They are also eloquent in their reflections of past events that speak to historical tales of these islands. However they are deficient in their knowledge of those moments that have had a direct impact on their lives and have played a prominent role in shaping the socio-economic realities of their country.
Not only is today, 1st August, 2011, the anniversary date for the end of slavery in St. Kitts and Nevis, it is also the anniversary of the most horrific boating tragedy that has visited modern St. Kitts and Nevis.
On Saturday 1st August, 1970, 41 years ago, the MV Christina, sank while on its way to Charlestown, Nevis, from Basseterre, St. Kitts.
It was the weekend of horse racing and celebration, as countless Kittitians journeyed across the Narrows, to join in the usual Emancipation celebrations that had become popular on the island. The ferry was also packed with returning agricultural vendors, who earlier in the day had completed the sale of their weekly produce to customers in St. Kitts.
The ferry was overloaded and in the end, some 233 persons lost their lives. Only 90 are believed to have survived. To this day however, the statistics are not precise because back then, there was no official record kept of the number and names of passengers that travelled on each trip. Today that has been corrected with new requirements for each passenger to sign their names and gender in an official register before boarding local ferries.
The disaster struck at the heart of local society. There is hardly a family on both islands that was not affected by the loss of a loved one. The event became a political issue, as Nevisians spoke to the neglect that they had been experiencing from the central government in Basseterre, headed by Robert Bradshaw at the time.
It also led to the formation of the Nevis Reformation Party, NRP, which introduced secession, as its sole cause.
Despite the years of hurt and sorrow, not much was done by government to remember those who perished. It was only of recent time, a monument was erected at the Bayfront in Charlestown and an annual ceremony organized to pay tribute to the victims. The tragedy was comprehensively covered in a book written by Nevisian Whitman Browne, and this provides the most extensive details about the victims, the survivors and the circumstances of the accident.
A second and new monument was recently erected in Charlestown at the Bath Cemetery in Bath Plains, where 13 victims were buried. A special ceremony has been organized for Monday afternoon, (4:00pm), and will have the participation of officials in the Nevis Island Administration, which assisted the efforts of a local civic group to construct the monument.
After 41 years, however, no official report has ever been made known to the public and no memorial event is organized in St. Kitts and no monument has emerged, despite calls for same.
List of some of the victims:
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ALLEN, EZEKIEL |
HANLEY, EGLANTINE |
NISBETT, HERBERT |
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ALLEN, MIRIAM |
HANLEY, HUGH |
NISBETT, LILIAN |
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ALLEN, SHIRLEY |
HANLEY, MELFORD |
NISBETT, TONY |
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ARCHIBALD, FLORETTA |
HANLEY, ROSE |
NOLAN, DOLDRIA |
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ARCHIBALD, SAMUEL |
HANLEY, ROSETTA (ZENA) |
NOLAN, EULITA |
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ARTHURTON, AMY |
HENDRICKSON, MARILYN |
NOLAN, TESSA |
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ARTHURTON, BERTRANNE |
HENRY, ROSALYN |
PARRIS, FLORENCE |
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ARTHURTON, EMILY |
HERBERT, MAXWELL KING |
PARRIS, HANNAH |
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ARTHURTON, RODNEY |
HUGGINS, ALICE |
PEMBERTON, CALVIN |
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AUDAIN, VALENTINE |
HUGGINS, NELSON LEROY |
PEMBERTON, HELEN |
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BARTLETTE, ERROL |
HUGGINS, SAMUEL |
PEMBERTON, RUFUS |
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BARTLETTE, FRONCILLE |
HUTTON, FRANCES |
PHILLIPS, BERDIE |
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BARZEY, ELLEN |
HILL, BERHIA |
PHIPPS, CONRAD |
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BARZEY, MAVIS |
HOBSON, MARILYN MYRNA |
PONTEEN, JAMES |
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BELLE, AUSTIN |
HOLLAND, EMILY |
POWELL, GEORGE |
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BELLE, FRANKLYN |
IRVINE, JAMES |
POWELL, MARION |
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BERTIE, SHERWIN |
JAMES, ESTHER |
POWELL, MIRIAM |
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BLOYCE, ADOLPHUS |
JAMES, VERNON |
POWELL, SHERYL |
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JEFFERS, CLIFFORD |
POWELL, YVETTE |
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BROWNE, HAROLD |
JEFFERS, DWIGHT |
PRENTICE, EVANSTON |
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BROWNE, MONROE |
JEFFERS, MAURINA |
PRINCE, ANTHONY |
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BROWNE, MURIEL |
JEFFERS, RALPH |
REID, AUSTIN |
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BROWNE, OLGA |
JEFFERS, ROSALIE AGATHA |
RICHARDS, ASSINETTE |
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BROWNE, ROBERT |
JOHNSON, CLOTHILDA |
RICHARDSON, YVONNE |
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BUDGEON, GWENDOLYN |
JOHNSON, MICHAEL |
RITCHENS, JOSEPH |
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BUSSUE, LILIAN |
