Citizenship For Sale

-
We present and encourage progressive Caribbean views of Caribbean and world Affairs

Is the Caribbean on the auction block ?
As the economic crisis lengthens, Caribbean governments strapped for foreign exchange and foreign investments have decided to sell citizenship in order to plug holes within their economies. We have already stated that we are being drawn into a whirlpool of global proportions that may very well, forever, change the image and direction of our island states.
There are those who will argue and quite correctly that bigger and more economically powerful countries, including the United States of America, are already involved in such activity. Once again we are forced to ask: Why are we following others?
Many of our people, who live in the Diaspora, have given up on returning home because of what they consider to be the high cost of living. While we do not support such positions, we are fully aware that those who have planted roots in other countries have many factors to consider when contemplating a return to our island states.
However, what we fear is that those who do want to return will now have to compete with very wealthy investor/ economic citizens, who once they become settled, would want to reap all the rewards of their investment in citizenship.  We must therefore question the wisdom in these short term remedies to problems that cannot be solved overnight.
We can therefore expect several negatives to emerge which will be bordering on economic and social discrimination. The question should be: Did we endure four hundred years of slavery and colonialism to sell our birthright? The question once asked of Barbadians ,by the Errol Barrow, must now be asked of the entire Caribbean: What kind of mirror image do we have of ourselves?

Kindly read  the related article below:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/12/caribbean-islands-sell-citizenship_n_2670241.html











http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/12/caribbean-islands-sell-citizenship_n_2670241.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Task Force on Food Security Needed

-
Image
One Caribbean Nation. We need a task force on food security. Here's why. Dr. Chelston Brathwaite By Chelston Brathwaite In June 2022, I brought to the Senate a Private Member's Resolution to discuss the issue of food security in Barbados. The objective of my efforts was to bring to the attention of the Senate and indeed to the attention of Barbados society, the precarious situation of food security in this nation. The bill was grounded in the fact that we only produce about 20 per cent of our food and was presented in the context of the proposal by the CARICOM Heads of State to reduce the food import bill of the Caribbean by 25 per cent by 2025. With that date being months away from today, in my view, the goal is unlikely to be met. The economists of the world have predicted increases in the cost of food in 2024 due to global shipping challenges and volatile climatic conditions. They have indicated that due to the war in Gaza and climatic challenges in the Panama Canal, ships w
Read more

Me and V: a personal introduction to gay tolerance

-
Image
One Caribbean Nation. By William Skinner Me and V: a personal introduction to gay tolerance I must have been around nine or ten years old. V was a well-known gay citizen, who lived in my beloved hometown of Britton’s Hill, in the parish of St. Michael, Barbados. My earliest recollection of V was his apparent penchant for dressing in white. I seldom saw him in a long pants, and he walked with an amazing rhythm. Even at that early age, I realized that he was very effeminate. He always seemed busy   out and about in the Brittons Hill area and it was obvious that everybody knew him, and his notoriety was island wide. I also noticed that he was always exceptionally clean. Later, I would learn that he was also known as a popular pudding and souse vendor, who carried on his trade in the vicinity of Nelson Street, in the city. He was well loved and respected in Britton’s Hill; along with that respect came good-natured heckling. One day, around midafternoon, about three of my childhoo
Read more

International Women's Day : Our Caribbean Women, Our Hope

-
Image
One Caribbean Nation As we celebrate International Womens’ Day, we are cognizant of the role our Caribbean women have played in the cultural social and economic growth of our region and evolving Caribbean civilization. They , like our men , have risen from the depths and decadence of slavery , to the highest political and corporate ladders in the region. They have given birth, to millions and have made and continue to make significant contributions to those in the Diaspora. In many cases, where they were not the biological mothers, they nurtured, cared and developed those , who were deprived of parenthood , and socio-economic hope. They are in our classrooms, directing young and fragile minds , how to navigate a world that we in the region , must forever avoid being dragged into conflicts of the so-called super powers. They are pursuing all the opportunities of our tertiary educational institutions, including the University of the West Undies, often in higher numbers than our men. I
Read more