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Diplomatic courtesy is one thing, however,
economic reality is quite a different matter.
During the 1990s, in the wake of the coming into
effect of the EU and NAFTA, Ottawa officials
announced that the future direction of the
Canadian economy did not suggest that the goods
the Caribbean region produces for export would
feature in Canada's economic transformation.
More recently, the EU also announced that
Caribbean goods are unlikely to be important in
its trajectory. The World Bank in its report Time
to Choose (2005) stated that Caribbean
manufactured and agricultural goods do not show
any signs of a bright future in terms of
production and exportation. While Caribbean
exports have doubled in recent years (thanks
mainly to Trinidad's oil and natural gas
products), the region's imports have tripled,
according to a 2005 study by the United Nations
Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean (ECLAC). There is very little to
suggest that the economic reality in the
Caribbean has changed in any dramatic way to
indicate that Canada, the EU and the US now see a
very bright future for the region's productive base/capacity.
Let us consider, for a moment, the following
statistics about crime, violence and murder rates
in the Caribbean in relation to other parts of
the world, bearing in mind the much smaller land
mass, the density of the population and the
impact on economic and social life in the
Caribbean, as we think of the impact on economic
activity, labor productivity and other factors.
Murder rates and assault rates are higher in the
Caribbean than in any other region of the
world. It is currently at "30 per 100,000
population annually," compared with 26 for South
America, 22 for Central America, 17 for Eastern
Europe, 9 for Central Asia, 8 for East Africa, 7
for North America, 4 for South Asia, 2 for
West/Central Europe, and 1 for North Africa and
the Middle East/South West Asia. In 1999, murder
rates were for the Dominican Republic (14),
Trinidad and Tobago (7.5), and St. Lucia (9). In
2004, murder rates per 100,000 population
annually had risen to 25 for the Dominican
Republic, and around 20 for Trinidad and Tobago
and St. Lucia (UN Office on Drugs and Crime/World Bank Report 2007: iii, iv).
A significant number of women and girls are
victims of violence: one particular "regional
victimization survey revealed that 48 percent of
adolescent girls' sexual initiation was 'forced'
or somewhat forced' in nine Caribbean
countries. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime
reports that "three of the top ten recorded rape
rates in the world occur in the Caribbean" and
all Caribbean countries "for which comparable
data are available (Bahamas, St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis,
Dominica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago)
experienced a rate of rape above the unweighted
average of the 102 countries " in the UN Office
on Drugs and Crime, Crime Trends Survey (UN/World Bank Report 2007: iv).
Instead of Jamaica playing its role to lead the Region... wi serve to drag it down into obscurity..
But as Karl seh.. 'Di greater good'..
Lee Kwan Yew call it 'Profundity'... wi nuh serious.
I guess at this point the question is which Union are we going to seek to be a protectorate of... if any will take us..
Oh.. BIG UP ! to the Intellectual Ghetto.. leading us to irrelevance...30 years of 'Statistics of the Middle Passage'
economic reality is quite a different matter.
During the 1990s, in the wake of the coming into
effect of the EU and NAFTA, Ottawa officials
announced that the future direction of the
Canadian economy did not suggest that the goods
the Caribbean region produces for export would
feature in Canada's economic transformation.
More recently, the EU also announced that
Caribbean goods are unlikely to be important in
its trajectory. The World Bank in its report Time
to Choose (2005) stated that Caribbean
manufactured and agricultural goods do not show
any signs of a bright future in terms of
production and exportation. While Caribbean
exports have doubled in recent years (thanks
mainly to Trinidad's oil and natural gas
products), the region's imports have tripled,
according to a 2005 study by the United Nations
Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean (ECLAC). There is very little to
suggest that the economic reality in the
Caribbean has changed in any dramatic way to
indicate that Canada, the EU and the US now see a
very bright future for the region's productive base/capacity.
Let us consider, for a moment, the following
statistics about crime, violence and murder rates
in the Caribbean in relation to other parts of
the world, bearing in mind the much smaller land
mass, the density of the population and the
impact on economic and social life in the
Caribbean, as we think of the impact on economic
activity, labor productivity and other factors.
Murder rates and assault rates are higher in the
Caribbean than in any other region of the
world. It is currently at "30 per 100,000
population annually," compared with 26 for South
America, 22 for Central America, 17 for Eastern
Europe, 9 for Central Asia, 8 for East Africa, 7
for North America, 4 for South Asia, 2 for
West/Central Europe, and 1 for North Africa and
the Middle East/South West Asia. In 1999, murder
rates were for the Dominican Republic (14),
Trinidad and Tobago (7.5), and St. Lucia (9). In
2004, murder rates per 100,000 population
annually had risen to 25 for the Dominican
Republic, and around 20 for Trinidad and Tobago
and St. Lucia (UN Office on Drugs and Crime/World Bank Report 2007: iii, iv).
A significant number of women and girls are
victims of violence: one particular "regional
victimization survey revealed that 48 percent of
adolescent girls' sexual initiation was 'forced'
or somewhat forced' in nine Caribbean
countries. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime
reports that "three of the top ten recorded rape
rates in the world occur in the Caribbean" and
all Caribbean countries "for which comparable
data are available (Bahamas, St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis,
Dominica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago)
experienced a rate of rape above the unweighted
average of the 102 countries " in the UN Office
on Drugs and Crime, Crime Trends Survey (UN/World Bank Report 2007: iv).
Instead of Jamaica playing its role to lead the Region... wi serve to drag it down into obscurity..
But as Karl seh.. 'Di greater good'..
Lee Kwan Yew call it 'Profundity'... wi nuh serious.
I guess at this point the question is which Union are we going to seek to be a protectorate of... if any will take us..
Oh.. BIG UP ! to the Intellectual Ghetto.. leading us to irrelevance...30 years of 'Statistics of the Middle Passage'