LAMENTATIONS

Ever so often people on the island lament how Anguilla has changed so much and drifted away from the good old days when there was a spirit of love, togetherness and Godly-living weaved like a thread through the fabric of the impoverished but proud island.

The voices lament how tranquillity appears to be under threat and how the ugly head of violence, crime and drugs is constantly popping up, casting a shadow on our otherwise peaceful society. Other persons lament such matters as the alienation of large tracks of land, the displacement of local people and various cultural and social changes that are looming ahead.

One of the matters of great concern is the crime level which has dramatically increased in recent times particularly in the areas of gun crime, drugs, burglaries, sexual offences and gang violence. While the Anguilla Government has set up certain social mechanisms to deal with some of the maladies impacting the communities, urgent steps have had to be taken to firmly address the illegal firearms, ammunition and drug peddling on the island’s streets. That is why the Task Force exists within the ranks of the Royal Anguilla Police Force.

The fact that three UK police officers have had to be recruited to Anguilla to serve on the Task Force indicates how the crime problem has manifested itself and the need to make the island, its inhabitants and visitors safer. The crime situation has worsened across the entire Caribbean area, causing Governments and law enforcement agencies to scratch their heads. Some, as in the case of the independent states of Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, have moved to recruit many British police officers with considerable experience and expertise in the field of crime detection. Anguilla is therefore not alone and we must nip our situation in the bud and solve those crimes that are yet unsolved. Quite simply, if Anguilla does not have the law and order resources, then it must get them at all cost. The recruitment of the UK police officers is an effort in that direction.

The lamentations in Anguilla are in some respects like those of Jerusalem of old, a once proud city which became tarnished by attendant evils of the day. The Book of Lamentations, probably written by Jeremiah, and the saddest book in the Bible, spoke of a breakdown in law and order and an upheaval in the political, social and religious situation in the ancient city. Yet there is a message of hope. Through the picture of desolation and hopeless, runs a thread of expectation of relief. Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old, the crying prophet wrote in Lamentations 5:21.

God grant that in time Anguilla will return to its old days of law and order, love and God-fearing and re-establish itself like the New Jerusalem foretold in the sacred pages.