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Khaleel Kothdiwala, Immigration Bill 2026 and Barbados’ Future

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Many BU blogs ago, during what this blogmaster described as the Indo-Guyanese “invasion,” this blogmaster warned that Barbados needed a serious national conversation to levelset on the island’s changing demographics. This change, we were told, was driven by an ageing population and the liberalisation of freedom of movement tied to our commitment to CSME and CARICOM.

With the recent appointment of Khaleel Kothdiwala to the Upper Chamber, following the failed attempt in 2022, concerns about the dilution of the Barbadian identity have resurfaced. Regardless of the level of political praise directed at Mr. Kothdiwala, he appears to be an intelligent and articulate young man, and this blogmaster wishes him every success. However, there remains a broader concern about the growing influence of racial and ethnic interest groups in Barbados and what this may mean for the country’s social cohesion.

It is unfortunate that Barbados, once celebrated as a country punching above its weight, now seems to lack the maturity to decide what kind of nation it is being deliberately shaped to become. We cannot have ethnic groups who are born, educated, and working in Barbados and still expect to exclude them from any part of the running of the country. Or should we?

Against this background, the new Immigration and Citizenship Bill, 2026, currently being debated in Parliament should be of interest to the civic minded. The contribution by Minister Marsha Caddle is noteworthy, as she sought to clarify and simplify what is, as in any country, an emotive debate on immigration matters.

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63 responses to “Khaleel Kothdiwala, Immigration Bill 2026 and Barbados’ Future”

  1. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    It has been drawn to my attention that I’ve been behaving like a bit of an asshole in this forum of late. Being unkind to other people is never a good look.

    I apologize. I will try to do better.

  2. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    I, on the other hand, do not apologise and demand that silly misogynists try to do better!

    When a mere mortal claims that I am not equal to them, I will respond in kind. Sexism makes me feel just as racism does. I didn’t escape one set of brainsoiling to fall for another.

    Here we have a man once labelled “The Sage” by BU regulars when I entered the chat. He proudly declares that he doesn’t argue with women and children. Apparently, we aren’t worthy even of that. We need to sit at the children’s table. And yet, he once wondered if I was even a woman, because I made too much sense! He seeks to dismiss me now only because he cannot turn my sense into nonsense.

    And I’ll be back in a minute to show the disingenuosness of his style.

  3. David Avatar
    David

    @Donna

    Bush Tea is yanking your chain. It is an anonymous blog for crissakes. You would be surprised if you knew some of the people here.

  4. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    Bush Tea asked the question of PLT if pointing out that women are mandated to have children is evil. But that is not all he has been saying here, is it?

    He is also seeking to keep us from using our other talents in the way we see fit. Says we shouldn’t be leaders. Claims we are not cut out for it, and that it would stop us from properly raising our children.

    Now, supposing we were to accept the pile of horse manure as edible to other than a dung beetle, I have pointed out what happened in the days when women were not represented in the halls of power, and even in the world of work. Has Bush Tea acknowledged that women were no less slaves to their husbands than our African ancestors were to the white man?

    No! He persists in his diatribes knowing that the Utopia he plucked out of the Bible never even existed in the self-same Bible! And, as humankind will always be imperfect, it never will! And so, we must live in reality and act to suit. Men, in general, never loved and never will love their wives as instructed! Abuse of women was common then and is so unto this day.

    I have known some very obedient wives who used to get their asses burst on a regular basis. My own great aunt, a graceful and faithful lady to her husband used to say, whenever my grandmother told her to leave the brute, “He’s my husband.” And so she maintained right up to the day he took her life, with my three year old mother watching.

    Both my grandmothers used to get licks. My mother’s mother followed her own advice and left the brute. Subsequently, he refused to support his two very young daughters and my grandmother, who had never worked anything but her parents’ own land, took up her hoe and went to the plantation. The option of returning to work her, by then, deceased parents’ land was not an option because her brother, being the eldest SON, had gone forward and claimed almost all of it for himself.

