‘Don’t allow foreign citizens to come & vote’ – caller
“Why are people who sell out their country coming back and vote?” the caller asked. “They done naturalised and gone and they come from all over the States, they come from St Thomas all over and vote again and they are naturalised…that ain’t right,” she said.
Host of the show Doug Wheatley said that this is something of concern not only in the VI but also around the region and further afield.
“We know for example down in the eastern Caribbean when you have boatloads and planeloads of people coming from the United States and the US Virgin Islands etc. It has created some difficulties in some of those countries,” he said.
Wheatley noted that persons in St Kitts complained that persons living in the United States come home and vote and influence the pattern of Government there and then they go back to the United States for another three years.
“Some persons do not think that this is fair but it is something that we might consider,” said host Wheatley.
Wheatley’s show dealt with a number of topics, chief among them was the just concluded elections and matters connected thereto.
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31 Responses to “‘Don’t allow foreign citizens to come & vote’ – caller”
lives here, he knows the issues, the hardships; about folks loosing their homes to the bank, businesses closing down, people loosing their jobs, the high cost of living, bad roads and everything else.
To have the right to vote it should be stipulated for example, that one needs to have visited the country at least 2 times within the past 4 years or lived in the country for 3 weeks within the previous year of an election. The reason being, that they should have had enough time to be familiar with the issues and conditions in the country, thus being capable of making an informed decision.
It is unfair for folks who choose to live elsewhere, because of the more progressive and prosperous conditions of
another country, then return to their homeland on the eve of an election, because they got a free trip and perhaps a hotel room for a few days and spending money.
A family member with a traveling buddy, both American citizens were here during the election and wanted to understand something about our politics. Whereas in the US one is usually aligned with one of the two parties, Democrat or Republican with different beliefs and philosophies, they wanted to know of how do we make our choices; what is the basis. Of course, wanting to sound a little sophisticated i paused and thought a bit, hoping to find some plausible differences between the two more organized parties. In the end, I suggested that they are
in my opinion somewhat similar to the Republicans and the Democrats in the US; Both catering mostly to one or the other group of persons...
More than half of the people who live and work in the BVI, contribute to society in all kinds of ways and who pay taxes and social security here, have no right to vote at all. We call them non-belongers, dung islanders, yardies rich white folks and so forth. We use these references when we are being polite. There are many other labels used that are unprintable. These people make up the majority of the workforce and indeed our total population. They have no representation at all and many of us (for whatever reason) think that's right. Some of these people have lived here and worked here longer than I have been alive!
Some of you wish to take away the right to vote from all students living abroad, all those who are legitimate Virgin Islanders who currently live abroad, anyone whose mother wasn't born here and you support the notion that more than half of our workforce should remain without representation and should never have the right to vote.
The exclusionary, oppressive and xenophobic self-centeredness demonstrated in this blog is really sad. The only way true democracy works is if ALL people are represented. That includes me, my cousin (who had to leave the BVI to get a job in his chosen field) and some of our tennants who have lived here for as long as I can remember and whom I refer to as Auntie or Uncle.
The BVI is way behind the times. Exclusionary practices permeate all levels of our society and for exactly this reason, we will never truly be happy. We will never enjoy harmony in our society. Our small minded ways will carry on as always and some of us will forever be looking over our neighbour's fences and complaining that they have more than us.
For those who insist upon dwelling in your own little xenophobic state of mind, all I have to say is you really need to travel a bit. Broaden your horizons, your minds and your attitudes towards foreign citizens, foreigners and who you for. Some of you are sickening now.
I voted and made sure my voice was recorded. I will always fight for my right to vote (regardless of where I might live in the future) so you all need to get over yourselves.