By Kenicia Francis
Many people living in Barbuda disapprove of the new culture influencing life on the island.
Berwin Webber, a Barbudan tour guide, described the culture of today as drastically different from times past.
“As a child growing up, there was more love, more unity. There was more oneness, more togetherness. People used to plant stuff and share with each another, with their neighbours, cousins, their friends. We were like one big commune, one big happy family. But now, it’s not like that anymore.”
“People are more selfish, and biased. Hurricane Irma came and people should have learned from that experience and get back to the way we used to live in the old days,” he said.
Webber attributed the change to human nature, and being exposed to the internet and the things to watch in addition to the different kinds of music available.
Another employee of the tourism department agreed with his comments adding, “After Irma, a lot changed, more separation, more division. We now have a lot of ‘who’ think that they’re better than ‘who.’ I thought we would come closer, because practically everybody lost their homes. I thought we’d have each other’s backs. But now, we’re fighting for material things. It makes no sense to me.”
She also suggested that the shift could also be blamed on new parenting styles, and the difference in how children are being raised.
“The way that they used to parent us back then has changed over time. Whereas we were put in our place by our parents, now these kids are able to do every and anything,” she said “Growing up in Barbuda, we would spend a lot of time at family member’s houses playing cricket, dodgeball, hopscotch. It was more fun then than now, because the children were more into doing children stuff,” she continued.
Cliff, a driver with the Barbuda Council, told Observer media, “The only change now that I see is that we have plenty visitors since the hurricane.”
“At first you could leave your house open and go where you want to go. But now, you can’t do those kinds of stuff because we have too many strange faces, and you don’t know ‘who ah who’,” he continued.
He claims that this is because of all the people coming to the island to work on various construction projects.
Although he does not appreciate not knowing the new inhabitants of his homeland, he expressed appreciation for the new boom in the development of the island.
In response, Devon Warner, the chairman of the Barbuda Council, claims that Barbudan culture isn’t any different from how it has always been, the island is still a sharing community.
He referenced his own occupation as a fisherman and a hunter – a skill he has learned and nurtured since he was a child.