The British Virgin Islands will soon officially have national heroes following the approval of Cabinet to appoint a management committee to design the criteria for designating such persons.
This was revealed by Minister for Culture Dr. Natalio Wheatley during a radio broadcast recently, where he said this move will compliment the recent decision to establish a Heroes’ and Forefathers Day holiday which was celebrated on Monday October 18.
He said, “Cabinet appointed a management committee that would come up with criteria for designating what we will refer to as national heroes, which will be an exclusive group of individuals who have done phenomenal feats that help to change the trajectory of the Virgin Islands to where it is today. And we will also come up with a proposed list of national heroes along with appropriate ways to honour these heroes.
Proposed draft list of national heroes to be approved by Cabinet
Dr. Wheatley also said that there will be a drafting of a projected list of national heroes, which will be brought before the House of Assembly once approved by Cabinet.
“We will be taking forward a proposal from Cabinet or back to Cabinet, so Cabinet can officially designate national heroes and we propose to take these national heroes into the House of Assembly where we will pass a resolution and we’ll have national heroes for the entire Virgin Islands where we can teach our children in the education system who our national heroes are,” the culture minister stated.
He added, “And of course, we’ll also have various ways of honouring persons in the Virgin Islands who’ve made significant contributions in different areas. Whether teachers, nurses or midwives, great sports persons, great musicians, we’ll also have those regular celebrations every year.”
Needed to remind residents of VI’s identity
Dr. Wheatley who is also the Minister of Education justified why such a move is critical to the territory, stating that it will help to constantly remind and reeducate persons on how far the BVI has come to where it is now.
“So, this is something that’s going to help develop a much stronger Virgin Islands identity, which is needed now more than ever because of course the Virgin Islands is under attack and if we don’t pull together, if we don’t learn our history, we’ll be doomed to repeat it because our for parents fought for progress. And the reason why we sit where we are today, the reason where we sit where we do today is because of the hard work, the blood, sweat, and tears of our ancestors and we have them to thank and we should celebrate them for all that they have done for us,” Dr. Wheatley explained.
The minister said the establishing of official national heroes along with other major national milestones such as the Great March of 1949, the restoration of the legislative council day, the Emancipation celebrations, Virgin Islands Day and most recently Heroes’ and Forefathers Day, will all keep the territory’s culture alive in decades to come.