WHITHER ANGUILLA?

February 27, 2003 passed without Anguillians attaching any significance to the date and forgetting that 36 years ago the island together with St. Kitts-Nevis became an Associated State with Britain with the Central Government in St. Kitts fully responsible for internal affairs. Anguillians not trusting that constitutional relationship tore down the Statehood Flag at dawn. Earlier in the month they broke up a Statehood Queen Pageant, at the then Valley Secondary School, staged largely by a visiting drama group from St.Kitts. This was followed by a series of violent incidents which eventually blossomed into the eviction of the St. Kitts Constabulary and the taking over of the island’s affairs on May 30, 1967 in what is commonly referred to as the Anguilla Revolution. Thirteen years later the island was granted the present separate status of a Dependent (Overseas) Territory.

Anguilla has had a colourful and turbulent history going back to more than a century and a half. Over the generations it has helped to shape the lives of some of our people in one way or another but today we are badly in need of some guiding hand to show us where we ought to go. It is interesting to think that Anguillians up to 36 years old have no recollection of the Anguilla Revolution having been too young then to understand what was happening. This is the age at which many of our people should be deep thinkers and planners of the future, but to a great extent it appears that there is not enough consciousness of what our responsibilities should be as nation builders.

One wonders whether the present disinterest or lackadaisical response to our present need for constitutional and electoral reform is somehow rooted in the fact that we are not aware of our history and the need to move forward. Then there is the question of leadership. If ever there was a time for new blood in the politics of Anguilla it is now. Politicians either by reason of age and declining health, purely long service or no longer for suited for the changing times may be ready to bow out. Who are the ones coming to replace them? They must come from among the able-bodied and productive populace to take our island and people forward.

The answer to the question about where Anguilla is going lies with its people. It is them who must rise up with one voice as they did in 1967 to say what they want for their island. There is a call for independence on one hand and on the other talk about some other form of advanced constitutional system whereby elected representatives and other well-placed Anguillians can have a greater degree of autonomy in Government. Then there is a deafening silence from the majority of our people. There will always be differences of opinion but we have to be clear, united and vocal about what we really want. If we are at cross purposes and fail to take an active participatory role in charting the future of our island, we will miss a golden opportunity to do so.