Caribbean Thoughts Blog

 by William Skinner There is nothing in these global movements that we should take for granted without first making it abundantly clear that we will not become satellites of any . We are remaining standfast that imperialism is not the preserve of any one global entity. Here and there we get a few crumbs from the table but there is nothing globally that presents the Caribbean as a global player and this is because, as others have stated , the simple fact, that we have failed to make the transition, from how we see ourselves culturally and intellectually. In order to correct and overcome our current weaknesses we need new vibrant leadership at all levels. We must avoid becoming  mentally distracted because the transition to true and sustained statehood, is taking longer than we hoped.          Once we get rid of petty leadership and present a radical united front to these emerging economic/trade groups, we would avoid further exploitation. Unfortunately,...

 The Future of the World & the Caribbean: Technological Nirvana or Ecological Hell? By Professor C.Justin Robinson The world reached a critical tipping point in 2024, and few seem to have noticed. Global temperatures surpassed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for the first time in recorded history, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) —a dire warning from nature. While the hum of pending ecological disaster grows louder, the air whispers of technological innovations and the promise of Artificial Intelligence. From the shores of the Caribbean to the bustling cities of the world, humanity faces a stark choice: to slip into ecological disaster, ascend to technological nirvana, or—more pragmatically—shape a balanced future that ensures resilience, prosperity, and sustainability. The Clear and Present Danger of Ecological Disaster The "1.5 to stay alive" rallying cry underscores our existential battle. With greenhouse gas level...

 2025: Perfect squares, perfect babies, and perfect gains By Professor C. Justin Robinson Ah, 2025—where mathematics meets Wall Street, and Generation Beta makes its debut. For us here in the Caribbean, it's another year to soak up the sun, tackle life's challenges with a smile, and sip on coconut water—or rum, depending on your mood. But what makes 2025 stand out? Grab your patties, your calculators, and your Wi-Fi connection; this year is no ordinary ride. A Mathematically Perfect Year First things first: 2025 is a perfect square year, 2025 is the square of an integer, the number 45. It's a rarity in the calendar, the kind of mathematical symmetry that gets nerds everywhere a little giddy. The last time this happened was 1936 (44 squared), back when the world was a very different place. If you missed that one, no worries—we all did. And unless you're planning to upload your consciousness into the cloud, you likely won't be around for the perfect square year, 2116 ...

 Forget begging rich nations: Caribbean countries should act to save themselves It has long been evident that the world's richest nations, especially those responsible for the lion's share of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, care little about the existential threats faced by small states. For the Caribbean, the time for pleading has passed. Collective action must define the region's response to the climate crisis. Caribbean leaders in all sectors - government, business, and worker representatives - should pay close attention to a rare display of frankness on this urgent matter by Angela Merkel, the respected former Chancellor of Germany. In her memoir, Freedom, she presents a sobering assessment of global failure on climate action. She admits that the measures taken to combat climate change by GHG-emitting countries are "not good enough to save the world". Worse, she confesses that the problem has been known for years and yet has failed to inspire the necessary act...

 ‘BACK TO BLACK’ PRESCOD CALLS FOR PAN- AFRICANISM IN EDUCATION REFORM By Shanna Moore The prime minister's special envoy for reparations and economic enfranchisement, Trevor Prescod, has called for a bold reimagining of Barbados' education system, urging policymakers to centre African civilisation and Pan-Africanist thought in the curriculum as part of the government's broader reform agenda, which includes abolishing the 11-plus exam and decolonising learning. In an interview with Barbados TODAY, Prescod shared that without this reclamation, efforts to reform the education system would fall short of addressing its deeper flaws. "Any true reformation or revolutionary changes in the education system must restore the presence of the civilisation of the African people, both in Africa and in the diaspora," he said. "No other changes in the education system make any sense unless we can make that reclamation of who we are, let African people feel equally as proud a...

 ‘Abolish 11-Plus’: VETERAN EDUCATOR ADAMS SLAMS ‘EXAM INEQUALITY’ By Sheria Brathwaite Former senator and retired principal Alwyn Adams on Friday reignited calls to scrap the Barbados Secondary School Entrance Examination, commonly known as the 11-Plus, describing it as an outdated relic of educational segregation that stifles the potential of the working class. While delivering the keynote address at Speech Day of St Leonard's Boys' Secondary School where he was once principal, Adams criticised the island's education system, declaring that it was failing the people and urgently needed reform. Repeating a call made two years ago, he argued that the common entrance examination is an antiquated mechanism designed to limit the academic advancement of Barbados' working class and perpetuate educational segregation. He said then that with Barbados having transitioned to a republic, the country ought to get rid of the current educational system which he has described as ...

