Some interesting research to complete a Master of the Arts degree was done by Haajima Degia (female) in 2007. The paper titled ETHNIC MINORITY DOMINANCE IN A SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATE AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF BARBADOS makes for eye popping revelations.
From inception BU has recorded our concern at the effect the inflow of various ethnic groups will eventually have on a predominantly Black host population. A dearth of research has made discussion about race and ethnicity an emotional and controversial affair for Barbadians. Degia’s thesis listed the following research questions:
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What perceptions do white Barbadians, black Barbadians and East Indians have about the issue of ethnic-dominance?
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Do individuals from each of these groups believe that the minority ethnic groups control the wealth and economy of the island?
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What does each group think about the ways in which this wealth has been gained?
The document is 138 pages but is riveting by its revelations. The author was raised in Barbados as a member of the Gujarati ethnic group. BU snipped excerpts from the thesis from the first 54 pages for those who do not have time to read the full document.
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Self-ethnic identification system points to another aspect of ethnic identity. Levinson states that every ethnic group has its own classification system, and the place where the individual situates himself in the social system will vary depending on the individual’s relationship to the person with whom he or she is communication and the context in which the issue arises. Thus East Indians would identify themselves as Indian to the black and as Gujrati, or Indo- Guyanese, or Sindhi to each other.
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In this regard, Barbados is a small-island developing state whose vulnerability has increased since the 1990s with the worldwide promotion of globalization and trade liberalization. In a geographically challenged environment with little or no resources, social instability is imminent as ethnic groups compete with each other to maintain power
and privilege. -
However, Lewis (2001) argues that the dominant white minority, which
constitutes the old plantocracy, has retained its power but makes concessions to the dominated black majority class as long as its interests are not compromised (p. 146). Furthermore, Lewis states that intermarriage among white Barbadian families and expatriate whites has allowed the Barbadian white minority to accumulate capital which it then circulates among itself. -
Additionally, in a study which explored the role of race and class in promoting globalization, Ramsaran (2004) states that, consistent with their historic role, the market-dominant white minority of Barbados promotes neoliberal policies when their interests are served. In this regard, MacAfee (1993) argues that the white capitalist elite of the Caribbean collaborate with the Multinational Corporations in promoting tourism and neo-liberal projects, because the benefits accrue to them and are not widely dispersed.
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Hernandez- Ramdwar (1997) postulated that Indians see mixing with the black population as part of an attempt by the African population to secure sexual and cultural political conquest. Furthermore, Reddock (2001) argues that the Indian notion of Indian culture and identity is based on a sense of traditional purity while the African notion of African culture and identity is one that is open, malleable and mixed. She proposes that the Indian social structure as it prevails in India preordains hierarchy, and when Indians immigrated to the Caribbean, they reconstructed hierarchy in relation to race and ethnicity.
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However, as Karch (1981) noted, political independence did not herald
any kind of economic democracy for the black majority population, and
intermarriage among white Barbadian families and expatriate whites, and the persistence of historical forms of interlocking directorships has allowed the Barbadian white minority to retain its economic hegemony in the retail and commercial sectors. The white minority has thus ceded political control of the island to the black majority, but makes concessions to the black elite as long as its interests are not compromised (Lewis, 2001, p. 146). -
The state’s response to globalization is thus dependent on the interests of the economic elites, and according to Ramsaran (2004), while on the surface of it state resistance to globalization is underpinned by a nationalist discourse; the actual development policies implemented reinforce the market-dominant positions of the elites. In this regard, the neo-liberal model which promotes tourism has been accepted as a viable form of development by the white elite who has, in the post-independence era, benefited the most from tourism (Karch, 1981).
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Indeed, it is clear that issues of race, class and ethnicity permeate the social structure of Barbadian society. However, large gaps remain in the areas of theory and primary research examining how ethnic group affiliation and the phenomenon of market-dominant minorities can preclude development. This applies especially to the case of the Gujratis and Sindhis, where hitherto, only one study (Hanoomansingh, 1996), an ethnography, has sought to understand their cultural practices.
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There has been a general dearth of research studies which have examined the role of the Gujratis and the Sindhis in the social and political landscape of Barbadian society. The result of this lack of interest in ethnic-minorities has perpetuated the view among Barbadians and the academic community that Barbados is a homogeneous community with a white minority and a black majority.
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However, the geography of Barbados lends another dimension to the notion of homogeneity since the small size of the island precludes any ignorance of the fact that ethnic groups are competing for a few resources. Additionally, globalization and its concomitant, trade liberalization, has plunged Barbados’ economy and by extension, its society into considerable uncertainty, as the trade preferences which the island enjoyed under the LOME agreement with the European Union has dissolved.
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Furthermore, given that the ideology of free market capitalism which underpins globalization is being promoted with much vigor, Barbados’ leaders now have to grapple with redefining the social democratic ideology by which most of the contemporary black middle class became socially mobile. Since independence in 1966, Barbadian governments have all adhered to a social democratic ideology which emphasizes the
government’s role in providing social services to the population. The social democratic model has allowed many people to gain an education which has led to a consequent upward social mobility. In an age of globalization however, the social democratic underpinnings of the Barbadian political economy is being eroded. -
In the case of Barbados this is very true, and additionally, India becomes a major source of spouses with some Indians returning home to find spouses to take with 51 them to the Diaspora home. The Indian community in Barbados manifests what Levinson (1994) refers to as a ‘persistent identity system.’ A ‘persistent identity system’ is a culture that has survived in a cultural environment where it successfully resisted economic, political and religious assimilation (Levinson, 1994, p. 78). This identity is generally based on the real or symbolic notion of an ethnic homeland and the use of the indigenous language. In this regard, the Indian communities seem to have assimilated only partially, what Levinson refers to as ‘partial assimilation.’
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