REBUILDING A COMMUNITY
BUILDING A NATION
Julian Daniel
Montserrat Cultural Centre
March 17 2010
In 1768 on the 17th of March an attempt was made to rebuild a community and eventually build a nation. This attempt had some key ingredients that were prerequisites for success but was foiled due to betrayal.
There was a Goal, purpose, strategic plans of action, assumptions were made, the risks were assessed, the plan was time bound. They had the critical mass required for success and they would have had the element of total surprise. The planning process must have covered at least a year and I believe longer. Workable strategies had to be devised, strong team and trust worthy relationships had to be formed, detailed observation and surveillance had to be conducted and covert, coded, inconspicuous recording kept. This was not a spur of the moment attempt to rebuild a community and build a nation. The planning was indeed S.M.A.R.T. long before logical frameworks and other such “strategic planning marvels” of man were devised, long before BDDC and DFID, there was strategic planning Montserrat style.
This plan to rebuild a community and build a nation, if it were successful, would have had repercussions throughout the world.
If only it was not for the betrayal.
Know the enemy and guard your tongue.
The retaliation to the planned rebuilding effort/freedom fight had a greater combination of the ingredients that were present and missing in the St. Patrick’s Day attempt.
Sadly key ingredients missing during the 1768 plan are woefully missing today.
There is a tried, proven and approved model that guarantees success. This model I will juxtaposition with the events of 1768 and today.
BRIEF HISTORY
Using 1630 as a reasonable compromise date for English/Irish (NB1:Anglo-Irish, with the Irish being first and not discussing the Amerindian and French aspects) settlement of Montserrat, when Montserrat was not yet a sugar/slave colony; 2010 is a short 380 years away; roughly 12 generations ago if 30 years was to represent an average generation.
The March 17th, 1768 rebuilding attempt is only 242 years removed from the present a relatively very short time ago in history.
Emancipation from slavery day, August 1st 1838, is only 172 years or less than 6 generations ago.
The attainment of universal adult suffrage in 1951 with the universal voting right of all adults and a Council with an elected majority is a mere 59 years ago. The first organized trade union being formed 5 years earlier, known then as the Montserrat Trades and Labor Union.
The constitutional change that ushered in the elected ministerial system/Westminster Ministerial and Cabinet system of government in 1960 thus giving Montserrat its first Chief Minister, in the Hon, William Henry Bramble, is only 50 years in the past. Since 1960 Montserrat has had seven Chief Ministers with four serving multiple tenures and at least three serving less than a five year term.
SOME IMPRESSIVE FEATS & FIRSTS
In the 1850s to 1930s Montserrat was known internationally for its lime products which were held in high regard due in large part not only to the quality of the products but also smart marketing and a proprietary and branding campaign. 1928 saw Montserrat limes well associated with the world renowned Schweppes Co. In 1929 there was an attempt to create a regional lime industry in Trinidad with Montserrat as the base.
From 1857 to the present the impact of the Sturge family on Montserrat’s socioeconomic landscape is unparalleled. From the first visit of Joseph Sturge VI the Quaker, evangelist, freedom fighter and humanitarian to Joseph Edward Sturge of Worcester England, the last Sturge to be connected with the Montserrat Company Ltd. (MCL) started in 1869. By 1916 MCL owned estates and land amounting to over 4000 acres about half of the island’s arable land. A thriving business was conducted in limes and lime products then later in cotton and cotton seed products. The MCL was engaged in several other social innovations including the construction of the first non-denominational school in 1870 at Olveston and with it was provided quality teachers, good salaries and learning resources. The MCL gave out Grammer School scholarships, donated land (Groves and Sturge Park), built pilot demonstration houses to encourage the government to provide much needed affordable housing (something Montserrat should have been doing again many years ago for ourselves and exporting not importing this technology)and advanced plans for the electrification of Plymouth and surrounding areas.
