Those of us who grew up in Anguilla in the 1940s and 1950s grew up and survived without many of the facilities and amenities which are today quite common. Back then roads were unpaved and dusty, running water was virtually non existent, there were only ten or so telephones on the island and a handful of vehicles. There was no public electricity and, consequently, machinery, appliances and equipment which needed it were non existent but for the old cotton gin at The Factory. There were no hotels and all that is associated with them. There were other deficiencies as well.
Yet, people in Anguilla lived happy and free. Boat building and boat racing were common activities all across the island. Sea bathing, fishing, picking whelks and conchs and picknicking (at one of the many beaches along the coast) were regular and common pastimes (sadly, not so any longer). At times neighbours would have their disagreements and quarrels, but they seldom escalated into a violent fight where someone was wounded. Murder was very, very, very rare. Up to 1967 when the Anguilla Revolution began, there were only six police officers on the island (virtually on holiday). The long and short is that living in Anguilla was peaceful, quiet and virtually crime free. It was hard, but we enjoyed it.
Secondary education came to Anguilla in 1953 when the Valley Secondary School was opened, and to enter one had to pass a qualifying examination at the age of twelve. Until then, there were only five primary schools on the island where students could attend to age sixteen. The literacy and cultural levels were relatively high. Education was generally cherished and children were encouraged to excel as a means of upward mobility. The few students who were privileged to attend High School in St. Kitts did very well.
Church and family were vital institutions and they supported and strengthened each other. The result was a widespread adherence to, and promotion of, a core set of Christian values which gave the people solid moral and spiritual anchorage, individual worth, a deep sense of the sanctity of human life, respect for elders and persons in authority, a strong affinity to the land and a spirit of perseverance.
Owning “a piece of the rock” with your own home on it was a value and goal for every Anguillian, especially the young men, and the community usually came together to make it happen. The coming of the tourist industry changed much of that.
The modern era of tourism in Anguilla began in 1985 with the opening of Malliouhana at Meads Bay. There was great excitement as several jobs were created and, comparatively speaking, paid well. Anguilla was discovered, not by “mariners”, but by “investors”. (Actually some who came were speculators.) As new hotels were built and opened for business, more and more jobs were created. Many persons, mothers especially, who had never before worked outside of their homes found themselves in their mid-years working in the hotels and enjoying a measure of spending power. Many schoolboys went to the hotels after classes and did menial jobs for what was considered “good wages”. On many sides, things appeared to be going well for Anguilla and many persons from other Caribbean islands, and from further afield, flocked to Anguilla to find work and they did. By 2005/2006, Anguilla was at its peak. One prominent Anguillian was heard to foolishly say: “Anguilla is the America of the Caribbean”. In many ways daily living was easier and “better.” The face of Anguilla had changed for all to see, but not many had seen the decaying social fabric.
Unfortunately, the boom was short lived. By 2008 there were signs of cracks, and by the following year the crash was taking place. Lack of clear vision, prudent spending and wise decision-making meant that the crash was hard and, I dare say, it will be longer than expected. The biggest mistake of Anguilla’s administrators, and to some extent, investors as well, was to place too much emphasis on projects while neglecting the development of people and social institutions. True national development must always put people first – their education, health and well-being. Even today when there is much attention given to ensuring a robust tourism industry, one does not see a similar emphasis on enhancing and expanding our social fabric which is in need of serious attention. I am fully aware of existing constraints, but I am urging that we be creative and intentionally use the art of collaboration. Our neglect in the past is now haunting us, and further neglect will certainly result in additional difficulties. We cannot afford to be “penny wise and pound foolish”.
The effects of that neglect are seen in various ways today, chief among them being the upsurge in criminal activity. As the limitation of a newspaper article does not allow for a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the impact of tourism on the spiritual and social fabric of Anguilla, we can only outline a few examples and hope they will be enough to spur us to make some creative responses and so avoid any further negative impact.
We must now consider some of the ways in which the development and management of tourism has negatively impacted Anguillian life despite the good it has done. It is very important for us to take this critical look so that going forward we can be more corrective than reactive.
In the first place, the sale of land to foreign developers did irreparable damage to the psychic affinity Anguillians had with the land. As a result, land came to be understood, consciously or unconsciously, no longer as a spiritual bond between family members, and that the ownership of a piece of land was a very meaningful element of the average Anguillian psychological identity. Land no longer provided the grounding it once did but came to be seen as a commodity to be bought and sold to make one wealthier, more privileged and more powerful. The result is that many Anguillians became dispossessed as more and more of the land became foreign owned (and I dare say it will never be owned by Anguillians again). Even in instances where ordinary low income Anguillians wished to purchase land, the price of it was prohibitive. The younger population feel this the hardest. Whereas in earlier times John and Jane could expect a plot on which to build from their parents, or at a very reasonable price from locals, the fact now is that their children can expect no land from them and cannot buy any.
Secondly, family bonds became disrupted. In times past, land disputes were settled by prominent family and community members and the Church. As a younger man in Anguilla, I was called in to settle boundary disputes among neighbours and my judgement was accepted by the parties. Presently, land and many other disputes have to be settled in court. This has resulted, in many instances, in large sums of money being spent, enriching a third or fourth party, and family members living permanently in disharmony. This disharmony has had serious consequences for social and community life and future family unity.
