By Orita Bailey

February is celebrated as history and heritage month in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. Some ask if it is necessary to have a designated month to celebrate our heritage; shouldn’t we in our own country celebrate our history and heritage on a daily basis? Don’t we live it every day? Isn’t it a part of our very existence?

Opinions differ of course as with any discussion topic, but when we see the wanton destruction of the tangible heritage around us one has to wonder whether we understand and value what our heritage actually is. One definition that I found during my research states: ‘Heritage is the full range of our inherited traditions, monuments, objects, and culture. Most important, it is the range of contemporary activities, meanings, and behaviours that we draw from them.’ and …

Heritage is the legacy of physical artefacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations.

Additionally, ‘ ….heritage also includes but is not limited to the buildings and historic places, monuments, artefacts, etc., that are considered worthy of preservation for the future. These include objects significant to the archaeology, architecture, science or technology, and can include cultural landscapes, the countryside and natural environment, including flora and fauna, the marine and land environment also referred to as the biodiversity.’

Heritage also encompasses the cultural and accepted ways and means of behaviour in a society, and the often formal rules for operating in a particular cultural climate. These include social values and traditions, customs and practices, aesthetic and spiritual beliefs, artistic expression, language and other aspects of human activity.

Often though, what is considered cultural heritage by one generation may be rejected by the next generation, only to be revived by a succeeding generation. Which brings me to the back to my question, is it necessary for us to designate a particular period to focus on or emphasise our heritage? And what aspects of our heritage do we think needs emphasis?

This brings me to our particular situation here in the Federation. There seems to be a lack of appreciation for some aspects of our ‘history and heritage’ that I find disturbing. The protection and preservation of certain aspects of our built environment, in particular those related to the former sugar industry. The wanton destruction of our heritage sites by the theft of cut stone and their consequent destruction of the remnants of sugar mills all over St. Kitts.

This practice is so prevalent that cut stones can be seen piled up on roadsides, estate yards and elsewhere, and in various new developments around the country. Some cut stones have even been shipped overseas for use in restoration and in new developments.

Many citizens are quite disturbed by this pillage of the cultural resources of the nation and would make complaints to the National Trust, but it would appear that little is done by those in authority to stem this illegal activity. In fact although there is legislation the National Conservation and Environmental Protection Act (NCEPA), there are no regulations attached to the Act that would allow the authorities to prosecute those engaged in this activity.

Why would our legislators recognise the need for legislation to protect our ‘heritage’ but stop short of providing an effective means of doing so? A law without provision for the punishment of infringement is less than useless and send messages that are counterproductive to good governance.

How can an administration that speaks to tourism as our ‘main industry’ fail to see that these monuments add something unique to the ‘tourism product’ and without adequate protection for the future, the ‘product’ would be less significant and the ‘historical’ value that tourist visit for is a poor representation of what it could otherwise have been?

Perhaps it is time for us to look at our heritage with a wider lens.

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