Editorial

Nowadays there are some serious social occurrences in Anguilla which raise eyebrows as our people, caught in disbelief, declare that they could not conceive that such things would happen here. Who, for instance, would think that a prisoner or prisoners, having allegedly cut through a cell iron gate, would tie up their guards, grab the keys of the prison facility and make good their escape in a guard’s vehicle and then in a boat to a neighbouring island? Probably it sounds like a tale from the “Wild West” but it is a matter which the Anguilla Government, police and prison officials here, with assistance from St.Martin/St.Maarten lawmen, are dealing with today.

There were three recent events in Anguilla which were highly commendable and of much national importance.

For all of its history, the public service in Anguilla has been the yardstick by which employers in the private sector have measured, and continue to compare, their own employees. Further, the way the various ministries and departments have been functioning has also, by extension been, and continues to be, a measuring tool for the administering of private business establishments. This is understandable because it is the belief that the government service attracts the greater percentage of the brainy and best trained workforce and hence it is thought that their performance is second to none.

At one of the meetings of the regional media organisations, in which Anguilla holds membership, a well-known legal luminary told a seasoned, but gentle journalist, that the press should not be afraid to criticise the judiciary. The newspaper reporter, looking at the lawyer with a degree of astonishment, remarked: “yes, but then they will lock me up for contempt of court.” Well, that might be so if one behaves in a certain way but, for the most part, the court everywhere is supposed to be a democratic institution, tolerant of the views of all and sundry.

After about a year and a half of the gruesome murder of Jamida Webster, an Anguillian school girl, a man has been arrested and charged with her murder. The matter is now before the courts for the eventual trial by judge and jury. It will now be for the prosecution to prove its case against him and for justice to take its course, but it must be understood by the public that notwithstanding the gravity of the situation he is entitled to a fair trial and the facts of the case must speak for themselves. The matter is sub-judice and no further comment needs to be made.

There is a move in Anguilla and the rest of the Caribbean region to step up the surveillance and treatment of cervical cancer, a virus-causing disease, which is killing many women each year.

The islands of the Caribbean have much in common when it comes to vulnerability on every hand and more and more it is becoming obvious that they must be prepared to lend a helping hand to each other in times of difficulty.

Now that the major airlines serving Anguilla have been temporarily withdrawn, all eyes are on Wallblake Airport where expansion work is in progress. It is not only the taxi-drivers who are looking on, but everybody involved in the tourist and hotel industry, as well as those persons who generally use the air services and know the importance of a functioning airport. The employees of the airlines are also concerned because their jobs are negatively affected.

These days the weekly criminal reports by the Police in Anguilla are rife with incidents of theft and burglary which by definition in law are not really one and the same. At times there are up to 10 stolen cases and half the number of burglaries at business places and private homes across the island. The frequency and sometimes the level of sophistication with which they are occurring may be generally alarming. At that rate the court system may soon become clogged with the number of these cases on the books and the prison cells filled with offenders.

Sometimes things have a way of popping up and causing much excitement to everyone and then, before long, nothing more is heard about them and one is left wondering what has happened. So it appears in the case of the proposed Tertiary Community College which received overwhelming support from stakeholders and other persons in Anguilla when it was first publicly mentioned in January this year.

Late last month the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police, including our own Keithly Benjamin, met in Trinidad and took decisions on four matters relating to criminal activity. The first was to work in partnership with community groups to reduce crime and violence involving young people in the region. The second and third were to develop and implement strategies to deal with illegal firearms in the area. The fourth was to create an awareness of terrorist threats and to maintain a state of vigilance.

Last week, without being specific, The Anguillian mentioned that there were reports of infighting among political parties and independent candidates offering themselves to the people in next year’s general elections. The point was made that the disagreements about who should run, and who is not suitable for public office, might eventually be a process of elimination leading to the choice of better and more capable representatives and good and sustained governance.

With General Elections in Anguilla constitutionally due in less than a year, the political fever is getting warmer. Already there appears to be a record number of candidates coming forward as independents, for the time being, and at least one new party is said to have been formed.

Anybody who visited the primary schools in particular, last week, could not but admire the large amount of work done by the teachers with respect to creating an awareness of the Anguilla Revolution. Such was the success by the teachers in putting across the history of the island in the classrooms, that the students themselves did a number of creative exercises on their own including scrapbooks containing pertinent information about various highpoints of the Anguilla Day celebrations.

The Anguillian takes this opportunity to welcome the island’s newly-appointed Governor and Mrs. Alan Huckle and to wish both of them a most rewarding sojourn and experience among our people.

One of the things that can immediately spread fear to the heart and put people to flight is when fire breaks out somewhere and threatens life and property. Too often we are seeing this happen in a small community life Anguilla. Death, severely burned persons and destruction of belongings have resulted in some cases. The time has certainly come for something to be done to guard against disastrous fires and to put them out swiftly before they wreak havoc. While there have been efforts to control fires, the island has for too long experienced a lack of suitable fire-fighting capabilities to deal with the situations when they presented themselves.

Last week Wednesday, May 5, over 130 construction workers and a number of subcontractors marched on the Government’s Secretariat. They demanded that certain project work on the golf course be allowed to proceed without delay to ensure that their employment and earning of money was not disrupted. They were told that there was a procedure to follow and the interest of neighbouring landowners and that of the project itself had to be looked at on a whole and a decision would be made later in the day.

The 37th Anniversary of the Anguilla Revolution is just over a month away and there is good reason for the annual celebration. It brings home to all of us the importance of a people taking responsibility for the future and welfare of their homeland despite what might appear to be an insurmountable task with many odds against them. It is difficult to imagine what the situation might have been in Anguilla today if men like the late Jeremiah Gumbs had not come forward to join with Ronald Webster and other revolutionary leaders to make his contribution to nation-building at a time when such assistance was badly needed. Anguilla could not have remained in its former constitutional and political quandary and achieved the level of development and freedom it now enjoys.

In many parts of the Christian world the Easter Season is regarded with much sombreness. It recalls the passion, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ and is therefore observed as the most solemn period in the Christian calendar. Sadly, however, it does not always stop the violence around us as truce breakers, rebels and criminals continue their assaults and the sound of battle is heard wherever the hot spots exist. But we must hope that someday the weapons of war will be laid down giving way to the joy of peace and love.

There has been much talk about disaster planning and preparedness in Anguilla over the years. During that period a few terrible hurricanes have swept across the island leaving much damage and rebuilding expense behind. After that, we have also been left to ponder whether our response strategies were adequate and what could be done to remedy the situation. We join with Rodney Rey, the Chief Minister’s Permanent Secretary, to point out that small states, like Anguilla, cannot afford the severe economic shocks and dislocation that disasters can cause. The obvious necessity, therefore, would be to take measures to help avoid the negative impact and to ensure sustainable development.