The point I am making about the major disruption in Anguillian spiritual and social life, having resulted from the sale of land for hotel development, may be difficult for some to understand; but when you do, you easily appreciate the strong connection that exists between dispossession, disrespect, disregard and criminal activity. Why should people, youth or adult care, if they have been dispossessed, marginalized and see no hope?
Thirdly, there is a fairly strong perception, among many, that the management of the tourist industry in Anguilla has made it work against Anguillians and ultimately against Anguilla. This may be a harsh fact to accept, but the view has resonated with several people both inside and outside Anguilla, some young and not so young, some well placed and some not so well placed. Let us look at a few things which prove the point.
(a) The way the tourism product is packaged and sold strongly suggests that Anguilla exists as a destination for the well-being and pleasure of the tourists, and the local people are there to serve them when they come. The streets and beaches have to be kept clean for “our visitors” and virtually everything we do must be done with the tourist in mind and in their interest, and the local Anguillian is often made to feel “second class”. We therefore plead that greater care be taken to ensure that the people of Anguilla are not ‘short changed’ in your desire to sell Anguilla as a very good tourist destination. People who feel good about themselves and their island will make better hosts and will treat visitors more royally than people who feel demeaned and small.
(b) Our brand of ‘high end’ tourism has encouraged ‘high end’ inflation but the wages of most Anguillian workers are ‘low end’ wages. Many persons have to work double shifts or do two jobs to “make ends meet” – and sometimes the ends still don’t meet. At Viceroy, for example, an ordinary housekeeping worker receives US$4.90 per hour, one at the bar US$6.00 and a beach boy US$5.00. Outside the hotel, I know labourers who receive US$8.00 and US$10.00 an hour. Those hotel wages need an upward revision, especially if the working hours are few.
(c) Many, perhaps most, of our major beaches are no longer as easily accessible to locals as they are to tourists, and some cannot be reached without passing on privately owned property. Some of the beaches are actually said to be “private” and therefore not for the enjoyment of Anguillians. We find this to be a very strange thing in Anguilla and shall enquire as to how this could be legally possible. It appears to the perceptive observer that more and more of the island’s prime sites are being alienated and no longer made available to locals. Now, this is more a management issue than an issue which is inherent to tourism, but it is a serious concern nonetheless.
Fourthly, this is the last matter we will highlight to show how the development of tourism has not been managed in the best interest of Anguilla. Anguilla’s natural resources are very limited: the beaches, the reefs. There is no mining or manufacturing. The resources should have been so managed as to significantly and continuously enhance the social life of all Anguillians and residents.
It is a fact that every true investor expects a fair return on his or her investments. Investors come to Anguilla first because they see a good opportunity for that return, not because their first order of business is the development of Anguilla and Anguillians. Our managers of tourism, however, must see that their first order of business is the true development of Anguilla for Anguillians. Their negotiations should have resulted in genuine win/win deals. Unfortunately, they have been resulting in win/lose deals in favour of the investors. We are now in a situation where the limited, but important, natural resources are well nigh exhausted and the island’s basic social institutions and structures, which are the indicators of true development, are in serious disrepair.
Why should the only small hospital, and the health services, be in such poor state? Why are we still without a state of the art sporting facility for our youth? Why are we still struggling so hard to establish a good community college, and why are the skills needed by our hotel workers, to function more efficiently at various levels, not yet readily available on island? Why is there not yet a Hotel Worker’s Scholarship Fund geared to ensuring the training of Anguillians for managerial appointment? Why is it that work permits still have to be issued to foreigners to fill certain maintenance jobs at hotels? Why is there not yet a good trade school on Anguilla? And we can go on and on.
Our appeal is for us to really THINK WIN/WIN as we manage the tourist industry going forward. After all, the investors get so much from Anguilla. What are they really giving back to Anguilla in return? The fact that they keep coming is indicative that they see the benefits others have derived. I recently learnt that one establishment insulted and demeaned every Anguillian by making an unsolicited gift of one hundred pairs of handcuffs. Regrettably, they were accepted and I assume the donors were told that they would be put to good use. We do not want to encourage this way of thinking about Anguilla and Anguillians.
As we close this long article, we make a strong plea for all stakeholders in the tourism industry to begin a constructive dialogue as to how we can make tourism work better for Anguilla. If we can make progress here a real Social Revolution will take place, and we will see a dramatic reduction in criminal activity as well as a significant improvement in how we live as a people. I make one suggestion here for serious consideration and hopefully implementation: That, as a matter of policy, a significant social project should become a basic element of every MOU/MOA. Our investors should become partners with us in remedying the deficiencies of the past and ensuring that the relationship is a Win/Win one for all going forward. What a difference that will make!
You see, our major concern is how to make tourism work better for Anguilla. This requires meaningful collaboration among the local Anguillian managers and the investors/expat community and others. It also requires openness, honesty and creativity as we critically examine the past, embrace the opportunities of the present, and face the future with a clear vision and commitment to a new Anguilla which is unified and crime free – and where “Tranquillity Wrapped in Blue” is the historical as well as the social reality.
