BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - “Never ever from this platform would you ever hear us referring to you as banging water to come here...never.”
This was the promise recently made by Prime Minister of the Federation, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas at a groundbreaking ceremony held at New Road.
Dr. Douglas was at the time delivering remarks concerning the Taiwanese Government-sponsored New Road Family Park, which was idealised by the Parliamentary Representative for Constituency Number Two, the Hon. Marcella Liburd, who functions as the Minister of Health, Gender Affairs and Community Development.
The PM expressed that it is disheartening when people from other lands come to live among us and who contribute to the development of the nation “are made to feel unwelcomed here in St. Kitts and Nevis”.
“It is wrong, it is nonsense, it is anti-social, it is anti-Caribbean, it is anti-human development. And I emphasise again...that we cherish the friendship of your people, your government and we shall do all within our power to preserve it and also to encourage those who are living among us from the rest of the Caribbean. You are not foreign in our land; you are part of us and we welcome the opportunities for you to be here and help to build our nation.”
The Prime Minister’s comments follow those made by former Senior Minister and current Leader of the Unity Movement the Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris, which some claim appear to be xenophobic in nature.
While on Unity’s political platform, Harris spoke about a specific individual not of Kittitian/Nevisian nationality who he declared “knock water and come here”.
Prime Minister Douglas continued that “we welcome you and we ask you to play and live among us as we develop this country for the benefit of all of us. And so I thank Ambassador...I thank him again for his support in the policy development and in the policy execution of this government...”