Real estate development and residential tourism began in Montserrat in earnest mainly from the late 50s through the 70s when the MCL and its future parent the Canadian Plantation Ltd (of which it was retained as a subsidiary) subdivided and sold estate lands in Richmond Hill, Olveston, Old Towne, Woodlands, Foxes Bay, Isles Bay, Spanish Pointe and Elberton. This activity and the associated construction, influx of visitors and creation of service related employment had been and continues to be a significant contributor to the Montserrat economy.
In 1928 the Montserrat Grammar School was opened and was later renamed in 1938 to the MSS. The universal access to the MSS came about in 1986 when the taking of the common entrance exam was no longer required.
Significant strides in air transportation were made when a 250ft landing strip was made in Olveston in 1953. Three years later in 1956 LIAT was formed in Montserrat and the Trants airport developed in 1957. The late Frank Delisle was the primary mover of these revolutionary and visionary activities.
In the 1950s and 60s only three eastern Caribbean national radio stations broadcasted all be it on a part time basis. ZJB Radio Montserrat was the first to do so, followed by ZIZ of St. Kitts and ABS of Antigua.
The Big RA, Radio Antilles with 200,000 watts of power covered the entire Caribbean region from Guyana in the south to Florida in the north was the most powerful AM radio station in the western hemisphere, was commissioned in 1963 an official opening ceremony was held on 23/2/66 (Montserrat Mirror). This linchpin endeavor facilitated and helped catalyze the introduction of an island wide electricity supply.
The 1970s saw the foundation laid for two world respected institutions, the American University of the Caribbean in 1978 and the Sir George Martin initiated Montserrat Associated Independent Recordings (AIR) Studios, sister to his UK based AIR Studios that attracted the likes of Paul McCartney, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, Sting, Phil Collins, Dire Straits, the Police, Duran Duran and the list goes on.
This abbreviated list of firsts and bewildering feats could be significantly expanded on if time permitted. (NB2: There now exists local scholarly work that does more justice.)
PRESENT
So where are we now?
Our current population is around 5000 persons. Montserrat’s population has not been that low since the late 1600s early 1700s bearing in mind that in 1998 the population reached an all time low of a calculated 2,726 persons.
We are unable to occupy approximately 2/3 of our island even as our land mass ironically continues to grow larger.
Montserrat is in budgetary aid with the British government propping up the recurrent expenditure by over 50%. This is not dissimilar to the situation in the 1960s and 70s. The large expenditure relative to our revenue, coupled with the UK’s declining aid framework indicates that Montserrat is in an extremely challenging financial situation.
CM - “However, this level of expenditure is not sustainable without steady growth in the activities of private sector with the consequential benefits to public revenues. “
The Chief Minister said that the British government has made it clear that Montserrat must take steps to reduce its reliance on budgetary support and as a result, grant funding is expected to fall in the medium to long term.
Meade said that past governments have known that this time would come and the British policy has been included in a number of reports by consultants and expressed in many of strategic documents.
“We are now facing the harsh realities of having put off decisive actions, in the past, for fear of acting on them. We intend to implement the necessary decisive actions for reductions in public expenditure but this will coincide with job creation in the private sector. “( www.montserrat news.com)
The CM indicated that the 2010/11 budget document is guided by: the OECS/ECCU Eight Point Stabilization Programme, the Sustainable Development Plan, the Economic Sustainability Road Map and the Business Plans of the various ministries and departments. The plans of the GoM will focus on:Economic Regeneration and Financial Stability; Governance; Environmental and Disaster Management; Social Development and Safety Nets and External Relations. (NB3: The current GoM has promised to adopt much of the approach that is needed to succeed “in part” this being articulated in the budget speech by the CM Hon. R.T. Meade)
2009 total imports of $80mil dwarf the total export of $8.5mil by nearly 10:1 with a decline in mining exports expected in 2010.
The expenditure outstrips the revenue by an equally alarming rate.
