Wednesday, September 10, 2003

This is an article that appeared in the Observer Newspaper of the week od August 22-28, 2003


Too many Chicken Littles
By Everton ‘Swagga’ Powell aka Obi.

By Everton ‘Swagga’ Powell aka Obi.
Email: swagga@hotmail.com


The time I spent in Primary School was a time in which I was constantly
brainwashed with many Eurocentric fables, epic stories and nursery rhymes.
The one that struck me the most is the one about the chicken that ran around
shouting: "the sky is falling" when it was only an acorn falling from the
tree it was under.

You see, this chicken was very closed-minded and was only viewing the world
from its very small-minded chicken perspective. Chicken Little was wrapped
up in a very negative view of the world. Instead of having a positive
attitude and viewing what was falling as an opportunity, the poor chicken
saw gloom and doom. The acorn was indeed a blessing - food falling from the
sky - and not the death and destruction that the myopic chicken had
perceived.

Just like the weak hearted and doubtful chicken, there are many nattering
nabobs of negativism who can only see death and destruction for Nevis after
independence. Many keep crying that little Nevis cannot make it on its own.
Many, including the opposition NRP, keep saying Nevis only has a “one-hotel
tourism industry” (The Four Seasons Resort;) and a dying offshore industry,
which has become a victim of the OECD and Bush's Patriot Act.

Such negative utterances lack the positive view of one who wants to see
Nevis succeed. They fail to mention that currently Nevis has one of the most
vibrant hotel sectors anywhere in the Caribbean with most of its hotels
remaining operational during the summer and the Four Seasons(the number one
hotel in Caribbean), operating near full capacity.

They have not mentioned the high rate of employment in Nevis nor the fiscal
responsibility of the current administration or that of the previous NRP
administration. No mention is made of the dramatic
improvement in the infrastructure of Nevis with the hospital being the best
it has been in history and of course the many new roads cris-crossing the
island.

What about the New Sea Port? This has vastly improved our shipping activity
in Nevis, which can be further developed into an efficient and bustling
transshipment point for international shipping. Don't forget the new
airport, which I just had the opportunity to use. It is so well built and
esthetically pleasing that I know it fills each and every
Nevisian with pride. The Vance W. Amory International airport is certainly
one of the best in the entire Caribbean.

What about the daily American Eagle flight that is operating
very close to full capacity so much so that there is talk of adding another
American Eagle flight from Puerto Rico? The possibilities are endless,
especially with Nevisians managing our own affairs!! As long as we keep
moving forward like this I have a feeling that I may just live to see that
first direct flight from New York to Nevis!

Also these negative people forget to mention that Nevis is one of the best
places to live among all independent Caribbean countries, third only to the
Bahamas and Barbados according to the United Nation Human Index survey. They
neglect to mention that our per capita income is approximately $9000 US
currency while a larger and much more populated country like Jamaica has a
measly $3000 US per capita income.

And who would have thought that Nevis would have become the bread- basket
for many citizens of these larger islands, providing employment
opportunities and a higher standard of living among beautiful and peaceful
people? You see, its not just about population size but more about good
governance and people being willing to put country above self.

Keep in mind that this is happening in spite of Nevis' size and constant
drain of between $11- 16 million over to St. Kitts yearly. Just imagine what
Nevis can do with this 16 million dollars.

As the Nevis Island Administration take the brave step toward independence
for Nevis the island needs more “worriers” to stand up and be counted. There
needs to be more Shaka Zulus and Nzingas and not all these “chicken littles”
preaching gloom and doom for the country. Get up stand up and be counted and
be proud of what you can do for your country to make it the envy of the
world! We, Nevisians at home and abroad, can make Nevis a paradise as is
evidenced by the vast improvements we have made on our own in a very short
20 years of pseudo self-governance. We can a do a lot more if we manage to
get rid of the federal albatross around our neck that seek to milk us daily
and stunt our growth process.

