The Editor
The Anguillian

Dear Editor,

NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION ON QUEEN’S BATON

A comment on yet another one of Anguilla’s well-kept secrets – the visit of the Queen’s Relay Baton for the XVIII Commonwealth Games, Melbourne, Australia 2006. I happened to hear of its impending arrival from a child who was chosen as a runner for her school. The ‘Anguillian’ newspaper published a full schedule of events on the same dates as these were taking place.

Somebody, somewhere, knew something about this sports oriented event before it actually happened. Couldn’t this news item be given to the public (via radio and newspapers) ahead of time? Many young people, school children included, haven’t yet heard about what in actual fact was an exercise aimed primarily at them. In the Falkland Islands, since schools will be open, students will get a holiday (with perhaps a proper explanation) and so better remember both the event and the significance of it.

On Saturday August 20th, one small schoolboy asked his parent why were police standing at the street corner. Since lack of communication resulted in only a few pupils looking on as the Baton passed each school, surely it would have taken only a couple minutes for each child to touch it, or even get a closer look. One eleven year old who waited almost two hours remarked wistfully, “I just wish I could have touched it.” Maybe next time?

Violet Berry

| Printer-friendly page | Send this article to a friend |

World News