Barbuda – Jan 18

The weather is right to go and have a look at Barbuda. We have heard so much about it on the local radio. There is a lot of controversies surrounding the island, from the government of Antigua not reconstructing fast enough after hurricane Irma devastating 95% of the island, relocating, sometimes forcefully and against their will, all of its inhabitants. And of course the usual issue of misappropriating relief funds for other purposes, like election campaign. The fact is that Barbuda is half the size of Antigua and with barely 2,000 residents, their plight is not high on the list of the government’s priority. To compound the issue, Barbuda is special inasmuch as no one actually owns the land, It is owned communally by the residents and only if you have been born on the island can you  build and live there. The government wants to change this and it is passing legislation to enable residents to own the land deeds, it will be sold for a symbolic dollar, but the ramifications of this are huge. No doubt vast track of land will be sold to the highest bidder and as frenzy of hotels and resorts building will ensue, destroying a very special place. As if this was not bad enough, the derogatory language used in public by the prime minister referring to Barbudans and the fact that he refused to give them a say in the land issue does not bode well for the future of the island. Finally, a lot of noise was made by the prime minister immediately after the hurricane and it is believed that a lot of funds were collected from around the world to enable reconstruction (no one knows how much). Four month after the event, it does not seem to have progressed much if we believe the media reports. It should be an interesting trip.

What I was not prepared for is the sheer beauty of this island. Absolutely breathtaking!