Caribbean Studies Portfolio by Justin Cabrera

Commentary : The Danger of a Single Story

justincabrera — 2017-12-01 05:43:44 UTC

"When we reject a single story, when we realise there is never a single story about any kind of place, we regain a kind of paradise"

Novelist Chimamanda Adichie speaks on the dangers of people having pre-conceived notions of another culture. While she spoke about others' perception of her Nigerian background, in addition to her misconception of the rest of the world, her speech is very applicable to a Caribbean context, in particular, the ignorance of Americans to the other parts of the world. For instance in the artifact I discovered during the duration of the course, opened my eyes to the perception of my island. We see with the following tweets to the right, from when the Trinidad and Tobago Football team beat The United States of America in a qualifying football match, that many "foreigners" only know a single story.

justincabrera — 2017-12-01 05:47:24 UTC

justincabrera — 2017-12-01 05:47:55 UTC

justincabrera — 2017-12-01 05:47:58 UTC

justincabrera — 2017-12-01 05:49:41 UTC

Many Americans where in complete shock , when they realised such a "Insignificant" Caribbean country managed to best them in football. This is a clear example of the danger of a single story. Those Americans who expressed disbelief in Trinidad and Tobago's success, were unaware of their determination and hard work.
Perhaps, the "kind of paradise" achieved in this situation, was the post-game discussion, where it was clear to both the American and Caribbean culture that there is more than meet's the eye.
We should all strive to embrace multiple stories of one place, so that we can enjoy a fair understanding of that place. This allows us to move forward as a society.

Objective 2: Slavery Reparations??

justincabrera — 2017-12-01 05:53:56 UTC

A discussion during a tutorial peaked my interest in this topic.
It appears that we as a Caribbean Civilization, even within the University of the West Indies, cannot come to an agreement when it comes to the validity of the claim of reparations

The Argument For:

justincabrera — 2017-12-01 05:55:14 UTC

Reparations is the act of making amends to one's wrongdoing, in the form of payment or some other method. In terms of the Caribbean, the Caribbean Reparations Comission is the organization who is tasked with creating the plan for reparations, for the indigenous and African descendants who are victims of Crimes against Humanity. The ten point plan is intended to be fulfilled by European Governing bodies , who at one point were responsible for the systems of slavery, and hence are currently benefiting from the generational wealth these past systems. Some of the plan entails, freedom to return to rightful land and a full formal apology.

Against:

justincabrera — 2017-12-01 05:56:12 UTC

There are many who are very vocal in their disagreement with the reparations plan, such as UWI students Lipton Matthews and Kevon Fiennes who consider the fight as nonsensical, and a waste of time and energy.
For instance, as seen in the artifact above, those who are in currently "in debt" of reparations had nothing to do with the centuries old system of slavery , and from what the picture implies, many of the European governments are simply not in a position to give any sort of meaningful grant towards those who request the aid.
Another salient concern brought about by my colleagues is the concern of sustainable growth. Will these reparations really benefit the growth of the Caribbean?

My Thoughts:

justincabrera — 2017-12-01 05:57:10 UTC

While it is clear the Caribbean has suffered massive blows in development from slavery and colonialism, more resources should be channeled in the development of the current systems of government in the Caribbean, because regardless of the forms of reparations what the Caribbean may receive, they will amount to nothing without a proper way to receive and integrate them into Caribbean society.

Objective 3: The "One UWI" initiative

justincabrera — 2017-12-01 05:59:33 UTC

UWI can be considered to be the most established and accredited tertiary level of education in the Caribbean. As such, the "One UWI" initiative intends to re-enforce the important notion that UWI should have a greater sense of oneness. This discussion can have implications that the challenges to One UWI can be seen as a microcosm of the greater issue of unity in the Caribbean . While the initiative can achieve oneness in some regards, there are other aspects of singularity that may seem unrealistic.

For instance, the initiative enforces the Vice Chancellor as the Overall CEO of UWI. Similarly, when the West Indian Federation existed, there was a Prime Minister, named Grantley Adams. While the West Indian Federation failed, One UWI can be an example to the Caribbean that a single governing body can be workwith a primary leader.

One can argue that the there cannot be a singular university culture, because culture varies in each Caribbean country. Thus, each campus might have very different cultural differences. These cultural differences are inevitable because each campus exists in a different geographical location. The day to day occurrences such as the music listened to, the news and politics of the country the campus resides in may differ immensely.

While there may be many challenges to maintaining a singular university standard, there must be a continuous effort to strive towards a homogeneous University, as this concept extends to the growth of the Caribbean as a whole.
I'd like to emphasize the principle of the whole being greater than the sum of it's parts, with a quote to the right, from a Caribbean poet.

justincabrera — 2017-12-01 06:01:18 UTC

Dereck Walcott:

Break a vase, and the love that reassembles the fragments is stronger than that love which took its symmetry for granted when it was whole. The glue that fits the pieces is the sealing of its original shape. It is such a love that reassembles our African and Asiatic fragments, the cracked heirlooms whose restoration shows its white scars. This gathering of broken pieces is the care and pain of the Antilles, and if the pieces are disparate, ill-fitting, they contain more pain than their original sculpture, those icons and sacred vessels taken for granted in their ancestral places. Antillean art is this restoration of our shattered histories, our shards of vocabulary, our archipelago becoming a synonym for pieces broken off from the original continent.

Objective 4 : Reflection

justincabrera — 2017-12-01 06:05:49 UTC

The ability to interact with my fellow colleagues across the Caribbean in online plenaries is a one of a kind experience, and allowed me to hear the thoughts of other Caribbean nations. Additionally, tutorials forced us as shy individuals to be bold in our thoughts and opinions of current topics. The tutorials were the first time i had the ability to hear about historical occurrences from African classmates, which provided a unique and refreshing experience to the course.
This course has taught me a lot about myself, and that I am undoubtedly a member of the Caribbean Civilization. The material provided in this course has provided me with the ability to view the daily occurrences around me with a "Caribbean Lens". This allows me to go about my journey in university with the emphasis on my contribution to the Caribbean, and continuous analysis of the Civilization that is being shaped around me, so that I am able to effectively play my part in the betterment of society.

I'd like to conclude with a Caribbean song that all Caribbean people know and love, by Bob Marley, because when I listen to the lyrics of the song, it encourages me to search out the truth in my environment, and be self aware in my steps going forward.

justincabrera — 2017-12-01 22:41:04 UTC