Columns

As one would be able to notice, in last week’s edition of The Anguillian, the paper was full of articles dealing with youth including the entire front page. Firstly, I also feel the need to take part in congratulating the students on their academic accolades so I will join in by saying that all who did well on their exams should be proud and I wish them much success in the future. With the National Youth Conference right around the corner, this is now a chance to make things happen.

I attended a press conference on Tuesday, September 11 at the Ministry of Social Development in which an official launch was announced concerning a National Youth Conference. In this week’s edition of The Anguillian, you can read in greater detail about this conference and although I wrote that article as well, I felt it justified that this column should also focus on this paramount event.

It feels good to finally be home after a month of travel. The beginning of my journey took me to Peñafiel, Spain, where I stayed for two and a half weeks. There, I ran with the bulls and played with them inside the bull ring. I was one of the lucky ones that did not get injured.Others were not so fortunate. My last stop was Bridgehampton, New York, where I was invited to stay with Edgar Bronfman Jr. and his family at their home in New York.

One of the greatest privileges to be bestowed upon a man is to hold the tiny body of his newborn baby boy in his arms and contemplatively look into his chubby little blood-flushed face. With an air of achievement and pride, mingled with a greater sense of gratitude, he marvels at the mystery of God’s creation – the intricacies of new life, and his own position as “father”.

There is a saying, and I quote, “If the beginning is right the end will be right”, end of quote. I have prefaced this article with this quote, because in Anguilla’s present position today, these words coined by an anonymous writer are very relevant today as when first uttered. I have deliberately waited until the events of the last six weeks or so to approach this topic with all HONESTY and DEDICATION of PURPOSE for the ROCK and NOT FOR INDIVIDUALS.

I am writing this article as I prepare to participate in the running of the bulls in Peñafiel, an old town in Castile, the so-called Spanish heartland. I have been in Spain for more than a week on vacation and staying in a small town called Fompedraza, which has a population of 40 in the winter and 150 in the summer. Both Peñafiel and Fompedraza are small towns in the Province of Valladolid which used to be the capital of Spain before it was moved permanently to Madrid in 1606. When I was a student, I lived in Valladolid for a year taking classes and teaching English, therefore I try to come back as often as I can to visit friends.

A random collection of coincidences over the past fortnight have taken me to the dining room of “the White House” at Sandy Ground, where I stand next to Sir Emile, white curls bent over an old hurricane chart, wide glasses magnifying his eyes as well as his sight, left hand routinely, firmly, tilting the small wooden ruler, which must, by now, have measured the path of hundreds of storms. “This is where it’s now, over a thousand miles away. If it follows the usual path… we’re in trouble. But, when is the next full moon? Historically, the really bad storms have always hit us during full moon.”

This Sunday I am off to Spain for a much needed vacation. Next week, during the Anguilla Summer Festival, the staff of The Anguillian will also be taking a break to enjoy the festivities. We will all use this opportunity to reflect and gather energy so that we can continue to report the news to the best of our ability.

Known locally as the Sea Egg, the long-spined sea urchin is probably best known to everyone after they touch it and receive a number of small but painful puncture wounds from its very long black spines. It is one of the best reasons for divers, snorkelers and swimmers in general to avoid rocky areas as these places are where it makes its home. The reason for it dwelling here is not primarily for protection - the arsenal of spines serve this function - but rather because it feeds off algae (seaweed) that grow on the rocks.

When working with youth or in any philanthropic organization, it is sometimes difficult to maintain a high level of energy because of its taxing nature. There are many clubs and organizations in Anguilla that do so much for the development of youth and quite frankly if they did not exist, the country would be in dire straits. There are also many government departments, with many employees who are completely devoted, that help to ensure that children have programmes that can help them grow and lead productive lives. Although sometimes results in human development can be slow and not so apparent, these people still keep hope alive despite the fact that their rewards are not as tangible as in other sectors such as business where the rewards are in dollars and scents.

The last day of the recent 2007 Rotary International Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, showcased the variety of service opportunities Rotarians enjoy, from working on grassroots projects to serving at the highest levels of Rotary International’s leadership. Two are mentioned here, taken from the Rotary International website.

