It echoed some of my own personal feelings and I thought it might be helpful to amplify on some of his themes. For reasons that will soon become clear, I’m choosing to do so anonymously.

To anyone reading this letter, make no mistake. I very much love and care for this island and its people. If I didn’t, my wife and I wouldn’t have chosen Anguilla as the location for our home away from home. Unfortunately, there are definitely many times when I wonder whether my feelings are reciprocated.

First and foremost, I could only help but chuckle at Mr. Smith’s reference to the term “alien landholder license.” Indeed, there are a variety of ways I’m often made to feel like an intruder whose presence is anything but welcomed.

For me, it starts with the term “non-belonger”. I appreciate this identifier has a long and storied history, but try to imagine how it makes one feel. Considering the fact that I’ve invested literally millions of dollars in the home my wife and I constructed here and we are liable for more in annual property taxes than the vast majority of local residents, maybe something along the lines of “valued guest” or “co-belonger” might be a more inclusive way to refer to us.

And, if anything, my second-class status is reinforced every time I visit the island. When I arrive in Immigration and Customs at Blowing Point, I’m obliged to stand in a visitor line that not only moves at a snail’s pace, but on most days is staffed by a surly, unsmiling immigration officer that just about everyone I’ve talked to agrees could benefit from some serious customer service training. As the saying goes, “You only get one chance to make a first impression,” and a consistently poor job is done with that opportunity. That universal unfriendly treatment notwithstanding, instead of looking at the form that clearly states I will be staying at my own residence, this individual never acknowledges my landholder status or greets me with a “Welcome back to the island!” Adding insult to injury, the Anguillians returning from St. Martin frequently have two officers working their line and are often waived to pass through my line while I stand and wait. And last, but not least, I frequently wait an extra half hour to pay the small amount in import duties that I’m honest enough to declare. I can’t help but wonder if it was more pleasant and efficient to pay import duties whether people would be less inclined to evade them.

The same disrespectful attitude is exhibited at numerous other government agencies on the island. Is there any good reason that those of us who have homes here should be treated any differently than those who were born here? I would like to think that we would at least be treated as equals and not as the colonialist exploiters as some would have us viewed to suit their purposes.

And that leads to my next point. Believe it or not, we “non-belongers” have a huge stake in the health and welfare of Anguilla. However, in my own experience, there is a very strong “Not-Invented Here” attitude about considering ideas we present. Over the many years my wife and I have been coming here, we have written letters and made suggestions to numerous local officials, have attempted to find ways to give back to the community and even offered our professional expertise free of charge. Not once have we ever received a call or letter of appreciation (much less an acknowledgement) and pretty much at every turn we’ve been told why something isn’t possible instead of “That’s interesting, let’s think about it.” After awhile, one tires of fighting such a “can’t do” approach to things. A good example, and one I’ve discussed with many non-belongers, is the lack of an organized, coordinated effort to solicit contributions from the “second home” community. Back in the states, most of us are used to donating thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars to community causes. And the way that money is raised is to have peers ask us to participate. Imagine what might happen if a number of prominent home owners were given a list of their opposite numbers, a list of worthy causes and asked to start making phone calls? I believe that at a minimum, hundreds of thousands of new dollars could be injected into the economy to improve the quality of life for us all.

And then there’s the fact that many of us are retired and looking for productive things to do with our time. Why not put together a “volunteer bank” of professional services that some of us might be willing to provide free of a charge. Considering that the government is looking to save money, the availability of a group of skilled former executives, consultants and what not should be viewed as a coveted asset. We’re ready to roll up our sleeves and get involved, but someone has to ask.

There’s no question that these are difficult and trying times. And during such times, it’s easy to wring hands and point blame. What I would like to suggest is that there is a very valuable resource available that can help in a variety of ways. Most of us “non-belongers” might not live here full time and we might have our character faults, but we also want the island to remain viable and vibrant. I believe that some thought about how to view us as “partners” rather than “non-belongers” would be of great value to us all.

Sincerely,

A Reluctant Non-Belonger

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