There are no different categories of Turks and Caicos Islanders
Introduction
Many countries have different laws on how one becomes a citizen. For example, in the USA, you are a citizen of the USA at birth. In the Turks and Caicos Islands, you are not automatically a citizen at birth unless one of your parents or grandparents is a Turks and Caicos Islander.
However, whenever anyone becomes a citizen of a country, that person is entitled to the same rights as other citizens. There are some exceptions such as the USA, in which the President or the Vice President of the USA must be a natural born citizen. Now in the Turks and Caicos Islands, I am not aware of any laws that restricts the participation of Turks and Caicos Islanders.
In addition, too many of us have created different categories of citizenship. In America, even though they say everybody is American, they still have categories such as African Americans, Hispanic American, Latino American etc. I think this is so inappropriate, it lacks unity and fosters division.
History
Let us be honest with ourselves, there are no indigenous Turks and Caicos Islanders. The people we refer to as indigenous Turks and Caicos Islanders are descendants of the African Slaves. The African slaves were not the first people to occupy the land. History told us that the first inhabitants were the Taino Indians who were then replaced by the Lucayans. Columbus landed in 1492 and shortly thereafter the Lucayans disappeared. Later the Bermudians came and raked salt and that is how some of us have the same names as those in Bermuda. Then after the end of the American Revolution, the Loyalists came from Georgia and South Carolina and recruited slaves to the islands to start agriculture industry. That industry eventually declined, and the loyalists left Turks and Caicos leaving the slave behind and that is how most of us today became a part of Turks and Caicos.
Turks and Caicos Islander Status
The Turks and Caicos Islander Status can be acquired by rights or by grant. Acquisition by rights can be obtained by: if a child is born in the islands and one of the parents has TC Islander Status, if a child is born outside the islands but one of the parents has TC Islander Status, or one of the parents or grandparents was born in TCI and if a person under 18 is adopted by someone that has TC Islander Status. Acquisition by grant can be obtained by: if a BOTC or British citizen has a permanent residence certificate for 5 years, A BOTC or British citizen has been legally residing in the islands for 10 years, a person’s spouse has status and has been married for 10 years and a dependent child whose parents were legal, a person who has acquired BOTC, a person who has been legal in the islands for 10 years and is 18 years old.
A Turks and Caicos Islander is a Turks and Caicos Islander
Once a person obtains the Turks and Caicos Islander Status, that person is a Turks and Caicos Islander, and we should recognize that and respect that. It is time we put an end to the categorization of Turks and Caicos Islanders.
We have several individuals who have migrated from the Bahamas. One of their parents or grandparents are Turks and Caicos Islanders. Therefore, they are also Turks and Caicos Islanders. Legally, there is no such thing as TI Bahamian. I know some of these individuals do not assimilate and still refer to themselves as Bahamians but according to our laws, they are also Turks and Caicos Islanders. We must accept the fact they are Turks and Caicos Islanders. The truth is some of us are very hypocritical in that we are having our children in the USA, and we don’t refer to our children as Turks and Caicos Islanders.
There are some situations in which one parent is a Turks and Caicos Islander and the other parent is another nationality. However, according to our law, as long as one parent is a Turks and Caicos Islander that child is also a Turks and Caicos Islander. However, some of us tend to categorize some of these Turks and Caicos Islanders. We refer to them as the nationality of one of their parents rather than calling them a Turks and Caicos Islander. For instance, a person that has a Dominican parent and a Turks and Caicos parent, some of us refer to that person as Dominican. Likewise, we refer to a person has a Haitian if a person has one parent who is a Haitian. However, these individuals are Turks and Caicos Islanders. Most times, we only refer to these individuals as Turks and Caicos Islanders if they are very good in something such as sports or education.
We have other situations in which as spouse of a Turks and Caicos Islander becomes a Turks and Caicos Islander through grant. Some of us do not consider these spouses Turks and Caicos Islanders and feel they should not hold any key positions. Whether we like or not, these spouses who have acquire Turks and Caicos Islander Status are Turks and Caicos Islanders and should not be discriminated against.
Of course, there are some individuals who have acquired Turks and Caicos Islander Status and have no hereditary ties to TCI but the fact they have acquired the status makes them a Turks and Caicos Islander.
Conclusion
Our Africa ancestors came as slaves to TCI and hence we were able to get Turks and Caicos Islander Status. Some of our families migrated to the US and Bahamas when the economy of TCI was nonexistent in the 50s and 60s and now some of their descendants are migrating to the TCI and these individuals are Turks and Caicos Islanders.
It is time we put aside our differences and accept all individuals who have Turks and Caicos Islanders Status as Turks and Caicos Islanders. Perhaps some of these individuals do not consider themselves as Turks and Caicos Islanders because of how we treat them.
The people that we refer to as indigenous Turks and Caicos Islanders are very few. For the Turks and Caicos Islanders to make a significant impact in the country, all Turks and Caicos Islanders need to unite. Stop treating people who are not “indigenous” as non-Turks and Caicos Islanders. Everybody that has a Turks and Caicos Islander status card is a Turks and Caicos Islander. Let’s embrace them.