Caribbean international locations have to unite to defy condescending West
Kenneth Mohammed
Caribbean nations have such an extended historical past of financial violence, manipulation and exploitation perpetrated in opposition to them by the west that it’s typically anticipated that they take it on the chin. Not too long ago, nonetheless, their leaders have been standing as much as a spate of condescension and sanctioned bullying.
In an interview with the BBC reporter Stephen Sackur, the president of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, displayed what can solely be termed managed rage. Ali scolded and schooled Sackur on the hypocrisy of the developed world, questioning his agenda and integrity. The interview reverberated across the world south. This was not the primary time a British journalist had tried to patronise Ali. Final yr, Richard Madeley, with regards to slavery reparations with Ali, was outrageously disrespectful.
We within the Caribbean are the canaries within the coalmine, on the frontlines of the catastrophic penalties of the local weather crises and but the least of the local weather offenders. Sackur and his lack of awareness of the vastness of Guyana and its advances in making a internet zero footprint, was not simply unprofessional however reeked of imperial condescension. The vanity of financial violence – by no means by likelihood and at all times by alternative – is perpetrated when structural coverage decisions are made for the good thing about the richest and strongest folks and international locations, whereas subjugating the weak and impoverished.
Within the corrupt expanse of worldwide geopolitics, the place may is true and cash talks whereas poverty is compelled to hear, the Caribbean usually finds itself relegated to the sidelines, dismissed as inconsequential, a mere vacationer vacation spot. Nonetheless, beneath the palms lies a posh historical past of financial violence and exploitation by the hands of western powers. From the shackles of slavery and colonialism to the insidious grasp of neocolonialism and neoliberalism, the resilient folks of the Caribbean endured a tumultuous journey in the direction of sovereignty.
For hundreds of years, European powers ravaged the area to gasoline their imperial ambitions, the legacy of which is etched into the tradition, economies and politics of Caribbean society. Think about the catastrophic saga of Haiti serving as a stark reminder of the lasting penalties of historic injustice. Compelled to pay exorbitant reparations to France after independence, Haiti has struggled to interrupt free from the cycle of poverty and instability, marred by crime, corruption and mismanagement, entrenching its dependence on overseas help.
Think about Cuba: for the reason that Cuban Revolution, which resulted in 1959, the nation has been subjected to a relentless marketing campaign of financial aggression, geared toward suffocating its socialist experiment. From commerce embargos to covert sabotage, the US has spared no effort in its bid to cripple Cuba’s economic system and undermine its sovereignty.
Different points are extra furtive. For instance, the widespread institution of US navy bases throughout the Caribbean. From Guantánamo Bay in Cuba to Chaguaramas in Trinidad and Tobago, these bases symbolise American hegemony, projecting its energy and affect – a relentless reminder of the Caribbean’s subjugation.
One other covert concern is within the many biased agreements that multinational companies use to take advantage of the Caribbean’s assets, permitting them to make unfettered tremendous earnings. Regardless of huge oil reserves, these nations have been compelled to simply accept unfavourable phrases, robbing them of equal revenue sharing and stifling their financial potential, usually enabled by corrupt and incompetent vitality executives and politicians.
The set up of tax havens in US and UK territories within the Caribbean has additionally served to surreptitiously exacerbate the area’s financial woes. The dearth of due diligence processes and secretive useful possession by means of shell corporations has inspired cash laundering and tax evasion. Preferential tax therapy for overseas companies and rich people has enabled billions of {dollars} to be siphoned away from Caribbean economies, depriving them of much-needed income for social providers and infrastructure.
One other instance of western exploitation has been the unscrupulous land seize by overseas growth corporations in quite a few islands, reminiscent of Barbuda, the place strange taxpaying residents have misplaced entry to their stunning seashores. These corporations are sometimes owned by the super-rich and political elites. Including insult to harm, the racially biased notion of corruption within the Caribbean perpetuates dangerous stereotypes and undermines efforts to deal with problems with governance and accountability.
Whereas corruption definitely exists within the area, it’s portrayed in a one-dimensional method, ignoring the basis causes of poverty, inequality and historic oppression. By shifting the main focus away from structural reform and in the direction of punitive measures, reminiscent of blacklisting, the west additional entrenches its hegemony whereas ignoring the truth that billions of illicit cashflows are parked in its coffers.
Traditionally, the Caribbean has not been in need of defiant leaders. Fidel Castro epitomised this spirit. Denouncing imperialism and advocating for world solidarity, he impressed generations the world over. In Trinidad and Tobago, Eric Williams was a staunch advocate for Caribbean unity and self-reliance. Williams championed a imaginative and prescient of financial independence, calling for the diversification of the Caribbean economic system and the empowerment of its folks. Maurice Bishop of Grenada advocated voraciously for socioeconomic growth, ladies’s and employee’s rights, and Caribbean unity, however was ultimately executed by his determined compatriots, puppets of the US.
Extra lately, Mia Mottley of Barbados has continued the resistance, confronting the forces of neocolonialism head-on. Mottley has been an articulate critic of the inequities perpetuated by the worldwide financial order, calling for a reimagining of the Caribbean’s relationship with the west.
On this context, the scolding of the BBC reporter by the president of Guyana was applauded all through the area and the diaspora. Ali’s outspoken and passionate defence of the area’s views on growth within the face of local weather hypocrisy struck a chord with many who really feel silenced by western dominance and the legacy of financial violence.
All this isn’t to excuse the leaders within the Caribbean, a few of whom have proved to be astonishingly corrupt, incompetent and self-serving. The hidden puppet-masters that finance these politicians wield unfathomable energy. It is usually to not absolve the plenty who proceed to vote alongside partisan or racial traces.
As they search to chart a course in the direction of a way forward for prosperity and equality, solely by means of collective motion and solidarity can the Caribbean break away from the shackles of the previous colonialists whose solely curiosity is neocolonialism, by means of companies and establishments.
Regardless of the necessity for direct overseas funding, the Caribbean now must get up and strengthen alliances with Africa, Asia and South America or others who come with out a historical past of financial violence, those at all times portrayed because the villains by the self-serving biases of the west.
Kenneth Mohammed is a contract author and Caribbean analyst with a give attention to corruption
