End of Year (2016) Comment

-
The Caribbean Is One Nation.

End of Year Comment
Submitted by the Mahogany Coconut Group
“What then is the future of the Caribbean?
Given its past history, the future of the Caribbean can only be meaningfully discussed in terms of the possibilities for the emergence of an identity of the Caribbean peoples. The whole history of the Caribbean so far can be viewed as a conspiracy to block the emergence of a Caribbean identity-in politics, in its institutions, in economics, in its culture and values. Viewed in its historical perspective, the future way forward for the peoples of the Caribbean must be one which would impel them to start making their own history, to be the subjects rather than the objects of history, to stop being the playthings of other people. In this respect, the Caribbean has so far been the “outsider” of the New World.” Eric Williams from Columbus to Castro page 504
“Once there is true integration among all units of the Caribbean (excluding Puerto Rico for reasons mentioned above), and once all vestiges of political, economic, cultural and psychological dependence and racism have been removed from the Caribbean, then and only then can the Caribbean takes its true place in Latin America and the New World and put an end to the international wars and inter-regional squabbles which, from Columbus to Castro, have marked the disposition of Adam’s will.”
Eric Williams from Columbus to Castro page 515
We at Mahogany Coconut are not overly pessimistic of the year in review. Suffice it to say that we expected the declining fortunes of the Caribbean region to continue. Our optimism springs from our deep belief , that the Caribbean people can and will eventually emerge from this period , triumphant and better equipped to face the new world economy. If we lose this optimism, we see no way forward.
2016 ends with all the economies in the region, fighting for survival and making efforts to hold their heads above water as the world economy, moves toward automation and increased technological efficiencies.  We are at present incapable of widely influencing global trends and while we accept this major disadvantage, it should not lead us to despair and hopelessness. Having survived slavery and still  trying to remove and overcome the remnants of a colonial past, we should be aware that is due to our resilience that we have not been knocked out.
We must therefore utilize our profound ability to survive and look inward for solutions. While we respect those who spout isms and meticulously dissect our problems, we fear that sometimes, we lose sight of our historical mission which is to complete the liberation of the region from the past that continues to cause us psychological weakness. Unless we educate our youth about our historical journey and the importance of realizing that the struggle is not yet won, we would continue to look for solutions that are unworkable and problems that should really be molehills would continue to turn into mountains.
We therefore believe that the quotes at the beginning of this comment are instructive. Eric Williams and others have long identified our strengths and weaknesses. It is for us to recognize both and continue to build on the historical mission of One Caribbean Nation.
We wish all  the  very best for 2017 and thank you for your support. We especially wish our Barbados Underground family and all contributors to BU all the best going forward.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Education Reform

-
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...
Read more

An Outrageous Ruling

-
Image
                                                           The Caribbean Is One Nation. An outrageous ruling By Ralph Gonsalves Story Created: Oct 21, 2013 at 8:39 PM ECT Story Updated: Oct 21, 2013 at 8:39 PM ECT  Ralph Gonzalves  Following is the text of the letter from the Prime Minister, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, to  Dominican Republic (DR   ) President Danilo Medina, in response to the recent ruling of the DR constitutional court that upends the status of people of Haitian descent who were born in the Dominican Republic. The government and people of St Vincent and the Grenadines are deeply distressed that the constitutional court in the Dominican Republic has, in a recent ruling, denied citizenship to persons of Haitian descent born in the Dominican Republic. This court deci...
Read more

Barbados Is NOT An Independent State

-
By Pachamama It’s once more the time of year when the elites in Barbados automatically instigate actions of petite nationalism that are said to be consistent with an independent state/actor. However, when one examines the existential realities within either the political, economic, social or technological spheres a very different judgment could be made. Over the years many of us have presented arguments for a very different kind of nationalism, a different kind of Barbadianness. A nationalism that presents a Barbadian that comes from a longer history and that elevates the place of the indigenous peoples within our collective imaginations. A nationalism, which recognizes the indigenous people that have lived on this here land from the time before time - long before the invasions of Columbus. A nationalism that is not so wedded to the former colonial masters that it is near impossible to property understand our past, alter the present and shape a self-determined future. A nationalism, ...
Read more