‘Generations of Anegadians have died waiting for their land’- Daryl A. Ruan Jr
“When it comes to the land situation, many Anegadians, generations of them, have died waiting for their land, and it has not happened," he said during Honestly Speaking with Pastor Claude O. Skelton-Cline on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.
Ruan Jr said it is a very unique situation for the Virgin Islands (VI) as it relates to Anegadian ancestral land. “Many Anegadians have Amerindian blood; that’s number one. Number two, our heritage predates BVI history, as the British only got in the slave trade in 1592, whereas Anegada is a Spanish word, so our history predates Spanish history from 1492.”
“When we use that word ancestral, we do it to show that, yes, we recognise we're in the BVI; yes, we recognise we're part of the BVI, but when it comes to our history, our history predates British Virgin Islands history.”
Ruan Jr added that the issue, therefore, is not following whatever rules and guidelines have since been put in place. “The problem we have is when we follow the rules and the guidelines, we don't get anywhere.”
A situation that’s over 100 years old
This situation regarding lands on Anegada is almost 170 years old, he explained.
“So for us to sit here and say that the current government of the day or the government yesterday created this challenge, no, that is not the truth.”
He expounded further, saying, “The reality of the situation is 100 years from 1885, when the document, the 1885 ordinance, came into play. This is the only ordinance of its kind in any British Overseas Territory… where Queen Victoria allotted the island of Anegada to the people.”
The lands, he said, were theirs before the British came, and Queen Victoria, the monarch at the time, instructed that the lands be given to the people. Ruan Jr also said the 1885 ordinance is “officially on the record of Virgin Islands ordinances”. However, a major setback is that an accompanying letter from Queen Victoria has not been located.
They want us dead
Ruan Jr added that the Crown Lands Management Act is tied to that 1885 ordinance. In June 2026, Premier and Minister of Finance Dr the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley (R7) expressed commitment to having the longstanding Anegada lands issues settled as quickly as possible during a meeting on Anegada.
“I do believe the Premier, he wants to do the right thing. I do believe Hon Fraser, he wants to do the right thing. But, a lot of the time…this situation is so confuddled. It’s like every generation has been kicking a can down the road.”
Asked what he believed was preventing the government from doing the right thing, he blamed the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) as the most recent obstacle.
He added, “The old people would say they didn’t want us to have the land. The old people would say they want us to dead.”
Ruan Jr asked why the two most sought-after landmasses in the VI for development are Anegada and Salt Island, and why these are the only two landmasses the Queen bequeathed to the people, but they cannot receive their deeds.
He said the goalpost is constantly being moved. “Then you have this person interfering, then lo and behold, it's a new government. So now any Anegadians have to start the process all over. Then the gold post moves, and it's constant.”
Ready to start working again @ committee level
Ruan Jr explained that following the passing of the Crown Lands Management Act, the Anegada Land Development Advisory Committee became the Anegada Standing Committee.
He said many of those who signed up to be members of this new committee were recently contacted.
“We look forward to hopefully the committee being reappointed very shortly so that we could continue this fight.”
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