Professor Norman Girvan: Exceptional Caribbean Intellectual
The Caribbean Is One Nation
Professor Norman Girvan: Exceptional Caribbean Intellectual
Professor Norman Girvan: Exceptional Caribbean Intellectual
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| Professor Norman Girvan |
“It perhaps, says something of the outlook of Norman Girvan, and
his eclectic interests, that, born in Jamaica and living in Trinidad and
Tobago, he died while receiving medical treatment in Cuba—for injuries received
while hiking in the Eastern Caribbean island of Dominica. Further, up to the
time of his accident, Prof Girvan actively campaigned for the rights of
Dominican Republic citizens of Haitian descent. At his death, too, Prof Girvan
was the personal representative of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the
Venezuela-Guyana border dispute. Until recently, he researched and taught at
The University of the West Indies Graduate Institute of International Relations
at St Augustine.”
For Norman Girvan, it probably didn’t much matter where in the
Caribbean he lived, or died. It was simply one place, with one family, in which
he was at home, anywhere…….” (Sunity Maharaj, Trinidad Express, April 12, 2014)
The passing of distinguished Professor Norman Girvan means
that a progressive Caribbean light has been extinguished. However, those who
are genuinely committed to the region would know that: “memories don’t leave
like people do.” We at the Mahogany
Coconut Group are happy that, also, ideas and vision do not leave as people do
and that is the great legacy of people such as: Norman Girvan, Lloyd Best, Rex Nettleford and
Eric Williams. They, along with others, represent the best that the Caribbean
has offered its citizens and the world as intellectuals and academics.
We will not dwell on the well known and chronicled achievements
of Professor Girvan ,suffice it say that he has left a body of work and ideas,
that must not be allowed to suffer the same fate as others of a similar vein. We
in the Caribbean region seem to spend so much time looking outside of the region,
for the answers to our problems, that we simply do not know or ignore the
tremendous amount of effort that real regionalists such as Girvan and the
others aforementioned have put into carving a new Caribbean nation.
Unless we move swiftly to get these ideas into schools and
community grassroots organizations, the region would always appear to be under
served by its intellectuals. We also run the risk of grouping the progressive thinkers
with the parasites who this region educates but never look back to assist with
its future or problem solving. One of
the major problems with the University of the West Indies is the disconnect
between the university and the masses. Too many volumes of exceptional academic
offerings are never exposed to our citizens.
We therefore take this opportunity to express our profound
sympathy to the family of Professor Norman Girvan and sincerely hope that his clear
vision for a fully integrated Caribbean region will one day become a glorious
reality. We also urge other intellectuals both in the region and the Diaspora
to do their utmost to ensure that his contribution will forever be remembered
and his policies, suggestions and ideas implemented.
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