Our booming economy aside, the early years of this century have been years of much sadness for our beloved Anguilla – have been times of weeping and gnashing of teeth because of the seeming lack of respect for human life. In order to highlight the extent to which the tranquil quality of life for which we were once renowned has deteriorated, I will recall the most serious acts of violence, from 2003 to the present, which contributed to its deterioration. I will recall them because many of us seem to have extremely poor memories and therefore easily fooled into thinking that things are not so bad.

I will recall those acts of violence in the hope that in so doing we could feel ashamed of how we allowed society to degenerate, and thus be encouraged to do better: break the silence, say no more killings and become part of the solution of a crisis which could destroy us. I will recall them in the hope that we will all pledge to work towards reclaiming our paradise for, in the words of The Adjudicator,

Our lovely paradise
Is no longer peaceful and nice.

Now to those acts of violence which, if they go unchecked, could have further disastrous consequences for Anguilla.

One. On 13th March 2003 the beautiful and vibrant 15-year-old Jamida Webster was brutally raped and murdered at Mount Fortune. I wrote about it saying that “the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who see evil and say nothing – who see evil and look the other way; that such places are reserved not only for Jamida’s killer but also for all those who have information about her killer and remain silent. That the hottest places in hell are reserved for a whole lot of us who remain voiceless while our society collapses around us.”

Jamida’s killing caused much public outcry. And that gave rise to a public march through The Valley, on Tuesday 25th March 2003. The marchers (Community Against Violence) called for an end to all violence. I remember Caroline Davis reciting her poem Anguilla Crying, the last lines of which warned:

Don’t chase fame and fortune
It’s far too high a price
For soon we will be known as
Tranquillity . . . killed by vice.

After the march it was business as usual. Everybody forgot about Jamida except the Police, who kept up searching for her killer; and her parents, Kent and Iris, who weep everyday since her sad passing. It was business as usual with the young boys in bars smoking and drinking beer and other strong drink. All er dem partying. Having fun. Their parents seemed not to have listened to the late Lord Anything’s You Have A Duty To Care:

Good parenting is lacking today
That’s why our children are going astray . . .
Save the children for you brought them here
Parents you have a duty to care . . .

Two. On 18th September 2003, the Anguillian people were in shock on hearing that Roger Clarke, better known as Pressure King, was shot dead at his home at Old Ta. Who killed him still remains a mystery. Two killings in a year in Anguilla were unprecedented, and people comforted themselves by saying that sort of thing could never happen in Anguilla again. Their comfort was short-lived.

Three. No sooner had January 2004 arrived than Jeremiah Alexander (Sky) disappeared off the face of Anguilla without a trace. He was allegedly murdered but the murderer remains unknown and free to strike again.

Four. Before the island could come to grips with Sky’s disappearance and murder, there was further tragedy on 23rd February 2004 when an unknown gunman shot dead 21 year-old Courtney Hodge in The Forest area, high day! Courtney’s co-workers, Pee Wee and Deon, fled for their lives in a hail of gunfire. Actually, Pee Wee fled to England and remains there fearful of returning home.

I had thought then that the sound and ferocity of the gunfire which levelled Courtney had awakened Anguillians from their slumber, to the realisation that the island was on fire and that they should make every effort to help the Police to put it out. But no! They kept silent although they knew that we had three unsolved murders on our hands.

In view of the unprecedented number of killings in 2003 and 2004, Singing Desiree asked How Did We Get From Dat To Dis:

It all happened so quickly
The way things change in dis country
Just yesterday
We were peaceful and free
Yesterday life was a kiss
Now what we have is pure madness.
De question is, how did we get from dat to dis? . . .

Thankfully, there was not a single violent death in 2005. But the Police spent the year working to solve the unsolved murders, and trying to get persons with illegal firearms to turn them in by giving them the assurance that they would not be prosecuted. There were several amnesties over a period of three months but not a single firearm was turned in. The Police tried another strategy. They offered to buy the illegal firearms from their owners at EC$200.00 each. But, again, no success! The dire consequences of their lack of success were not long in coming.

Five. The year 2006 had hardly begun when, on 7th January, Dwayne Connor (23 years) was gunned down in North Side. Thank God, February passed without incident. There was a lull in the killings which flared up in March.

Six. During the early morning of 4th March, Kwahmi Brooks of The Valley was stabbed to death. His killer is still on the loose.

Seven. During the afternoon of 4th March, Louvan Webster Jr (Lu Lu), 22 years, of Mount Fortune, was reported missing and allegedly murdered. Two murders in one day in tranquil Anguilla were unthinkable but were reflective of the level of depravity to which our society had sunk.

Speaking at Kwahmi’s funeral service, at the Ebenezer Methodist Church in The Valley, Reverend Joseph Lloyd spoke out strongly against the escalating violence: “We must strive by the grace of God to help the wanton and irresponsible, in our midst, to think soberly and act sanely in order to restrain and eradicate the lawlessness which is wreaking havoc among us.”

It was a very passionate Rev Lloyd who told the congregation that the, “anti-social behaviour that has raised its ugly head in our midst, and is directed against the citizenry with a vengeance, must no longer be tolerated or condoned.” He admonished: “Individually or collectively we must challenge, with all the vigour we possess, this uncivil behaviour.” It appeared as though Rev Lloyd’s admonitions fell on deaf ears. Why?

Eight. Around 20th March, Shane Fraites (22 years) was clubbed to death and dumped over some cliffs at West End. Just imagine! Three murders in Anguilla in March 2006! Bossman was right when he sang that we gone international.

The island seemed to be at war which the Mighty Springer said we had to win. He sent a strong message to the troublemakers saying, We Coming To Take Back Anguilla Land:

Step aside leh we take back we country
No little punk with guns going to stop we . . .
Yes we come to tek back Anguilla land
We coming to tek back Anguilla land.

