Dear Editor,
First I would like to wish Mr La Rocque, the new Secretary General of Caricom, the very best in his new venture. It is a tremendous uphill task to resuscitate a failing movement.
Having lived in Trinidad of Guyanese parents, and having had the experience of domestic help in our household who were either Vincentian, Grenandian, St Lucian, etc, I came to appreciate the pot-pourri of cultures, accents, humour, food, literature and politics of our West Indian peoples.
My father further introduced me to the idea of West Indian nationhood when Dr Eric Williams returned to Trinidad from England and held evening meetings at the ‘University of Woodford Square,’ a square in the heart of Port of Spain. (Like Mr Forbes Burnham of Guyana, Dr Williams came back with a vision of a new type of politics for West Indians. Both subsequently became prime ministers of their countries.)
There was an air of expectation throughout the West Indies when that brilliant mind, along with other politicians from Barbados and Jamaica, began talks on a West Indian Federation. However the pendulum of this movement stopped as insularity stepped in, and thus prompted Dr Williams’ famous quote: “One from ten leaves nought.”
The concept of Federation was subsequently replaced with Caricom. But the major problem over the past years has been the lack of implementation by heads of government in each country’s laws, especially concerning the issues of immigration and freedom of movement. We in Caricom are at war with ourselves in failing to decide on a regional airline, a regional security system, a regional disaster response system, regional trade, a common currency and a regional court of justice. Even in cricket which most West Indians love, insularity has stepped in, disenchanting many of us in this game that once held us together.
There should be either a referendum or a poll to find out how Caribbean people feel about the effectiveness of Caricom and how it affects their personal lives. For example, it has been reported that Jamaica carried out an exercise that indicated that people preferred going back to colonial rule. Based on the many indecisions of Caricom, I as a Caribbean woman maintain my personal mantra: Cari-com and Cari-go. I wish the Secretary General would prove me wrong.
Yours faithfully,
Gloria Lye
