Premier offended by ‘born here’ attacks online
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has condemned remarks comparing residents born in the British Virgin Islands with those born in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, saying such statements create unnecessary division.
“I have to respond to an attack against ancestral Virgin Islanders. It was said that the Premier is not born here and then it was said that the Leader of the Opposition is born here,” he stated in the House of Assembly. Dr Wheatley said many Virgin Islanders are not actually born in the territory itself due to long-standing ties with St Thomas, Puerto Rico and the US mainland.
“Do we know how many Virgin Islanders? How many Virgin Islanders are not born in the Virgin Islands? Do we know that? You’re not just offending myself, you know,” he argued. “If it’s not the person themselves, maybe their children… for what reason, what does it benefit us to make it seem that somebody who has ancestry in the Virgin Islands but may not be born in the Virgin Islands is less than?” Dr Wheatley asked.
The Premier said that attacks online suggesting people are “not born here” create divisions and described such remarks “unnecessary and malicious,” drawing on his family roots to stress unity. He pointed to his own lineage, listing relatives such as his great-uncle Leslie Malone and his grandfather Willard Wheatley.
“To trivialise someone’s lineage… is unnecessary and malicious, and I’m certainly not going to sit down and allow for that to take place without me saying some words about it,” he stated.
The Premier added that the Virgin Islands’ history and culture have been shaped by people from different places, including Africa, Antigua and the Dominican Republic, and that such diversity should be celebrated.
“If I had lineage from elsewhere, there’s nothing to be ashamed about… we all have to respect each other,” he said.
Taking lineage to the bank
Dr Wheatley’s remarks come in the wake of criticism from Opposition Leader Myron Walwyn, who accused some persons in the community of being more focused on ancestry rather than solutions.
“You hear some people now on the radio — there’s a gentleman with a show called ‘Dishonestly Speaking’ — talking about leadership and who should and shouldn’t lead because of lineage. Lineage could go to the bank? As a people, could you go to the bank and cash lineage?” Walwyn questioned.
He denounced the emphasis on ancestry as “stupid and emotional nonsense” and instead called for robust economic policies to advance the Virgin Islands.
But the Premier rejected Walwyn’s arguments, arguing that it is the British Nationality Act that allows most persons to pass on status.
“To say that my lineage can’t go to the supermarket when we are celebrating the fact that my ancestors were enslaved on the soil, or that we are recognising the fact that they were enslaved and were emancipated, to disregard my whole lineage and say it doesn’t matter — it’s of no consequence, it can’t go to the supermarket. I find very disrespectful,” Dr Wheatley said.
Debates on immigration over the years have highlighted similar concerns about patriotism and identity. Dr Wheatley argued that birthplace or ancestry alone does not prove loyalty, and that service and commitment to the territory matter most.
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Be offended! You have your cronies out there saying that Hon. Walwyn isn’t a BVIslander when he was born here but you were born in Puerto Rico. We don’t want to hear about no family lineage. They are not running. You are and you are not born here. You coukd screw up the BVI and then run by Trump to live after. Now the shoe on the other foot it’s a problem. Wow!
I am a firm believer that where you are born is where you are from. Sir, you were born in America so you are an American. The sane way people who are not here are from here.
Strongly disagree. Where you’re born is just a location, it doesn’t define where you’re from. Where you grew up shapes who you are, and every place in the world acknowledges this. Being from somewhere is about your upbringing, your culture and the place you truly identify with.
Top the Madness. No human being has the ability to determine where they are born. Once they are on the earth they then eventually has the ability to determine to whom, what and where their allegiance lies. If we are honest , anyone who wants to lead a Country , Community or whatever should unequivocally
be prepared to protect the interests of the people of that Country/community. Fortunately or unfortunately this should disqualify the leader of the opposition from being a member of the BVI’s HOA.
I would like to know how many “BVIslanders” born in USVI, PR ETC pay their USA taxes, since you cant escape them without renouncing your citizenship.
if you’ve been living and working outside the US for a certain amount of time there are certain exemptions on income earned abroad. technically you’re supposed to file but ultimately you wouldnt have to pay anything.
The issue is not the paying if the taxes, it’s failure to report world wide income. You might not owe anything (there is something like a $ 90 k deduction for foreign earnings, as well as credit for overseas taxes paid) but failure to turn in an annual 1040 tax return if you are a US citizen is where the IRS will be interesred. They also want to know about any bank accounts with more than $ 10 k held by a US citizen. That one carries stiff penalties including confiscation of assets. That’s the hidden cost of being born in the US, one I suspect many US born BVIslanders may not be on top of.
You know nothing of what you speak
Don’t be ignorant. Ask someone who lives it
@ Lodger you cannot be one sided with this. How many persons from the Caribbean residing in the BVI get children in the same USVI and why are you not concerned about them paying US Taxes? You are so full of s**t.
To Brad, i agree with what you say, except your last rude statement.
Where’s our $5 million? Who approved it?
You and your cronies have offended many who were born here by making them feel that they didn’t belong because their parents were not born here. Well, you were not born here. Face the facts. You are an American.
SHOWONDE CANT BE PRESIDENT OF PUERTO RICO WHERE HE WAS BORN AND MYRON CANT BE PREMIER OF TORTOLA WHERE HE WAS BORN….SO GET THAT IN YOU ALL HEAD
Of course he cannot be President of Puerto Rico, because Puerto Rico does not have a President.
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico does indeed have a President i.e. Donald John Trump, the 47th President of the United States of America which includes Puerto Rico which is an unincorporated Territory of the United States.
