By Dexter Mitchell
This article was originally penned on January 24th, 2008
One Race (De Caribbean Man)
From de same place (De Caribbean Man)
Dat make the same trip (De Caribbean Man)
On de same ship (De Caribbean Man)
The lines above are the beginning of the chorus of Black Stalin’s 1979 classic Calypso entitled Caribbean Unity. Caribbean unity has become a misnomer; almost an oxymoronic term, since Nations with different languages, currencies and social fabric have attempted to unite without making allocations for the things that were different.
The European Union has developed a model that enables its members to benefit from the amalgamation while preserving the identities, culture and uniqueness of individual nations.
You try with a Federation
De whole thing end in confusion
Caricom and then Carifta
But somehow ah smelling disaster
The preceding lines are the beginning of the aforementioned Calypso by Black Stalin and to that mix we can now add CSME and CCJ. The prospects of true Caribbean unity remain but a fleeting illusion with hordes of diplomacy and hardly any practicality and common sense.
In recent times we have managed to digress to a point of having an absolutely atrocious inter-island travel system, Caribbean islands are rivaling countries such as South Africa and Columbia in per capita crime rate and the latest indignation – somehow we were convinced to build stadia that are all now seating awaiting the ICC schedule for a once-a-year appointment.
The Caribbean leaders have somehow managed to ignore the voice of the Caribbean Man, in fact so strong is the resentment toward the right to express one’s self that we now have politicians engaging journalists and newspapers editors not only in testy confrontations but in legal actions. The calypso artform is now a shell of its former self as the purveyors of the artform are roundly condemned and criticized for wanting to continue their role as the peoples’ spokespersons.
Well the last thirteen months have spoken volumes about how the people of the region feel about their present brand of political leadership. In St. Lucia, the British Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, Jamaica and Barbados incumbent governments have been resoundingly and convincingly removed from office. The voice of the Caribbean Man needed to be heard and the democratic process is being fully utilized.
Instead of waiting on the leaders to provide the way ahead the Caribbean Man has decided to take matters into his own hands and governments that may have felt secure are now finding out that the lost of the sugar and banana industries, the continued promises of the benefits of tourism, high crime rates, continued allegations of corruption and the severe lack of human resource development are now coming back to haunt and in some instances end political careers.
The youthful leader in Dominica represents the future of the Caribbean. Ironically Dominica’s stadium was completed after the cricket world cup and it means the island now has a multi-faceted facility and can serve the people of Dominica beyond the seasonal crumbs handed to us by the ICC.
Caricom is wasting time
De whole Caribbean gone blind
If we don’t know from where we coming
Then we cyah plan where we going
From verse three of the same song Black Stalin is able to identify one of the major setbacks in accomplishing true Caribbean Unity. The richness of our heritage, our culture and distinct identity have not been fully explored. The strength of the Caribbean continues to be its people and until the political leaders come to that realization they will find that their once coveted political offices are now constructed with massive exit signs once they are unable to deliver. The proof lies in the results of the last five elections contested in the region. While the scientific evidence may have indicated otherwise the Caribbean Man has his mind made up about what he wants for the future of the region.
The Caribbean Man, from the Bahamas in the north to Guyana in the south has finally united, the Caribbean Man now has a common mind set and the Caribbean Man has set about to decide the future of the Caribbean. May the incoming governments be fore-warned the Caribbean Man will decide your destiny if you are found wanting in determining the future of the Caribbean and the Caribbean Man.
So we must push one common intention
For a better life in the region
For we woman and we children
Dat must be the ambition of the Caribbean Man
De Caribbean Man, De Caribbean Man
Conclusion of the chorus to Black Stalin’s Caribbean Unity.
This article was originally penned on January 24th, 2008
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