Difficult Landing

ASSUME YOUR POSITION


Dear Editor

Almost everyone has assumed a position on the Barbuda Land Act. Isn’t it just lovely to see big brother finally coming to his senses because of the actions and claims of little sister? I come to everything Barbudan, including the Barbuda Land Act issue, with a history of ignoring Barbuda until it dawned on me over ten years ago that writing Antigua and Barbuda in my mailing address instead of Antigua alone, stopped my journals from ending up in some other country. I have been to Barbuda only once, on official, forensic duty for one day.

There are obvious flaws in the Barbuda Land Act. Yes, there should have been more public consultation and yes, the one-nation two-system policy faces a difficult or impossible evolution. Quite frankly, when we Antiguans have allowed our aerial, front-door lands, and others, to be sold to a private person and turn around, like Little Jack Horner, and remark how beautiful the airport looks, we have lost the right to tell Barbudans anything about public consultation on land. The fact that politicians committed the first sin of commission and politicians are again committing a second sin of omission, simply points to the inertia of the populace. Will we rise up now as we should have spoken out before?

For those who cannot get their heads around the very thought of our national, public purse paying for the advantage Barbudans enjoy over land, there is a simple answer. No, the answer is not that your head is not a rubber band; it would be an insult to say that. It is simply the retributive price of remembrance we Antiguans must pay for what we have allowed to happen to Antigua. Bring on the Antigua Land Act if Antiguans are really serious about public consultation about land and then we can try to amend the flawed Barbuda Land Act.

Yours truly,

Dr. Lester CN Simon