“Have No fear, The Antiguan is here!” Celebrating Antigua and Barbuda; Forty years young!

BY STEVEN KASZAB

Antigua and Barbuda is 40 Years Young

Broke away from their parent,

Freedom is what they wanted,

It was their chance to be heard and seen.

Never is it easy to seek your own way,

Surely this world could swallow you up whole,

A tiny group of Islands is all you can be,

“You are going to fail,” they were told.

The People of this land unite each day,

Looking for ways to feed their bellies and their dreams.

Transformation of the economy is what they look for,

But service to visitors or their money is seen.

How can Antiguan and Barbudian prosper in these lands?

With the world looking upon them with quaint eyes.

These Islands so small,

Cannot achieve their people’s dreams,

Or so the people find other ways to live their lives.

Agriculture, manufacturing, creating wealth,

Has become a struggle these days.

The pandemic, corporate mismanagement,

And cultural ignorance has taken a toll.

Financial management, hidden accounts,

Corporate banking schemes,

There are plenty in these lands we are told.

Yet many people see no future to stay,

And look to the American Dream, searching,

For a greater welcoming economy across the sea.

Proud island people celebrate your Independence,

Understanding the limits placed upon thee,

By the world, which looks upon you as children of the isles,

Pronounced upon and fed other cultural dreams.

Independence is a call to be different,

To show the world who you really are,

Is Antigua and Barbuda a place with a future?

A home to a people of creative purpose and needs,

An island people, that cries out to the world.

Be prepared for a future that is grand,

“Have No fear, The Antiguan is here,” 

Welcome to my Island Lands!