I
learned at breakfast in town this morning that Anguilla has a new
tourism-related activity. This one is
even more incredible to me than the one about us paying for overseas medical
treatment for victims of drugs-turf shootings.
In fact, I am really distressed over this one.
Apparently,
one of our residents returned to Anguilla recently from the USA accompanied by
several family members. The existing bar
on arrivals from the USA does not apply to returning residents. But they are required by the Quarantine
Regulations to spend 14 days in government-controlled quarantine. This is provided at a local luxury hotel. They were all put up at government expense
for the duration. Never mind their mode
of travel back to Anguilla was the most expensive there is, private jet. There was no question of them having to pay
the cost of their own quarantine. Indeed,
we were told their offer to pay their own way during the quarantine was
summarily rejected.
From
what we learned, once one is an Anguilla resident returning to Anguilla from
the USA, not only is the bar on visitors from the USA lifted. Your compulsory quarantine will be spent in a
local hotel at public expense. Over the
past five or six months and continuing, this generous public facility has been
extended to hundreds of Anguillians and Anguilla residents regardless of their
means or their need. In the early stages
of the pandemic, other countries used to cover this cost. Most have long stopped that waste of government
funds.
I
wonder if to enjoy this treat, we have only to make our way to the USA. When we return home, maybe we too will be put
up at public expense in a first-class local hotel for the quarantine
period. Now that we have British
taxpayer money to assist, it seems there is no holding back on the
spending. Other countries with a
quarantine rule oblige travellers to pay the cost of their own quarantine. But, not Anguilla. We are too generous with public funds to
contemplate such a burden. Not even a
means test is applied.
What
a blast! More of us should be encouraged
to take advantage of this generosity. This
project deserves the widest publicity.
We must ensure it is taken up by everyone in need of a free holiday.
Also,
at breakfast, I learned that the Government of Anguilla does not spend
unbudgeted public funds only on quarantining returning residents. For years, we have been sending young men who
have been either shot during drugs-turf and other disputes or suffered serious
accidents abroad for medical treatment. We jet these patients by air ambulance to
hospitals in Central America free of charge.
We cheerfully pick up their hospital bills. There is no question of obliging the patient
or his family to cover the cost.
It
seems that persons have long quarrelled over this abuse with the department
responsible for making the arrangements. It has been explained that the service is
rendered on political instructions. For decades,
you and I may have spent a small fortune paying for health insurance and the
cost of medical evacuation costs for ourselves and our families. But, in Anguilla no question of either
medical insurance or means test arises once a “medical emergency” is discovered
by a Minister. It costs us millions of
dollars each year, and not a cent of it appears in the budget. Nor is any serious attempt made to recover
the cost.
Some
people think this is wrong, and they are labelled unkind. On the contrary, I think this is an example of
public service we should show to the rest of the world. We should give this programme more publicity. We ought to broadcast its details more widely. It could be professionally advertised. How about the theme, “Get yourself shot in
Anguilla, and stay in a first-class Panamanian or Costa Rican hospital for
months while seeing the world at public expense.” Of course, not every country is as rich as we
are and can afford such largess.
Finally,
at breakfast we heard another story related to our tourism product. One of the breakfast group took a drive to
Blowing Point last Friday evening to see what was happening for Carnival. He parked in the area to the east of the
ferry terminal where there is a car park.
It was dusk.
All the August Carnival festivities
were over. There was no sign of life
anywhere. No Immigration, Customs or Police
Officers were in sight. There were
several other cars parked in the car park.
He says he heard a small engine
coming from the direction of the entrance to the harbour. He observed an inflatable dinghy with several
persons in it. It did not go to one of the
jetties. It carried on a further couple
of hundred yards to the beach where he was.
Its passengers came ashore without the benefit of a Customs of
Immigration interview. They got into a
grey car and drove off. As he drove
home, he followed them behind two or three other cars.
It drove to a well-known place of male relaxation in George Hill. When he arrived home, he called the police
number given for reporting suspicious activity.
There was no one at the other end.
Instead, he got an answering machine with a recorded woman’s voice. The voice did not say she was a police
officer, so he hung up. He went on to
the government’s website and then to the page for making reports. He typed in his anonymous report there. The police now have the car registration
number and the address the car went to. It is up to them to follow through.
For the life of me, I cannot
think of any legitimate reason why there would be no “first responders”
attending Anguilla’s main passenger port at 6:00 PM every day of the year
whether a holiday or not. To a
suspicious mind like mine, it is almost as though it was pre-arranged for there
to be no Officer present monitoring the port at the very time the dingy was
coming ashore.
I
have previously written about this famous place of business in George Hill:
https://donmitchellcbeqc.blogspot.com/2018/01/anguilla-brothel-keeping.html
https://donmitchellcbeqc.blogspot.com/2018/01/is-anguilla-civilised.html
One
thing is for sure. Anguillians are an
enterprising people. We are natural
entrepreneurs. We have a history of
smuggling and ignoring the law going back hundreds of years. The outlaw life is stamped into our DNA. Now that government is giving us a little
help in developing these natural skills, nothing can hold us back.
