Cromwell Smith defends remarks on tension between VIslanders & expats
“Some people took offence to that, and of course that’s their right to take offence, I don’t know why they would take offence to it. Some people say I was spreading hate, but actually I’m spreading unity,” Smith said during the Umoja radio show aired on September 5, 2013.
“I’m not angry at anyone. I’m not hating anyone. I’m just saying that I understand the unity of the group[s]. I didn’t create the groups…” he added.
Smith said his show has been about trying to get “us as a people to unify” from its inception in 1997 and stated that his comments came from experiences and encounters he has had with persons on his travels around the Territory.
“I would be stopped by 3, 4, 5 people just that want to talk, they want to bring something to my attention. They want help with a grievance, they want help to negotiate the system, they want me to help them fill out an application for something, they want me to give them some advice… for a myriad of reasons I get stopped. When people stop me they tell me their troubles at Little Dix Bay, they tell me their troubles at Biras Creek… people tell me all kinds of things,” he said.
The commentator said when he speaks on his show it might sound like his opinion but it’s usually based on substantial information he has received either from the community or from research that he has done. “When I say that there is tension between local BVIslanders and local brothers and sisters from the Caribbean, I’m not making that stuff up, there is no reason for me to make it up.”
He stated his only intent was to create awareness in raising the issues and to stop them because of the common ancestry, language, culture and religion shared between Caribbean brothers and sisters.
“If we want to bury our head in the sand and not deal with what’s happening in the community and the divisions that we ourselves are creating among each other, it’s going to come back to haunt us at some future point,” he declared.
He advised that questions needed to be asked in exploration of the reasons behind the tensions. He added that this tension was unwarranted and needed to be sorted out and a determination of where it was coming from should be made.
Co-host Natalio Wheatley aka Sowande Uhuru said he did not feel Virgin Islanders are xenophobic and felt the existent tensions had to do with a flawed process.
“What makes it difficult for Virgin Islanders I think is when things are going wrong, there’s definitely things that are flawed within the process, I don’t blame anybody who came from anyplace else for those things because we have a government and the government is supposed to establish the rules,” he said.
Wheatley also chided fellow commentator Dickson Igwe for saying that commentators should sometimes know when to zip it and invited him to join the dialogue about the tensions in efforts to resolve the same. "We want the best solutions for all persons," he said.
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13 Responses to “Cromwell Smith defends remarks on tension between VIslanders & expats”
That is why people read these stories and assume you all on your talk shows are playing to this crowd.
There seems to be a race to the bottom among BVIslanders - who can be more 'from here' and show more 'loyalty' to the old ways and the few who come from 'the soil'. Those people compete to show their authenticity as 'real' BVIslanders and defenders of the 'indigenous people' (we're all imports btw - native Tainos were wiped out).
Sadly, they are so interested in defending their ancestral culture that it brings out the purest hatefulness bred by nationalism, pride and prejudice.
This is not a solution. If Sowande and Edju En Ka are seeking positive solutions to the problems of our sudden multi culturalism, good for them. We need that urgently. But they have to tread carefully because a) BVislanders feel threatened by outsiders, and b) many outsiders feel despised and sometimes frightened by the wickedness being shown by locals.
The irony is that before all this, BVIslanders weren't wicked and hateful people. There was respect for others, a welcoming, caring national character.
We wanted development and we got it. Now we want the things it has brought, but not the people who were a necessary part of it and a sign of its success.
Who to blame, who to blame, everybody looking, somebody to blame.
I have been associated with bvislanders for 27yrs and while it is true that we say things about each other behind back,[mal-pallay] but in reality bvislanders and other nationalities live nice with each other.like any other small communities people fall out and gossip etc..but I never heard of any ethnic civil unrest in the bvi. many family relationships-husband/wife are of different nationalities and everyday you see bvislanders and expats working in the same job;police force,hotels and restaurants etc..every body in the same dance,party,at festival..we just nice..and living nice with each other.I really don't know where this thing come from about tension.does the bvi look like a country with tension?I have many bvislander friends and adopted relatives in bvi,I don't feel any tension.I feel love and appreciation from my bvi people. if a bvislander have any issue with me as a person,is not because I ent bahn here,may be for other reasons.everyday people putting their nice smiles at each other.some smiles might be made-up, or plastic or just a giggle,but in reality I never heard of a case where someone in the bvi was attacked physically.by another because of ethnic background or religion.The bvi is a bless country that provided for all different race and nationality.Let us pray that God will continue to bless the bvi:Syria,Iraq,afghanistan.They have tension! Not my lovely bvi.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.Long live the people of the bvi....
Praise be to God. As a BVIslander, who is a christian, I find it really apalling when most of the blogs I read contain terminologies (I believe by BVIslanders) about "island people". We are from an island, whether it be up or down. in God's sight what matters is our character. Please note that he has asked us to live peaceably with "all men". So what if someone (a politician or resident) wasn't born here, or their parents aren't from here? If they have acquired the rights of a Belonger, it means that they are deemed to belong here and have the same rights as a BVIslander. While most people in the world have the right to live and work where they choose (providing that they have met the requirements of visa, work permit or greencard, residency etc.), I agree to the institution of laws to control immigration and population growth. Other countries in the Caribbean and the world, I'm sure have similar laws. As for BVI, until these measures of control can/are being effectively enforced, the present Constitution which outlines the qualification for obtaining BVIslander status, are to be abided by. This I say primarily because the BVI is very small compared to our neighboring islands. There is limited employment opportunities (hence the large no. of unemployed youth - and this is why our law that BVIslanders and Belongers should be given first preference should be enforced), our hospital is still being built, there is limited housing, limited availability of land for who can afford to buy, just to name a few of our limited resources; and yes, there are some jobs which we can agree, will be filled by non-BVIslanders on contract or other basis, because there may not be any qualified BVIslander currently available to fill them. What I also believe in and advocate for, is the creation of a full-fledged technical school where all interested persons (not just those who are not doing well in the other subjects) can enroll for a period, to aquire skills and certification in trades such as plumbing, construction, electrician, air-conditioning, etc.