I am a Jamaican born Caribbean man…have always been. Two of my brothers were born in Barbados, so I had little choice. I have often said that I was so grateful to have attended the University of The West Indies (UWI) when I did in the 1970s. It was around the time when so many of the rather parochial, visionless political leaders in the region started demanding local branches of the University. This pretty much marked the end of this august institution of higher learning being one of the last bastions of regionalism we had. With the decentralization of the university, there was no need for students to travel out of their countries to come to Mona or go to St. Augustine or Cave Hill to complete their university education, which was an integral component of the overall education package. It was a sad period for regionalism. No wonder, to this day in 2026, we have struggled and continue to struggle with ensuring the viability of regional institutions like Caricom, or even the University. We no longer know, love and respect each other as one, nor do we celebrate our common struggles. I am still a Caribbean man. The friendships forged during my 3 years at UWI still endure to this day. In fact, for many young people then, it was our only opportunity to meet fellow Caribbean people, unless of course we were able to travel in the region as tourists or on business.
To any honest observer of the region’s history, Caribbean unity has always been a challenge. Simply travelling around the region is so complex, not to mention, expensive. We have never been able to design profitable air transportation across and around the Caribbean. No wonder residents often find it easier and more economical to travel out of the region for vacation, even when they would rather be exploring their regional neighbours.
From the early days of establishing the Caribbean Free Trade Area – CARIFTA, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) under then leader, Alexander Bustamante, was never fully on board. That thinking has unfortunately persisted to this day within his party’s DNA. Dr. Eric Williams the then Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, was another constant obstacle. We have come a long way since the 1960’s, with the original grouping now morphed into the Caribbean Common Market-CARICOM. Sadly, after so many attempts to make the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) our final court, replacing the United Kingdom Privy Council, so many years after its inception, it is still not a reality. Unfortunately, we have yet to see the true potential of CARICOM, largely due to the on again, off again approach of Jamaica’s leadership in the region, which could be translated to periods in our history when either the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) or Peoples National Party (PNP) was/is in power in Jamaica.
Despite the fact that the UK Privy Council is out of the financial reach of the vast majority of our people seeking justice, the JLP’s lukewarm or lack of support for removing this Council from our legal system and substituting it with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is indeed sad. Indeed, the current Jamaican prime minister and his government have routinely worked at undermining any and everything regional by simply providing lukewarm support. Their approach to governance has been largely opportunistic and transactional. Who can forget their recent support for white supremacist, former UK prime minister, Boris Johnson’s attempt to remove and replace the Head of the Commonwealth Secretariat? This is just one vulgar case in point. Many are wondering what was promised to the Jamaicans involved in the ‘attempted coup’. The fact that Jamaica was so comfortable working with the former oppressor, to undermine the Institution, has created more division and distrust among the commonwealth collective.
I remember vividly, the days of the non-aligned movement. A movement that helped save Jamaica in the 1970’s when so many of our people were prepared to work with the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and others to destabilize their own country, Jamaica. Those were sad years. Let us never forget that. Probably it is time for the visionary few among us in the region, to breathe new life in that non-aligned movement yet again. The changing face of the world demands it. How long will it take to accept that the former oppressors did not care , about us? We really do not have to look very far back in history for proof. Simply examine America’s recent assault on our region regarding our use of medical talents from Cuba; medical support that has sustained our health facilities for decades. There is absolutely no doubt that the forced departure of the Cuban medical teams across our country is now wreaking havoc in our health services across the country. And did the USA offer a reasonable alternative? The American government is only threatening us with sanctions unless we cut these critical ties with our long-term partner and friend, Cuba. So much for sovereignty. Something that has never meant anything to America as it pursues its tiresome imperialist bullying across the globe for the past 250 years. In so many ways, a part of me, large part, is smiling at the enormous challenge that Iran is now presenting to these hustlers.
On the other hand, over the years, Jamaica and many other CARICOM countries have benefitted immensely from the support of Venezuela. Under the so called, Petrocaribe agreement, Venezuela offered member states oil supplies under a concessionary financial agreement, not to mention the numerous development projects implemented under this agreement regionally. Recent attacks by these same Americans, leading to the illegal capture and arrest in the USA of President Madura must be taken seriously. America has always used its bullying playbook to get what it wants from other nations. Anyone listening even casually to the current US President Trump speak so openly about America now “owning Venezuelan oil”, must be appalled. Is there something still called international law? We need to hear the loud voices of the Caribbean people in opposition to the recent American attempts to intimidate the sovereign country of Venezuela. Again, Trinidad has chosen to side with anything but the Caribbean. Jamaica, currently under Jamaica Labour Party leadership is also true to form in its lukewarm approach to this critical matter. Apparently, the American visa is still worth more than national sovereignty. Time for Caricom to speak up in one united voice against the aggressive posture of the United States against our valued allies in Venezuela and Cuba. Business as usual will simply not suffice. The world is in crisis. The Caribbean region is in crisis. It’s a time for increased solidarity in our established relationships, with Venezuela and Cuba. Too many of our current leaders are simply transactional, believing in nothing in except power. As the citizens of Hungary showed this past Sunday in their general elections, when 80% of the eligible voters turned out at the ballots, people DO have power. Time for Caribbean people to speak in one loud voice, letting those in leadership know that in this increasingly complex world, Caribbean integration is critical and possible and eventually makes our voice as a region stronger. It is an enormous task ahead because we have wasted so much precious time over the decades bickering rather than strengthening the movement. Sadly, fewer and fewer inhabitants of the region feel the connection that I felt in the 1970’s as I was marinating in the atmosphere of nations consciously building a regionally integrated entity which morphed from CARIFTA to CARICOM. We urgently need to get back to basics while we educate the young about the potential benefits of an integrated Caribbean region.
.
