Smith
Junior Minister for Financial Services, Lorna Smith, says she finally understands why some people have long called her an “island woman” — a term she once viewed as an insult.
Speaking during the constitutional review debate in the House of Assembly, Smith said reading the Constitutional Review Commission’s report helped her see that the sentiment stems from the civic pride Virgin Islanders developed after separating from the Leeward Islands Federation in 1956.
That pride, she said, made some residents wary of having their identity “diluted” by those without ancestral ties.
“It was only after reading this report that I fully understood why I grew up most of my life being referred to as an island woman or a garret,” Smith told the House.
“You see, the civic pride that Virgin Islanders felt having left that federation in 1956 — they didn’t want it to be diluted.”
Smith, who is a belonger but not of Virgin Islands ancestry, admitted she had always avoided the issue out of sensitivity. But she said it was time to speak openly about the need for inclusion, particularly in the rules governing eligibility for elected office.
Under section 65 of the Constitution, only persons with Virgin Islands lineage can contest elections. Smith said this narrow definition excludes many people who were born, raised and deeply rooted in the territory, including her own siblings and children.
“I am able to sit in this House because I was grandfathered under the 1976 Constitution,” she noted. “But what of my other brothers and sisters who, like me, know no other home? What of their children who may want to contest an election? What I’m saying does not apply mainly or only to my family. I’m referring to so many other families who share this experience.”
She reminded the House that belonging and contribution to the Virgin Islands should count as much as bloodline, pointing out that most countries determine eligibility based on citizenship rather than heritage.
She also urged that the Constitution be updated to reflect the realities of modern BVI society, where families are often a mix of ancestral and non-ancestral belongers. Narrow definitions of identity, she warned, risk dividing a small community that cannot afford internal fractures.
“There are persons among us who are using this definition of ancestral Virgin Islanders for divisive reasons,” she said. “Something that this community can ill afford. So where is this divisiveness taking us if not down a path of self-destruction?”
Her position mirrors that of Opposition Leader Myron Walwyn, who has also called for a more inclusive approach. The debate over ancestry has become one of the most divisive issues in the ongoing constitutional review.
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