The pullout has begun
Over the past year we as a nation have wasted great energy debating the controversies of our day including independence, good governance, reserve powers and conspiracy theories.
In the meantime, the cloud which was once the size of a man’s fist has now transformed into a category 5 storm, battering our reputation and seriously jeopardizing our future prosperity.
History provides many lessons that we should never ignore or be misguided enough to believe we can somehow avoid. One of those lessons is that whenever a colonial power is about to depart a colony, they usually uproot all systems of value to the colony whether they be economic, social, political, educational, spiritual or cultural, leaving behind a legacy of chaos and confusion which eventually leads to pervasive instability and poverty.
So, while we debate what is happening, ‘it’ is happening. Taking all the recent scandals into careful consideration, one can conclude that the UK is beginning to pull out of Cayman.
The final act of our colonial master’s reign here is being played out in almost the identical manner that left India, large parts of Africa and many of our Caribbean neighbors reeling, as evidenced by many of the challenges they still face today.
For while we are not rich in natural resources such as gold, diamonds, oil, cotton, sugar, bananas or grain like many of those former colonies, we still have a vibrant Financial Services industry which our direct competitor the UK would love to eliminate.
And as if they were handed a script from our colonial masters, our politicians on both sides of the house and on the airwaves are blindly playing the role of substitute masters lining up for whatever scraps of power that will be left behind when the pull-out has ended. We, the people should demand that they elevate the national conversation from the politics of personality and defend our nation from the ongoing assault on our reputation and our stability. It is time for them to show visionary leadership and act now to prepare our people and our nation for greater autonomy and eventual independence.
The days of hiding behind our ‘mother country’s’ frock-tail will soon be over for we have become worse than a contingent liability; we are a real competitor.
To all who love Cayman, let us no longer be shackled by fear or the inferiority complex which our colonial masters have used against us for generations to trust them blindly and mistrust one another. This old slavery days’ trick is being used on us now to great affect.
Now is the time to ‘suspend’ campaigning, grandstanding and personal/political party agendas. There has never been a more critical time for us to unite. We must consider all of our options carefully, because while we are thinking that independence is a matter for future generations to decide, our masters are putting in place their contingency plan to ensure that whenever that day comes, we will not have a nub yet alone a leg to stand on.
-We are Cayman’s Future Hope
cifuturehope@hotmail.com
Category: Viewpoint
<<<More to the point, what you do if you were no longer in Cayman and no longer had Cayman and Caymanians to resent?
I know! You’d be off to another Island in the sun to be disgruntled with the locals and blame it on them.>>>
Oh wake up and smell the coffee! If it were not for the ex-pats coming and bringing in money stimulating the economy and setting up businesses and training the locals and hiring them, Cayman would not be any better than any other caribbean island. I’m sick to death of the reverse racisim here. The ONLY reason Cayman is successful and has such a talented work force is because of all the ex-pats which come here, invest money and time in the community and this is the bullshit we have to constantly endure.
No need to endure it. Expats who are happy to be here are welcome. To the rest, there are flights every day.
You need to wake up and smell the coffee! The only reason you are here is because you are much better off than whereyou came from. For everyone that leaves there are two (probably better calibre) who would be happy to take your place. You will carry your poor attitude where ever you go and you will meet with the same result every time.
And of course the similarities between Cayman now and the US colonies in 1776 are startling! Huge, unexploited natural resources? Check.
Vast tracks of fertile land? Check.
Active encouragement of immigration on a huge scale? Check.
Statesmen of principle ( not politicians ) putting the interests of the country before their own? Check
What on earth will true Caymanians do when they can no longer blame the Uk and foreigners in general for everything they perceive as wrong?
More to the point, what you do if you were no longer in Cayman and no longer had Cayman and Caymanians to resent?
I know! You’d be off to another Island in the sun to be disgruntled with the locals and blame it on them.