    Caribbean Nations' Flags Caribbean, is in a state of very poor governance and unless new leaders emerge the prognosis for any real and sustainable development is extremely poor. There are those who believe that all of our problems are the result of poor economic management. We do not subscribe to that view because our limited resources have not restricted us from achieving a relatively high standard of living for our citizens. Sometimes, it is difficult to accept that a region can be so rich in its culture, emerging identity and civilization and yet so poor in present day leadership and self confidence.   Very few regions of our collective size and limited resources can boast of the high number of noble laureates and other distinguished citizens. Indeed we have produced world class athletes at the level of Usain Bolt and sportsmen of the superb caliber of Sir Garry Sobers. We have given the world Bob Marley and remain a zone of peace surrounded by a world of conflict....

  Education Reform Barbados 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 fr...

 Crime undermines the entire society Today’s Editorial As Barbados struggles with its citizen safety and security due to a spate of gun murders, one of the most extreme examples of a breakdown in law and order is playing out in the northern Caribbean. Haiti, a Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member state, is battling one of its worst episodes of crime and violence in recent times. The fact that the state apparatus has essentially broken down has created the circumstance for hoodlums and bandits to roam the streets in a literal free-for-all. At the centre of Haiti's crisis is gun violence and the free flow of high-powered firearms into the desperately poor nation. Marauding gangs of gun-toting young men have worsened an already dire situation that has spiralled out of control. As some regional leaders offer limited military and financial support to the CARICOM member nation, the situation there has become exceedingly challenging and beyond the scope of these small islands to address i...

    We have never argued against or implied that exogenous issues don’t affect us. However, it is most interesting , that on several occasions, discussions about our national/ regional problems , have been ignored and we jump right into what is happening in Ukraine, Russia, Gaza , as if we don’t have televisions and other media. Our transition to true transformation is being inhibited because we want to pretend that some new global dispensation will be to our immediate benefit. That is a geopolitical illusion. For those , who read deeply , into current CARICOM thinking, there is a renewed call for such things as a common currency and speaking with one voice in international fora and trying to combat globalization with one common strategy. We need to do better in order to avoid another period of protracted poverty and political malaise. At this time we need more Caribbean thinkers; we need those who want to complete the independence project and transform our region. Only then w...

  There is no doubt that we are still suffering from mental slavery . We have foolishly tried to bury our past and opted to ignore the psychological damage that we endured and that some have been able to overcome. A people cannot progressively exist unless they understand their past. This reasoning , sounds like pure gibberish because we have measured progress by materialism . Throughout the region there is self hatred because we don’t know ourselves ; we hate ourselves.  Until we address this collectively as a people , we are going to continue the social, political and economic malaise.  By understanding  our past, we would be better prepared to deal with the present and future. Where is the real foundation for our youth. We need to understand that earlier generations were denied true education and receiving an education was in itself very difficult. Ironically, they might have been spared because those of us who apparently mastered the colonialist educational syste...

                                                         Caribbean Global Influence ? Ever since the take over of the world by the almost unimaginable growth of technology, called the internet, we have heard about how the smaller the world is because we are better connected. Some have even branded it the prophecy expressed in George Orwell’s 1984. Not only Big Brother is watching us but our neighbours , friends and complete strangers, are apparently also playing the role of Big Brother. Nothing seems secret and privacy may be an anachronism. The Caribbean was caught sleeping and is still trying our utmost, to catch up and keep up with the pace that the new technologies have set. Our vulnerabilities have been laid...

  By William Skinner Traditionally, Caribbean people have been very conscious and aware of their environment. The growth of the international environment movement, has placed protection on : rainforests, water resources, and both land and ocean pollution. It is fashionable , to promote care for the environment , as a sophisticated science , understood only by the so-called experts.   The broader populace , is expected to be educated to and wait on directives from the experts , not realizing that the care of the environment commences with a diligence of our own and immediate private properties, living conditions and spaces. In the old Caribbean, we saw keeping our personal environments as our natural responsibility. The chattel houses were exquisitely painted , with immaculately kept gardens and every rock was meticulously used and even empty soda bottles, were placed to complete the creative landscaping of the gardens that flourished with popular tropical plants. That pict...