Montserrat has been experiencing steadily declining tourist arrivals over the past five years despite the building of an edifice that was touted as been able to increase tourism.
The 15th year of heightened volcanic activity and human beings are still living in shelters. (NB3 applies)
BETRAYALS
For Black History Month Nevis examined “The Role of History and Heritage in Nation Building”. In Montserrat we seem to prefer to disregard history but hold on to heritage particularly the wrong traits.
(Golden Rule: I am my brother’s keeper - exercised in proven model)
Today we are our own worst enemy while the self elevated but enslaved also take on the role of the oppressor. We take the place of the 1768 white oppressor and enslave ourselves while trying to enslave others. Like the white oppressor many find comfort under the frock of religion and the church and use these sacred entities while they rob and pillage society, victimize, misguide and destroy while the church massages and maintains the status quo. We betray ourselves when we allow our altars to be polluted and do nothing about it when in our Christian society a form of Godliness prevails but we deny the power of the true Godhead. Pseudo-Christianity is the religion of choice.
In 1768 the transgressors were weeded out and destroyed, is it so dissimilar today? The oppressors used the very entities necessary for liberation, rebuilding and building against us. What did the others do? How long shall we kill our prophets and stand aside and look?
Today betrayal is the modus operandi and we betray ourselves to our own demise and detriment.
We have cultivated a society in which we betray ourselves and condone the betrayal.
Some persons in this audience and listening have either experienced being bribed, asked for kick backs, payoffs, gifts or have been on the receiving end of such. These acts erode away efforts to rebuild a society and build a nation. When we harbor and cultivate the mentality that you cannot succeed if I cannot get some; I must get all and you get none; I help you get some work so you must pay me in cash or kind and the victims compound the betrayal by complying and shutting up, we are doomed to fail.
We betray ourselves when the foundation pillars upon which a strong community and nation is built, godly families, is replaced by mere forms and we allow our children to be raped, molested, abused and then condone these acts. When we hold persons in high esteem who promote and commit daggeredly (daggering) acts on our school children and broadcast “pornographic” images online all in the name of entertainment, having a fun time and living a “good life”, we betray ourselves.
We betray ourselves when illegal acts are covered up and condoned in society and causing even the courts of justice to marvel at our rewarding of crimes and when treasonable practices are immortalized by our social prophets/social commentators (calypsonians) in songs for our enjoyment and trivializing while society becomes more and more desensitized to self inflicted, mortal wounds and doses of poison (we need to take the social commentaries seriously). When “we do not love our own” and the “power brokers” have to “pay off” because of “poker in front and liquor behind” and if this is all a big joke to us, then you can rest assured that we have completely lost it. It is a travesty when everyday on the national radio station we are taught how to rape, abuse and disrespect girls and women, pollute ourselves with drugs and alcohol, kill and maim, disrespect authority and be profane and vulgar.
We betray ourselves when we promote grow your own but empower animals to do the reaping. Why the failure to decisively move the communities and nation to true food security. There is a Caribbean island (Anguilla)famous for growing rocks, dust and peas that I have seen activate an agriculture plan where it can now enjoy an abundance of selected vegetable crops and supply high end markets in the region with hydroponically grown exotic vegetables.
We betray ourselves when we say “A Caribbean treasure spectacular by nature” then we pollute and destroy our environment, vandalize our tourist sites, strew our beaches with glass and trash, throw tires and building debris on peoples’ private lands, allow loose animals to destroy the landscape, overturn garbage vesicles and we allow the ruining of our road network and landscape in the name of minor progress.
An article in the Montserrat Mirror 30/7/66 shows us that there has been for over 40 years, a failure to deal with the loose livestock menace in a decisive and comprehensive manner.
We betray ourselves when we allow some of our hard workers in society to be used, abused and then passed over or discarded.
Like the drunk woman in 1768 who betrayed the plot, many today not recognizing their state of depravity, being intoxicated with power and money or the lust thereof, ignorance is more desirable than freedom and nation building. The traitors of community rebuilding and nation building chose to ignore the reality and gravity of our current, dire situation choosing the drunkenness of self and greed ultimately at all costs.
