THE strength of the Island’s community spirit in the face of dark times has shown Jersey ‘at its best’, the Bailiff has said.
The traditional States Christmas speeches, often a light-hearted look back at the previous 12 months, took a more sombre tone yesterday as the Island continues to come to terms with two devastating tragedies over the past nine days, which killed 12 Islanders.
Each year, the longest-serving Constable and Deputy as well as the Bailiff address the Assembly on the final sitting.
St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft said it would be remiss to think about family Christmases without ‘reflecting on how sombre and grief-stricken’ the festive period will be for many Islanders.
‘The whole community has, of course, rallied round,’ he added. ‘That is what Islanders do so well. Whether in response to the recent sad events or to other national and international shocks that strike a chord with Islanders such as the invasion of Ukraine.’
He went on to praise the work of the emergency services and the honorary policy forces that had dealt with the two incidents.
Deputy Geoff Southern echoed Mr Crowcroft’s comments, adding: ‘We have seen once again the amazing response of Jersey people who came forward with offers of help.
‘We have seen the response of the emergency services who serve us so well.
‘We are a wonderful, generous Island as the response to recent crises have shown.’
Deputy Southern also reflected on the change within the Assembly following the election in the summer which brought with it ‘perhaps the biggest change this Chamber has seen’.
The Bailiff, Sir Timothy Le Cocq, reflected on how Covid restrictions had prevented so much at the time of his last Christmas address to the House and how much had changed in the past 12 months.
‘The difficulty with being the third speaker is that pretty well everything that one might have wanted to say has already been said,’ the Bailiff said. However, I would not wish this opportunity to pass without reflecting on this extraordinary year we are shortly to leave behind.
‘Looking back to the last year we could not have expected the year that 2022 was going to be.’
He added that Islanders had been able to celebrate Liberation Day properly for the first time in two years, and came together again for the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations.
‘While these were happy and positive events for Jersey and its people, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a sobering backdrop to them.
‘We also had the enormous shock of the loss of Her Majesty The Queen.’
He added that the events in Jersey in the past nine days had been ‘sorrowful’ but that the Island could be ‘extremely proud’ of the response.
‘It is in this sad context we have seen Jersey at its very best,’ he added.
‘At this time, we may reflect on what has happened over the past 12 months, for good or for bad, for the friends that we have lost.
‘We can reflect with optimism and hope for what is to come.’
