THE CARIBBEAN COMPLEX REGION IS ONE OF THE MOST MIXED-UP AREAS IN THE WORLD

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31771, 30 August 1968, Page 10

THE CARIBBEAN COMPLEX REGION IS ONE OF THE MOST MIXED-UP AREAS IN THE WORLD

(By

MALCOLM RUTHERFORD

in the "Financial Times," London ?

(Reprinted by arrangement)

The Caribbean, it is a truism, is almost unbelievably mixed up. It is mixed up in its population, in its colonial heritage and hence also its languages, and in its politics. It contains at present an example of virtually every conceivable political system—from the Communism of Cuba, the dictatorship of President Duvalier in Haiti, the American-imposed semidemocracy in the Dominican Republic, to fair imitations of the British system in some of the former British colonies. Puerto Rico’s association with the United States is unique in the world, and the concept of British associate States is matched only by the relationship between New Zealand and the Cook Islands.

There are cases of extreme racial antagonism, as in the traditional hostility between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which share the island of Hispaniola, yet there Is also in Trinidad possibily the most striking example of racial harmony in the world. The two largest racial groups there are Negro and East Indian; they live together in remarkable amity, yet a similar population mix in Guyana has at times brought that country near to civil war.

Though only the placing of Soviet missiles in Cuba and to a lesser extent the American intervention in the Dominican Republic have recently brought about really dramatic confrontations, there is always somewhere which seems about to erupt and the betting for the future must be that it will become a far more dangerously unstable place than it has been in the last few years. Remote Neighbours The trouble with the Caribbean now is that it knows so little about itself. Many of its

components look to the metro-i politan powers rather than to | each other; at best they look only to those of their neighbours who share the same language and have broadly the same traditions. Thus, the English - speaking Caribbean has only the scantiest of knowledge of Latin America. Trinidad and Barbados, it is true, have recently joined the Organisation of American States, but they have done so primarily to benefit from American aid (and also in a curious way to demonstrate their independence from Britain.) Their understanding of the area is limited. In Barbados recently I heard a minister looking forward to the time when Canada and Jamaica would also join. Then, he said, there would be an English - speaking Commonwealth bloc; it would have a civilising and restraining influence, he implied, on the U.S. and the Latins. (The reverse is also true of course: the Inter-American Committee of the Alliance for Progress recently almost refused to accept that Barbados could be a sovereign state because it still owed allegiance to the British Queen.) And the ignorance of one part of the area about the other naturally comes out in trading patterns; the barriers to trade between the English-and-Spanish-speaking countries are considerable and not being reduced. Many of them, of course, produce basically the same products and are not in an easy position to trade with each other, but the general dependence on, say, sugar cannot be continued indefinitely and present arrangements hinder reform. Simmering Dispute The total lack of understanding is illustrated again in the dispute now simmering between Guyana and Venezuela. Venezuela is now claiming a large 'part of Guyana's territory. It is an old claim, recently revived, but the point is that it appears to be being pressed because Venezuela fears that Guyana might at some stage be taken over by the Marxist Cheddi Jagan. There is absolutely no sign of this happening, and anyway it is doubtful how, if there were, threatening noises from Venezuela would prevent it. But it is almost impossible to get anyone in Venezuela to appreciate this. Equally Venezuela’s actions are entirely attributed in Guyana to an attempt to divert attention from internal political troubles. One asks what such political troubles might be and points out that Venezuela is now politically rather stable, but the objection is simply pushed aside. The failure of the area to see itself as a whole is reflected in those outside officials who have to deal with it Diplomats who are posted there are either Latin American specialists or have spent their past in the Commonwealth. Few have knowledge of both. A man who could give an extremely convincing appraisal of politics in Guyana looked as sceptical as the Guyanese themselves when I suggested that Venezuela was a reasonable place.

