Hanley: Independence Not End of the Struggle

BASSETERRE — Acting Prime Minister The Hon. Dr. Geoffrey Hanley told the nation Wednesday that independence was never meant to be the conclusion of St. Kitts and Nevis’ national struggle, delivering the commemorative address at the National Heroes Day ceremony.

Speaking at National Heroes Park before the statues of the Federation’s five National Heroes, Hanley said

“Independence gave us that authority to determine our own destiny,” but argued every generation since has carried the responsibility “to give that independence greater meaning.”

The ceremony, held in the presence of Governor-General  Her Excellency Dame Marcella Liburd, former Prime Minister The Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Llewellyn Douglas, the country’s living National Hero The Rt. Hon. Dr. Sir Kennedy Simmonds, members of the National Assembly, the diplomatic corps and religious and civic leaders, honored the legacies of Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw, Sir C.A. Paul Southwell, Sir Joseph Nathaniel France, Sir Simeon Daniel and Sir Kennedy Simmond. The St. Kitts and Nevis Defence Force, led by Acting Commander Major Kayode Sutton, and the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force were also on hand for the observance.

Hanley traced the nation’s story beyond the 1983 independence date, back to “the cane fields by men and women whose labor built economies from which they benefited too little,” and to laborers, teachers, nurses and farmers who believed “tomorrow could be better than yesterday.”

He credited each of the five honorees with a distinct contribution — Bradshaw’s advocacy for the dignity of ordinary workers, Southwell’s push to bring progress into people’s homes, France’s devotion to labor and service, Daniel’s insistence on Nevis’ identity within the Federation, and Simmonds leading the country across “the threshold into sovereignty.”

Turning to the present, Hanley posed a series of questions about how history will judge the current generation of leaders and citizens — whether it will say they “protected the gains that others sacrificed to achieve,” expanded opportunity and “chose togetherness over division.”

He said the statues at the park were not “decorations of history” but standards against which leadership must be measured, insisting leadership “must always be about people” and about “leaving the country stronger than we found it.”

Hanley closed by invoking the country’s Independence 43 theme, “One People, One Vision, Endless Possibility,” telling the audience the nation’s greatest resource “has never been the beauty of our landscape” but “the courage of our people.” He called for that spirit to carry from Basseterre and Charlestown “to every village and community,” and urged citizens to honor the National Heroes “not only with ceremonies and words but by continuing the work they began.”