JONES, EDITH |
ROUSE, LEROY |
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BUSSUE, WELSEEN |
JONES, EMILY |
SADDLER, VERNARINE |
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BYRON, MILLICENT |
JONES, IRIS |
SCARBOROUGH, ALICIA |
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CABLE, ALLAN |
JONES, OLGA |
SCARBOROUGH, DUANE |
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CARR, ORILDA |
JONES, ORETHA |
SCARBOROUGH, INEZ |
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CHAPMAN, SHARON |
JONES, VIDA |
SMITH, EDWARD |
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CHARLES, CLEMENTINA |
JOSEPH, CARMEN |
SMITHEN, CALVIN |
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CLARKE, ANITA |
JOSEPH, LOUISA |
SMITHEN, CHRISTINA |
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CLARKE, BRENDA |
JOSEPH, SHEILA |
SMITHEN, IVAN |
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CLARKE, EUPHINA |
JOSEPH,VENNETTA |
SPRINGETTE, KEITH |
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CLARKE, LESLIE |
JOSEPH, VERNON |
STANLEY, VIVIAN |
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CLARKE, SARAH |
KELLY, AVRIL (CYNTHIA) |
STAPLETON, YVONNE |
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CLAXTON, DAHLIA |
KELLY, EUGENE |
SUTTON, STANLEY |
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CLAXTON, JAMES |
LANNS, VERNA |
SWANSTON, DARYL |
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CLAXTON, VERNON |
LAWRENCE, DAWNE |
SWANSTON, DAVID |
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COMEAU, SISTER AMELIA |
LE BLANC, SISTER MARIE |
SWANSTON, HANSCHELL |
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CONDELLE, ANTHONY |
LEWIS, CALVIN |
SWANSTON, THEODOSIA |
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CONDELLE, CHRISTINA |
LIBURD, BERYL |
SWEENEY, SAMUEL |
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CONDELLE, IRENE |
LIBURD, CASTRO |
THOMPSON, MARILYN |
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CORNELIUS, LORETTA |
LIBURD, EDRIC PAUL |
TROSS, ALSTON |
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DANIEL, LEONTINE |
LIBURD, ELVIRA |
TROSS, MARILYN |
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DAVID, CARL |
LIBURD, EMERSON |
TROTMAN, ALTON |
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DAVID, CHRISTINA |
LIBURD, EVELYN P. |
TROTMAN, IRIS |
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DAVID, JOSEPH |
LIBURD, IRIS |
TROTMAN, IRVINE |
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DAVID, LEON |
LIBURD, JAMES |
TYSON, DAVE |
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DAVID, MAVIS |
LIBURD, KIRSTEN OLIVER |
TYSON, KIRSTEN |
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DAVID, VERNA |
LIBURD, LILLIAN |
TYSON, THEODOSIA |
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DAVIS, LANYEL |
LIBURD, LOUISA |
WADE, YVETTE |
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DINEEN, SISTER PATRICIA |
LIBURD, MARIANNE |
WALLACE, CANDY |
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DORE, CLARISTINE |
LIBURD, MARION |
WALLACE, LORNA |
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DORE, JESSICA |
LIBURD, MILDRED |
WALTERS, JUDITH |
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DORE, MYRA |
LIBURD, THOMAS |
WALTERS, VIRGINIA |
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DUPORTE, AMELIA |
LIBURD, SAMUEL |
WALWYN, WENTWORTH |
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DUPORTE, WENDELL |
MARSON, EVA |
WATTLEY, VIOLET |
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ELLIOTT, JAMES |
MARTINEAU, MAUDE LUCILLA |
WATTS, VELCINE |
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ELLIOTT, KENNEDY |
MARTINEAU, SHERYL |
WEBBE, ADINA |
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ESDILLE, ALBERTHA |
MASTERS, LEROY |
WEEKES, AVONELL |
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ESDILLE, FLORENCE |
MAYNARD, CHARLES |
WEEKES, BENJAMIN |
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FARREL, ZENNETH |
MAYNARD, SADIE |
WEEKES, ELROY |
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FERGUSON, ALBERTINE |
Mc QUILKIN, LINDA |
WEEKES, LOUISA |
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FERGUSON, EMILE |
MICHAEL, IDETHA |
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FRANCIS, KLUIVERTH H. |
MILLS, HENNETTA |
WEEKES, MARION |
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FRANK, MOSES |
MILLS, MAUDE |
WEEKES, NICHOLAS |
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FREEMAN, AUGUSTA |
MILLS,VIVIAN |
WEEKES, RITA |
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FREEMAN, TAMAR |
MORRIS, URSULA |
WHEELER, AMELIA |
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FRENCH, DANIEL |
MORTON, CALVIN |
WILLIAMS, GEORGE |
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FORBES, CLARENT |
MORTON, CALRICE |
WILLIAMS, KIRTLY |
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FORBES, EMILY |
MORTON, INEZ |
WILLIAMS, VERNON |
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GLASFORD, JAMES |
MORTON, IRMA |
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GRIFFIN, LORRAINE |
MORTON, ORVILLE |
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GUMBS, MELVINA |
MORTON, PEARL |
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HALLIDAY, LILLIAN |
MORTON, ROSE |
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HANLEY, BERTRAM |
NATTA, ANNIE |
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HANLEY, CONRAD |
NISBETT, GOVAN |
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(List compliments of Mr. Livingston Huggins)