When Ralph Gonzales could cite the Revised Treaty of Chaguramus in declaring that David Thompson went ‘against the spirit of the regional integration movement’ by asking employers to give first preference to Barbadians seeking jobs in their own back yard, one must critically ask by what measure is the Prime Minister of Barbados (and the Prime Minister of Barbados alone) judged when it becomes remiss of him to put Barbadian interests first before those of sovereign CARICOM states.

When Caribbean leaders could invent a mechanism in whose name a Vincentian Prime Minister could chide a Barbadian Prime Minister for urging his private sector to give first preference to Barbadians for Barbadian jobs [¹], then it is clear that that mechanism is flawed.

Yet, curiously, such an utterance is taboo in political circles. That mechanism, the Caribbean Single Market & Economy, has been sacrosanct to the Arthur administration for almost a decade, and it is yet uncertain whether it will continue to enjoy the same reverence under the new David Thompson administration – change touters be damned.

The narrative surrounding the CSME is, for all intents and purposes, heartwarming. As if penned by J. K. Rowling herself, its fanciful rhetoric seeks to convince us that a regional union is the end of all the problems we now singularly face as insular small island developing states. We will negotiate as one, we will trade as one, we will hang our criminals as one and yet, no one is willing to compromise their national interests to the full extent needed to enact this beguiling “One Caribbean” ideal. And it appears that no one is expected to, except Barbados.

The facts speak for themselves. The piecemeal adoption of the CSME has been led mostly by Barbados – with former Prime Minister Owen Arthur pursuing it with almost spartanic furore, albeit with no one else. The Caribbean Court of Justice, the supreme court of appeal which is to replace Her Majesty’s Privy Council, is supported only by Barbados and Guyana. Trinidad, the country in which the court sits, retains the Privy Council while Jamaica is still trying to figure out whether the CCJ is even constitutional. The single monetary policy continues to be fraught with ‘dialogue’ and ‘debate’, while few other tenets of the arrangement ever seem palatable to the other CARICOM member states. Few tenets that is, except for the Free Movement of Persons Act.

There, around the clause of free movement, near every government stands united in agreement that it is their privilege – nay, their right – to have their nationals roam, live and settle in the states around them, notwithstanding the institutional incapacity of receiving states to handle a deluge of new migrants and their demands on social services, and not nearly considering the possibility of the emergence of sub-societies and worsened social exclusion within states with particularly high numbers of new migrants.

Notwithstanding the passions that may rally some to defend it, the social and economic merits of the free movement of persons depend on three assumptions being generally applicable across member countries. First, there has to be the assumption that there is excess skill chasing too few jobs at home, giving local labour the impetus to emigrate. Second, one must also assume that there will be sufficient jobs in the receiving state to meet the demand created by new job-seeking migrants (notwithstanding the fact that this is mutually exclusive with the first assumption), and third, it must also assume that no one state’s nationals would be more inclined to emigrate than another’s, ergo creating a situation in which one state observes disproportionately more inward migration than outward, and that migration patterns will be more or less comparable among member-states – Haiti (when it eventually acquiesces), included.

As absurd as it would be to argue that these assumptions apply evenly to all member states, it would be equally absurd to assume that Barbados – with its stronger currency and social welfare novelties – would not experience a disproportionate level of immigration versus emigration, to the detriment of its native population. For all these reasons, Prime Minister Thompson is beyond criticism, especially if CARICOM presses on with its original target to allow free movement of all community members within the region by 2009[²].

When Ralph Gonzales could cite the Revised Treaty of Chaguramus in declaring that Thompson went “against the spirit of the regional integration movement” by asking employers to give first preference to Barbadians seeking jobs in their own back yard, one must critically ask by what measure is the Prime Minister of Barbados – and the Prime Minister of Barbados alone – judged when it becomes remiss of him to put Barbadian interests first before those of sovereign CARICOM states. Having been elected to office through the hopes of Barbados’ unemployed youth, the working poor and tomorrow’s pensioners, this ambiguous doctrine of regionalism now places Thompson in breach of his oath by condemning a practice which disenfranchises the very Barbadians who elected him.

Far be it from David Thompson to put his island’s interests before CARICOM – after all, he is no Ralph Gonzales. With US$7 million in Iranian aid, Gonzales – in his other regional headline this week – has defended his country’s friendship with Iran, even in the absence of diplomatic relations with Tehran from other member states. Ironically, that runs contrary to a CARICOM tenet of coordinated and cooperative foreign policy, but alas, for others self-interest is not taboo.

Related articles:

1. On CSME, the harsh reality is – Barbados can’t do without it
2. Ralph Gonzalves blasts Barbados’ immigration policy, threatens CSME withdrawal
3. David Thompson to fellow CARICOM Prime Ministers: Butt out.

Antillean · Bridgetown, Barbados

The Antillean is a pan-Caribbean nonprofit media outlet, covering news, features and opinions on social issues in the Caribbean region and the wider Americas. Our mission is to encourage conversation on, and enhance the visibility of, social currencies within the hemisphere – issues which are often underreported in the mainstream media.

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