Mahogany CoConut Blog

One Caribbean Nation . Forget begging rich nations: Caribbean countries should act to save themselves It has long been evident that the world's richest nations, especially those responsible for the lion's share of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, care little about the existential threats faced by small states. For the Caribbean, the time for pleading has passed. Collective action must define the region's response to the climate crisis. Caribbean leaders in all sectors - government, business, and worker representatives - should pay close attention to a rare display of frankness on this urgent matter by Angela Merkel, the respected former Chancellor of Germany. In her memoir, Freedom, she presents a sobering assessment of global failure on climate action. She admits that the measures taken to combat climate change by GHG-emitting countries are "not good enough to save the world". Worse, she confesses that the problem has been known for years and yet has failed to i...

One Caribbean Nation. ‘BACK TO BLACK’ PRESCOD CALLS FOR PAN- AFRICANISM IN EDUCATION REFORM By Shanna Moore The prime minister's special envoy for reparations and economic enfranchisement, Trevor Prescod, has called for a bold reimagining of Barbados' education system, urging policymakers to centre African civilisation and Pan-Africanist thought in the curriculum as part of the government's broader reform agenda, which includes abolishing the 11-plus exam and decolonising learning. In an interview with Barbados TODAY, Prescod shared that without this reclamation, efforts to reform the education system would fall short of addressing its deeper flaws. "Any true reformation or revolutionary changes in the education system must restore the presence of the civilisation of the African people, both in Africa and in the diaspora," he said. "No other changes in the education system make any sense unless we can make that reclamation of who we are, let African people ...

One Caribbean Nation. ‘Abolish 11-Plus’: VETERAN EDUCATOR ADAMS SLAMS ‘EXAM INEQUALITY’ By Sheria Brathwaite Former senator and retired principal Alwyn Adams on Friday reignited calls to scrap the Barbados Secondary School Entrance Examination, commonly known as the 11-Plus, describing it as an outdated relic of educational segregation that stifles the potential of the working class. While delivering the keynote address at Speech Day of St Leonard's Boys' Secondary School where he was once principal, Adams criticised the island's education system, declaring that it was failing the people and urgently needed reform. Repeating a call made two years ago, he argued that the common entrance examination is an antiquated mechanism designed to limit the academic advancement of Barbados' working class and perpetuate educational segregation. He said then that with Barbados having transitioned to a republic, the country ought to get rid of the current educational system which he...

One Caribbean Nation. It is extremely difficult to believe that we are incapable of solving current challenges relating to crime and other acts of social deviancy. Our culture remains the foundation of our development. It has undergone tremendous change, both for the better and the worst, during the last four decades. However, we remain a society that still demonstrates some virtues of basic decency toward each other but we   have failed to recognize that culture must be maintained, instilled and explained to our citizens. We cannot continue to ignore the depth of cultural penetration , as we sought socio economic development during the post-independence period. To address this , we must seriously examine our education system . The present raging debate regarding the transformation of the system clearly shows we want change but also expect to cling to the status quo ; this creates a perfect   recipe for confusion. The current method of transferring children from the pr...

One Caribbean Nation. Crime undermines the entire society Today’s Editorial As Barbados struggles with its citizen safety and security due to a spate of gun murders, one of the most extreme examples of a breakdown in law and order is playing out in the northern Caribbean. Haiti, a Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member state, is battling one of its worst episodes of crime and violence in recent times. The fact that the state apparatus has essentially broken down has created the circumstance for hoodlums and bandits to roam the streets in a literal free-for-all. At the centre of Haiti's crisis is gun violence and the free flow of high-powered firearms into the desperately poor nation. Marauding gangs of gun-toting young men have worsened an already dire situation that has spiralled out of control. As some regional leaders offer limited military and financial support to the CARICOM member nation, the situation there has become exceedingly challenging and beyond the scope of these sma...

One Caribbean Nation. We have never argued against or implied that exogenous issues don’t affect us. However, it is most interesting , that on several occasions, discussions about our national/ regional problems , have been ignored and we jump right into what is happening in Ukraine, Russia, Gaza , as if we don’t have televisions and other media. Our transition to true transformation is being inhibited because we want to pretend that some new global dispensation will be to our immediate benefit. That is a geopolitical illusion. For those , who read deeply , into current CARICOM thinking, there is a renewed call for such things as a common currency and speaking with one voice in international fora and trying to combat globalization with one common strategy. We need to do better in order to avoid another period of protracted poverty and political malaise. At this time we need more Caribbean thinkers; we need those who want to complete the independence project and transform our region. ...