By T. C. Phipps-Benjamin
 

On September 19, 1983, our nation waited. We waited to be delivered from a state of dependence.  Like a ripened son or a budding daughter on the threshold of adulthood, our nation had come of age. The wheels were set in motion, and there was to be no turning back. The independence of a nation waiting was inevitable.  On the cusp of what was a spectacular display of pride, sparked by a future filled with hope, we were a people destined to be in control, a people not to be controlled, a people emancipated from the holds of Mother England. Many hailed it; some loathed it; but independence had come. Beyond the uncertain horizon, our nation's fate was sealed.
 
Twenty-six years later, a nation still waits. Just as we waited for a new direction for our economy, once dominated by King Sugar, we wait. Mindful of the vulnerabilities of the tourist industry, but with optimism for its potential to promote our federation globally, we wait. Post slavery, our nation waits; even while known criminals ensnare unsuspecting victims, violating their freedom, wounding their integrity, ruining their future. Our nation waits to be liberated from the distress and frustration sparked by political undercurrents and derogatory outbursts spouted from political platforms.
 
We wait, despite our awareness that there is a legitimate influx of guns into our federation that will certainly destroy lives, whether innocent or those of known perpetrators. We wait for crime reduction, for the increased protection of our borders, for an economy to rebound from the grip of recession, for a dependable electricity supply, for improved health care services, for continued growth in our education system, for protection of our elderly, for leaders who envision progress for our country and not merely for themselves and their families. We wait for opportunity for all citizens, irrespective of their political persuasion; we wait for the Kittitian and Nevisian dream of home ownership to be fulfilled, for renewed relationships, soured by trivial bickering; indeed our nation waits. 
 
We wait with a heightened awareness of the unique ties between our twin islands, a relationship subject to bouts of scrutiny, yet rich with history and a steadfast hope that we can build walls that unite, and ensure they aren't torn down by egos, too inflated to be checked. In our waiting, we dread the song and dance of a politician whose eyes, affixed on power and material gain, is clouded by poor judgment. 
 
In our waiting, our people are looking and listening. Laying claim to our nation, drenched with an element of destruction, causing us to tether and totter on the edge of social instability, is a force called hate. It lurks in the corners of our minds, and threatens to strike when our people are most vulnerable.
 
Life, the most precious gift afforded each of us as human beings first, and as citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis, is seemingly threatened by our political climate.  While we wait for an election, for our party of choice to retain or assume power, is it worth one more life loss, one more woman violated, one more citizen robbed, one more national victimized, one more friendship shattered?
 
On September 19, 1983, in its infancy, our nation waited. Its astute leader could not possibly predict its future, but on that eventful day, an independent people yearned more from life than to merely wait. Our new independent nation needed us; our pride, our patriotism, our passion and our willingness to work toward building our nation. We were swollen with gratification at the thought of a federation on its own, no longer needing its mother to navigate its future. Today we wait, but with an array of obstacles to overcome, and so limited resources to overcome them with. 
 
Under the threat of social collapse, ebbing and flowing during one of the most trying times in our modern history, we are a nation waiting to be united. There can be no other way. We must collude to be part of the equation, and agitate for change by a renewed way of thinking, by a change in our actions toward each other, and by a change in our vision for St. Kitts and Nevis. The change we continue to wait for will not merely come to us. Together, we must go after it. We are the change we have been waiting for.
 
At this volatile time in our Federation's history, we entrust the lives of our citizens to the Omnipotence of our creator who alone knows what will befall us as our nation waits.