As the English-speaking Caribbean continues to endure its multi-faceted socio-economic challenges made worse in recent times by the scourge of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies Sir Hilary Beckles is calling for a payback for the historic contribution made by the English-speaking countries of the region to the development of the hemisphere.
“The Caribbean has given a great deal to this hemisphere, it has given a great deal to this world. It is now the time for this hemisphere and this region to reciprocate and give to the Caribbean what it deserves and what it has a right to, which is an economic ‘leg up’ at a moment of growing despair,” the Caribbean academic said during the recent Organization of American States (OAS) virtual discussion to mark Pan American Day.