    My other grandmother stayed. She took her licks until my father was grown up enough to walk about with a knife with which to kill my grandfather. The message was relayed by those who saw him, and my grandfather, a strapping man, six foot two in height, smartly decided to retire his fists. And these were not poor and destitute people of the rumshop brigade at all.

    And then there was her cousin, a man also with a “wall bungalow” a big deal in those days. How often did he answer with cheery smile the greetings of his neighbours as they passed by, and as he sat comfortably, using his wife’s head as a stool!

    Did any of those neighbours call the police? Of course not! Well did they know that the police, being men themselves who likely beat their wives, would have matched my aunty’s refrain,

    “Dah is she husband.”

    And therein lies the evil of an unchallenged patriarchal society!

    And THIS, to turn on itself a Bible- thumping GPism, CANNOT BE REFUTED!

  5. David Avatar
    David

    Prejudice mars historic appointment

    THE APPOINTMENT of attorney Khaleel Kothdiwala to the Senate of Barbados is a historic occasion that deserves to be recognised and celebrated. At 23, he becomes the youngest person in the history of Barbados to serve in the Senate and the first Muslim to occupy a seat in the Upper House.

    I extend my sincere congratulations to Senator Kothdiwala and commend Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley for her decision to recommend him for this important national responsibility. It is encouraging to see a young Barbadian being given an opportunity to contribute directly to the governance and development of our country.

    However, while this should be an occasion for celebration, I am deeply disappointed by some of the reactions on social media and certain call-in radio programmes. Some comments have been particularly troubling, appearing to reflect prejudice and intolerance towards the young senator, including references to his Muslim identity. We must ask ourselves: What kind of society are we seeking to build when a young Barbadian’s appointment to public office becomes an occasion for questioning his place in our national institutions because of his religious background? Barbados prides itself on its democratic traditions, religious freedom and commitment to equality. These principles must mean more than words in our Constitution; they must be reflected in how we treat one another. Senator Kothdiwala is a Barbadian. His Muslim faith does not make him any less Barbadian, just as the religious beliefs or non-beliefs of any other citizen should neither enhance nor diminish their right to contribute to national life. The Muslim community has been part of Barbados’ social and economic fabric for well over a century. Muslims have contributed to business, education, philanthropy and community development. We have built our lives, raised our families and contributed to the country we proudly call home.

    Let me be clear: Senator Kothdiwala should not be exempt from public scrutiny or constructive criticism. His performance

    and contributions must be open to the same scrutiny as those of every other parliamentarian. That is democracy. However, criticism must be based on substance, not prejudice; on performance, not religious identity.

    There is also an important generational message in this appointment. We constantly encourage young people to become involved in national development and aspire to leadership. Yet, when a young Barbadian is given such an opportunity, some appear unwilling to accept it.

    I sincerely hope Senator Kothdiwala will approach this responsibility with humility, wisdom and dedication, recognising the historic significance of his appointment and the expectations that accompany it.

    Let us celebrate this milestone, encourage our young people, respect our religious diversity and resist allowing prejudice to undermine the values that have helped shape our Barbadian society.

    Barbados belongs to all of us, and every Barbadian, regardless of age, religion or background, must have the opportunity to contribute to its future.

    – SULEIMAN BULBULIA

  6. TLSN Avatar
    TLSN

    @ David,

    I sincerely hope you’re well. It’s great to see BU is still going after all these years.

    Donna appears to have replaced GP in her volume of comments. Fortunately, I was able to distinguish the pearls from the mountainous sands of commentary with Pachamams’s comments on Europe.

    It has been argued for a long time that Europe’s open door migration policy was designed to bring structural and measured decline to the vast majority of her citizens. It seems to have been effective. The surge of migration in the last 30 years has brought a distinct and real decline in living standards in Europe and it’s evident to those who where born here and can go back many decades.

    The fertility rates between “new arrivals” and established population groups is enormous. There is a reluctance to admit that there is great resentment,by many, as they compete to find a GP, a school, a dentist or housing.

    Barbados should strive to keep its population homogeneous. An acceptable level would be what the country had in the sixties, a small number of whites, indo’s and a vast majority Black Bajan population with a sprinkling of other Black Caribbean members from the diaspora.

