The Caribbean is an agglomeration of several different racial inputs from around the world so it becomes a destination region for migration. As a result of this importation of labour, the Caribbean becomes more culturally diverse.  Cultural diversity is when various ethnic traditions (race, language, religion and customs) are found in one society or region. As a result of cultural diversity, there are both positives and negatives which stem from it. One notable positive of cultural diversity is tolerance.  Tolerance is linked to another concept called “Accommodation”, where the concept is defined by J.M Baldwin as “adjustments of the people’s behavior which enable them to adapt to their surroundings”.  In an ideal world, accommodation and tolerance suggest that every group is accepted and visible. In Caribbean society, several groups still retain their cultural uniqueness. Even though Caribbean society is a vastly Eurocentric, Christian society, groups such as the Chinese and East Indians are given space for them to practice their cultures, for example we celebrate festivals such as Divali and East Indian and Chinese cuisine is part of today’s Caribbean society.

On the contrary, a negative of Cultural Diversity is intolerance.  Upon arrival of the Europeans, oppression and the divide and rule strategy were the methodologies utilized. Hence, the Europeans are constantly seeking control over the others. The divide and rule concept has injected a level of mistrust that is best manifested in race politics. Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana are countries that have this issue. Afro-Caribbean and Indo-Caribbean compose the population of Trinidad and Guyana and during tension is formed during election time due to both groups feeling uncomfortable being governed by the other group. This leads to the perception that Nepotism is present. Nepotism is where certain people will be favoured based on political affiliation. Due to intolerance, minority groups are created, where they usually have to endure inequalities of all kinds. Sustainability, Equity, Empowerment and Productivity (SEEP) are the pillars of development. Therefore minorities being victimized as well as if one of SEEP is not fulfilled, development in the Caribbean will be hindered.

It’s no secret that the Europeans’ arrival in the region heavily shaped how the Caribbean operates today. When they first stepped foot onto the sandy beaches of the Caribbean, the Europeans believed that the indigenous natives that inhabited the islands are “primitive” and “uncivilized”. Thus during the days of colonialism, they developed the ethnocentric view that Christianity and their race was far superior to that of the enslaved. The plantation was the most important economic unit under colonization. Each plantation was a mini-society; however communication between the non-Europeans was limited as their lives were profoundly restricted. The European powers brought an enslaved labour force from West Africa to work on the sugar cane plantations then post-Emancipation, Indian, Chinese, Portuguese and Javanese indentured labourers were brought to the Caribbean, as a result of labour shortage. The free slaves and the indentured labourers were naturally distrustful of each other as each had their own cultural norms and values. Not only that, the ex-slaves were envious of the indentured labourers as unlike slavery, indentured labourers were given incentives such as wages and the possibility of getting a free passage back home.  The British constructed a highly stratified system of social relations that efficiently alienated the groups. This was done in order to prevent the groups from unifying and potentially overthrow the small amount of whites who were in control.

One of the major problems in the Caribbean is the lack of unity between the islands, which creates distrust.  Even though we are unified in sports like Cricket, there is a level of insularity amongst islands of the Caribbean. For example, citizens of Trinidad are known as “Trinidadians” whereas nationals who hail from Jamaica are called, “Jamaicans”. Several other reasons for the lack of unity in the Caribbean include: different islands were controlled by different mother countries and the failure of the West Indian Federation. During the days of colonialism, various islands were ruled by dissimilar European powers. Islands like Trinidad and Guyana were ruled by Europe and on the other hand Martinique and Guadeloupe’s mother country was France. In the end, we end up having diverse cultures, languages and government systems and in some cases like Jamaica we still rely on our mother countries. The language barrier also inhibits communication and in doing it prevents a close relationship between islands. According to newyorkessays.com, The West Indian Federation was one of the first primary endeavors of an alliance in the Caribbean from the period of 1958 to 1962. The West Indies concurred to come together since this was since as a way to they could demonstrate to Britain that they are prepared for their freedom. Unfortunately, the Federation ended up in the history books as a failure before proving to Britain that the Caribbean could act as an independent unit.  An important reason why the federation was unsuccessful was due to being frail. The West Indian Federation received power only for their internal affairs and any outside concerns managed by England as well as each island had their own diverse takes on what the federation should accomplish. Tensions began to rise within the federation as Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica began to dispute over their own interests. Eric Williams, the Prime Minister at the time, saw no compromise in his refusal to accept unrestricted freedom of movement because he felt that immigrants would come to Trinidad and steal the jobs away from the natives of Trinidad, resulting in an increase of unemployment.  Jamaica’s doubt of the other islands was substantial on events and it would proceed to force itself as an obstacle to the advance of getting a sense of solidarity within the region. For instance, excluding Trinidad and Barbados, the remaining islands of the Federation had guaranteed to back Jamaica as the Government capital location however they failed to back Jamaica and in the process, this isolated Jamaica further. That couple with the fact that Jamaica provided most of the finances for the federation led to Jamaica leaving the federation in 1962. From that point, a domino effect occurred, as not long after the Federation started to unravel. The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr Eric Williams figured out the tremendous burden that would be put upon Trinidad and Tobago in the Federation with the departure of Jamaica. It was here that Eric Williams uttered the famous words, “One from ten leaves zero” regarding Jamaica leaving the federation and Trinidad subsequently leaving the federation and becoming independent soon after. Eventually the Federation broke up and most of the composite islands achieved independence.

