The telltale signs are there.  Othello the Moor (Shakespeare) surfaces. He saw what he believed to have been evidence that condemned his wife as unfaithful and he acted upon them.  

And, too late, after Desdemona was dead, he realized that it was a carefully laid plot to destroy him.

Scholars often remark in disgust: ‘He could have asked!!’

Well, BVI is asking.

What are we to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?

We admit we are not kit and kin because we have always been managed through the Foreign Office instead of the Home Office.

We appreciate that we are not colleagues because we are in vastly different economic and geopolitical spheres.  For BVIs budget of $400M and no global influence, pales when compared to the UK’s 100 billion budget and its influence with world leaders.

We recognize that even as a foreign country, we do not qualify for participation in the largesse that the UK doles out in the international community.  It is said that our per capita income is too high, although it is skewed by some professionals from the Kingdom who are needed to perform quality work in the Territory.

We know the effort and means we have had to expend to fight, alone, against the might of the EU to hold a shrinking business, Financial Services, and the Kingdom’s involvement in that fight in support of EU initiatives.

We felt the veiled respect when we perceived that the lone COI Commissioner stripped us of our dignity in open court as he examined and judged our leaders without even the pretense of having a regional retired KC at his side to help to explain cultural norms and values.  

(Of course, there can be no explanation for corruption and dereliction of duty wherever they exist.  Neither does this dispute the value of the COI.)

We realize we are not friends for which friend holds a ‘Damocles sword’ over his friend’s head to ensure compliance and threatens him incessantly with the loss of his constitutional powers, hard won, over decades. And we comprehend that we are not family for any parent who has the responsibility for the safety (national security) of her children will never adopt the questionable posture of nonchalance.  

So, we ask again; What are we to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?

We are a protectorate of that first world country; An Overseas Territory in the prevailing jargon.

But what does that mean in real terms especially when national security issues appear to take a remote back seat to the implementation COI initiatives?

Are the chess pieces pre-positioned for the Territory’s loss of the game?  

Is the National Security Minister happy only to be identified with escapades from the high seas?

Is he concerned that his constituent citizens are afraid to inhabit their own homes; That they do not have US Second Amendment rights available to them and must rely on him to discharge his security duties efficiently and successfully?

And if Officers of the Court are not safe in their own homes, how does he expect to uphold law and order?

While we cannot blame the British for our decadence, we wonder why the flaunting of public safety is becoming so commonplace and apparently, unanswered by the regime that has always prided itself on the rule of law?

Is it that the safety of the people of this Overseas Territory is of low priority in the Kingdom?  Is it a question of indifference? 

Being only sixty square miles amid foreign nations, how can the mound of earth called BVI, matter when Israel, Ukraine, piracy in shipping lanes and other global catastrophes command the attention of the Foreign Secretary?

A wave of lawlessness is sweeping the world.  Humanity is failing itself and hampering the next generation.

We have voices advocating for safety, law and order.  We have fine speeches.  We see brilliant photographs.  What we are missing is ‘ACTION.’

We would like to feel that those who should be working in the interest of our security are really working.  For now, the record is not encouraging.

For if BVI cannot protect itself, how will it ever ensure the protection of its investors and guests?  And what will its future be should either group withdraw?  

The Mighty Sparrow once sang ‘No Money No Love’ and we can amplify it to say (No Economy No BVI.)

Must it take Fridays for State operatives to be reminded of their sworn duty to protect the State?  We doubt it.

Still, like Alan Paton, we “Cry the Beloved Country.”

And we tremble.

Happy Friday!