Editorial

It was much heart-warming and comforting to hear Governor Alan Huckle and Chief Minister Osbourne Fleming speak about the importance of youth leadership and development issues in their Christmas Messages.

In the coming days 2005 will be history, taking with it a number of eventful times in Anguilla, and the New Year will be ushered in with all of its latent and known challenges before us. Each year has its particular set of occurrences and circumstances which we must always prepare to deal with and surmount.

It will be 25 years since Anguilla was formally separated from St. Kitts-Nevis by a Bill passed in the British Parliament and which took effect on the Appointed Day, December 19, 1980. That occasion, next week, will be observed with an official holiday. It crowns the Anguilla Revolution of May 30, 1967 and gave riddance to the island of an anomalous and limbo situation in which there was confusion and uncertainty about its constitutional future.

This week young people in Anguilla featured in two separate events: the first was a Youth Justice Seminar at the Teachers’ Resource Centre and the second was a meeting of the House of Assembly at which the Caribbean Examinations Council Bill, 2005 was debated. Both were matters of concern affecting the wellbeing of the young people themselves and that of the Anguillian society.

We in Anguilla and the Eastern Caribbean have much to be thankful for when we consider that we have fortunately escaped the deadly hurricanes that descended on parts of the United States in particular. There was a record number of them this season and we are all the more lucky that none of them came our way.

There should be an award programme whereby community organisations in Anguilla are publicly recognised and honoured by the Government for their contribution to our small but multi-needed society. There is no doubt that in any evaluation of this unselfish and dedicated national service the Optimist Club would be an easy and popular winner.

The current consultations with respect to two projects, the proposed expansion of Altamer Resort in the western end of the island and the Savannah Bay project in the east, have provided yet another opportunity for the people to have a say in the development of their island.

When Anguilla broke away from St. Kitts-Nevis in 1967 to take its future into its own hands, there were a number of teach-ins conducted by some intellectuals who sought to understand and analyse the reasons for the revolution and to predict its possible outcome.

The continuing upheaval and debate surrounding the Physical Planning Bill and the Labour Code Bill may have temporarily shut out some of the other issues from the minds of the people of the island. Notwithstanding this, however, the spirit of democracy and the right to be heard, must at all times get due attention so that a people, within reason, are made to feel satisfied and there is a resolution of conflict.

Anyone who has followed the modern history of Anguila and the acceleration of the island’s progress since the 1967 revolution would admit that this Caribbean gem and its people have come a great distance. One of the achievements that has impacted the social growth of Anguilla over the past 25 years has been the introduction and sustained development of the Social Security system.

One of the positive things the recent public discussions on the Physical Planning Bill and the Labour Code Bill have shown is that Anguillians can be active participants in matters of national concern when taken to them.

Every time there is a graduation of students from the top forms of the Comprehensive School, some troublesome thoughts occupy the mind. Foremost among them are questions of suitable and gainful employment, recreational facilities and programmes and the need for them to live productive lives in the community.

The march by concerned Anguillians to the Chief Minister’s Office at the Secretariat on Tuesday, October 4, protesting against the controversial draft Physical Planning Bill and to a lesser extent, the Labour Code Bill, has sent a sharp message to the Government.

Two issues which have flared up in Anguilla in recent days have been the violence at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School and the public discussions on two pieces of draft legislation, the Physical Planning Bill and the Labour Code Bill. Both matters were regarded as having serious national implications which demanded immediate action.

One of the most shameful and violent acts of crime in Anguilla, in recent times, has been the use of guns mainly by rival gangs or individuals involved in feuds in various parts of the island. Although the violence has been directed at those persons, innocent individuals, minding their own business, have unfortunately been caught in the cross-fire and severely wounded. Other persons in course of their duties or in their business places have been attacked at gunpoint or shot at during robberies.

On the eve of the reopening of the schools in Anguilla following the summer vacation, members of the teaching profession observed Teachers’ Appreciation Day. It was an occasion during which the Chief Education Officer delivered a most comprehensive and attention-grabbing report on the performance of students in all the public schools.

Nothing seems to be more akin to true nationalism when it comes to public life than the involvement of the masses in matters of state, especially those areas related to governance which will in some way impact the lives and interests of the people. In recent times there has been some movement on the part of the leadership of Anguilla to create a greater awareness among the population of some of the Government’s activities and plans, particularly when there are sensitive issues in hand.

One can simply take up the telephone and ask the above question to the appropriate department or persons. The fact is, however, that there has been such a clamour about the establishment and functioning of the Anguilla Probation Service that the silence it has now seemingly lapsed into is so deafening that it ought to be catching the attention of the public.

Over the years there has not been a better symbol of unity, cooperation and goodwill in the British Commonwealth of Nations than the Queen’s Relay Baton. Set to travel some 183,000 kilometers and cover 71 countries, it has already, in some way, touched the lives of millions of people. Through its technological capabilities, it has also transmitted glimpses of their culture, history and way of life across the world via the internet.

The 2004/2005 Tourism Season is winding down in Anguilla and shortly a number of our upscale hotels, villas and restaurants will be closed. It will be a slow time for business and the economy as usual.