BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Saturday 19th September 2026)- As part of the usual Independence coverage, observed this time under the theme ‘ One People, One Vision, Endless Possibility’, this media house interacted with attendees at the 43rd Independence Ceremonial Parade held at the Warner Park Cricket Stadium on Saturday 19th September 2026, inviting them to share their thoughts on patriotism, the parade and the significance of the Independence observance.
Here is what they had to say:
(Kejel Jeffers with little Nzij Jacobis -“This is a piece that my brother Pastor Kamal Jeffers, wrote earlier today, and I think it resonates with me and I can relate to it a lot. He says: ‘Happy Independence Day. We thank God for bringing us to where we are in a very short time. Fact: We are the youngest nation in the Americas. Fact: We are the smallest nation in the Americas. Even with those limitations, we thank God we also have one of the strongest passports in the world, one of the highest literacy rates in the world, one of the highest per capita incomes in the Western Hemisphere. The highest HDI [Human Development Index] in CARICOM. We have many things to be thankful for. The journey continues and we have this guarantee. With God in all our struggles, St. Kitts and Nevis be a nation bound together with a common destiny, and for this, I am proud to be a citizen of this land.’”
Kaylah Penny- “Hi, everyone. I am Kaylah Penny, and I’m currently speechless at tonight’s proceedings for the 43rd Independence for St. Christopher and Nevis. What a performance tonight. Everyone came out and did their best. We had performances of such high quality and I know for sure that the following year would be one to remember. So I’m just wishing everyone a happy, happy 43rd Independence. Thank you.”
Christine Clarke- [Citing an excerpt from her poem]: “Another anniversary of Saint Christopher and Oualie, the mother colony in the Caribbean Sea. With gratitude, we go forth with prestige and purpose, declaring hitherto, God has helped and brought us here. He is our hope, guide, and source.
And then, in order to bring in the Independence 43 I’ll have to do the chorus:
‘Oh, Land of Beauty, Oh, Land of Beauty, country above self, land of fertility and tranquility, a people kind and friendly, celebrating Independence 43.’
Well, actually, I’m a poet and an author, and I love to write. I have a passion for writing poems, especially spiritually uplifting poems but on a whole, I could write any kind of poem, and as it is Independence, I just thought I would write a poem and a song for Independence. And more so, it’s my birthday, so that makes it even better. You know, I said I’m celebrating double, so I thought of writing this poem song celebrating Independence 43, and actually, I did one last year as well.
So, yeah, that’s me. I just love writing; when there is an occasion, I write. I write for Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Christmas, and birthdays and anything that comes to mind as the Holy Spirit leads me, I write. My name is Christine Clarke. I’m from St. Peter’s, St. Kitts. Actually, from Nevis, but I live in St. Peter’s, St. Kitts, and as I said again, I have a passion for writing spiritually uplifting poems. Also, any other poem, you know, it’s a passion that I have.
“Well, to be honest, I arrived a bit late but the little bit that I saw, it was good. I came in time to get the jump up part. When I came, the parade was over, unfortunately but I mean, just looking at the uniformed bodies, it felt there was a sense of pride, patriotic pride, to see the uniformed bodies come out to celebrate Independence 43.”
Missy, with her baby boy, and her mother, Cheryl- “Oh, Land of Beauty, happy Independence. 43rd Independence, St. Kitts and Nevis. I am so happy to be a part of this 43rd Independence. I’m not a citizen, however, I am a citizen by marriage. My husband is from St. Kitts and Nevis, and my son [is from St. Kitts and Nevis]. However, I am from St. Lucia. So, it’s a different type of experience for me. I’ve been here for like 10 years and it’s been a wonderful experience.
Celebrating this Independence is such a blast. It was so different. It was awesome. It was exciting. It was very patriotic, and everybody was excited to be there, to be a part of freedom, to see our St. Kitts and Nevis, you know, be our own selves and just being free to do whatever we want and being under the government that we chose and that has been there for us throughout the past four years. So they’ve been doing a great job, and I just want to commend the Labour Party and all the other parties as well for just stepping up. Somebody has to do it, and they did. St. Kitts is a very beautiful island, with beautiful people. The accent is different and unique. The food is good, you know. You get to experience different types of food, different cooking. Cultural events are always on point. The organizing teams are always on point. Even like tonight, everything was just splendid, and this is my first time at an Independence parade in the 10 years I’ve been here, so you have to understand I had a wonderful time and I would love to come again. My mommy is visiting from s
Cheryl- “Well, it was a wonderful time to experience the Independence of St. Kitts. It was really, really, really, really nice. All the young people taking part and being joyful. Yes, everybody was happy, everybody enjoyed themselves. Everything went very, very, very well. I was so happy to be there to see. Yes, because it’s a Labour Party -that’s part of our party back home, the St. Lucia Labour Party. So, I was very impressed and very happy to be a part of it here in St. Kitts. Wonderful, great job! Everybody was happy, everything went good, wonderful, no problem, no fight, no anything. We had peace all through. It was very nice and wonderful.”
Proud Country West Line Patriotic Family-“Independence means everything. When I say everything, I mean that when you study the history of where we were and where we are now, I am very proud of the developments and we’re able to be in charge of a lot of our own affairs and stuff like that, and for being the patriotic people that we are, you know, no matter where you go in the world and you are successful, even if you’re not successful, just come back home, and if you are successful, always remember your country and make some sort of contributions to our good, good island of St. Kitts.
“It might have been one of the best Independence celebrations I have ever attended. It was really good. It was amazing.”
IP (who chose to remain anonymous)-“To me, Independence means responsibility and progress. The transition from statehood to nationhood was definitely needed, and given the fights and struggles to get to that point, it was really very important.
“Even on the night of the first Independence celebration, the speech that Dr. Kennedy Simmonds [the country’s first Prime Minister] gave was quite motivating, quite touching, impactful and insightful. It did something that set us on the path. As he said in the speech, it’s not just a moment; it’s the beginning of a new chapter in the life of a nation, where we now have to build, and everyone has to be ready to build and advance the nation.
“There are going to be struggles, but every administration and every generation since has contributed to the building and advancement of the nation, from medical to tourism to economic development and schooling. Forty-three years is not much, but when you look at where we are, we have built and we have advanced. We have transitioned from a sugar industry to tourism and now we are trying to diversify. I think we have done well. Independence for us has been that we have made a mark. We have enough relationships internationally, our passport is highly valued, and, as the National Anthem says, we stand in unity moving forward.
“So, Independence during the 43rd anniversary just meant that, yes, we have worked hard, we have progressed, we have succeeded. But yes, we have much to do. You have to pause and say, ‘Okay, we acknowledge our successes.’ We have been successful in many things. Again, Dr. Simmonds’ speech when he said, ‘To build a nation, you have to build a people,’ and we have done that. Generally, overall, it’s the building of the nation. And I’m very proud to be a national of St. Kitts and Nevis and to be a part of whatever way I can in building and advancing the nation. So, tremendous progress and responsibility. We’re working hard to make the nation better and we’re being responsible.”
Jessica and her daughter Jah-Sana-“For 43 years here-and I’m just 38- and seeing how far Independence has come, we have come as a country. ‘Country Above Self,’ we stand on that ground. So in all, we’re doing wonderful for a small island nation (with St. Kitts at 68 square miles). So I say Happy Independence to one and all.”