 By Sir Ronald Sanders Rising gun crimes in the Caribbean: Urgent action required by all There is an alarming surge in gun-related violence, particularly among younger people and gangs. This plague has now spread from other parts of the Caribbean into Antigua and Barbuda which has recently suffered a spike in gun crimes. Throughout my lived experience, Antigua has traditionally enjoyed a low rate of homicides. Sadly, this treasured tradition has been shattered by a surge in broad daylight robberies, particularly of small supermarkets, and even more tragically, by an increase in killings. Antigua's current wave of violence, while deeply troubling, mirrors a broader trend that has been prevalent in other Caribbean countries for much longer. Haiti, for instance, bears the notorious distinction of being the most affected, with armed gangs controlling large areas of the country despite the presence of a Kenyan military force, invited by the government and approved by the UN Security Cou...

  Contrary to popular opinion , calypso is a very sophisticated artform. Some of the finest social commentary , has been written by and for calypsonians. It has also given us priceless enjoyment of music that almost immediately reduces stress and brings our unique Caribbean vitality and cultural vibrance to the fore. Perhaps we enjoy the finished product so much that we believe we are all natural calypsonians. So, we join a tent, get a microphone , create a name and we stamp ourselves : calypsonians. We can all copy Sir. Garry and turn up our collars but it is not easy to copy ; Sparrow, Gabby, Stalin , Rose and Kitchener. We actually believe that we can sing Calypso without any appreciation for : chord, key, melody or well written lyrics. The truth is that on any given night, a calypso competition would produce a king or a queen but if that winning calypso is forgotten within a week , it really does not carry the ranking of  greatness. We reference Jean and Dinah , by Sparrow...

  by William Skinner Since the abolition of slavery, the Caribbean region has been heading toward a date with destiny. Many of us have hailed events as defining moments. In most cases those moments lingered a while and then faded into historical reference. The abolition of slavery was a significant moment for our physical being but the scars of mental slavery still shackle us to a belief that we have reached the apex of our civilization. The rise of the working class in the 1930s and onward to individual state independence, would have further cemented that we had arrived at a stage of development that was almost miraculous. It is a remarkable feat, that we went from slavery to independence in a historically short time. We should therefore be forgiven if we thought : The Strife    Is O’er, The Battle Won.” We were skillful with our limited resources and those countries within the region with more bountiful resources than others, were generous in their assistance toward the...

  Spokesman for Savvy on the Bay, Sarah Taylor, pointing out where the excavator had begun digging on their property.  More By William Skinner However, history is the greatest teacher, and when one has been exposed, to some of the most genuine progressive Caribbean minds, of the last six decades, their perspective tends to look inward because nothing that is happening now on the global scene would hold any deep fascination . Most of it was predicted by progressive thinkers at least one hundred years or more ago. Many of the academics today are still grounded in irrelevant eurocentric thinking and we find ourselves promoting and reading so-called scholars , who are very cleverly regurgitating what was written long before they graduated from university. When stripped of all the fancy talk , the truth remains that those who condemn the emerging Caribbean civilzation are still, intellectually speaking, slaves. Unfortunately they have abandon Marley for eurocentricity. So, we will ...

  by William Skinner I don’t think that it can be seriously argued that a Bajan(Barbados) Tuk Band performing in any other country, will automatically turn them into Bajans. That being said, the truth remains that it is ironic that we seldom see the promotion of authentic African culture on our island . We tend to restrict it to dancing and so on and this often degenerated into wukking up and almost pornographic vulgarity, that really may be our culture but has nothing to do with Africa. In other words while other cultures within our community tend to produce elements of their culture, we often display that we are not that knowledgeable about our African culture. This then, in my humble opinion, means that in order to counter this obvious ignorance of our authentic culture, we ought to teach our children from very early( primary schools) about their African heritage. Quite frankly, regardless of what is said, in a country with a population that is 95% African, we have determined th...

  A s rampant gang violence displaces hundreds of thousands of Haitians and leaves millions on the brink of famine, the temptation to call on the United States to intervene is compelling. But, we must learn from history – US intervention in Haiti, whether through outright military force or imposing an outside economic agenda, has done tremendous harm and contributed immensely and directly to today’s instability. This pattern cannot be repeated. The path forward must be charted by Haitians themselves, with international support channelled into uplifting homegrown efforts to restore peace, democracy and development from the ground up. It is for this reason that the latest statements from powerful ganglord Jimmy  Barbecue  Chérizier are so concerning. Chérizier has expressed a willingness to potentially disarm his forces – if gangs like his are allowed to have a seat at the table in negotiations to establish Haiti’s interim government. Legitimising armed criminal militias in...