But, yer know something? We got hell taking it back. No matter how much the calypsonians sang, and the ministers of religion preached, against the violence, it made no difference. The killings went on.

Nine. On 28th October, Steve Bryan died at the Princess Alexandra Hospital from injuries he sustained, on 9 August, while detained at Her Majesty’s Prison awaiting a re-trial on a charge for the murder of Jamida Webster. It is alleged that he was murdered.

Ten. While people were thinking that five murders in the year were most despicable, there was a sixth. On Friday 10th November, 19-year-old Clifford Christie of the Quarter was killed when he was fatally wounded at the Ronald Webster Park Annex.
The year 2006 was an extremely sad one for Anguilla. Six murders were unprecedented in an island where, until recent times, the murder rate was something like one in every five to ten years. The situation evoked great concern but very few persons came forward with evidence to assist the Police in their hunt for the killers. And yet everybody hoped that 2007 would see a change for the better. They hoped in vain. The killings continued.

Eleven. On 15th February 2007, Elaine Philips (52 years) was shot dead in Hideaway Grocery at Little Dix. By then the Government of Anguilla had concluded that ‘enough was enough’ – that it was time for more concerted action to halt the crime wave. To this end it established, in April 2007, a Multidisciplinary Committee on Crime to come up with recommendations. The Committee, which comprised a broad cross-section of Anguillian people, recognised that the “upsurge in the incidents of crime if not suppressed and eradicated can only lead to serious negative effects on the quality of life of residents and visitors alike, and the overall buoyancy of the Anguilla economy.”

The Committee identified two broad approaches to dealing with the crime problem: prevention and correction. Also, it recognised that “the tasks of crime prevention and correction were not limited to the Royal Anguilla Police Force but required the involvement of the entire Anguillian community.” We are yet to hear from the Multidisciplinary Committee. In the meantime we are hearing from the gunmen.

Twelve. On Monday 30th July, Devon Ryan (20 years) was killed in a drive-by shooting, in Blowing Point, which also wounded two of his companions. The Mighty Sunbeam is so right when he sings We Too Small For This:

. . . We used to be
One happy family
But presently
It’s a new reality
We’ve divided the country between east and west
And we trying to find out who could shoot de best . . .

The chorus:

De rise in crime and violence
We too small for this.
De self-imposed code of silence
We too small for this.
And we’re too small to have murderers on de street
And much too small for parents to admit defeat . . .
Yes we’re too small for our youngsters to be in such crisis
Anguilla is much too small for this kind a stupidness.

Indeed, Anguilla is much too small for this kind a stupidness. But the criminal elements in our midst do not think so.

Thirteen. During the evening of Friday 3rd August, 22-year-old Stacy Ann Brooks-Laurent was shot dead, in South Hill, as she sat in the passenger seat of a car. Her murder was the second in a week and people wondered what was Anguilla coming to.

That said night Chief Minister Osbourne Fleming went on Radio Anguilla to condemn the week’s shootings and to call for an end to the spiraling madness. Listen: “I call on all persons to pledge their support for the Police’s efforts to curtail and, by extension, to eradicate the criminal activities. I call upon all Anguillians, residents and visitors alike, to support the Police in their quest to apprehend the criminals and to put measures in place as we address this serious problem. No effort must be spared in bringing the criminals to justice.” He reminded people that “crime is everybody’s business and it behooves all of us to do all in our power to eradicate this surge of gun crime in Anguilla.”

The Chief Minister’s admonition went unheeded because the following Friday, 10th August, at South Hill, Randy Audain was shot in his head. Fortunately, he is still alive.

In spite of the admonitions from all quarters of Anguillian society, there seems to be no halt to the shootings and the stabbings. The criminal elements among us continue to strike at will – to strike with impunity – so much so that Government reasoned that we had reached the stage where we needed God’s help. And so it declared Thursday 16th August “a Day of Mourning, Repentance and Prayer.”

On that day, it was a large cross-section of Anguillian people, inclusive of parents, teachers, religious groups and civic organisations, which marched from the Caribbean Commercial Centre to the Landsome Bowl Cultural Centre where they prayed, sang and asked God’s intervention.

What impressed me most about the rally was the display of unity against crime: The unity of young and old, rich and poor, black and white, east and west and north and south. The unity of people of different religious persuasions. The unity of people of different political persuasions. Incidentally, the absence of Hubert Hughes, the leader of the AUM, was disappointing and without justification. I have since heard him on Talk Your Mind referring to the rally as a “gimmick” which “was meant to fool people” thus the reason for his non-attendance. “I can’t play with God. God is serious,” he said. And I would add that we can’t play politics with crime. Crime is serious.

Despite criticism from some quarters, no criticism can detract from the rally’s usefulness in terms of sensitising our people about the gravity of the crime situation, and about the urgency of taking collective action to redeem our island. That said, its organisers like the Hon Donna Banks, Evalie Bradley and others, must be highly commended.

The rally is over. The prayer session is over. But while prayer is good, prayer is no substitute for work. Yes, we have called on God but we got to row our boat. The onus is upon us to build on the momentum created by the rally and not squander the collective energies it brought to light.

The show of unity must be harnessed in ways that would bring an end to the cycle of violence. The show of unity has to now manifest itself in unity of action if we are to reclaim our paradise. The kinds of action we need to take were well articulated by Dame Bernice Lake, QC, Ijayhna Christian and others so I need not repeat them here. What I would say, though, is that if it is business as usual after all the mourning, repenting and praying, then the “Day of Mourning, Repentance and Prayer” would have been in vain.

God bless Anguilla
Nurture and keep her...

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

World News