Columns

Over the past weeks much has been said about safeguarding children from abuse and about domestic violence against women. However, little or no information has been given about abuse in the workplace and how to uncover or eradicate it.

Were it not for his appearance on Upbeat Radio and Kool FM upon his return to Anguilla many of us would have thought that our Chief Minister had lost his voice while in London. Contrary to his usual affection for radio interviews when abroad, all the reports we heard were from his spokesperson,Mrs. Josephine Gumbs-Connor. In her first report, Mrs. Gumbs-Connor gave a “ball-by-ball” account of the proceedings, in London, in a shrill voice that evoked a sense of despair --- but later, in a more intoned presentation conveyed a message that eventually the mission achieved some success.

Fellow Anguillians, I greet you once again as we enter another tourism week here in Anguilla. I greet you at the beginning of a week we usually speak to you regarding the importance of tourism here on our island paradise. I need not remind us about the importance of tourism and tourism related construction to our socioeconomic situation but I must say this year is different in that, we have seen a tremendous amount of rainfall that has caused erosion, flooding and property damage.

The following is the text of an address delivered by Chairman of the Anguilla Tourist Board, Eustace Guishard, on Tourism Week.

“Make someting. Do something. Try someting. Create someting new - someting different. Create, invent, innovate. Do not wait. No time to wait. ‘Cause tings rough. And when tings rough is time to go beyond the familiar and the usual. Is time to go into survival mode - to beat back real and looming material and financial hardship and pain”.

It goes without saying, that ours is an economy that depends immensely on tourism and tourism related spin-off businesses. The recently adapted slogan for our industry is “Tourism is Key”, and appropriately a local publicity campaign is being developed around this theme as part of a Caribbean Tourism Month feature. Naturally, therefore, the coming of tourists to our shores is most essential. To borrow a tone from a prior slogan, “Tourism is everybody’s business.”

Did you know that:
• twoin every ten people suffer from depressive disorders?
• onlytwenty five percent of those persons havebeen treated for this disorder?
• depression is the most common mental health disorder?

I was amused by the exchanges between the Hon. OthlynVanterpool, the Elected Member for Island Harbour, and the Hon. Haydn Hughes, the Parliamentary Secretary, on several media over the past week. It began with Mr. Vanterpool’s response to an interview over Radio Anguilla by the Chief Minister in which he accused the Anguilla United Front of being responsible for the challenges at Cap Juluca.

What does it mean to say thank you? Is it really important? Should it be a real genuine emotional response or something we simply say out of habit? Well, thank you is a “conversational form of expressing gratitude”. It is the human way of sharing an emotion — happiness - essentially if you are happy with the service rendered.

The following is hte text of a Radio Anguilla broadcast by Mr. Haydn Hughes, Parliamentary Secretary, on Wednesday November 14.

Fellow Anguillians, I am here to address you in response to the press statement made by the Honourable Member for District one, Mr. Othlyn Vanterpool. His press statement was issued on national radio on Monday 14th November 2011 and it related to the Cap Juluca issue.

Fellow Anguillians on Monday November 7th 2011, the Anguilla United Front, Party Leader, Mr. Victor Banks, in addressing the nation on the Cap Juluca issue, extended an olive branch to the Hon. Chief Minister Hubert Hughes and his Government to support the Government of Anguilla (“GOA”) with a strategy to keep Cap Juluca open. Speaking on behalf of the ANGUILLA UNITED FRONT in his capacity as party leader, Mr. Banks stated and I quote:

We were very happy to hear the Chief Minister’s forceful declaration on the Cap Juluca matter during his interview with Radio Anguilla on Monday 14th November when he saidthat Mr. Hickox would put up “three million US dollars because he does not want the hotel to close!” This is good news and should lift many spirits at a time when Anguilla really cannot take any more stressful reports.

A number of my overseas friends and colleagues, who have followed Anguilla’s political and economic progress since the 1967 Anguilla Revolution, have expressed bewilderment at the decision we Anguillians took in the 2010 General Elections to elect the Hon. Hubert Hughes and his AUM Party to form Anguilla’s Government for 2010 - 2015.

Since the introduction of the 1982 Constitution in Anguilla, there have been many global, regional and local changes which have not only made our global context different, but they also make several aspects of the constitution inadequate and outdated, e.g. the chapter on Fundamental Rights and Freedoms.

Fellow Anguillans, residents, friends, good day.
It is with mixed feelings that I address you in relation to the Lawless criminal acts which are perpetrating themselves within this community.
We are all well aware of the recent state of shootings and robberies which have taken place affecting the lives of innocent persons, families and the Island as a whole.
We today share in the hurt and pain that has afflicted the families of the Morton’s and the Richardson both victims of gunshot wounds and other criminal devices.

PRESS RELEASE November 7, 2011

On Sunday evening, 6th November 2011, Members of the Anguilla United Front attended the vigil for a quiet, 17 year old young man who was shot during the morning hours of 5th November 2011. This horrific crime was one of the most recent in a spate of violent crimes against persons which have erupted in recent months here in Anguilla.

As a consequence of the amount of rumour, speculation and accusations spreading around Anguilla in the wake of the breakdown of the business arrangements between the principal owner of Cap Juluca, Mr. Adam Aron, and a major creditor and former owner, Mr. Charles Hickox, our party met in an emergency session on Sunday afternoon to decide on our approach to the issue.

As Anguilla continues along a path of political bickering and unprecedented fiscal difficulty, a re-emerging group called “Citizens for National Unity and Development” has issued a call for togetherness to address the economic situation facing the island’s people.

We may as well get accustomed to the economic and political changes that continue to mar the face of Europe and the Middle East and affect the world at large. A few years from today, human history would be replete with intriguing stories from this part of the globe, but history would have to play “catch up”, I think, because these stories will continue to constantly develop as we get closer to the end of the age. The turn of events in historic Greece highlights one of the world’s most troubled spots today, stirring our interest, shaking the soul, and even causing us to wonder what will happen next.

Over the past week, culminating on Sunday, I had the opportunity to participate in a number of evangelical services on Anguilla at the Bethel Methodist Church as well as a dedication service for the newly built Good News Baptist Church in St Maarten. All of these events were, to say the least, inspiring. And the messages that emanated from the various pulpits were both uplifting and edifying.