The gravity of the repercussion for the error in ways comes swiftly, decisively and with impartiality.
We relish at the thought of being a resilient people. For us resilience, in the strict sense of the word, should be a terrible thing. For as the community is taxed, tried, stretched and proven by situations and natural occurrences, instead of striving to attain and embrace a new more advanced sense of community, social consciousness and national identity, the race seems to be on to return to the very same basal state of affairs that the agitation met us in, not learning anything and not applying the lessons to be learnt. Like a resilient rubber band when stretched, returns right back to its original state, not getting stronger or bigger we go back to dog eat dog, crabs in an English barrel. We need to stop propping up our egos on the flawed crutch of resilience and start progressing as a people. (NB4: The heritage of betrayal is indeed deep rooted and hereditary as is evident in Montserratian online chat rooms, social networks and responses to articles, many in the Diaspora perpetuate the undesirable 1768 betrayal syndrome. A good, emancipating, mental and spiritual purge is needed)
The tried and true model lays down the road map for successfully rebuilding a community and building a nation.
Firstly a question has to be answered. Is this the time to rebuild? Who says it is? Has the time passed? Is the time now or not yet? Who decides? What is to be rebuilt first?
1) There must be an appreciation, understanding and concern for where we are at this juncture. The gravity of the situation should be made aware to all. There must be a properly planned solemn assembly of the people lead by the church. This is for the purpose of retrospection, reflection, recognition, repentance, renewal, refreshing, rejoicing and the ushering in of revolutionizing transformation.
Each year the Montserrat Christian Council calls a season of prayer and related national service primarily to remember and commemorate the onset of the increased volcanic activity on July 18th, 1995. This year 2010 marks the 15th year of volcanic activity and all is not well with us economically, socially and spiritually. It is important that there be a biblical, solemn gathering of the people of the island with the focus being solely on God, seeking His pardon, cleansing and guidance.
2) There must be boldness and foresight to address the current state of affairs after full assessment. The leaders must have a genuine, burning concern for the people, communities and nation. The leaders must be servants of God and the people. The leaders must be honest, understanding, just and willing to work together with the people.
“The goal of development is an improvement in the standard of living of the population. We (“cannot make much permanent progress towards a just social order as long as the masses of the working people...continue in economic poverty and political helplessness, and as long as a minority controls the lands, the tools, and the political power”)(Rauschenbusch 1990:390-391)
“Development models, which focus exclusively on aggregate indices, have not benefitted Caribbean countries. International agencies have tended to be more supportive of governments, which achieve soaring Gross National Product (GNP) growth rates. Countries which are engaged in serious attempts to redistribute income and to raise the standard of living of the poor and powerless generally have a poor showing in such indices, and are therefore less favoured by lending or donor agencies. An overemphasis on such national aggregates as growth in GNP and per capita income has caused our policy makers to lose sight of the central problem of Caribbean societies, and has contributed to the perpetuation of social inequality together with its attending social and political instability.” (Peter Adrien: Cricket & Development 2002:2-3)
Our human resources are an invaluable asset that must be properly looked after. It is good to hear of a programme to close all volcano-related communal shelters by June 2011. It is a travesty that after all these many years, persons are still living in shelters. Why is this the case? Did we need to get money from Britain in order to house persons in a humane way? Why are the substandard buildings in Davy Hill that are recognized as not being fit for human habitation still being occupied and not replaced? Do we need other people to come and tell us how to properly treat our mentally challenged, less fortunate and needy and how our children should be taken care of?
