The case for a new Caribbean identity

Marc Ramsay, In Focus Contributor

Almost 100 years ago, E.F.L. Wood, undersecretary to the British secretary of state, after participating in a three-month tour of almost all the British isles to assess the feasibility of regional integration, reported: "However much it would be to the evident advantage of these colonies to secure machinery for greater unity and cooperation, there are practical and political objections which, for the present, at any rate, make this impossible."

Wood's words would, perhaps, be the same if he toured today, except that the independent territories of the Caribbean have made a legally binding commitment to integrate, primarily through the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. What has actually happened, despite the commitment, is a disgraceful two-timing and double-standard approach to the best interests of the people of the Caribbean.

We have been hearing why integration will benefit our small markets and economies, our justice systems and benefit our people in a tangible way for years, yet still we have not accomplished our goals. I propose that the missing step in building any integrated society has been to focus on building a new, truly independent identity for our people.

A New History

At this moment in our history, the issue is not whether we integrate, but how. Thus, our history and the history taught to our children must answer the crucial question of how we came to be one new people. As a post-colonial society, we have the challenge of teaching a history that has seen our people primarily composed of migrants and displaced peoples. Much like the United States, our new society is composed overwhelmingly of people who trace their roots elsewhere.

Unlike the US, we are still captivated by our overseas roots rather than accepting that we are a completely new people from our ancestors who came from Europe, Africa and Asia. The history taught to our children is still disproportionately focused on slavery and migration, as opposed to our immediate pre-Independence history and our political and economic history to the present.

This problem is so chronic that Jamaica, for example, dedicates a whole month to Black History Month in a predominantly black society, and territories like Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana still struggle to balance teaching about Africa and India and their respective cultures. This focus on other countries has prevented us from distinguishing ourselves and I firmly believe it continues to divide us internally along ridiculous racial lines. CARICOM endeavours such as CARIFESTA are not enough, every level of society bears the burden. Our children need to know why we are a Caribbean people - a great and unique people - and why, because of their status as Caribbean people, they are destined for greatness.

Our Greatness

Unless we adopt a new regional identity, and engage in a passionate and concerted drive towards growth and development, our lack of identity will continue to hold us back. The world has a place for the Caribbean. That place is at the bottom of the global ladder.

This fact was reaffirmed to me by a visiting United Kingdom professor at a recent conference on Caribbean integration. I asked him for export options we have as a region that would not limit us to depending on the disposable incomes of persons in First World countries. I argued the options I kept hearing about - tourism and novelty products like high-end coffee, sugar, rum and Sea Island cotton - which would force us to depend on strong overseas economies, making us highly dependent and unstable.

He replied, "There is nothing wrong with being at the bottom of the ladder (he laughed). It is better to be on the ladder than off (laughing again)."

Let us face the facts. There is no reason why the developed world would have us, little islands, do more than subsist through providing basic goods and services to the developed and emerging world. At the bottom of the ladder, we will make do with our pittance from the disposable incomes of others. The First World has said consistently that because we are unable to compete, we should focus on bottom-of-the-ladder services and exports.

A new great region

To combat this, we must stand together as a people and fight for a respectable position in a global economy that is forcing us to the fringes. As one people, we bear a collective responsibility to work together to advance. We must compel our politicians so that they are unable to rest comfortably until they work to build our region. Our schools and universities should focus on finding top-of-the-ladder endeavours for our people, and our governments must commit to finding ways to generate capital for business so that we can compete.

Let us commit ourselves to changing our world and building a new and strong nation. Without a new identity, it will remain a fanciful dream.

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