A Time to Heal

The acceptance of Rwanda into the Commonwealth is a topic that I must admit being personally attached to, as I have a few friends from Rwanda and also Burundi. I have a few friends from the Congo as well. In my discussions with them about the atrocities that took place in the region it is evident that it is a very painful topic for all. The whole region harbours the pain of countless number of lives lost, from all groups. After such a harrowing experience what is obvious is that all have come to realize that at the end of the day a life is a life whether it is Hutu or Tutsi or Batwa.

It turns my stomach when I hear that some feel that Rwanda should not be allowed into the Commonwealth because of their history. By their reasoning Belgium should not be allowed into the European Union for their involvement in nurturing the situation that precipitated the problem and by such same reasoning, Germany one might argue should not have been welcomed back into NATO after the terrible war.

Here is a quintessential example of a situation where dominant States have created problems within autonomous countries for their own selfish benefit. Woven into the tapestry of Rwandans lives is a colonial history that is replete with colonial wrongdoings and the negative results continue to reverberate as time passes. To ensure that they maintained political control of the region he Belgians essentially pitted one group against another by throwing their political power from one group to the next.

The acceptance of Rwanda into the Commonwealth should be an easy decision and they should whole heartedly be welcomed into the fray. Opposition to their entry point to human rights atrocities as reason for denying this struggling State entry. Providing that they are correct and Rwanda has a way to go in fostering democratic principles and human rights in their tiny nation, then I would propose that they be given at least conditional acceptance and aided in fostering and entrenching these desired attributes throughout their civil society. Exclusion can in no way be helpful in this instance as it would be better to have positive reinforcement and reward the fledgling democracy for the strides that has been made in addressing such a terrible genocide, rather than punishing them for the past.

Would the commonwealth not be better positioned to help Rwanda by acknowledging them as a partner rather than chastising and excluding a nation that is struggling to let go of the past. Where was the world community when all these atrocities were taking place, no one rushed to their aid then but it pains me to realize there are those who are ready to exclude them from a grouping that could possible help them foster future development, push their past into memory and foster a new legacy, of inclusion and human rights.

Finally the word commonwealth connate an idea of a unified destiny, as it stands there are the well to dos and the struggling in this group. Let not the well to dos appear to be collaborating to exclude a struggling State. One would assume they would have a mandate of inclusion and do all in their powers to help the struggling countries in the group achieve self sufficiency and to also help developing States with identical colonial histories such as Mozambique which are interested in joining the Commonwealth because they want to grow. Those States who are seeking better for their people such as Rwanda should be aided in their goals.

We are in a position to share knowledge skills and show empathy to Rwanda and help them through an outstretched hand to achieve a stable democratic and human rights track record. Rwanda can know that there are States with people of African descent that have been able to achieve stability and foster democratic and human rights principles. Rwanda provides us an opportunity to reengage Africa, willingly and openly.

When Farmers were King

When Farmers were King

Many of my summer vacations were spent on my father’s banana farm and apart from instilling a strong work ethic in me it also allowed me a firsthand look into banana farming. I looked forward to the adventures I would have in the banana fields when I could escape having to do any work. As a boy i was sometime assigned to placing fruit stickers on the bananas some said Geest and some said five isles. Banana days were long and tiring for the workers but the rewards was evident with the vibrancy that existed on Fridays at the local rum shops, barbeques and dances.

The demise of the banana industry in St Lucia can be attributed to the ratification of the agricultural free trade round of agreements which in essence mandated the dissolution of all barriers to international trade. No taxing, no subsidizing and definitely no preferential treatment were allowed. While St Lucia and many other countries have been squeezed because they were forced to adhere to the new agricultural trade rules countries continue to subsidize whole industries such as the beef industry and the pork industry. Compounding the problem further it is expected that small island States with peons in annual earnings when compared to billion dollar mega conglomerates such as Chiquita foods and Dole foods. it is ridiculous if such small fledgling economies are expected to compete with private industries which are solely aimed at generating profit and are destroying poor farming households in the process.

St Lucia like many other countries was guaranteed markets for its banana produce under The Lome Convention, being that it was a newly independent former colonial wards of old Europe. The Lome Convention was an international aid and trade agreement between the ACP (African Caribbean and Pacific Countries) group and the European Union, aimed at supporting the "ACP states' efforts to achieve comprehensive ,self reliant and self-sustained development. US companies such as Chiquita and Dole wanted Europe to strike down all preferential arrangements which was in terms with the united nation sanctioned free trade rules.

