What is the definition of community? ‘A group of living things that belong to one or more species, interact ecologically and are located in one place. A particular area or place considered together with its inhabitants. A sense of community is the caring and friendly feeling.’
I have been thinking about this a lot recently, given the election, and what it is that makes a community. I was astounded when I was made aware of a certain group on social media with their level of hostility, criticism, racial abuse, inappropriate and offensive comments, that one is able to say in the public domain without any repercussions or consideration for their target, be it in the political arena, migrant community or anyone with a different opinion.
This is not the caring and friendly community that Guernsey is perceived to be.
We can no longer function as a community (as defined) without outside help. Our plea has been answered and we have seen our population flourish with many different nations. Now is a time for us to learn from each other, how we can all work together for the benefit of Guernsey, move forward and reshape our future.
I am Guernsey-born and have seen my vote, which I consider to be precious, squandered each time our government is elected. All of us on committees outside government will know how difficult it is to obtain a consensus and agreement for change. How do we solve this? We agree on a common goal and make a plan as to how it can be achieved – and we hold ourselves accountable. We work together. If that is party politics then I am all for it.
Yes, change is scary and can be hard but without it, where would we be? The Braye du Valle would not have been filled in in 1806, no Val des Terres opened for traffic in 1935? Let us come together and embrace change.
We are lucky enough in Guernsey to have the liberty of free speech – l’faut pas s’plloinde. Patois for 'one mustn’t complain'.
In the words of Charles Caleb Colton: ‘If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all’.
Julie-Anne Headington
St Peter Port
You need to be logged in to comment. If you had an account on our previous site, you can migrate your old account and comment profile to this site by visiting this page and entering the email address for your old account. We'll then send you an email with a link to follow to complete the process.