There are only two races on this planet—the intelligent and the stupid.
– John Fowles
It seemed to us here at BU that a question to be answered arising from our recent articles is how do Barbadians visualize our society changing in the coming months and years. On both BFP and BU we have had some solid discourse on the subject of immigration which in small part can be linked to the ongoing implementation of the Common Single Market and Economy (CSME), but we have also had some comments which border on what is not realistic. We sense that some Barbadians continue to feel some sense of disquiet on this issue as far as the current state of Barbados is concerned.
So all you Barbadians__ how do you see the village culture which Barbadians have become accustomed to, changing?
BU have given some thought to the question and the answer which recurs like the proverbial decimal is frightening! Ok, let us ponder on the imponderables. The current state of Barbados if we minus the emerging issues of the Chinese and Guyanese have been one where the minority white group has coexisted with the majority black for some years. Many might say that it has worked well for Barbadians. But let us examine the relationship of the two dominant groups over the years and how the interaction can be interpreted for the purpose of the question asked.
Blacks and Whites over the years have adopted an approach which can be described, if you don’t trouble me I won’t trouble you. Among Blacks there is the fear of the Whites flexing its economic muscle, among the Whites there is the fear that as a majority group the black “beasts” might stage a “bussa” revolt. BU makes no apology for the analogy. We have been privy to conversations and situations which suggest that the perception of Blacks by Barbadian Whites is not a healthy one. Perhaps the worst kind of racism is the that which exists in Barbados in the latent form. We forget for the moment the more euphemistic definition which was recorded in a United Nations report last year…and much discussed too.
BU believe that we can stretch this strange relationship which has existed between Whites and Blacks to have a sense of how the Guyanese and Chinese specifically will integrate into the Barbados society. Do we agree that there is “democratic segregation” in Barbados between the Whites and Blacks? Well BU agree that it exists and there is no reason to expect that the Indo-Guyanese and Chinese because of religion and language barriers will not follow the same path. In the large societies like Canada, USA and United Kingdom perhaps this clannish behavior can exist. In fact we see several examples of it in the USA__ the Cuban-American group in Miami is the group well known to Barbadians. BU think if the trends continue it could negatively challenge the socio-economic make-up of Barbados. In our view the existing relationship between Whites and Blacks has created so much under-the-surface social pressure, to add other groups which we think will bring additional tension could be catastrophic. In our previous article we were careful to stress the point that the impact of immigrant labor on a small developing MUST be managed by government in a precise and deliberate manner.
One ever so glaring example which we can cite is the absence of black directors from the Board of COW Williams group of companies. The reality is that in 2007 a Barbadian company should not feel comfortable functioning with a 95+% black population and that mix not be reflected in the make-up of the Board. This is unacceptable. BU think that there is no better example to show what is symptomatic of the polarization cum segregation which exists in our small society. In forces us to question why Cow Williams should have been given the highest national honor given the reality of an all white directorship in companies owned by him. This piece must not be construed as any all-out attack on whites in Barbados, we do have white friends.
BU will paint the picture as we see it. By the way, can someone explain why the government, and rightly so, wants to regulate vending in schools but the vending machines located on the inside and which peddle junk snacks remain un-touch? Does it have to do with Sir Alan Fields son owning the company responsible? Remember Don Blackman warned us about white shadows? Must still be around.
BU can sum it all by saying that many studies have been done in the UK about immigration and the negative outcomes e.g. anti-social behaviors, often the outcome of clannish behavior has resulted in Jamaicans and Surinamese in particular, suffering from schizophrenia. There is sufficient research to confirm that there are negative outcomes from the effect of immigrant labor on any population which cannot be explained even after years of research. Given the very small size of Barbados any influx of immigrants released on Barbados in an adhoc manner will only exacerbate what BU believe is a volatile situation caused by the tensions arising from a reluctant alliance between whites and blacks and the other potential social issues. We urge the government to listen to its people and to threat the issue with the seriousness it deserves. We can learn from the developed countries which have started to pull back on the reigns of immigration.
Let us manage it!
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