Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/3543/-1/131/
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To Their Labour Of Love by John T. Harrigan
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The latter part of the twentieth century must be regarded as a pivotal period in Anguilla’s development. This era saw the emerging of a fledgeling economy which by the 1990’s had evolved into a vibrant and sound entity, the phenomenal growth of which continues to command regional and international attention.
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John T. Harrigan
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It must be noted however, that prior to the late 1970’s there existed no viable economic base on Anguilla. The country survived almost entirely on remittances sent from abroad by those bread winners who were forced to migrate to regional and international destinations in search of their livelihood.
There remained on the home front a rare breed of women whose love of family, pride and indomitable spirit dictated that they did what was necessary to ensure the survival and wellbeing of their children. These mothers became engaged in the age old occupation of peasant farming; cultivating large plots of land as well as raising herds of goats, sheep and, to a lesser extent, cattle.
Over time these enterprising women had by their hard labour and tenacious endeavours nurtured an agro-economy of sorts and in many instances were self- sufficient in providing food for their families. Some of these mothers from my vicinity who immediately come to mind are: Cooley, Ms. May, Ms. Fred, Helena, Louisa; Aunts: May, Sylvia, Ilene, Edris, Eva and Aunt Nitty. The list could be extended to include: Mildred, Maude, Lucretia, Lenora (Lenny), Petromena, Noochin and Melvina.
During that epoch of Anguilla’s economic depravity, tilling the soil and raising animals was tantamount to survival and were engaged in by all and sundry. The list of mothers who engaged in peasant farming on Anguilla is therefore inexhaustible.
These mothers plied their noble trade, often solitarily, on some of the island’s more arable lands found in areas such as: New Ground, Tom Ground, Water Ground, Well Ground, Welches Bottom, Balsam Bottom, Barliz Bottom, the fertile Valley Bottom, Cock Pit and Wallblake Estate.
It is against this backdrop that on this Mothers’ Day, I pay tribute to and honour the immense sacrifice and selfless labour of these mothers in the sustaining of their families and country at large during those difficult times. We must take the time to reflect on and honour the worth of these dear “field warriors” many of whom are now well advanced in years and some of whom have gone on to their eternal rest.
The following poem was inspired by the hard work of my dear mother, Mrs. Geraldine Harrigan (Lee Lee), and is dedicated to her and to the memory of all those Peasant Ladies, with callous, gentle hands, for their hard labour and enduring love.
THE PEASANT LADY
I saw her by the dawn’s fair light
Staunch and tall,
Five gallons perched upon her head
Treading the winding path to her domain;
Her faithful dog trotting a respectable distance ahead
Sniffing the damp morning air.
I saw her in the morning sun
Bent low in the field,
A crooked handle hoe her simple gear,
Digging, digging the fertile soil
While six skinny goats securely staked
Fed greedily at the borders of her plot, careless of her toil.
In the still heat of the summer sun she wrestled
Tending the tender plants,
Her broad rimmed straw hat shielding her face from the wrath of the naked sun;
The stubborn red earth yielded to her wishes
And when six long hours were spent,
Her wrinkled brow bore a look of tired contentment.
I saw her in the noonday sun
Bent beneath her burden, a fagot of firewood, a bag of provisions atop,
Mounting up the hill, her steps measured and slow,
The spaniel with head bowed and tongue protruding
Followed at her heels.
In her humble abode she refreshed herself,
Then in the shade of the spreading ginnip tree
She laid her weary frame and drifted off to sleep;
Ah, life was hard, life was tough,
Her dreams of verdant fields were sweet.
John T. Harrigan - © 1995