Ancestral Virgin Islands are fearful — Walwyn
Opposition Leader Myron Walwyn has warned that ancestral Virgin Islanders are living with fear as they see themselves being outnumbered in their own homeland.
Speaking during a recent interview, Walwyn said the concerns of these Virgin Islanders must be recognised.
“You have to recognise that there is a fair factor that ancestral Virgin Islanders have. And you can’t blame those persons for having that. Because you are seeing yourself in a small country where you’re being outnumbered in your own home. And it’s a feeling of anxiety,” he explained.
Walwyn stressed that the fear should be addressed by policies, not division.
“I’m saying there is a way to remedy that. And so the effort should be placed on remedying that rather than trying to create the risks that we’re creating,” he stated. He argued that the strength of the territory lies in its diversity, with people of deep ancestral ties living alongside those whose parents came from other islands and immigrants who have been granted belonger status.
“We have to move past this outsiders type thing,” he asserted.
The Opposition Leader also called for greater focus on economic ownership as a way to safeguard ancestral Virgin Islanders. “
The way to protect ancestral Virgin Islanders is not through all this silly nilly talking that we continue to do to create division. The way to do it is through your economic policies. Because he who controls the economy controls the country and the direction of the country,” he argued.
The debate over who qualifies as an “indigenous Virgin Islander” has intensified in recent years. Some leaders argue that people with at least three generations of BVI ancestry should be recognised as a distinct group.
Concerns have grown that the small number of ancestral Virgin Islanders are being overshadowed by immigrants and new belongers. Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has previously cautioned that framing politics as “us versus them” threatens the territory’s unity and legacy.
Other political voices have also warned that dividing residents into categories of belonging risks weakening cohesion at a time when the BVI faces economic and constitutional challenges.
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I am seeing a more mature, insightful and even more knowledgeable Myron. I believe he would be a good leader for the BVI. He can’t do any worse than who we have now for sure.
Are these the words of an invasive species?
Make the BVI great again
We need someone to look out for the indigenous
Are the indigenous? Pray tell.
The bland color atom is quick out the box with the usual divisive, racist, biggotted items in the comments.
We, the ancestral Virgin Islander, must UNITE NOW!
Our disunity is their weapon and or destroyer.
We must wake up and unite beginning now!
You sound some dumb.
Like really dumb.
We welcome your change of position, but it cut deep when you said the HoA can no longer make laws to protect Virgin Islanders. Our rights are under coordinated attack.
You admit ancestral Virgin Islanders feel outnumbered in their own land, yet you offer no policies—only polished words. Meanwhile, constitutional poison pills expand the definition of belonger to dilute our power. You are either willfully blind to it, or you support it.
Virgin Islanders who own land but lack cash are blocked from using it to invest and forced to remain laborers. Banks reject our vacant land as collateral. And the very industries you and the NDP built—marine and accommodations—lock us out with barriers too high for our people to climb.
We saw the choreographed interview with GBM. Let’s be honest: it was staged to mislead Virgin Islanders. You coordinate every move—and we are not impressed.
Honorable, you don’t just sound good—you only sound good.
Thanks for acknowledging this Hon. Walwyn. I agree with your proposition of economic empowerment. You are on point.
Myron h*** locals and whites he is b** news
We know he is B** News. That is the hypocrisy of it all. But he also knows that some of us are easily brainwashed, but not all of us.
We still remember that he says he can’t create laws for Virgin Islanders. We are sure it was a slip of the tongue, but too late. The spoken word cannot be retracted. We think Hon. Walwyn is wonderful, but a good fit to be our Premier he is not. If a thing makes us nervous or afraid, tha could be God telling us to run away. So we have to be weary of it and do just that.
This country is being overrun by outsiders who are not specially skilled and are beating locals out of jobs just because they can pay them less or treat them unkindly. That we have to be careful of. No matter how many people come to our shores, we have to be considered first for jobs in our own country. It may not bbe local no. 1 or local no.2 but local no. 3 should be hunted down. FOR THIS IS THE ONLY PLACE WE CAN BE FIRST. Visitors have another choice.
Says a man that tried to turn Mrs. Parsons against her friend of 50 years Ronnie Skelton. That man do not like, respect or support locals love for one another. I can’t trust him with the heritage of this country.
As far as I can see what is happening currently in BVI, Neither Myron Nor the Ancestral Members of Government are any different. They are ALL the same.
Who is selling the Lands to Outsiders? The same Ancestral Ministers for Lands. Who does the Current Government Look out for? Certainly NOT the Ancestral Virgin Islanders. So whether Hon. Walwyn becomes Premier, which He won’t, There will Never be any Difference one way or the other. Can an Ancestral Virgin Islander go to any other Caribbean Countries and expect to attain the same Benefits as the Native Islanders? My last Question is not for confusion But its just a Question.
To your last question, yes. Do your research. Are there only Caribbean people living here in the BVI? No. BVIslanders are currently living and working in a myriad of other countries and are reaping benefits just as the locals of that country. Aren’t BVIslanders in the USA, Canada, UK et cetera reaping benefits?