    Mia, as stated by Pacha, cannot solve Barbados problems if she continues to overlook her majority population whilst looking at replacing them with migrants.

    Mia’s complexion is as black as tar. The very complexion that suffered most under the yolk of slavery. My words to her are simple. Put your Black Bajan race first. You have no obligation to serve the interests of other groups. Be unapologetic. Remember the fate of that group in the Middle East. The same fate will arrive to your own people if you do not address the marginalisation of your own people.

    Other nations have plans for the Caribbean. There are certain groups who are aware that Bridgetown contains an extremely old religious building.

    https://pearcerobinson.com/reporting/trinidad-tobago-israel-strategic-partnership-jewish-centre

  7. David Avatar
    David

    Good to see your comment @TLSN. Many people share your view, but the world has changed significantly. The homogeneous society you envision may, unfortunately, be little more than a pipe dream.

  8. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    David,

    So, do you think it is appropriate to spread those views about women? You think that there are no consequences to such!

    Frankly I don’t give a rat’s botsy who these people are! Unlike you, I am no respecter of persons. All I know of them is the dangerous ideas they spread. If their views are contrary to what they post here, then they are irresponsible fools! And that is on them.

    Are you not aware of what has happened as a result of white, so-called evangelical Christians being fed this kind of bullshit? Ever heard of The Handmaid’s Tale? Well, it is being adopted as policy in the USA as we speak!

    If you believe that what is posted on this blog has no impact, perhaps you should shut it to hell down!

    Otherwise, instead of seeking to curtail the understandably aggrieved response of the only woman you seem to have left on the blog, perhaps you should ask the persons you hold in high esteem for whatever reason, to refrain from posting dangerous sexism.

    You cannot have it both ways.

  9. Black, Brown and White Avatar
    Black, Brown and White

    The racists of UK are blaming immigrants and saying they will not pay reparations

    they are reverting back to the mindset of the racist crown

    Time for blacks to sing the blues again

    Black, Brown and White
    Big Bill Broonzy
    People you know it’s true
    If you’re black and gotta work for a living
    This is what they will say to you
    They says if you was white, should be all right
    If you was brown, stick around
    But as you’s black, m-mm brother, git back git back git back

  10. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    Ah! Here comes another worm out of the woodwork seeking to “put me in my place”!

    Talking Loud and Saying Nothing, if you know that perhaps you should be the one to shut up. You have not contributed much of substance with your post even if Duplicitous David is going to welcome you as though your utterances are profound.

    If David wants to leave the sexism and delete my response to it then let him do so! His is not the only game in town. And Donna has never been short of an audience!

  11. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    Can anyone else see why a husband would jump up and run away from a certain type of woman? …or is it only Bushie?

    Behold… it is written…
    “It is better to live in a desert …than in a blog with a shiite woman’
    …or something like that…
    LOL ha ha ha

    @ David
    TLSN is 100% right about the FOLLY of our STUPID immigration policies. These identical ideas are failing miserably in Europe and the USA – to the point where they are facing CIVIL WARS, …and yet our politicians have their heads so far up the albino-centric donkeys, that they continue to PERSIST with the same idiocy.

    Nationality is really just an extended FAMILY…
    If you open your family home to all and sundry, wuh…it is only OBVIOUS that your house will be exposed to ALL KINDS OF STRANGE SHIITE!!!

    If you cared about your children and their future do you EXPOSE them to such potential shiite?
    …or do you PROTECT, and educate them, and defend their future prospects…?

    Steupsss!
    Perhaps if the decision makers had children….

    What a place!!

  12. David Avatar
    David

    @Donna

    BU provides a platform for anyone to share their views once done within BU standards.

  13. David Avatar
    David

    @Bush Tea

    In these kinds of matters is it about being right? This is a challenge for many countries. The blogmaster as you know is a bit of a pragmatist. There is the preferred but then it is about understanding that oftentimes the preferred cannot be implemented- then what is the fallback or solution? It is not a binary matter to solve.

The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.

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