U.S. Presence A certain unity is now being imposed by the increasing American presence. Strategically the Caribbean has always been a kind of American Mediterranean—hence the long series of American Interventions in Hispaniola and Cuba. But the withdrawal of the British from the English-speaking territories and the granting of independence has increased the American vigilance still further. On the whole the American presence in the West Indies is welcomed. Mr Errol Barrow, the Prime Minister of Barbados, in his recent Budget speech fiercely denounced British colonialism and said he was forming new independent links with the United States in a way that would have seemed highly ironic if not laughable to Latin Americans. But there are always efforts to link the United States with Canada as if Canadian co-operation makes everything respectable. And, of course, though American aid to the area may be nobly inspired, it does carry the corollary that the United States would be prepared to treat any English-speaking Caribbean State if necessary much as it treated the Dominican Republic. The point is by no means academic. The English-speak-ing territories do have some of the same seeds of instability as the Spanish-speaking ones, and judging by the experiences of some of the smaller islands even the case of Haiti seems only an extreme example of how power in this part Of the world can go to a ruler’s head. (In Guyana the subject of Haiti was felt to be sufficiently sensitive for the authorities to ban the showing of Graham Greene’s “The Comedians.”) Psychological factors apart, the problems are overpopula'tion and unemployment. They

appear to grow worse with time, whatever the efforts made to cope with them. Trinidad, with a reasonably high per capita income of £240 per annum and a fair record of industrialisation, has seen its unemployment figure rise in recent years to an official figure of 15 per cent, and many would say a true figure of around 25 per cent.

And because Trinidad has a relatively sophisticated population, it has tough and organised unions pushing up costs still further. The oil industry which initially gave the island its wealth is not expanding, partly because Trinidad is such a high cost producer. New investment which still comes is in very modern light industries and does not create jobs in any great numbers. Between 1960-64 only 1000 new jobs were created by manufacturing. By now unemployment in the 15-24 years old age group has risen to an official figure of 31 per cent.

Sooner or later this sort of situation, if not corrected, is bound to have an effect on politics and could in time perhaps even impair the racial harmony. Dr Eric Williams has contained all this as Prime Minister up to now by a measure of toughness and his own great personal authority, but there are few others of anything like his stature around him. and it is frequently counted a oneman Government. Yet Trinidad in its oil has some wealth; Barbardos and the other smaller islands which lack such resources are in a far more serious position. Agriculture Neglected Outside political movements also have an effect on stability. Black power, for example, cannot flourish in the U.S. and be ignored in the Caribbean, and it is interesting that both Stokely Carmichael and Michael X spent much of their early life in Trinidad.

The proximity of the Caribbean area to the United States and knowledge of high American and Canadian living standards do not help. They breed a feeling, certainly among union leaders, that local standards should be equally high. Agriculture, which could do so much to relieve unemployment as well as cut down the import bill, is neglected, even though in such small territories the amount of unused and cultivable land is surprising. Fanning is somehow disparaged as belonging to the colonial era and bringing insufficient reward. In Barbados it is said that many people will happily depart to cut cane in Florida but would never be seen doing the same on their own island.

The hope, of course, for the future is tourism, but the economic benefits from tourism so far have been much less than hoped. Building and staffing hotels consume labour, but the materials have to be imported and so does the food and drink demanded by the guests.

Troubled Haiti The presence of tourists also emphasises the difference in living standards and again this could have political consequences in time. The response at present seems to be to charge the tourists the highest possible prices which must lead to a serious danger of the area pricing itself out of the market Equally, political unrest of the kind that has recently flared up in Bermuda and St Kitts could scare the tourists off—Haiti, it should be remembered, was once a tourists’ haven. The political disturbances in the Caribbean in the past have tended to be relatively confined. Thus the American intervention in the Dominican Republic had no great effect on the English-speaking countries. But it is doubtful whether this will continue to be true in the future. There will at some stage almost certainly be trouble in Haiti with the overthrow or death of President Duvalier, who will leave no government system behind him that can be preserved. The trouble could spill over Into the Dominican Republic as the battle for the succession is fought out. The United States will clearly be directlyinvolved, but so will Trinidad and Barbados who have neve: vet had to face « crisis in tbs O.A.S. In that way a sense <x may be developed, but ft uves not exist at the moment and its lack Is both hindering economic progress and leading to needless political misunderstandings.

NO Response.— The United States State Department says North Korea has not responded to a request for another meeting to discuss the release of the American intelligence ship Pueblo and the 82 surviving members of her crew. The last meeting, the nineteenth since the ship was seized by North Korean gunboats in January, was held on July 9.—Washington, August 28.