Editorial

One of the things that successive Governments in Anguilla have failed to embark on, over the years, has been the need to set up a proper machinery for the dissemination of public information. Not only has there been a lack of an in-house system, but there has been a failure by our leaders to effectively use the available media to channel timely and enlightening information to the people of the island.

The recent arrest, fine and imprisonment in the British Virgin Islands of an Anguillian boatman for landing over 30 illegal immigrants there, mainly from Haiti and the Dominican Republic, was not good news.

No one residing in a country that is not his or her original homeland likes to see or hear the above word. Correspondingly, no Government or people in a democratic society, respecting the rights and privileges of persons living among them, like to resort to deportation unless there is the type of misbehaviour and national threat that calls for such drastic action.

It is so long since the Anguilla Government set out to develop the Fountain Cavern as the island’s premier tourist attraction, and conservation project, that the time of the decision is lost to memory except perhaps on paper somewhere.

Every time the month of June steps in there is a considerable amount of apprehension in the Caribbean region and other areas of the world vulnerable to the destructive force of hurricane activity. There is much reason for the concern, taking into account that for some scientific reason both the numbers and severity of the storms appear to be ever-increasing, putting to the greatest test the level of disaster preparedness everywhere.

A situation is building up whereby there could be some serious flooding in the Valley area to threaten life and property as was the case in November 1999 in the wake of Hurricane Lenny.

When anyone speaks about rising crime in Anguilla nowadays, sexual offences immediately come to mind because of late they rank highly on the list of criminal activity on the island. Child molestation and unlawful carnal knowledge, in which young girls are robbed of their innocence and dignity by some unscrupulous men who seem to have lost their reason and decency, must be roundly condemned.

There is no better time to think about the need and importance of building better relationships, commitment and honesty in the job environment in Anguilla like now when the subject of labour relations is high in the air.

The initiatives being taken by the Government with respect to labour matters, as mentioned to some extent in this issue of The Anguillian, signify that new efforts have begun to re-shape, re-define and strengthen various issues needing attention.

One of the failures of legislators and regulation-makers in past House of Assemblies in Anguilla, has been their lack of foresight in having a revised set of wide-ranging rules to govern all matters relating to the conduct of meetings. Imagine what can result from an oversight in not having an arrangement in place where, in the interim, when there is no Speaker elected, the Clerk to the House has clear powers to control the initial proceedings.

The world is a stage and all of us are just actors, one noted commentator once said. The statement holds a great deal of truth for no matter what positions of life or influence we occupy, all of us one day will exit that stage on which we are now performing. Man has one common destiny: death. After that it is either heaven or hell, but the life we live on earth, and the name we build for ourselves, can be shining examples for others to emulate.

There is a growing uneasiness among responsible people in Anguilla over the increasing wanton behaviour of some of our youth on whom the future of the island depends.

Perhaps one of the most important statements made by the Chief Minister since the General Election is that the Government “will be far more open to the populace than before.”

Nobody should under-estimate the power, will, energy and tenacity of Anguillian women when it comes to earnestly contending for their rights and gender equality. Their workshop in observance of International Women’s Day on Tuesday this week, March 8, was a highly-charged one. Those women who addressed the opening ceremony conveyed the depth of feelings of their colleagues on the floor, in no uncertain terms, with respect to various matters with which they are concerned.

The changing of the Anguillian society was further demonstrated in real terms last week. That was when over thirty nationals of a number of Caribbean islands were sworn in as British Citizens on the island. Their new status came as they acquired British Overseas Territories Citizenship resulting from a connection with Anguilla under the Constitution or under the provisions of the British Nationality Act or other legal means.

With the General Election in Anguilla now over, one of the first things we all should do is express gratitude to the Almighty that it was a peaceful, fair and orderly exercise.

The above phrase is a colloquial expression used predominantly in Caribbean politics when candidates in an election are out in the field canvassing for votes. It certainly is not a good description of the noble men and women offering themselves for public office. In truth and in fact, it gives the impression of a group of people running around out of control and this should not be.

One of the fundamentals of democracy is the right to hold opinions and to express them publicly without fear, but there are certain safeguards to watch. Not only do these safeguards relate to the laws of libel and defamation, but to standards of decency, morality and law and order.

The arduous task of the Environmental Health Unit to help safeguard the cleanliness, beauty, hygiene and general healthy condition of Anguilla and its people, has been given some welcome and much-needed relief at last.

The huge loss of life and devastation on the southern coast of Asia, not to mention in far away Africa, occasioned by the recent earthquake and tidal wave or the tsunami, as the disaster is called, is mind-boggling and admittedly frightening.