These past few days I was recently inspired to begin the process of writing a poem. Poetry has been a large part of my life since 1996 as I decided to specialize in Spanish Literature in university with an emphasis on Golden Age Poetry. I found that poetry was the ultimate form of artistic expression with words and consequently the principal way to reflect on my emotions and the world around me. Many children find poetry or the writing of songs as a way to escape or express themselves. Others choose music, sports, fashion, and dance to release their creative urges.

Rotary strives to promote peace through education. Since 1947, The Rotary Foundation has awarded more than $1.1 billion in humanitarian and educational grants and is one of the world’s largest privately funded sources of international scholarships.

Anguilla, tranquility wrapped in blue. Anguilla, feeling is believing. Though both of these ‘nice sounding’ slogans will remain with us for a while, we can see where the tranquility that once engulfed our island is giving way to feelings of dismay, despair and desolation, as green and greed increasingly surround us.

At the inauguration ceremony for the tennis courts at the ATA’s new facility in Blowing Point, the Honourable Victor Banks, Minister of Finance and Tourism gave a speech. I asked Mr. Banks to speak on behalf of Government as they had contributed a great deal of resources and funds to both the children’s programmes and new building. Although he did not know that he would be speaking until that morning, I was very impressed with his eloquence and ability to deliver such a well thought out speech. Most of his speech dealt directly with the history and conception of the ATA, but there was point in his remarks that really stuck with me. He said, “At some point in our lives we lose connection between the young people and ourselves. The language, the attitudes, the things they are thinking are things that stand between us and them. I believe that we now, as older people, need to make that positive contribution to youngsters who are prepared to take leadership roles and not turn them away nor ignore them.”

The new Rotary International President is Wilfrid Wilkinson from Canada. He tells why he is a Rotarian in the following, first published in 2006:

The Rotary Club is the world’s first service club, formed in 1905 in Chicago by Paul Harris. Since that time, Rotary has grown to include 1.2 million members and clubs in more than 200 countries around the world. The Rotary Club offers members many benefits in addition to the opportunity to serve their communities. Rotary Fellowships is one of those benefits, and yet Rotary Fellowships seem to be one of the best kept Rotary secrets.

For the majority of students, last week and this week will mark the end of the school year. Compared to years in the past, this one has been relatively quiet in terms of any major incidents with violence at the school. Sure, there is the odd fight here in there but, all in all, another successful year has gone by and now the students can enjoy the fruits of their labour and relax this summer. As my readers might have seen in past articles, there are many options for the summer months such as the Anguilla Tennis Academy’s Summer Programme, The Library Programme, The Anguilla Sailing Club, Vacation Bible Schools and the Anguilla Summer Vacation Music Programme.

A country that prides itself on strong Christian values and morals should ensure the enforcement of human rights, acceptable living and working conditions. In addition to this, the country’s government should make it their responsibility not to let greed change the value system of the country, and ensure that all companies, whether local or foreign, operate as good corporate citizens. Furthermore, when foreign companies wish to conduct foreign investment in another country, they should learn and appreciate the country’s culture and understand what is accepted and what is not.

As Nat Hodge has been away for almost two weeks, I have been attending the many press conferences and writing most of the articles for both this week’s and last week’s Anguillian. I certainly have a new found respect for Mr. Hodge as it takes a great deal of work to publish this newspaper on a weekly basis. Yet, although I have been working extremely hard, it has been made obvious to me that many people in Anguilla work even harder for the good of man. As you will read in this week’s paper, the Ministry of Social Development is answering the call of the people by taking new initiatives and putting things in place to make Anguilla better. One of those initiatives is the subject of this article; the Department of Youth and Culture. The DYC was created in January, 2007 “to enable young people to play an assertive and constructive role in national development and to promote cultural expression and the preservation of Anguilla’s intangible cultural heritage for the benefit of current and future generations. This will be achieved through the design and implementation of evidenced base policies and programmes that value, among other things, collective action and the rights of the individual.”