They came rejoicing, with some singing the song, “Bringing in the Sheep” as the David Thompson administration honoured its pledge to bring together members of the Barbadian Diaspora – our un-dispossessed flock – every two years. For a government to achieve this within the first half of its term should not be discounted by either our contemporary Diaspora or Barbadians living at home. It is an important initiative.
It is not the first such Conference. But the others were put together in disparate attempts by individual umbrella groups, often full of their own rivalries and anxieties. I genuinely want to thank the public officers from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other related offices, including our overseas Missions, for a job well done in 2010. Senator Maxine McClean, take a well-deserved bow!
Of course, for those whose thoughts are only focused on negativity and the election clock, bringing the Barbadian Diaspora together for such an event is merely another example of drift and inaction. For them it happened on auto-pilot! I don’t accept that and I heard, from the outcome, how thrilled many members of our Diaspora are at this new thrust.
This major Diaspora Conference was announced, not as an afterthought, but as a very early critical policy of the new government’s thrust in 2009. What was the significance of this event to our contemporary political development? What is the Barbadian Diaspora? Prime Minister and Minister of Finance David Thompson has redefined this to be much broader and powerful in scope than ever conceived before. His definition includes all those persons, wherever they reside and regardless of birth or association, who have an interest in and are willing to contribute towards the development of Barbados in a coordinated way with the Barbados government. Simply put – Everybody who is helping and can help!
For the past 14 years, he contends, Barbados has been following a policy whereby Barbados was just an economy. All decisions made by the previous administration were predicated simply on their economic value. To them, the Barbadian living overseas was the extent of our Diaspora and its role was confined to the concept of “Returning National” who, after a qualifying period and age was entitled to bring in a duty-free car or two and other duty-free benefits, upon returning home. They were defined by what money they brought home. (It reminded me of that famous Hardwood Housing news clip with the BLP’s Co-leader and Junior Finance Minister Clyde Mascoll telling people “bring yah money and come!”). That was the extent of the Owen Arthur diaspora policy! Full Stop.
Horrendous stories are told of immigration issues, customs problems, port delays, administrative discretions gone haywire and a policy that simply was not working. Simply put, it was predicated on the wrong basis. It was about extracting as much financially from a “returning national” when, if thought through carefully, Barbadians living abroad may be of more help to us by staying there and using their respect, influence, resources, contacts and circle of friends, than coming home. Not that we don’t welcome them a home. This is theirs as well.
Worse than that was the high level of resentment by Barbadians living at home. I like to speak to the past because I truly hope that a new era has emerged to redefine our relationships in our attempt to recast Barbados as a society first!
Barbadians living at home – our agricultural workers, civil servants, professionals, opinion leaders – developed and sustained a pretty heavy blow from all of these returning citizens who, they felt, never paid a cent in local taxes, built huge duty-free houses, drove elegant duty-free luxury vehicles and did not “hide their mouth” about poor service at public facilities, banks and with Attorneys at law! The cultural differences that had developed were obvious.
Because there was no genuine commitment to building a society rather than just an economy, we went off the rails. The same thing happened with our immigration policy. The mad-rush to accommodate the economic factor of cheaper Guyanese labour, rather than to look at how best to build the Caricom society and Barbadian society, led to problems and tensions that David Thompson’s leadership had to grapple with. And he did! And we can start over.
The story of Barbadians – nay I say all Caribbean people – who left this region in the 1950’s Windrush in severe hardship and survived even greater hardship needs to be told. It is now getting voice through new, celebrated fiction writers but more needs to be done to clarify the respect and honour that Caribbean immigrants brought to our region, particularly in the United Kingdom. This will help with greater cohesion in respect of those who have resettled already and will reduce the “us” and “them” tendency.
As to the future? The Barbados Network Database which is, as I understand it, to be a database of our entire Diaspora is critical to moving forward because we need to be able to keep our Diaspora informed of even the most simple developments, activities, opportunities that are taking place in our base. You cannot have a “Barbados brand” and no one to market or promote it. The Barbados brand is not only about selling tourism, investment, rum, spices, special sugars or flying fish. Dr. Basil Springer quite simply and graphically explained, in his own effective way, what this was all about in his column on Monday.
It has much deeper components, all of which can only be spread and shared by “Networkers” and Network cells or organizations that formally and informally use our limited resources to supplement the work of our established institutions.
Developing entrepreneurship is one of the most significant areas in which our Diaspora can be utilized effectively. This is a well-recognised economic fact. The skills and abilities of those imbued with a sense of survival in a hostile economic environment, have to rise above that environment by using highly innovative strategies. And entrepreneurship is at the heart of their survival.
Instead of griping about government expenditure, austerity, edge of an economic abyss, lets incorporate the Hoadian analysis and put our skills and abilities to work in establishing a values-based Barbadian society that incorporates the world! Our Diaspora.
Jamaica has a brand! And they make no sport about that!
The government has to find the best way – informally and cost effectively – to get this process going. It requires a high level of motivation and leadership that I strongly believe we are capable of at this time.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.