Tagged: anguilla, caribbean, help anguilla, hurricane irma
It’s no secret that Anguilla has occupied a special place in my heart. The island, and especially the people that call it “home,” left a lasting impression on me from my very first visit. Lucky enough to return three months later to cover Moonsplash, the visit only cemented my love for the island and its inhabitants.
Poetic words often escape me when trying to describe Anguilla to individuals who haven’t had the chance to visit. That’s when I fall back on videos like this one. It’s a beautiful reminder of why everyone who visits the island falls in love with it. From the wondrous juxtaposition of its high end resorts sharing beachfront space with its popular beach bars to riding horses in the ocean surf and sailing boats because it’s what they do, it’s a gorgeous reminder of what Anguilla was and will be soon again.
She may be battered but her people will never fail her. As one person stated on one of my Anguilla images: “Their rising will be fierce.”
For more on the charity mentioned in the video, visit HelpAnguilla.com. Bonnie Bloom has lived in Anguilla for 14 years and I have no doubt the work her and her family is going for the island is genuine. From their Facebook page:
“We’ve mentioned before how this enormous team work effort that is HelpAnguilla.com is only possible because of our generous donors all over the World, as well as the dozens of volunteers in Anguilla that are stopping their own hurricane recovery to help those who need it even more.
Along the way we’ve asked donors: “why are you doing this” and the responses and stories are ALL centered around the same thing – the love for the people of Anguilla and the way anyone visiting the island is made to feel.
Here one of those stories and a stunning video by Blaine Lifton’s team at Hyperbolous:
“Because of our love for Anguilla and it’s people, my team at Hyperbolous put together a presentation a couple of years ago to win the advertising business for the Anguilla Tourist Board. Unfortunately, we weren’t awarded the business but some wonderful things emerged from the process. One of them was this alluring video of some of the island’s enchanting locales. It ends with a symbol that we designed to be entirely unique to Anguilla — the letter “a” formed by a mosaic eel in the country’s primary colors. Why am I telling you all of this?
Sadly, we never had the opportunity to put our video into service as a promotion for Anguilla. However, in the wake of massive devastation by hurricane Irma we have decided to offer it up in a different way — as a plea for help to reconstruct the island and bring stability back to the lives of its lovely people. Tourism is the only source of income for Anguilla, and until the island is rebuilt and the tourists return, all Anguillians will remain in a desperate and fragile circumstance. Please share this with your family and friends. Then visit HelpAnguilla.com and make a donation if you can. Our fondest hope is that this is the first step in helping to bring life back to normal on this beautiful island paradise.”
Please help in any way possible. According to this article from the New York Times, 57% of Anguilla’s national GDP came from tourism in 2016, accounting for three out of every five jobs on the island. Irma may be a memory but her impact will be felt on the island for years to come.