The response to a natural crisis or other situation should not increase our vulnerability to another potential threat. (NB5: Much of our volcano and evacuation response construction has left us more vulnerable to hurricane damage than pre-volcano construction and that should not be so. Look and Haiti with tents in the rainy season. Much, much better can be done)
3) Essential to rebuilding is a universal sense of purpose and commitment to an understood mission. Historical significance should be examined with focus on impacting the future. What do we want the rest of the world to see when they look in on Montserrat? What is Montserrat to be branded as? What is Montserrat to be known and recognized for? What image is the collective Montserrat to project? What does Montserrat and being Montserrat or Montserratian mean and should be recognized as by the rest of the world?
4) It is necessary to have a focus and unity of heart, spirit and mind towards the task at hand. All hands must be strengthened and everyone rise up to build. Vulnerabilities and weaknesses must be addressed and minimized while strengths are fully employed.
5) There must be organization and a national understanding of the mission.
6) The people must have a mind to work and not be distracted by negativity and destructive devices and vices. We must identify and guard against those who seek to destroy from within and without.
The betraying of ourselves must cease in order for us to properly rebuild. A deliberate effort must be made to exorcise the negative traits of our heritage that we so guardedly hold on to with pride. The destructive cancer of self betrayal must be excised.
Destructive, anti-rebuilding prejudices exhibited in young and old Montserratians alike towards our Caribbean brothers and sisters, many of whom love and defend this land more passionately than many who were born here, must cease. When in 1989 our population plummented to an all time, 17th C. low of 2,700 was it Diasporal Montserratians, aware of the dire consequences of such an unsustainable population, who rushed in to help save and rebuild the community? No it was not. With a current population of around 5000 nearly half of whom are rebuilders from the throughout the region and further afield we must exhibit more gratitude, courtesy and love. Too much energy is consumed on practices that divide our community and surely a community and nation divided upon itself, will not stand!
7) The people must be empowered not oppressed. Society must not be left out of any opportunities or ostracized. An inventory must be taken of the national human resources at home and in the Diaspora and these resources fully developed and utilized for the building of Montserrat.
When development is measured in material terms and by how rapidly we are catching up to or how closely we are walking in step with the “developed”, metropolitan, secularized countries (the USA is usually used as he measuring rod), we are surely on our way to destruction. Too many of our Caribbean neighbors have made the political mistake of selling out, prostituting and plundering their countries under the guise of nation building, all the while society self destructs. Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that we should not be any different to the rest of the world and welcome everything the world has to offer into our land. Many also like to suggest that because we are of a small geographic size and “British” we will not be affected by many of the negative ills out there. Such erroneous thinking must be corrected.
Let us look at the small, twin island nation of St. Kitts/Nevis. There are the over 300 room Marriott resort, the near 200 room Four Seasons Hotel in Nevis, renowned golf course, large marina and resort developments. With these wonderful developments and more, St. Kitts/Nevis is one of the most indebted islands in the Caribbean with a debt to GDP ratio over 100%. The situation with bankrupted Antigua (and several other Caribbean sisters) is not dissimilar.
Introduction (DEBT ACCUMULATION IN THE CARIBBEAN ORIGINS, CONSEQUENCES AND STRATEGIES ECLAC Publication 106: 30/12/2006)
During the 1990s the public debt stock of most Caribbean economies increased
significantly. This is especially the case of the member States of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) 1. Between 1990 and 2005, the debt stock rose on average from 65 per cent to 84 per cent of GDP for CARICOM. 2 For the OECS, the debt stock expanded from 75 per cent to 105 per cent of GDP between 2000 and 2005. Also, with the exclusion of Trinidad and Tobago, the economies that have witnessed a decline in their debt stock to GDP ratios (Guyana and Jamaica)still maintain debt levels that surpass 100 per cent of GDP. As it stands, Caribbean economies are among the most indebted emerging market economies in the world. By standard criteria the debt levels are unsustainable. Caribbean economies have contracted their debt mainly from external sources. However, in some cases, notably Barbados, Jamaica and St. Kitts and Nevis, countries have increasingly sought funding in domestic financial markets.
Debt flows mostly take the form of multilateral and bilateral loans and supplier credit.