Be mindful, we are one people, unity is better than division.
It seems to me that the effort is to close the divide between the different “categories” of Virgin Islanders. But in my opinion, there should be no categories at all. If an individual holds a birth certificate, passport, belonger’s card, or is naturalized, then they are BVI and should be recognized as such.
It is not only selfish but crippling to Virgin Islanders when their identity is questioned. Everyone deserves to feel that they belong, and in turn, to contribute willingly and proudly. Yet, we read articles about a so-called lack of patriotism. How can we expect patriotism when belonging itself is fragmented? We must guard the interests of all Virgin Islanders, not just a select few—because at the polls, we all count.
When the idea of “protecting” Virgin Islanders comes up, the discussion quickly spirals into arguments about status. Meanwhile, property prices sky-rocket. The truth is, who controls the purse strings controls the country—and the average Virgin Islander today cannot afford a piece of property at home. Before speaking about protecting the VI, let’s first check the statistics on property ownership.
And then there’s education. The world is moving at lightning speed to adapt to the AI era, but our schools—and therefore our children—are not being equipped to thrive in the workforce that will be needed in the next 5 to 10 years. What will happen? The same thing happening now: heavy immigration of nationals who have been preparing while we lag behind.
So before we get carried away with categories and debates on status, let’s face the real issues. That’s what true protection of Virgin Islanders should look like. Put that in ayo pipe and smoke it.
He needs to go back to Antigua he trying to use locals to get in the big seat but wheel and come again
It seems to me that the effort is to close the divide between the different “categories” of Virgin Islanders. But in my opinion, there should be no categories at all. If an individual holds a birth certificate, passport, belonger’s card, or is naturalized, then they are BVI and should be recognized as such.
It is not only selfish but crippling to Virgin Islanders when their identity is questioned. Everyone deserves to feel that they belong, and in turn, to contribute willingly and proudly. Yet, we read articles about a so-called lack of patriotism. How can we expect patriotism when belonging itself is fragmented? We must guard the interests of all Virgin Islanders, not just a select few—because at the polls, we all count.
When the idea of “protecting” Virgin Islanders comes up, the discussion quickly spirals into arguments about status. Meanwhile, property prices sky-rocket. The truth is, who controls the purse strings controls the country—and the average Virgin Islander today cannot afford a piece of property at home. Before speaking about protecting the VI, let’s first check the statistics on property ownership.
And then there’s education. The world is moving at lightning speed to adapt to the AI era, but our schools—and therefore our children—are not being equipped to thrive in the workforce that will be needed in the next 5 to 10 years. What will happen? The same thing happening now: heavy immigration of nationals who have been preparing while we lag behind.
So before we get carried away with categories and debates on status, let’s face the real issues. That’s what true protection of all Virgin Islanders should look like. Put that in ayo pipe and smoke it.
He is 100% right, take a look at what is going on in the UK, Ireland and Canada. It is time for the BVI to tighten its belt in regard to allowing too many people from one or two countries to be the dominant recipient of work permits into the BVI.
Why do you think that so many work permits are issued to outsiders? Could it have something to with limited supply of native skilled workers? Why is there a shortage of such workers in the Territory? And, is limiting work permit to outsiders going to drive BVIslanders to becoming skilled workers? Always easy to blame outsiders with limited rights and to offer populist remedies that seldom work.
I would suggest that that you read my post again, nowhere in the post did I mention that the BVI should reduce work permits. It clearly states that the BVI should limit work permits to the one or two countries that appear to be the dominant recipients of the work permits. I don’t have to explain what happens when you have too many people in your country from one or two countries. I will leave that for you to figure out.
ON THIS SITE BOI YOU ACTING LIKE TRUMP NON YOUR RACIST YELLO SITE AND HERE YOU ARE DOING THE SAME THING ON THIS SITE WITH YOU DUPLICITOUS BLOGGINNGS AGAINST WALWYN , USING DIFFERENT NAMES BUT ITS THE SAME DIRTY MESSAGE YOU ARE PUSHING ON YOUR RACIST YELLO SITE TOO , YOU ARE EVIL
I doubt it’s Cindy she did the interview so just stop plus her special friend is white so why call her a racist ?
From the looks of it people have already been sent. You see less and less people from the outside of the BVI. Removing non locals won’t change anything but cause there to be void with certain workplaces just as when the US started deporting farmers and the produce market suffered. The BVI is a 60% immigrant workforce each time toy remove or deport people you will have a void needed to be filled. Created more jobs and the people will flourish you don’t need to bring in more people just create more opportunities.
Taino or Kalinago? We’ll are you.If not you are not a first people of these Caribbean Islands! drip drip.Part of history yes, indigenous no.No black,white and the rest..none.
This site has a problem with Ameridians
Ancestral virgin Islanders have lineage… Just remember that.
The debate over who qualifies as an “indigenous Virgin Islander” has intensified in recent years. Some leaders argue that people with at least three generations of BVI ancestry should be recognised as a distinct group.
Only one person said that.