An Open Letter: It is Time to Come Home
My dear Nevisian family. I have decided to pen this open letter because I know that many of you have taken the decision to come home this summer to spend time with family and friends and to enjoy the island of your birth or your ancestry. I warmly welcome you home.
Many years ago, we left Nevis in large numbers to travel to the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, the U.S.V.I, the B.V.I, St. Maarten, Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere. We left seeking better opportunities for ourselves and our families. We were part of the Windrush generation that in large measure transformed the healthcare, transportation and homecare sectors of the United Kingdom. We have excelled in every facet of human endeavor in our adopted countries whether in business, the arts, law, medicine, politics or academia. I believe it uncontroversial to say that Nevisians have contributed immensely to the development of their adopted homes.
The recent census figures for St. Kitts and Nevis show that our combined population is just over 50,000 people. Remarkably this is the first time since 1960, some 64 years ago, that St. Kitts and Nevis population has reached to 50,000. Of those, just over 13,000 people live on the 36 square miles that is Nevis. By way of comparison, Bermuda is an island of 21 square miles with a population of 65,000 people. It means therefore that St. Kitts and Nevis, with a landmass of 104 square miles, has a smaller population than Bermuda with only 21 square miles.
As we make policy prescriptions to achieve a Sustainable Island State, it is clear that we cannot and will not achieve sustainability without the reservoir of talents of our people. Since there are only 13,000 or so residents on Nevis, it means that we must in large part look to our Nevisian diaspora for our future sustainability.
My simple yet passionate plea then to the Nevisian people living abroad is that it is time to come home.
The conditions and circumstances that hitherto existed in Nevis which forced so many of us to brave foreign lands have changed fundamentally. Our economy and social and physical infrastructure have improved immeasurably. Nevis is now witnessing an influx of Caribbean brothers and sisters and others from farther afield who are bringing their entire families to take advantage of the opportunities here. I welcome them but I recognize that we need more people to drive our development. Together with our sister St. Kitts, we are leading the entire CARICOM region in terms of our economy and human development index. In the 2023/2024 report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), St. Kitts and Nevis ranked first in CARICOM and 51st of 193 nations globally in terms of its per capita income, education and life expectancy.
It is fair to say that Nevis is being transformed and my sincere invitation to you is to come home and be a part of that transformation. Nevis needs your skills, your investment dollars, your expertise, your passion, your love and patriotism.
As we look around our island we see hundreds of abandoned homes, overgrown lands and neglected properties. We know that most of those properties belong to you in the diaspora. Many of our forebears have passed and since the children migrated, the old family homes have been left abandoned. Many have no clear title as nobody has taken the time to ensure that property titles are properly sorted. This robs you and your offspring of the benefits of property ownership in your homeland. Many of you who were born here have children and grandchildren and great grandchildren born abroad who have never visited Nevis and have no understanding of or connection to their homeland.
So again I say it’s time to come home to Nevis. If you are retired then I am certain that your retirement income will afford you a much better quality of life in Nevis than abroad. If you can invest and buy some land, build a home or refurbish your old family home or start a business or ply your trade or profession in Nevis then I urge you to do so. Nevis offers a superb quality of life with great schools, excellent primary healthcare, quality public infrastructure and a level of hospitality that is unmatched anywhere.
We need your children and their children to know and love this land of their parents and grandparents. This is your home and I want you to see it as your home. Nevis must not merely be some distant memory. It must be a living, breathing beacon brimming with opportunity.
Going forward, it is my government’s intention to establish a unit within government specifically to streamline processes for any of our diaspora who wish to invest in or return home. We shall shortly announce a package of incentives to make it easier for you to return and play a more active role in your island’s growth and development. In short, brothers and sisters, Nevis needs to grow and develop and to do so we need you to make your contribution. You have built distant lands with your sweat and toil. We ask you now to help us build your homeland, our beloved Nevis. It is time to come home.
May God bless and keep you. Welcome home and Happy Culturama 50!
With love and respect,
Mark Brantley,
Premier of Nevis