However, commercial bank loans are becoming important in some economies representing up a quarter of total debt obligations. The accumulation of debt has been shown to be detrimental to growth and welfare. The ‘mainstream’ transmission channels include, among others, uncertainty, increases in the cost of finance, expectation of higher taxes, crowding out of public and private investment, and the effects of debt overhang on the rates of return.
The battle to control crime in St. Kitts/Nevis is being conducted on a steep incline where in the opening 4-5 weeks of the year saw four homicides (3-Nevis, 1-SKB); week 6 saw an accumulated 6 homicides (3-Nev, 3-SKB); week 8: 7 homicides (3-Nev, 4-SKB); week 9: 8 homicides (3-Nev, 5-SKB); week 11: 9 homicides (4-Nev, 5-SKB). Gangs, drugs and arms are societal staples. There is strong discontent over the large developments that do not produce any benefits to much the people who need the most financial help and jobs. These must not be the types of activities we should want associated with our building process.
Anguilla, went through a revolution in 1967 taking up arms to stake a name for itself rather than been satisfied with the back water wilderness it was relegated to in the St. Kitts/Nevis/Anguilla union. I used to call Anguilla the only place I have known willingly to under develop itself. Then all that changed from the 1980s onwards. Unfortunately in the name of development, society was left behind: land prices skyrocketed, all the coastal land were been consumed by large developments, hundreds of Chinese and Indians were brought in as cheap labour. Overnight, Anguillians were competing with Ultra High Net Worth Individuals for their own land, many were selling out for the dollar and others were bailing out to the banks which owned their cars, houses and lives. The previous government had even introduced a temporary moratorium on development projects. Today the new AXA government is talking about meeting a bankrupt treasury and a $90mil shortfall between expenditure and revenue. The Civil Service is threatened with pay cuts and job cuts, projects closed down and the island at a virtual standstill. Serious crimes are troubling the society and the social landscape of AXA is never to be the same again. These are not the types of activities we should want associated with our building process.
The Turks & Caicos Islands are currently under direct British administrative rule and moves are afoot to institute a 10% pay cut in civil servants ‘salaries.
The British Virgin Islands are expecting a much publicized downsizing of the public service in the very near future
All these territories were considered to have thriving economies and development was going well.
In themselves, building a market does not mean it will be used, building an airport does not bring more visitors, having natural resources does not make a nation rich but there is nothing an empowered people with the mind to work in unity cannot do.
“Development is user-friendly, not having any precise definition but being informed by the specific needs of the target population. To Sherlock (1993), (“development is a process which begins with the ‘unfolding of what is in the germ’, with a release of the creative potential in an individual, a community, a nation”).” In his volume, Peter Adrien defines development “as a process of empowerment of the human resources of a country.” (Peter Adrien: Cricket & Development 2002:3)
Government and people must be seen to be working together to achieve holistic prosperity in our communities and nation. The full facilitation of and positive action on the part of the private sector is imperative for our survival. A person’s political or religious persuasion, social views, ideology, outspokenness should not cause a person to be precluded from any employment opportunities. (NB6: Too much energy and money has been wasted as governments in Montserrat maliciously fight against their own citizenry, losing at the outcome of litigation. Oppressiveness, victimization and injustice by governments and its legal arm needs to be stopped.)
We do not need to rush our development or compete with anyone. We must pace ourselves and not try to do too much too soon. We must build up our human resources deliberately focusing on education, sports, agriculture and health. We must learn to capitalize on the help and resources of others and maximize on our OECS, CARICOM, UK and EU international status. We could be one of the greatest island states in the world.
Incidentally despite the tremendous advances made during the first decade of the newly introduced ministerial system of government from 1960 to 1970 the then Chief Minister admitted that there was a short coming in the policy and this no doubt would have worked to cause his demise. In the budget speech in April 1970 W.H. Bramble intimated that “regrettably far too many of our people failed to grasp the commercial opportunities created over the past few years.” An article in the Montserrat Mirror published 18th April, 1970 stated “we need to progress as a people rather than individuals.”
