Premier: Not everyone born here are patriots
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has declared that not everyone born in the Virgin Islands is a patriot, calling for reforms to ensure that only those who show true commitment to the territory benefit from its privileges.
“Just because you have been born on the soil, it doesn’t mean that you’re a patriot,” Dr Wheatley stated during the House of Assembly debate on the Immigration and Passport (Amendment) Bill 2025. “Just because you have ancestry here, it doesn’t mean that you’re a patriot.”
He argued that patriotism must go beyond birthplace or ancestry and be shown through meaningful service to the territory. “Patriotism is measured in service,” he said. “And there is a service that you get paid for, which we appreciate. But the even more powerful example is the service that you are not paid for.”
The Premier made the comments while discussing the proposed bill, which aims to tighten criteria for obtaining resident and Belonger status. He explained that time alone is no longer enough to qualify. “What we are saying with this immigration reform is no, you have to demonstrate a certain level of commitment,” he asserted. “You have to demonstrate a certain level of patriotism in order to get those privileges and those benefits.”
Wheatley said the new approach aligns with the goal of building a sustainable nation, and that fostering a shared identity is critical. “You cannot build a sustainable nation without creating a shared sense of identity. You cannot create a sustainable nation without a concept called patriotism,” he warned.
The Premier also voiced concern about divisions within the society, especially when individuals with official status do not act in the best interest of the territory. “You might get a Belonger certificate… and then we put you in an HR position. And all of a sudden all the people who are being employed are from the same place that you had ancestry,” he said, calling such practices “dangerous.”
He linked this issue to the need for stronger institutional processes. “What we were doing before was just saying you’ve been here for a certain amount of time and you get the rights and the privileges. That’s not going to work anymore.”
The Immigration and Passport (Amendment) Bill 2025 includes changes to the definition of “ordinarily resident” and introduces new qualifying periods for permanent status. The bill follows previous reforms in 2024 and recommendations from the Commission of Inquiry for greater transparency and consistency in immigration policy.
“We must invest in our people. We must protect them,” the Premier stated. “Not protect them by stifling them. We must challenge them to be their best.”
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The Premier isn’t born here but he has made himself the judge of who is patriotic? You can’t make this stuff up!
Is he a patriot? Patriotism is action not words
This is a nightmare topic. S!0wW@nde should have not stepped into it like he did. He should have left Skeletor there rather than trade places.
Premier is absolutely correct. Too many Solomonian subjects in bvi who like the two mothers criticize as a tactic to get what others have. How do you justify being accepted into a country, criticizing its citizens, saying its citizens don’t deserve opportunities but wanting this opportunities for the children you burned here with that very purpose in mind.
The ASPS is a perfect example. How many Eastern Caribbean associations met there regularly and benefited from free education for their children. They should now be helping to raise funds to rebuild it. But no, as soon as it’s constructed you will see them and the members seeking to call the shots.
BVI needs to take a couple pages from Cayman Islands and Bermuda books.
BVISLANDERS are returning home for jobs due to trump and other patriotic laws of foreign countries. Dear Government: Make room for them.
The education, roads and all in sundry are funded by taxes that expats regardless of where they are from pay into the government systems. Tax, SS & NHI. When these people leave the BVI and relocate, how many receive their benefits from the BVI later on?
Xenophobia is alive and thriving in some small pockets around here. Pathetic.
I say this with the utmost respect and as a supporter . My guess is that one of your advisors seem to believe that this is a strategy to rally a certain sector of the populance as a reaction to the ascendance of Hon. Walwyn. In my humble opinion it is a misguided strategy. I imagine that the advisors are borrowing from the Trump playbook and intoxicated with a precieved Trump like support for this position. News flash, it wont work. The BVI has so many blended Families that this sentiment will alienate even ardent supporters.Honourable Walwyn is a formidable opponent. That is clear. But the way to confront him is not with veiled sentiments or identity politics, but with ideas, facts, and vision. That is how you win the respect of the people.. I would also seriously reflect on the person advising this strategy. Are they seriously looking out for your best interest or are they willfully setting you up , KNOWING that this path wil result in defeat. Must I remind you that this approach was used on Hon.Walwyn before and even with an indictment he was re-elected. The indigenous arguement is a straw man arguement. You will be like the Democrats in the US that focused on trans gender rights a population of 0.05 % of the total and made that their platform and was trounced by the Rebulicans.
No doubt the Premier thinks that patriotism means supporting independence. His entire approach to question patriotism is very dangerous thinking. This Premier is not fit for the role. I consider myself a true patriot but do not support either the Premier or his call for independence. Is he seriously going to challenge my patriotism???
S!0wW@nde reeks of authoritarianism/ totalitarianism. He really thinks that people are there to support his crazy thoughts on running the territory otherwise you are not a patriot. This ultimatum sums up what kind of fa*ist he is.
Xenophobia is not patriotism. It is a mental crisis that requires professional intervention. Where are his children’s mother from? Clearly this man has no work to do at all. Imagine, all this because Walwyn was appointed leader of the opposition. If they treat a leader like this, imagine how they have been treating those patriotic first generation born here for all these years. The first gens are more patriotic than this xenophbic cl** who only abuses the public purse to pay for stupid parties and relies on his last name for entitlement purposes while wisdom, common sense and mature leadership are yet to make his acquaintance. Calling on all the patriotic persons, first gens included, to take a stand against the cl**n show because the country needs it right now. Shameful.
