Tweet
I am someone who has never been hesitant in presenting my stance on specific issues, and so the readers on this forum most likely know by now that Historian is NOT a full and enthusiastic supporter of complete regionalism as manifested in the CSME. Stated simply, I am an unapologetic Jamaican nationalist first, and always will be. It is therefore with a decidedly cynical lack of surprise that I read this commentary below by Dr. Norman Girvan.
First-class and second-class Caricom citizens?
Published: Sunday | February 22, 2009
Norman Girvan, Contributor
Norman Girvan
I must confess to being conflicted by the news that Schengen visa requirements are soon to be lifted for four Caricom countries (as reported on the Caribbean Netnews website). Like many others who have had to apply for a Schengen visa for even the shortest of visits, I find the procedures onerous, intrusive and demeaning.
So I cannot, but be happy for those citizens of Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados and St. Kitts and Nevis who will henceforth not be required to endure them if they wish to travel to Schengen zone countries.
One the other hand, I wonder whether the measure is not a further step towards the establishment of first- and second-class citizens, and even of first- and second-class countries, within Caricom. There is a sense in which such a situation already exists de jure with respect to Haiti (whose citizens are required to have visas to visit many other Caricom states) and de facto with respect to Guyanese, who are regularly hassled when attempting to exercise their Treaty rights to travel freely within the region.
Notably, the four visa exemption countries are among the smallest and the richest members of Caricom. Their combined population of just over 750,000 is only five per cent of Caricom's total population (and about 0.15 per cent that of the European Union (EU)). And their average per capita income is three and half times the Caricom average ($14,700 compared to $4,220, purchasing power parity 2000 dollars). This puts the four well ahead of the EU's poorest members - countries like Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria and Romania.
Poverty and unemployment in the four are also low - they are all probably net importers of labour. Clearly, there is no risk of the EU being 'flooded' by job-seekers from these islands.
lifted visa requirements
In return, the four countries have lifted visa requirements for nationals of all EU states, including several of the EU's newer members that are former Soviet bloc countries. The European Commission can now boast to these newer members that it has put them on a 'level visa playing field' with the older members. Good bonus, little onus.
The problem, of course, is that this makes the playing field even more unbalanced for other Caricom countries. Ironically, by granting the exemption to a select few within Caricom, the EU is introducing the very kind of distinction within Caricom that it is seeking to abolish within the EU itself.
Consider the following (hypothetical) example. Mrs Brown, a lawyer from Dominica, has been living and working legally in Antigua for several years. She may have a work permit, or a Caricom Skills Certificate, or she may be a legal resident - it doesn't really matter.
Mrs Brown plans to take a vacation in the UK and, while there, hopes to take a side trip to Paris. To do so, she will have to obtain a Schengen visa. She will have to answer questions that 'prove' that she has a secure and well-paying job in Antigua, when she plans to arrive in France, by what means and in what port of entry, when she will leave, provide documentary evidence of her means of support while in France, the name and address of her host or host company in Paris, etc, etc. On top of that, she will be required to take out medical insurance to cover the duration of her stay - even if it's only for a weekend.
favoured countries
However, all this will not apply to Mr Jones, the Antiguan taxi-driver who takes Mrs Brown to the airport. Mr Jones will be able to simply buy a ticket and spend up to three months legally in France without anybody asking him any questions.
As there are thousands of Caricom citizens living and working legally in Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, and St Kitts and Nevis, this scenario can be multiplied several times and in countless variations and permutations (for example, where Mrs Brown is married to an Antiguan, and her children are Antiguan, etc). And of course, it applies en masse to the 11 other Cariforum countries which are not so favoured.
For the complete news commentary, go to
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...us/focus6.html
First-class and second-class Caricom citizens?
Published: Sunday | February 22, 2009
Norman Girvan, Contributor
Norman Girvan
I must confess to being conflicted by the news that Schengen visa requirements are soon to be lifted for four Caricom countries (as reported on the Caribbean Netnews website). Like many others who have had to apply for a Schengen visa for even the shortest of visits, I find the procedures onerous, intrusive and demeaning.
So I cannot, but be happy for those citizens of Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados and St. Kitts and Nevis who will henceforth not be required to endure them if they wish to travel to Schengen zone countries.
One the other hand, I wonder whether the measure is not a further step towards the establishment of first- and second-class citizens, and even of first- and second-class countries, within Caricom. There is a sense in which such a situation already exists de jure with respect to Haiti (whose citizens are required to have visas to visit many other Caricom states) and de facto with respect to Guyanese, who are regularly hassled when attempting to exercise their Treaty rights to travel freely within the region.
Notably, the four visa exemption countries are among the smallest and the richest members of Caricom. Their combined population of just over 750,000 is only five per cent of Caricom's total population (and about 0.15 per cent that of the European Union (EU)). And their average per capita income is three and half times the Caricom average ($14,700 compared to $4,220, purchasing power parity 2000 dollars). This puts the four well ahead of the EU's poorest members - countries like Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria and Romania.
Poverty and unemployment in the four are also low - they are all probably net importers of labour. Clearly, there is no risk of the EU being 'flooded' by job-seekers from these islands.
lifted visa requirements
In return, the four countries have lifted visa requirements for nationals of all EU states, including several of the EU's newer members that are former Soviet bloc countries. The European Commission can now boast to these newer members that it has put them on a 'level visa playing field' with the older members. Good bonus, little onus.
The problem, of course, is that this makes the playing field even more unbalanced for other Caricom countries. Ironically, by granting the exemption to a select few within Caricom, the EU is introducing the very kind of distinction within Caricom that it is seeking to abolish within the EU itself.
Consider the following (hypothetical) example. Mrs Brown, a lawyer from Dominica, has been living and working legally in Antigua for several years. She may have a work permit, or a Caricom Skills Certificate, or she may be a legal resident - it doesn't really matter.
Mrs Brown plans to take a vacation in the UK and, while there, hopes to take a side trip to Paris. To do so, she will have to obtain a Schengen visa. She will have to answer questions that 'prove' that she has a secure and well-paying job in Antigua, when she plans to arrive in France, by what means and in what port of entry, when she will leave, provide documentary evidence of her means of support while in France, the name and address of her host or host company in Paris, etc, etc. On top of that, she will be required to take out medical insurance to cover the duration of her stay - even if it's only for a weekend.
favoured countries
However, all this will not apply to Mr Jones, the Antiguan taxi-driver who takes Mrs Brown to the airport. Mr Jones will be able to simply buy a ticket and spend up to three months legally in France without anybody asking him any questions.
As there are thousands of Caricom citizens living and working legally in Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, and St Kitts and Nevis, this scenario can be multiplied several times and in countless variations and permutations (for example, where Mrs Brown is married to an Antiguan, and her children are Antiguan, etc). And of course, it applies en masse to the 11 other Cariforum countries which are not so favoured.
For the complete news commentary, go to
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...us/focus6.html