Some sure ways of keeping a people enslaved even when slavery was legally abolished were:
1) Maintain high land prices, 2) Pay low wages, 3) Keep the people in debt.
Montserratians must be able to afford to buy land in the new town development and not only 1%.
This aspect, like the others before and after is extremely important.
8) The Diaspora must help with the work of rebuilding and building a nation. They must give of things, talent and time. They must buy, own, return, work and rebuild. (NB7: The Montserrat Diaspora must be appreciated and be shown to be appreciated and included fully in our national building process. Strategic decisions must be made and strategic action must be taken.)
Gone are the days of preferential and protected trade access, tax havens, commodity trans-shipment schemes, concessional finance and we are now faced with globalization, liberalization, free market competition, financial activity regulation and scrutiny, taxes on travel to the Caribbean, the failure of traditional cash crops to cheaper producers and substitutes and more. Our options though fewer are to be effectively exploited. Foreign direct financial and skills investment via our large Diaspora is to be harnessed.
(NB8: Residential Tourism; Geothermal Energy; Sports Tourism; Value Added Manufacturing; Water Bottling; Agriculture)
IN ALL THINGS ACKNOWLEDGE GOD
God must be the Lord of Montserrat for community rebuilding and nation building to be successful. God must be at the head of the building. “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain”. If God is not at the helm it will be business as usual where we have experienced much sowing and planting but reaping and eating very little (and non in some cases) of what was planted, we work and bring in revenue and earn wages but we do not know where the money disappears to and the heavens are stopped from raining. Ultimately we are not the ones in control.
When God is not honored in positions of governance and leadership the people and nation suffer. “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” A stop must be put to the de-Christianization of the land through the allowing of poisoning secularization and the steady desensitization of the population.
The filth that is allowed to be promoted, played on the airwaves and television and practiced must be stopped.
We must be cognizant of what is happening around us and vigorously defend our positive attributes that are lost elsewhere in the world.
Visits from regional politicians, economists, policy makers, business persons, professionals in various disciplines and visitors all marvel at Montserrat and our way of life. The more honest, passionate and forthright ones declare that we in Montserrat do not know what we have in this lovely island. They see us as taking for granted the peacefulness, relatively low incidences of crime, freedoms, natural beauty and lack of stresses and tensions not enjoyed by many of our Caribbean neighbors. Some have gone as far as to say while they are enjoying their stay in Montserrat and a much welcomed reprieve from their normal lifestyle, they do not want to get accustomed to the practices of leaving the car open, not having to lock yourself up inside your house, not having four and five locks on the doors, gates and grills for fear of dropping their guard when they return home.
As a people we must be proud of our history and learn from it, be proud of our achievements past/present and aim high. As a people we must consciously and willingly address our inherited, engrained maladies after serious self examination. Now is not the time for denial, covering up, buck passing or business as usual. Now is the time to get it right. Together we can have:
The Vision for Montserrat
“The rebuilding of a healthy and wholesome Montserrat, founded upon a thriving modern economy with a friendly, vibrant community in which all of our people through enterprise and initiative can fulfill their hopes in a truly democratic and God fearing society.”
(Montserrat Sustainable Development Plans from 1998 to 2020)
Special acknowledgement to the wonderful scholarship of Dr. Howard A. Fergus and Dr. George Irish whose hard work and diligence have produced a wealth of resources on Montserrat’s history that are all a must read.
Acknowledgement also goes to Peter Adrien who also has expounded on Montserrat’s opportunities, potential and unique position with CARCOM, OECS, UK and EU that should be capitalized on to our benefit.
The Government of Montserrat’s documents (OECS/ECCU Eight Point Stabilization Programme, the Sustainable Development Plan, the Economic Sustainability Road Map and the 2010 budget speech) mentioned in the discourse are worth reading.
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