Whenever he is criticized for his poor leadership he says that people are not being patriotic LOL. This man is crazy.
Hear the Puerto Rican talking
General Hummel: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” Thomas Jefferson.
John Mason: “Patriotism is a virtue of the vicious,” according to Oscar Wilde.
Born here or not, if you cross swords with a prominent BVI family, no amount of patriotism will prevent you from being deemed a persona non grata when it suits the powers that be.
My experiences in the early 1990’s being a case in point.
Our Premier may wish to emulate Kim Jong’s North Korea where every citizen is a patriot at birth, and remains so, unless executed
Ronnie was called a patriot when he made xenophobic comments directed at Myron. A real leader would have condemned his remarks but instead he was praised. All while in the same remarks the Premier was calling for cooperation. We have a bunch of clowns running the BVI.
Sawonde they say you were born in st. Thomas or Puerto Rico so by definition you are not a patriot. Also who give you the authority to speak about patriotism when even with your PHD you still do not know what the word means. Your constituents in your district were being patriotic with you when they voted for you because they thought you were humble like Noel Lloyd but you are no Noel Lloyd but instead of uplifting them you treat them like dirt. Some of them actually say that you said that you don’t come to the district often because you find they beg too much. They are angry and say they hope you don’t come back for any more votes. It is alleged that they say, imagine sawonde was a man who wore an old suit and slippers worked as a part time teacher, never owned a business never had a significant office position in the BVI and now you act like you know everything and everyone else doesn’t. Allegedly they even scoff at the fact that you have a bunch of consultants surrounding you but cannot give you advice to make you look good.They question the selection and the boneheaded decisions like the idea to raise the charter boat fees to $24,000 when it wasn’t even a $1000. Your advisers almost make you end up in a fight with the USVI. I don’t know of any modern day politician who is patriotic I am still looking.
one min the man saying he need everyone help to fight uk and not to let the UK divide us cuz we all live here..
now he saying this lol
the man diving his own color but crying uk this and that lol
We hate each other more than anything else. The patriotism nonsense only raises its head ever so often when we can’t get our way with something and we need numbers for support. In our usual way of life, we do not give a f**k about each other. NEXTTTTT (Yawn!)
DEM DROP OUT YAH
We mean you so Myru
The crap you and your government doing… Making people ashamed to even say they are from here.
THESE SET OF HYPOCRITES CALLED POLITICIANS IS EXPOSING THEMSELVES NONE BY ONE , SO WE ALL CAN SEE AND HEAR FOR OURSELVES / THE LAST ELECTION SHOWED THAT YHEY HAVE NO INTEGRITH – NO CHARACTER – EXCEPT FOR CORRUPTION THE DREW PERFORMED EXELENT IN HIS POTRAYAL OF HYPOCRISY/ BY DOING SH*T AND THEN GOING TO JASPERT AND BEGGING FOR A (COI ) ALL THESE THINGS ARE ADDING UP, SO WE SHOULD NOT BE SUPPRISED / UNLESS YOU ARE A PART OF THE RODEO GAMES THAT IS BEING PLAYED ON US , BY OUR SO CALLED LEADERS , EVEN BY THE TRIO WANNABE HOLY BOYZ FROM
CANE GARDEN BAY ■■■ THEY SHOULD ” CASTRATE ” THEMSELVES ” AND SAVE THEIR SEEDS OH THERE IS A COUPLE OF REQUESTS FOR THEIR SEEDS FOR SOME PITBULLZ THAT LIVE THEM BARBECUED PREFERABLY ( MEDIUM RARE
If you was a born local whose generations go back some 600 years or more,have lived, grow and worked among the so called from here locals, you have already learned and have felt the devil in full force.
“voting has consequences”
Giving yourself big raise and pension while not doing much to ease the financial strain on the people who making the least and retired folks in your country is not patriotic.
Anyone here ever read “The Wine Of Astonishment” by noted Caribbean author Earl Lovelace? I had the pleasure of reading this fictional tale (many, many years ago in ESHS Literature class) based on actual events in the Caribbean diaspora featuring a small rural community of faith believers suffering through years of religious and social persecution.
A central irony is that they believed in a messiah type of individual, born and raised in their community, a “bright boy” Ivan Morton who taught in their schools and eventually ran for office and won. They believed in Ivan’s character and promise as a leader for them even when he showed early moral failures like impregnating a young local girl then abandoning her for a high class girl.
Their faith in him persisted even through a string of disappointments, broken promises and alienation from him over the years. Still they believed… even to the end of the story where their rights and freedoms are “restored” through his efforts.
Sound familiar? It should… “There is nothing new under the sun”, Solon said.Politics and Politricks will continue… but will these old dogs (the citizens) learn to recognise false leaders and messiahs when they see them?
He that hath an ear to hear…
This writer believes the Hon Premier is going down a very dangerous and discriminatory path here, ones nationality is where one is born and no one can change that. For a politician to state that someone born in the BVI is not a patriot is highly discriminatory, who decides that, and, who has the right to decide it.