By Anselm Caines
Living in Nevis over the years has been nothing short of a blessing for me, as I am sure as it has been for so many other Nevisians. Our accomplishments have been significant and our aspirations are many. Our education system is one of the best in the region, there have been major improvements in our infrastructure and we continue to impress and inspire many throughout the world for our numerous achievements in the regional and international arena.
However, as much as it pains me to think about it and even more so than that, to actually write it, we have adopted this negative practice of blatantly ridiculing and pulling down each other. I use the word “adopted” because I am reluctant to believe that this is a practice that was actually cultivated and nurtured by our own people and I will continue to indulge in what some may deem “bare ignorance” with hope that someday this will change.
As it stands now, however, I have seen too many persons here in our little Nevis exhibit feelings of enmity and hostility to other Nevisians who have been successful or done well, for that simple reason . . . that they have been successful and have done well. While I do not endorse an attitude of haughtiness and self-importance, the wholesome initiatives of our own Nevisians must be supported. Sorry to say, this has yet to become common practice in our society, as too many of us continue to bite and nibble at the efforts of each other.
I have noticed that if you decide to open a small restaurant to cater to a few, people will support you. However, the very moment that you decide to upgrade from a little shack on the street corner to a well furnished, air conditioned dining hall with a fairly sizeable parking lot, your business suddenly begins to decline, as people decide, “Not me again” and stop patronizing you. I can also recall being informed by a friend of mine during one of our casual conversations, that there was once this individual who owned a thriving business and was doing quite well for himself. Unfortunately for him and his business, he made the dire mistake of exchanging his regular vehicle for one that was much more lavishing; with the end result being that in short order he had to close down his business because so many people decided to stop patronizing him. This was for no other reason than a decision he made to improve his quality of life, not by being lax, languid or lackadaisical but by being driven, determined and devoted.
If you are a Nevisian and you live in a one story one bedroom house that is fine, but the moment you decide to build one more level, you are ostracized and ridiculed! God forbid you dare contemplate adding a pool! Some may consider having you deported! The troubling thing for me is that if someone comes from abroad and constructs a three story house, all decked out with a pool table and Jacuzzi or establishes an upmarket restaurant, we all flock in droves to support their business but we can’t support the efforts of our own. We fail to remember, however, that the money that the local Nevisian entrepreneur collects is going to be injected in our own tax system here in Nevis and used to build roads, schools, hospitals and provide all the essentials that are necessary to ensure progress and prosperity in this great land of ours.
Regrettably, it also seems that excelling in terms of academics is a terrible thing to do and so we try and taint the scholastic achievements of our peers. Instead of telling Jim to try and find out just why it is Tom has become so successful and implore Jim to follow in his footsteps, we look at Tom with derision and disdain and remark, “Watch he nuh. Think him so bright. Me ain know wa he a try play”. If tomorrow news breaks that Jane just got promoted and naturally receives an increase in privileges, the custom isn’t to say “Well done Jane. Can you give me a few tips to increase my performance?” No. That would be absurd! Instead, we find it better and more profiting to ridicule and ostracize poor Jane and tell everyone behind her back, all that she DID NOT do to get the promotion, if you understand what I mean. This type of mentality is neither healthy nor conducive to the advancement of our country. Don’t we realise that people out there are laughing at us when we continue to exhibit such feelings of antagonism and bitterness towards each other? Nevis is an island with too much potential to have its development undermined, not by people alien to this land but by its own citizens! We must as a people rid ourselves of the festering sore of grudge and envy that so often plagues us.
I know that our island is small but that certainly is no justification for our people to think in a small minded manner. Quite the contrary, our smallness of size should be all the more reason for us to draw on each other’s unique talents and abilities so that we can build up one another and ensure that this country remains competitive with other countries throughout the world. We don’t have gold and diamonds like South Africa nor oil like Trinidad and Venezuela. We aren’t fortunate to have a rich biodiversity of plants and animals like Brazil and Belize and neither are we privileged to have many rivers and streams meandering through our terrain like Scotland and Dominica. Therefore, at the end of the day, our most valuable and precious resource is our people! If this is the case, then what does it say for our future prospects if we continue to derail, disrupt and denounce the efforts of each other? How far can we go if the woman in Gingerland envies the lady in Brown Hill, not for what she stole or swindled away, but for what she worked hard for? If we are developing a country of polarization and hate, how do we expect our children to become any better? How can we proclaim to the principals when they call us and tell us that our children have been cheating and cursing that “We have tried everything possible and we don’t know what else to do”? Well, here is a suggestion. We can start by setting an example. We can go even further by eradicating from our psyche that attitude of grudge, gripe and greed.
I know that Nevisians love this country. I am even more certain than the sun that will rise in the east and set in the west, that we all want Nevis to continue to be a bastion of light and a beacon of hope for those who live in the dispossessed ghettoes of the world. If we are to improve this image and fortify our achievements, then let us support the efforts of each other. Let us encourage not discourage. Let us find the glue of cohesion that is needed to maximise our strengths and minimise our weaknesses. To be succinct, let us stop pulling down each other! The onus is on the citizens of this country to make it happen!