The banana industry was vibrant in St Lucia and I remember the heydays of banana farming and how money was being spread around the island making its way into the hands of the everyday St Lucian. Banana farming really allowed monies to spread throughout the island because most farms were small family holdings and many farmers employed workers. While I am nostalgic and reminisce about the good old days of banana money I am also weary of the environmental damage from the blue plastics which take forever to decompose and the harmful chemicals from those numerous pesticides, nematicides, herbicides and fungicides many of which have been banned in the countries that their parent companies exists.

While I do believe that there are possibilities to revive the banana industry by primarily rebranding and targeting new markets namely the American market with our unique exotic product. I also think that it may have been a blessing in disguise having to have been forced to diversify and move away from agriculture as St Lucia’s primary industry. The truth is that if we are to revive our bananas industry we must be solely responsible for our product from market to point of sale. By that I mean we must have a branded recognizable product grown, shipped and sold by us for us.

There are also radical measures that need to be taken and like the Chinese we need to protect our fledgling industries, we cannot compete with companies that are able to pay their CEOs more money than some countries make annually. It is futile trying to compete against multinationals. They can afford to pay lawyers and lobbyist insane amounts of money to plead to governments and The World Trade organization on their behalf. Until the principle of free trade are more fair reflect more equality in the distribution of wealth and power and is not solely premised on market forces, small island states and fledgling economies will never fair well in a globally integrated economy. If they want to survive they must be self determinant and make every effort to control, protect and market their own industries and be weary of outside intentions.

With power comes responsibility. PART 1

With power comes responsibility. PART 1

Barbadian singer Rihanna had a recent interview on 20/20 with Diane Sawyer in which she proceeded to explain the situation pertaining to singer Chris Brown. The two of them have found themselves as poster children for domestic violence against women, the fact is both entertainers are real stars and therefore role models to many and since the incident there lives have been played out in public.

Chris Brown and Rihanna are now responsible to the public who in part are responsible for making them famous for her part Rihanna has now beholden to young women, mothers and fathers. Young women need role models who appear to make the right relationship choices, mothers want their children to be safe, and fathers want to send the right message.

Chris Brown for his part is beholden to all men and also to himself, he has to know that he is responsible for his action and only through humility will the lesson of the situation make him wiser and thus a better person. Secondly to all men, he can positively contribute to the undertaking of stopping domestic abuse against women. Since it’s not the women’s fault shouldn’t the focus be on trying to stop this practice by helping the abuser(s) change?
Society has responsibilities

As we know, the onus of responsibility is not on the person being abused so maybe we should try to help those men change and not throw rocks at them. Society has to make it possible for those who are abusers to come out, sick help and not hide or get worst.One point to consider is that educational statistics in most developed countries points at women at all level outperforming men.

Being in the media spotlight these two stars now give exposure to an issue highlighted in the United Nations MDG ideals of increasing women’s right and freedom globally. Women make up 50% of all societies, if there were no barriers to their full participation in society the benefit to society would be tremendous. When women elevate their welfare the collateral impact is greater than when men are elevated because they are nurturers and they fend and feed their families.

With all this said it is also important to note that men’s welfare impacts women welfare as well, so since men have been socialized to use power, strength, and aggression as domineering and admired male attributes towards women and themselves, They appear to use them as primary tools in conflict resolution and maybe society should be focusing on the re-engineering of the socialization of men towards women and also themselves.

At the end of the day some men need help and if the focus is directed towards them it in no means removes the focal point of the matter away from solving violence against women and is not at the expense of women or to the detriment of their ideal of eradicating violence against them, but rather to their benefit.

WE Can Agree To Disagree

Saint Lucia has been ranked 14th for press freedom on the World Press Freedom Index. It is an annual list compiled by noted journalist watchdog group – Reporters without Borders.
St Lucia has achieved such a ranking because there are a number of different newspapers publications, radio stations and television stations on the island and therefore there is access to varying opinions in the media.
In many countries there has been a consolidation of media into the hands of a few. This has helped in stifling access to diversity of opinions in the media.
Extemporisation by calypsonians in their songs about the ills that affects society acts as a voice to the public and ensures that they are engaged as watch dogs in society. It is because of this ability to voice an opinion that there are checks and balances in the overall society, so we can feel secure in our decision to enter into an agreement with our fellow men bestowing our collective unto the state and know that our power we have bestowed unto the State is just to us and our fellow men who have reciprocated in good faith.
The ability of the people to keep watch over their interests makes the concept of the fifth estate actually works. It is because there is diversity of opinions that there exists debate and through discourse we can achieve solutions.