Caymanians, Your Voice Matters!

We just celebrated Father’s Day, and I remember with both pride and sadness my Daddy—that’s what I called him, even as a grown-up. I’m proud that my Daddy was a brave Caymanian who served his country and the whole free world in fighting against Nazi tyranny. I’m proud that he never felt that the world owed him anything, but that he owed his family, his country and the world the duty to be a responsible, hard-working man, and that whatever he gained in life would be by the sweat of his brow. My Daddy was one of those men who braved the hazards of war and of nature on the high seas in order to build the economic foundation that has produced our present financial prosperity. He was so proud that I was the first one in his family over several generations to have the privilege of getting a university education, and extra proud to attend the university graduations of several of his grandchildren as well.

My daddy loved his country. After sailing the globe and being exposed to many different cultures, he recognised that there was something special and unique about the land of his birth—so much so, that even though he gained U.S. citizenship, he never owned one square inch of American soil; Cayman alone was home to him.

Yes, I remember my Daddy today with pride, but also with sadness. But not just sadness because I longer have him with us. Sadness because if he was alive today, he would be greatly distressed at what appears to be the present trajectory of our islands. He asked the question while he was alive that needs to be shouted from the housetops today, “Who are we developing for?” And maybe, “Why does everybody who came here from someplace else, and doesn’t want to leave, want to remodel Cayman after the place they don’t want to return to?” Oh, my Daddy was not afraid to speak his mind. He was a fighter, in more ways than one. (Now, I hope you don’t mind me speaking my mind from time to time; I’ve got a little bit of Ducksy Carley in me.)

Any Caymanians still feel moved to stand up and speak up? Any of you think that taking a stand for marriage and family, as I have publicly, is so important that you won’t let yourself be pressed down and pushed down by foreign ideologies, but instead will add your voice—and maybe your presence—whenever and wherever the bugle sounds the alarm? We sold our beach land to outsiders for pennies, sold our swamp to outsiders for pennies, sold our voice to the Civil Service for pennies; what else is there? If my Daddy was here, I know where he would be when the bugle sounds the alarm. On July 1st, he would stand up for our Constitution, and for Cayman. Will you?

Pastor Alson Ebanks