BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, SEPTEMBER 24TH 2006 - Nationals of St. Kitts and Nevis who live overseas are still connected to home and should have the right to vote in the land of their birth.
That's the prevailing view of Kittitians and Nevisians living in the United States Virgin Islands.
Kittitian-born Professor of Social Sciences and Director of the Eastern Caribbean Center at the University of the Virgin Islands in St. Thomas, Dr. Frank Mills said modern communication media have revolutionized the concept of trans-nationalism and what it means to be an emigrant, so many Kittitian and Nevisian nationals abroad do keep abreast of the socio-political landscape in St. Kitts and Nevis, and therefore should not be denied the right to vote at home.
Dr. Mills eloquently addressed the transformation of immigration into a more participatory movement that affords people in the Diaspora ample opportunity to contribute to their home countries development when he made his submission to the Electoral Reform Consultative Committee during a public consultation in the Caribbean Room at the Holiday Inn Windward Passage Hotel.
In a report Press Officer with the Electoral Reform Secretariat, Ms. Valencia Grant, Dr. Mills is quoted as saying: "Immigrants who leave the country and go away still maintain their connections, still maintain their interest, and in fact they even get involved in business or other economic activities. This, I would say to Kittitians and Nevisians is not something that you can just wish away."
"The fact that there is that continuing interest," he continued, "the fact that there is activity on their part is what identifies this whole aspect of trans-nationalism. It's not just a matter of St. Kitts and Nevis. I think when one looks across the entire Caribbean, the entire Latin America, one sees that this is a developing phenomenon where we can no longer conceptualize immigration in the way that we did 20, 30 years ago. The whole matter of communications has turned this entirely around, said Dr. Mills.
~~Adz:Right~~He pointed out that earlier in the day he had been listening via the Internet for several hours to ZIZ Radio, which broadcasts out of St. Kitts, was of the view there must be a lot of other Kittitians and Nevisians elsewhere who do the same.
Ms. Grant said one of them is Kittitian Karleen Harris-Jeffers, who during breakfast at the Windward Passage Hotel, said although she lives in St. Thomas said she too listens to ZIZ.
Ms. Jeffers says she logs on to its Web site shortly after arriving at her office in the morning.
The Report says it bears pointing out that this phenomenon is not unique to ZIZ. Radio stations throughout St. Kitts and Nevis have a substantial listenership of Kittitians and Nevisians abroad and this is demonstrated countless times through St. Kitts and Nevis nationals" participation in call-in talk shows, as well as through e-mail submissions, and live requests and "shout outs" such as on Mother's Day.
~~Adz:Left~~
So with the prevalence of modern communication media, perhaps there are many Kittitians and Nevisians who hold Dr. Mills's conviction, noted Ms. Grant.
Dr. Mills said he will take issue with Kittitians and Nevisians, who insist that Kittitians and Nevisians abroad don't know what is going on, are not interested and are not informed.
"That is not so at all. Today, with telephones, with cell phones, with telephone cards, with the Internet...there are many of us who are informed," the Sandy Point-born university professor said.
