By Gemma Handy
[email protected]
Paul Nedd may not have lived to see his long-held dream of Barbudans determining their own future fulfilled but his legacy as one of the island’s staunchest crusaders will live on.
The former Barbuda Council Secretary is being remembered for his buoyant nature, his love of cooking and his steadfast patriotism.
The father-of-three from Codrington died in hospital in Antigua on Tuesday afternoon. He was 53.
The sister isle’s MP Trevor Walker, who grew up with Nedd, described his childhood friend as “very jovial and high spirited”.
“We grew up together as little boys in Barbuda, we played cricket together representing Barbuda on the national cricket team, we did a lot of things together,” he told Observer yesterday.
“Eventually we both left and went to pursue our education; I went to the US, he went to the UK where he attended culinary school. He was very successful in that field; he was known in Barbuda as one of the best chefs we had.”
Nedd was an outspoken campaigner for preserving the sister island’s traditional system of communal land ownership, a stance that landed him in trouble with the law in 2020 while protesting against the controversial PLH development.
A case accusing him and more than 20 fellow Barbudans of trespassing on the Palmetto Point site was later dismissed by the court.
Walker spoke of Nedd’s deep-rooted love for his homeland.
“He had that passion growing up to see Barbuda at that stage where we determine our own direction and control our own internal affairs. As kids, that was a huge goal we wanted to achieve,” he explained.
Later the pair’s philosophical beliefs would see them reunited in the political arena.
Nedd lived in the UK, predominantly in Scotland, for many years before returning to Barbuda in 2004.
He became the Council’s Secretary in September 2018, a role he held until 2022.
Walker said he had been “elated” when his friend took up the position “because I knew of his capacity and his love for the island”.
“I always looked at Paul as someone who was patriotic and wanted the best for Barbuda. I was deeply saddened to learn of his passing,” the MP added.
Nedd had been suffering from liver and heart issues in recent weeks and spent a month in the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre before being discharged in December.
He had remained in a special health facility in Antigua for the last month before being rushed back to hospital with breathing difficulties on Tuesday. He died a few hours later, his sister Cannye Nedd told Observer.
Cannye said her brother was one who made friends easily and was always surrounded by them. Of their total 11 siblings, Cannye said she and Paul were especially close.
“He was a very, very good man, easy to get along with, peaceful,” she said.
“His house was always full of friends laughing and carrying on.”
She recalled the times she and her brother spent with their father, now 86, in recent years. She spoke fondly of their childhood when their father would place them both on the back of his horse and parade them proudly around the village, introducing them to residents.
“He was my partner, he was always the mischievous one,” Cannye smiled, adding, “he will be missed; I can’t get over the shock.”
Barbuda Council Chairman Mackenzie Frank described Nedd as a “true Barbudan”.
He told Observer of Nedd’s unflinching belief in the need to protect the sister isle’s cultural heritage and said he would forever be remembered for his valiant efforts to that end.
“He always believed in what Barbudans were pursuing and was very keen to protest land rights,” he said.
“He will go down as one of the secretaries who opened up several cases on behalf of the people of Barbuda.”