COMMENTARY: Make Antigua And Barbuda Great Again?

MAKE ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA GREAT AGAIN?

By Yves Ephraim 

This is a defining moment in the history of Antigua and Barbuda.

As an Antiguan and Barbudan, why do you not feel the need to assert your sovereignty as a people empowered to chart your own future and maintain your own values and culture?

Are you so weak of character that you would rather sell your birthright for a “mess of pottage” than defend it with your life?

Perhaps this explains why you show little concern when large swathes of land are gifted to foreign investors while pushing you to live in a ever shrinking small area of land. 

Perhaps too, this is the reason why you do not seem to care whether you continue to have access to the beaches.

You do not seem to mind being a second class citizen in your own country. 

It is obvious that you do not care what happens in Antigua and Barbuda because you can always jump on a plane and run off, abandoning what little property you have, to the US and other countries, instead of confronting the injustices here;

It is ironic, that the one thing that is usually sure to bring a people of a country together is the defense of their national sovereignty. 

Generally speaking patriotism is tied to national sovereignty.

But not so with Antigua and Barbuda!

Do you think that the people of Ukraine, clearly not a match for Russia, would start having doubts about their sovereignty?

What is so different with Antigua and Barbuda?

Some of you think that the concept of sovereignty for a small country like Antigua and Barbuda is mere delusion since this sovereignty cannot be defended militarily or economically.

Others among you feel that this country’s long reputation of corruption and incompetence is so engrained that Antigua and Barbuda is beyond redemption.

Still, more of you believe that the geo-politics has already decided that our so called sovereignty is mere academic. And since our hemisphere is the hegemony of the US, Antigua should merely surrender and resign itself to being a quasi-colony.

This Antigua and Barbuda sovereignty conundrum has forced me to speculate what might have contributed to the lack of deep connection to Antigua and Barbuda and the rejection by some to be independent and non-aligned.

Using my own experience growing up here for my whole life, my first connection with Antigua and Barbuda was that of a full colony of Britain.

When Antigua and Barbuda became independent in 1981, we belonged to the Commonwealth and our Constitution gave us no special privilege above and beyond any other commonwealth citizens. In hindsight, we were given the impression that we were independent but queen Elizabeth was still head of state.

All development in our country were primarily focused on the ease and comfort it brought to the European and North American tourists and investors, at the expense of the indigenous Antiguans and Barbudans. 

In recent times our country has been entangled with our Chinese benefactor with a level of indebtedness that forces you to question its sustainability. If we default we can expect all hell to break loose.

Now with our CBI program, the last vestige our national identify is now a commodity to be sold.

It is reasonable to conclude that Antigua and Barbuda was never ours, therefore you can be forgiven for your ambivalence regarding national sovereignty. 

Why on earth would you want to die for a country that never put you first?

If we are truly honest with ourselves, Antigua and Barbuda was never developed for Antiguans and Barbudans.

There has been lots of talk of “Antiguanization” but never a sustained commitment to make you a master of your own economy. 

After 44 years of independence, the results speak for themselves. How many Antiguans today head up any of the major local hotels? 

Mind you this is not a fault of the hotels, it is a national leadership failing for not prioritizing Antiguan and Barbudans in their so called development plans. 

Antiguans and Barbudans are mostly an afterthought. 

Hopefully some “jabs” will fall your way. It is probably going to get worst now that a declaration has been made that there is not enough Antiguan and Barbudan labourers to meet demand.

Antigua was not developed with amenities for its people: we see this in the crumby road infrastructure. 

You see this in the number of government agencies that have their employees working from home and therefore not consistently available to serve the public. 

We see this by the scant attention to feeding ourselves through agriculture; we have been struggling for eons to fix the water issue in Antigua and Barbuda. 

I can go on and on.

The only time some attention is given to Antiguan and Barbudan concerns is when an election approaches, only to stop abruptly thereafter.

It is clear to me that Antigua and Barbuda was never developed for Antiguans and Barbudans to earn a decent living here or to provide meaningful careers for our young and educated students.

Truth be told, Alan Standford did a better job at this than our government has ever done, in my opinion. And I am not particularly a fan of Mr. Standford.

The regulations act as a deterrent for Antiguans to go into business as opposed to being employed; 

You cannot find the comforts of public toilets or parks, and for years your deceased love ones had to be dug up to make space for others. 

Our police has ephemerally been underequipped to solve real crimes but seem more than equipped to teargas the people and go after individuals that are not sympathetic to the ruling administration. 

This has been our history!

Antiguan and Barbudans can only find these amenities in other countries, since those other countries were built to serve the interest of their citizens.

This is why so many Antiguans and Barbudans live and work abroad. I would bet that the “derelict” problem is somewhat connected to the virtual abandonment by Antiguans and Barbudans.

Despite the appeal to get Antiguans and Barbudans to return, I predict futility. This was tried before and failed because nothing changed to make Antiguans and Barbudans first. 

Some came and most quickly left!

If I had to describe Antigua and Barbuda, I would say that this country is designed for foreigners who want a temporary playground; a home for economic refugees or a place to retire. 

It is a hostile place for indigenous businesses.

This is why we are perfect for US refugees/deportees.

If I must lay the blame for this confused state of Antiguans and Barbudans over the issue of national sovereignty, this must be set squarely at the feet of our leadership!

We want new leadership that:

1. Focuses on Antiguans and Barbudans First and investing in the homeland for Antiguans and Barbudans.

2. Engender a strong sense of patriotisms that strengthens our sense of sovereignty.

3. Empower the Antiguan and Barbudan people as far as possible to own their economy.

You need to start demanding more for yourself and elect leaders that make Antigua and Barbuda a HOME and not a neo-plantation. Maybe that would get Antiguans and Barbudans to care about their sovereignty.

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