Dr. Mc Meo-John: “Before opening the floor, for questions, I would like to start off by saying a few words, about the Caribbean. 

There are several definitions and point of views on what “The Caribbean” in its entirety is. All of which is true and looks at the Caribbean from different aspects, whether it be geographical, geological, diasporic, political and even historical. It’s all about knowing which one suits and meets the best criteria for the Caribbean, no definition is perfect, each having its flaws but there is one that incorporates and captures all islands of the Caribbean under the same light. Ladies and Gentlemen, that is the historical definition or way of defining the Caribbean. It sees the Caribbean is an area that experienced and continue to experience the impact of European colonization, Slavery, Indentureship and Plantation society. This includes all the Caribbean territories including Bermuda which is often left out in other definitions. These systems implemented within the Caribbean years ago, impacted the lives of the persons living within the Caribbean at that time and the way in which it each country operated and functioned was tainted and some even demolished. The key words within the historical definition is “continue to experience the impact”. Which is what we are here to talk about today, the negatives that these systems have left behind on the Caribbean and how they affect the unity and progression of the islands. Really coming to ask the question, are we really all one? Is the statement “All ah we is one” valid? The Caribbean is a beautiful place, with beautiful people with an ugly past that continues to haunt us now and unfortunately may even continue to haunt the future generations to come. An entire chain of islands, stripped of their pride, of their identity, of their voice, of their sense of belonging. Rebuilt and remade in what was better and approved of society, and those that sat at the seat of the main table in the metropole. There’s a constant fight, to show we are more and better than what they viewed us to be, this very fight is what turns our own people against each other. 

Question One: Dr., Do you think there is discrimination amongst Caribbean nationals when visiting their neighbouring countries? 

Dr. Mc Meo- John: Discrimination, is the treating of one or more members of a specified group unfairly as compared with other people. (Oxford Reference) Discrimination can be described as a disease that has been plaguing the earth since the 1900s and probably even way before this. The Caribbean can be described as the breeding ground for discrimination, where it was most established and brought to life. The Plantation Society set the foundation for the separation of blacks, whites and mixed (mulattos). There are different forms of discrimination, it does not have to deal mainly with one’s skin tone or where one comes from, there’s even discrimination within the business world, Price Discrimination. All of this is being said, simply to say Yes, Discrimination is something that takes place amongst Caribbean nationals all the time when traveling or even through siting at home and scrolling through the internet, there may be a discriminatory post towards one island nationals made from other island nationals. Price discrimination is something that is seen all the time when visiting tourist sites of different Caribbean islands. For example, A Trinidadian can go to Jamaica and visit Dunn’s Waterfall and a Jamaican vendor upon hearing the Trini accent boosts his/her prices in a heartbeat. This is something that takes place all the time. Many may say that doesn’t happen all the time and it only happens at certain locations within the island, that not every Jamaican vendor does that. While this is agreeable, the mere fact that something like this even takes place with some and is an idea in the minds of some is still very much a problem. Why is exploitation and price discrimination against one’s Caribbean brother/sister a thought in one’s head. The statement “All ah we is one” is proven to be incorrect so far, for this is not the behaviour or thinking of persons who are united. Knowing and understanding one’s Caribbean identity is very important in helping to eradicate this type of behaviour and mindset. 

