My name is Jamel Lake. I work as an assistant to Bob Green who writes the Anguilla news. I was born and raised on St. Thomas and graduated from I.E.K.H.S. in '97. Shortly after graduation I moved to Anguilla with my mom to help her with her Bar and Restaurant. I am now a purchasing agent and office assistant manager for BeachShack.
St. Thomas is my home at heart and will always be, but I don't see myself living there. Occasionally, I visit and I don't stay for long.
Each time I visit I look at St. Thomas as if I was a tourist, and each time I am impressed with my home. I see more and more development, I find the island to be clean, the people to be friendly, the beaches are beautiful, and the services and businesses the Island has to offer are very good.
My only concern is the crime. I often wonder, an island so small with so much to offer, why in the world the government isn't doing enough to stop the ship from sinking.
Although my house is smoking it is not up in flames.
I still believe that St. Thomas has hope for a bright future filled with prosperity. In order for us to enjoy what St. Thomas has to offer, the ongoing problem of crime has got to stop, and it must stop NOW!!.
I challenge our leaders to face these problems and take an approach that the parents of Geoff and Jason might take. Failure to do so is failure as leaders and most importantly the result in the next 5-10 years will be unbelievable, and probably to some parents unforgivable.
Jamel Lake
Anguilla