Religion is ultimately dominated by Christianity in the Caribbean. From the days of colonialism, the European colonizers firmly believed that any religion besides their own was wrong and uncivilized, which was one of the reasons that they forced the Amerindians and West African Slaves to convert to Christianity besides wanting to establish control. The abolition of slavery however, enabled religious diversity in the islands as East Indian indentured labourers and other groups brought their norms and traditions to the region. In the nineteenth century, several Hindus were converted to Presbyterianism as a result of the efforts of the Canadian Missionaries. They were offered a route to achieve social mobility by converting. The idea behind converting was that Christianity would be seen as an asset in “bettering yourself”, especially for children whose parents were “illiterate immigrant workers speaking a foreign language.” In the 1930s, opposition from the Hindu and Muslim organizations criticized the Canadian Missionaries. The Missionaries actions can be seen as a level of intolerance. In recent times, there were instances were religious intolerance was shown. In a Newsday article written and published by Carol Matroo on May 21^st 2018, while she was about to take up her job at Lakshmi Girls St Augustine, as an OJT (On the Job) Teacher, Nafiesa Nakhid was ordered by administrators of the school to not wear her hijab while she teaches at the school. At the time, Nakhid was observing the month of Ramadan and she felt that she was targeted for being a Muslim and for wearing a hijab. Even though the school had no ban against having a hijab, it was the Maha Sabha Board’s policy to not contain people on the board who wear hijabs. According to Functionalists, religion is seen as aiding individuals to have a sense of belonging, supply support and guidance plus it helps generate a community of believers through practices and rituals which emphasize commitment to the group. Conversely, Marxism showcases the “dark side” of the commitment of religion. Marxists believe religion averts individuals from truly encountering inequality, oppression and discrimination that are fundamental in the ways as to how society mistreats the lower classes, women and those who are disadvantaged.

In society, there are a variety of reasons for intolerance and mistrust in the Caribbean. These include: media and entertainment industry influence, political groups and historical events of intolerance. Even though intolerance can bring religious and minority groups together, there are plentiful of negatives associated with this problem. Cons of intolerance consist of: intolerance prevents innovation and hinders development, splits the nation and society, when a race or religion is shown intolerance, as in the case of colonialism, they are left with scars in the history books also pointless predicaments are generated at the workplace.

Intolerance and mistrust can be fought in the Caribbean in the following key ways. 

By educating the public about intolerance and mistrust, this will teach the general public about tolerance and trust, in which the aftershock of this would aid individuals in preventing and lessen the effects of intolerance and mistrust in Caribbean society. 

If governments and organizations accept the existence of intolerance and mistrust in Caribbean societies, they can start campaigns in order to spread awareness about the dangers of intolerance and mistrust. In addition to the higher powers give awareness to the problem, the general public should accept the fact that they have shown intolerance and rectify their mistake.

Caribbean governments should create an agency that analyzes cases of intolerance and their growth over time. In the process, the consequences of intolerance and mistrust can be mitigated. 

In conclusion, the statement that the Caribbean is characterized by grave intolerance and mistrust is true. This can be seen through the areas of cultural diversity (The divide and rule concept of the European colonists), Caribbean unity (The West Indian Federation legacy), colonialism (social stratification caused by the plantation legacy and Indentureship) and religion (the forced conversion to Christianity). Intolerance and mistrust in Caribbean societies is something that must be crushed immediately. Accepting the fact that the problem exists in our society and ensuring that it doesn’t reach higher threat levels will enable us to eradicate the problem once and for all.

(1940 words)