Whilst reading an article on the decline of the USA I came across this:
The quote this week is from Carl Sandburg, "When a nation goes down, or a society perishes, one condition may always be found; they forgot where they came from. They lost sight of what had brought them along."
The members of Cayman’s Future Hope would do well to remember these words!
I now understand that Caymans Future Hope is a collective of young persons and I therefore have to agree that you are the future. As such i would ask you all to remember that your forefathers must have done something right for you to enjoy the quality of life you have now. Yes things could be better and we have to seek to improve things for our people. It is only natural for all countries to want to be politically independent, but who would argue against the fact that we have done well under the British system of governance for the last few hundred years. Is there any amongst you who would disagree with this? Are you collectively ashamed of our histrory and culture – remember that we are a collection of different nationalities originally? As uninhabited islands – who would you have prefered we were colonized by? Which system of Governance would you have prefered had evolved here?
As someone once said to me – there is good reason why babies do not give birth to their mothers. By all means lets look to the future – but its absolutely cowardly and disrepsectful to our forefathers to simply blame the "colonial masters" . All this does is perpetuate an attitude of "mental slavery". Look at the all countries who have broken away from their mother country (the UK, Spain, etc) and who have succeeded and who have not. There are many on both sides – let it be instructive. Also look at the failed states and you will notice they have one thing in common – they are all still blaming their original colonial masters – even hundreds of years later.
Trust me my friends – be proud of your strong mixed heritage and how we got here, do not blame history, and try to help make the decisions for your childrens future in the clear light of reason and good judgement, not in the darkness of insecurity and hatefullness.
I however agree that Britain may well be thinking it is time we took our first flight from the nest.
History will tell the tale of when our best days were and future generations will judge us all.
Anyone who has observed the actions othe ‘mother country’ towards us in the last decade can be under no illusion that it is looking out for the best interests of these Islands. It has shown that it will quite happily destroy our financial industry.
CI Future Hope makes some good points. We would do well to heed them rather than make inane statements about being glad to be colonized by Britain.
I choose not to ignore the 505 years of our history and heritage and culture;
I choose not to disgrace, disrespect and dishonour the lives and scarifices of those who fought for freedom and against totalitariasm and nazism;
I choose not to identify myself and others by the colour of our skin;
I choose to be thankful for our blessed islands and the quality of life we have here;
I choose to learn from past mistakes;
I choose to go forward rather than backwards;
I choose to beleive in God and that good will triumph over evil.
Good choices all. However, I am not sure whether you are agreeing or disagreeing with CI Future Hope which I suspect would also agree to those choices. By all means go forwards rather than backwards, learn from the past mistakes etc.
If to advance constitutionally is to forget where you came from then the 13 American colonies must have had a serious case of collective amnesia in 1776. Boy have they gone downhill since then! If only they had kept in their place and remained colonies.
Virtually every country on earth at some point in time (including England) was subjected to the colonization of a foreign power. It is the history of the world. The USA, Australia and New Zealand, Africa and India were all once colonies of England.
Why do certain people always have to turn things into black and white or an issue of race? It is cowardly and shameful and a refelection of your own (writers) inferiority complex. Please do not try to paint the people of the Cayman Islands in this fashion. The writer in all proabability is not a true Caymanian nor do they reflect the diverse mix and strong character of my people.
Let me say here and now – i do not bow down to anyone including the British. But i say this with all sincerity – i am glad we were coloninized by the British over all other countries – and if being a Territory of Britain is in our national best interest – so be it. As i have said before – if the governor wanted to continue to wear his ostrich feather hat it would not make me feel below him, in fact i would have no objections, indeed i would ask him to parade around town as it would make a beautiful spectacle and photo opportinity for our visitors.
Why would England want our demise – So we can then be a drain oin the british taxpayer looking for financial handouts and be a contingent liabity on the UK Government. Get real people!!!
I say again, please take your own personal inferiority complex elsewhere.