So the sky will not fall in, Nevis, but instead I see Nevis moving towards
the sky and beyond. Remember if we can have the highest number of test
cricketers per capita in the Caribbean so too we can achieve the highest
standard of living in the Caribbean and I see INDEPENDENCE opening up those
doors for us.

http://www.nevisculturama.net

The time I spent in Primary School was a time in which I was constantly
brainwashed with many Eurocentric fables, epic stories and nursery rhymes.
The one that struck me the most is the one about the chicken that ran around
shouting: "the sky is falling" when it was only an acorn falling from the
tree it was under.

You see, this chicken was very closed-minded and was only viewing the world
from its very small-minded chicken perspective. Chicken Little was wrapped
up in a very negative view of the world. Instead of having a positive
attitude and viewing what was falling as an opportunity, the poor chicken
saw gloom and doom. The acorn was indeed a blessing - food falling from the
sky - and not the death and destruction that the myopic chicken had
perceived.

Just like the weak hearted and doubtful chicken, there are many nattering
nabobs of negativism who can only see death and destruction for Nevis after
independence. Many keep crying that little Nevis cannot make it on its own.
Many, including the opposition NRP, keep saying Nevis only has a “one-hotel
tourism industry” (The Four Seasons Resort;) and a dying offshore industry,
which has become a victim of the OECD and Bush's Patriot Act.

Such negative utterances lack the positive view of one who wants to see
Nevis succeed. They fail to mention that currently Nevis has one of the most
vibrant hotel sectors anywhere in the Caribbean with most of its hotels
remaining operational during the summer and the Four Seasons(the number one
hotel in Caribbean), operating near full capacity.

They have not mentioned the high rate of employment in Nevis nor the fiscal
responsibility of the current administration or that of the previous NRP
administration. No mention is made of the dramatic
improvement in the infrastructure of Nevis with the hospital being the best
it has been in history and of course the many new roads cris-crossing the
island.

What about the New Sea Port? This has vastly improved our shipping activity
in Nevis, which can be further developed into an efficient and bustling
transshipment point for international shipping. Don't forget the new
airport, which I just had the opportunity to use. It is so well built and
esthetically pleasing that I know it fills each and every
Nevisian with pride. The Vance W. Amory International airport is certainly
one of the best in the entire Caribbean.

What about the daily American Eagle flight that is operating
very close to full capacity so much so that there is talk of adding another
American Eagle flight from Puerto Rico? The possibilities are endless,
especially with Nevisians managing our own affairs!! As long as we keep
moving forward like this I have a feeling that I may just live to see that
first direct flight from New York to Nevis!

Also these negative people forget to mention that Nevis is one of the best
places to live among all independent Caribbean countries, third only to the
Bahamas and Barbados according to the United Nation Human Index survey. They
neglect to mention that our per capita income is approximately $9000 US
currency while a larger and much more populated country like Jamaica has a
measly $3000 US per capita income.

And who would have thought that Nevis would have become the bread- basket
for many citizens of these larger islands, providing employment
opportunities and a higher standard of living among beautiful and peaceful
people? You see, its not just about population size but more about good
governance and people being willing to put country above self.

Keep in mind that this is happening in spite of Nevis' size and constant
drain of between $11- 16 million over to St. Kitts yearly. Just imagine what
Nevis can do with this 16 million dollars.

As the Nevis Island Administration take the brave step toward independence
for Nevis the island needs more “worriers” to stand up and be counted. There
needs to be more Shaka Zulus and Nzingas and not all these “chicken littles”
preaching gloom and doom for the country. Get up stand up and be counted and
be proud of what you can do for your country to make it the envy of the
world! We, Nevisians at home and abroad, can make Nevis a paradise as is
evidenced by the vast improvements we have made on our own in a very short
20 years of pseudo self-governance. We can a do a lot more if we manage to
get rid of the federal albatross around our neck that seek to milk us daily
and stunt our growth process.

So the sky will not fall in, Nevis, but instead I see Nevis moving towards
the sky and beyond. Remember if we can have the highest number of test
cricketers per capita in the Caribbean so too we can achieve the highest
standard of living in the Caribbean and I see INDEPENDENCE opening up those
doors for us.