Puerto Rico does have a president, his name is Donald Trump.
If I had a choice on where I was born I would be born here on Tortola again and again. But I am not a tortolian, I am not a Belonger. Rest assure I am a citizen of the world. This is some petty s**t.
After they done screw up here they can run go America with their greedy bill money.
But you are a Puerto Rican with a Vincentian wife. Where is the lie?
or you mean guyanese
The problem is many people have no pride in their country. Some refuse to have their children born in the Virgin Islands, instead going to the US, PR and and the USVI to create anchor babies. I am glad Trump is putting a stop to that.
some went for medical reasons
when is not ok to seek a better future for yourself and offspring, if you a starve, you should stay put?
if you were a slave, you wouldnt try to follow the underground railroad to freedom? people are free to roam the world The earth is the Lords is just man say because i have more water here i dont want nobody taking away from my water, is that you want to protect? wealth that you cant create, so i guess you need to stop all tourist and visitors with money so you can enjoy it all
What family lineage. Your family lineage is from Africa. Your foreparents were brought here on Slave ships. All our last names are names from our slave masters. We are not indigenous. Africans are not indigenous to the West Indies. When are we going to get this through our skulls? We really sound idiotic when black people of African decent are at the top of their voices calling themselves indigenous to the West Indies when they know they were brought from Africa on slave ships. We sound dumb.
Many African Americans adopted surnames that were already common before emancipation, like “Smith”, “Johnson”, “Williams”, “Brown”, and “Jones”, rather than names directly associated with enslavers. Some chose names like “Freeman” or “Freedman” to signify their freedom. Others, particularly those who could read, selected names from newspapers or other.
If your family cared so much about lineage why did they go to the US to have you born? Why weren’t you born here? Because you all want your cake and still eat it. You want to say you have a BVi last name to appear that belong more than others who were actually born here but still want the benefits that come along with being American. Can’t have it both ways. You are an American. If your parents believed in the BVI as much they would have had you born here. Period.
Came here for the comments! The trolls always out for out for these types of topics! Ancestral Virgin Islanders please pay attention to what is happening!
You need to do better research so that you can emancipate yourself from brainwash education. There is so much to learn its mind boggling.
As mentioned by another commentator above, unless a person born in the USVI, PR or the mainland US has formally renounced their citizenship (which is a long process and not cheap), then they are still US citizens. ANY person in Government or the civil service should be required to renounce their US status before they can work in the BVI, since how can we have foreign nationals managing our business?
A passport shows where someone in born, so has a thorough investigation been done of all those in Government not born in the BVI to prove that they have formally renounced their other citizenship (and have the certificate to show that renunciation)?
should be done for all nationalities then
Now, you see he offended, but Myron must be punished, blame all the illiterate people, for this, who don’t know , we share one world
Quite right you are.
For decades to now, if one post 2+2=4, that factual, correct and GENUINE FACT-BASED TRUTH WILL BE COLORED WITH THUMBS DOWN which the trolls and others will.
These types of topics in particular catch pure unreasonable and psychophatic hell.
Ancestral Virgin Islanders must be wakened up!
Bet this one receives at least 20 td’s!
Both Premier Wheatley and Opposition Leader Walwyn are Virgin Islanders – one by lineage, the other by birth, and both by service.
Patriotism is not a matter of ancestry but of action, integrity, and public commitment.
Birthplace may inform identity, but it does not define one’s capacity to lead.
Leadership must be measured by policy, principle, and presence – not by geography.
It is telling that Premier Wheatley now calls for unity, having previously entertained the very distinctions he now denounces.
The Virgin Islands must move beyond divisive rhetoric and focus on inclusive progress. We owe it to the territory to elevate the discourse and unify around shared purpose.
Not biblical
There is a legal and constitutional difference between someone who was simply born here after 1 January 1983 and someone who, although born elsewhere, was born to a mother/father or grandmother/grandfather who was born in the Virgin Islands. People may not like it but it is a legal and constitutional fact. There are places in the world where there is no such difference and there are many places where there is the same and other differences. It is not a matter of being divisive but a legal and constitutional fact.
Legal and constitutional facts are changeable. Humanity, and truth are not.
@… Leadership must also be measured by its impact on achieving desired outcomes, influencing and inspiring all team members and fostering a positive work environment. A leader’s effectiveness also hinges on their ability to develop and retain talent, build Trust and promote a culture, growth and engagement to the point where the corrupt fears the incorruptible and not the other way around.
that will eliminate the born here and not born here ones. we in trouble
HAS TAKEN OVER THIS SITE WITH HIS BLOGGING AGAINST WALWYN / USING DIFFERENT NAMES WON’T FOOL EVERYBODY , BOI YOU ARE SO OBSESSED WITH WALWYN / AND WHERE HE WAS BORN AND A WHOLE SET OF EVILNESS YOU ARE A HALFBREED BUT YOU JUDGE – JURY & EXECUTIONER , ITS TIME TO TAKE YOUR DIRTY MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER
You are so obsessed with wiggy, you probably does dream about him every nght.
You should move. in with him so he. can duke in the tthurdd hole real hard.
Idgf way he from stop wasting the fing money on bull
So being born in St Thomas is okay but being born in the USA not.
The BVI is blessed take it or leave it. Dont envy. Im sure if many Caribbean islands were next door to USVIs like the BVI they wouldve take more advantage of this opportunity, dont forget they traded over the years livestock, etc. Work there-USVI why not get your children there as well?