Is Premier Smith heeding Omar W. Hodge’s warnings after the fact?
Mr Hodge when given the opportunity to make remarks at the 46th Fundraising gala of the VIP on March 4, 2017 had this to say:
“It is through repeated trials, approbation, cooperation and a willingness to humble selves that we have brought these Virgin Islands from a bird sanctuary to a proper base of hope, and a strong hope for the future and when I said I am talking about the Virgin Islanders and the people who came here in search of a better life, the mixed Caribbean people, that’s why you see I am always fighting with every government to have this amnesty to properly regularise the people.”
“So I would like to urge Premier Orlando Smith to move with this now, you have to do this now or this earthquake is going to hit us, it’s going to do a lot of damage, I am telling you and I am hoping that Dr Orlando Smith, the Premier, [listens] because they have a report there where I took the strongest of what I had here in the country down to Prospect Reef for nearly a year to put a report together it right there…These people worked, they worked they helped us to build these Virgin Islands.”
On deaf ears?
This seems to have been taken lightly by the NDP leadership of the territory and then there were floods that caused major destructions on Tortola, followed by the major devastation of Hurricane Irma and next Hurricane Maria.
It meant that many expats, in the thousands, left the island as they had no bindings here and many are not likely to return. With the exodus has also gone a certain spending power, according to persons who spoke to this newsroom.
For those that have stayed, it is a battle to feel accepted as someone making a valuable contribution to the Territory.
Further, children born in the Territory have no rights as VIslanders, and even though they are made to sing the Territorial Song in schools and told to have National Pride, the truth remains they find it hard to do so when they are not treated as someone who belongs to the Territory.
However, before Mr Hodge closed his eyes, Premier Smith made an announcement, which many feels will set out to in some way other the other to do just what Mr Hodge recommended. Recently in a statement that pointed directly to the very set of persons Mr Hodge spoke for, expatriate residents in the territory, Premier Smith said, “Many of you, both here in the BVI and temporarily in other parts of the world, have made significant contributions to the development of the BVI. You are part of the BVI family and we are very grateful for your contributions.”
“My Government will, therefore, be proposing changes to our residency and belongership policies in the first quarter of 2018 to address many long-standing and newly-emerging issues in this area,” the Premier added.
According to the Premier, government had planned to roll out the changes by the end of 2017 but said the September 6 and 18, 2017 hurricanes shifted their focus but said that at the same time the hurricanes increased the need for government to resolve the issues with the territory’s residency and belongership policies.
Premier Smith was not specific about what those change/s will be but said government will consult with the public on the matter.
8 Responses to “Is Premier Smith heeding Omar W. Hodge’s warnings after the fact?”
This is only a politician's thing. It is not the people's thing. Because, why should any people want to loose majority status in their own homeland? The influx will not end, but only increase.