which still remain a mystery. To this day, Bob Rogers, another of the revolutionary leaders, is bitter about the poor treatment meted out to Atlin after the battle against St Kitts was won.
It was only after the defeat of Webster’s Government, in 1984, and the coming to power of the Anguilla National Alliance, that Atlin’s contribution to Anguilla’s socio-economic political development was given some recognition. More importantly, however, he was brought in from the cold and given an opportunity to contribute further. He was made Speaker of the Anguilla House of Assembly on 18th January 1985 and served in that capacity with distinction, for nine years. He put into practice what he had been advocating and handled the business of the House most evenhandedly. In 1992, while he was Speaker, Atlin was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty the Queen.
Atlin’s life of service to the Anguillian people was phenomenal. He was the mother of modern-day Anguilla and will live in our hearts. He was concerned with creating the socio-economic and political environment in which Anguillians, in every walk of life, could make a living. He contributed significantly to laying the necessary groundwork and, today, Anguilla has become a showpiece of economic success.
Atlin, the lion-hearted revolutionary stalwart – the father of Anguilla’s democracy – will live in our hearts. To quote Chief Minister Osbourne Fleming, “Atlin wrote about the need for an open society long before the term ‘transparency’ entered the language of governance. Atlin wrote about social justice before that concept entered the thoughts of everyday Anguillians. Atlin was a leading advocate of freedom of speech, and freedom of expression, long before these freedoms were enshrined in our Constitution”. I would add that he put his life on the line for their advancement.
Atlin, the humble and caring gentleman, gave much but asked for nothing in return. He did not get a single penny out of the Anguilla Revolution. But he put in many. To think about it, he was one of a handful of Anguilla’s political leaders who did not die rich materially. He did not die rich because he was never preoccupied with amassing personal wealth. He did not die rich because he was not concerned with office or position. He was concerned with service which he gave at great personal sacrifice. The fact that he was not concerned with office or position was also reflected in the way he lived among his people. Atlin was not a ‘society man’. Most of his friends were mainly lowly folk and people like Pig, Baggy, Mac and so on, with whom he felt most comfortable.
Atlin did not die rich materially, but he died leaving a rich legacy of impeccable, unparalleled and sacrificial service to his people. A fitting reminder of his priceless contribution to the wellbeing of the Anguillian people was the naming of the House of Assembly, the symbol of our democracy, the “Atlin Noraldo Harrigan Parliamentary Building”. But even without that, Atlin could never be forgotten. He lives within our hearts.
