Lost Culture

Just the other day I asked someone the question that started me wondering.The question was ,what is our the culture and traditions that has made Anguilla unique?
I was somewhat amazed and dumbfounded by the obvious search for a response to this innocent query.To be truthful, I could only ellict a veiled response like ,oh there is a lot of rich culture that we Anguillians are proud of.With this answer I could see that the preson was wrestling with the frankness of the question and was uneasy in responding to me but I wasnt about to offer them a way out.I pressed on about what was our local foods,dress ,music and other things that are local to us.I must say that they failed miserably in their efforts to explain these things.This appear to be the general response given by locals all over the island .People are proud to be Anguillian but has no sense of what it really means to be Anguillian.It is sad to say that this trend is quite alarming and disturbing If allowed to continue it will eventually lead to a generation where the' Anguillian pride 'will be lost in all the hustle and bustle of progress and economic prosperity.
I am puzzled to as to why our Ministers of Culture are failing to ensure that our culture and customs are preserved.Where every youngster is knowledgeable of what our traditions and culture is.I recently observed some young people whom I know to be born and bred in Anguilla and was overcome with sadness when I heard them speak.I really had to do a double take ,for I thought that I was in another country.Some of their speech had St.Thomian inflections while others had hints of Jamacian accents.It is really ridiculous that our youth are losing their identity to the extent that they are adopting the lingo of other islands.Are we so ashamed of who we are that our youths are abandoning ship?A proud Anguillian would not try to sound like someone from the USA,UK,St.Thomas,Ja or anywhere else.I rather enjoy hearing the musical chants of my people as they speak using local terminology such as awya lard,awya looka wok etc.Dispite the fact that we can and are fluent in speaking the Queen's english ,we should not be ashamed of speaking in our local dialect.It is part of who we are and denotes of heritage and ancestry.We should not allow that to be lost with our efforts to assimilate into the status pro.
Our focus, instead ,should be to maintain and find methods to preserved what really made us stand out from the rest of the Caribbean.We should pride ourselves in the fact that we through our ingenuity made the path for our own success .That the resillience of our people and the sacrifices that they have made was responsible for where we are today.Where is the honor that is given to those warriors who fought the good fight.Why are there no memorials or statues in their memory?Has our pride evaporated as our status improved?Are we so shallow that we neglect to give honor where honor is due?Who are our national heros and heroines?Every country has theirs and are proud to celebrate them but we dont.Why should we be any different?It is time for change ,it is time to reverse this trend and correct thi s insane situation.We have alot to be proud and thankful for and honoring our past freedom fighters is just a start.
We must pressure our Ministers to correct this and force them to honor those who are deserving .Dispite how they feel about or towards the recipents our goal should be to bestow this honor and celebrate what they stood for.Without education about our culture and customs where will we end up?We will be a lost nation with nothing to fall back on to give us inspiration intimes of need.We must ensure that the dishes we grew up with and loved are preserved.
When last can you really say that you were served a plate of food that was truly of national origins.Our restraurants dont even have it on their menus.Even our local restraurant are reluctant to promote them.We should be proud to serve our dishes just as the French,Chineese and the Italians.Our dishes should be made famous because most of our visitors are accustomed to the crap we serve in our hotels and restraurants so why not give them a little of our own soul food?The stew peas,johnny cakes,flitters,corn dumplins etc, are ours and we should showcase them.There are many more things that can be included but I will reserve them for another time.
I sincerely hope that our people take heed any work at reclaiming their customs and culture.The steps and the road will be long and difficult but it is a worhtwhile undertaking.So to the ministers in whose hands much of this is entrusted I pray that you will awaken from your slumber and start the mechanisms necessary for this reform. May God be with you.