At a recent meeting Antigua & Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne hinted to Britain’s Earl of Wessex that he use his diplomatic influence to achieve “reparatory justice” for the island of Barbuda as visitors and residents are beginning to return in numbers to the very special island after 2017’s Hurricane Irma caused such devastation.
For the first time in history Barbuda became a deserted island when the entire population was forced to evacuate to the neighbouring sister island of Antigua creating over 1,600 refugees. In 2020, according to Prime Minister Gaston Browne, half the island’s 1,200 properties have now been rebuilt. With most of the 1,634 residents living in the town of Codrington.
The recent act states that all people in Barbuda own the land collectively. Any citizen over 18 years old has the right to occupy residential land, graze animals and use land for commercial purposes, as long as projects are not considered major developments. We show 20 affected families in Barbuda receiving keys to newly repaired or rebuilt homes under the European Union (EU) funded Housing support to Barbuda project. Another 130 are underway and more new homes for 2023.
Since Covid has affected us all. Many people come on a day tour from their hotel in Antigua. To experience Barbuda best you should come and stay a few nights in one of the value, friendly village guest houses or a delightful unique hotels. Barbuda is much more than just a pink sand beach, with an ideal climate and coastline it is firmly in the future of independent Caribbean tourism so you are warmly welcome to the community.
