CARICOM Summits must intentionally connect with Our People

Last weekend as we were approaching the climax of our premier cultural festival, VincyMas, the Heads of Government of the region were holding their 49th Heads of Government Meeting in Jamaica. Despite this country’s hosting of its main cultural event, our own Prime Minister makes it his business to be present at these important Summits, and this year was no exception.

Our Carnivals, and other similar festivals in countries across the region are often marketed outside the host country to sister states. In the case of St Vincent and the Grenadines, the now discontinued Miss Carival Show, drew participation from regional states, including some that are not part of the formal Caribbean Communit arrangement. These help to build links across the islands, but is can be easy to ignore their importance given all the weighty issues that come before the Heads to be addressed over the few days of their Summit.

It brings to the fore once more, the urgent need to facilitate the movement of our peoples across these ‘stepping stones’ that are our Caribbean States, not only for festivals, but for business as well. Because, while virtual connections enable ease of communication and decision making today, it cannot replace the need to build common understanding through people to people relations.

The first Monday in July is designated as CARICOM Day, a day to be observed regionally, even though we could not wean ourselves from national obligations to make a sacrifice to have a common holiday which surely must have advanced the integration cause. The only holidays we commonly observe are those inherited from colonial times, or those from international obligations. What a lovely opportunity we spurned! Instead of the focus on our commonality, especially in a world which threatens more and more to swamp our identity and crush our hopes, our annual Summit can run the risk of becoming like so many other international summits of modern times, with much focus on our differences rather than serving as a means to cement our commonality and the need to subsume national interests to our broader and more vital regional ones.

We, therefore commend the on-going hosting of CARIFESTA, a festival that celebrates not only our region’s culture, but aids in fostering and cementing relations among our peoples. So too, the hosting of male and female amateur and professional athletes who are nationals of CARICOM Member states and Associate Member States on July 5, to promote camaraderie, as one of the aims, just prior to the start of this July’s Summit. These actions need to be actively promoted.

Unfortunately, though, time after time, the Summits take place in the absence of one or more regional leaders, for reasons which are hard to comprehend.

Given our regional practice where the presence of the Leader counts a lot, we begin on the wrong footing. It is difficult to comprehend how leaders could miss a pre-arranged Summit except for reasons beyond their calling.

At this Summit, we had the absence of the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, a founding pillar of the integration movement.

Additionally, there are several issues raised by St Vincent and the Grenadines which not only pertain to relations between T&T and SVG, but are critical to economic development in the regional integration movement. We hope a platform would be found for a speedy resolution and do not allow these issues which impact significantly within Member States to create and encourage disunity among us.

Whatever their personal inclinations, our leaders must place the interests of our people first and help to lift us out of servitude and bondage to those who may not be keen on what is of interest to us. Let us intentionally focus on connecting our people.