Dr: Mc Meo-John: As many may know, the CARICOM arrangement, has allowed for the travel of Caribbean nationals from island to island for work opportunities and educational purposes. This was a major move in allowing all Caribbean nationals to have some form of equal opportunities to good paying jobs and for young individuals to access the best form of education that they can. In all of this, the issue of Gender Inequality stills continues to surface and cause outbreaks more so from the female population. Occupational segregation where women tend to have lower paying waged occupations in the economy is a major happening not only within the Caribbean, but also worldwide. Gender Inequality is something that when looked at is very difficult to eradicate, simply because there can have equal opportunities and educational training available to both male and female, boy or girl. However, the way the Caribbean society and roles of gender was set up there may always be some system or form of patriarchal presence. This is seen within even the highest of societal approved jobs and even the lowest frowned upon jobs, where the legal field is mostly male dominated, and get paid higher wages compared to female attorney’s simply for being a male. Even in construction jobs which are mostly male dominated, because of a particular view, a stereotype that it is a males job and for a female to be within the construction business, she may be a secretary, who gets paid a merger wage. This causes many women to travel abroad to the neighbouring islands to find work in higher offices, in hopes of being put in a better position with a better pay. Being hit with the same sad reality that the same thing which is happening in their homeland is happening outside as well. It is arguable that there has been some improvement in terms of women getting equal pay and job opportunities as men and there as been a move towards progress. Though this is correct, it is still a major problem that is faced by many of the women within the Caribbean society today. An article titled “Challenges to Sustainability: A Caribbean reflection” speaks on the challenge and fight to sustain life within the Caribbean where gender inequality is prevalent. Another article titled “Sexing the Caribbean: gender, race and sexual labour” also discuss the problems faced with gender inequality amongst the Caribbean islands. I say all of this to show you that a state such as “All ah we is one” can be quite contradicting within the Caribbean as it is not always the case of being each other’s keepers. An agreement was made for equal opportunity of jobs (free movement of labour) meaning both male and female, however this is not the case in most instances, there is still a battle for better paying jobs, higher positions and opportunities for women. In concluding, the statement “All ah we is one” does not fit right where an issue such as gender inequality is prevalent between the islands, doesn’t matter where a female moves to within the Caribbean, there is a high possibility that she will indeed be faced with the same outcome. 

A very interesting question indeed, when it comes to the Caribbean it has a unique culture, the music, sports and festivals in which speaks for itself and holds a story behind each song, behind each festival and even the sports. Culture can be defined as a body of beliefs and practices in terms of which a group of people understand themselves and the world and organise their individual and collective lives. Sports was made to be a competitive field, to have a bit of friendly competition between the islands is not considered to be much of a major problem. This is seen through the creation of CARFITA games, which every Caribbean country looks forward too, sports are a way of growth and betterment for each island. Sports competitions helps to improve not only the efforts of the athletes but also the efforts of the islands to ensure that their athletes are well equipped and have access to the best training facilities to bring about their best outcomes and results. In terms of festivals, each island has their own spin and take on festivals kept within their borders, for example Carnival which is the main festival in all Caribbean countries, is not the same each of which incorporates something special pertaining to their own island. Music wise, each island has a different spin and approach to music, each capturing different focus points, to bring across beautiful musical creations. Each island approaches their cultural practices differently, to say there is a rivalry would not necessarily be right, it is approved to some a high sense of national pride towards one’s country and its festivals and call it the best. Some may disagree and say that there is a constant battle between Jamaica and Trinidad for carnivals, however, both carnival festival embodies the same aspect and background of where carnival originated. The culture of the Caribbean islands stems from the identity in which they hold, what they are seen and known for is what is portrayed throughout their actions. For example, Jamaica with sports, running to be exact, Trinidad for its soca music, Barbados for its tourism culture and so on. The aspect of sports is seen within the article “Journey to Gold: The Caribbean Psyche in Sports” which shows how hard Jamaica and the other Caribbean countries work towards achieving athletic success. It is also very important to note the ability of the Caribbean to maintain it’s musical identity of soca as it is opened to a large influence of European and American cultured music and this is discussed within the article “ Globalization and Identity: The Discourse of Popular Music” . Therefore, in conclusion I can agree that the statement “All ah we is one” does fit within the cultural aspect to an extent. Having a strong front to protect the islands music, festivals and sport when there are major influences around, is only possible through the unity of the islands. 

Dr. Mc Meo-John : In closing I would like to thank each and everyone for their questions and to close off by saying, “ All ah we is one” can be a very controversial statement pertaining to certain topics and discussions pertaining towards the Caribbean, for instance the presence of Discrimination shows we are not indeed one, as well as Gender Inequality, however, culturally we can be seen as one to an extent. Thank You for your time, it was a pleasure being here today.