Celebrating our Asian connections

In many respects, October is important to the people and government of St Vincent and the Grenadines for reasons beyond the celebration of the reclamation of our national independence. What our independence affords us however, is to take advantage of that right to forge our own international relationships and to focus on nations and peoples that we consider in our best interests.

The peoples who make up our nation-state, while predominantly the offsprings of the African slaves, European colonisers, and the earliest settlers- the indigenous Kalinago and Garifuna inhabitants, there also came to include others who have contributed significantly to our development and welding together as Vincentians. These include the descendants of people who were described as “indentured servants”under colonialism.

Among them were some of European descent, then considered as virtual “second class” citizens in Europe, principally from Portugal, but also from oppressed sections of the colonising society, Irish and Scottish in particular. But these were not all for, from thousands of miles away to the East there came an influx of Asian people, from India. It was ironic in that Europeans came to the Caribbean by accident, seeking the legendary “East Indies”. Hence the origin of “East Indians” in what was called “West Indian” society.

For Caribbean countries, and certainly for St Vincent and the Grenadines, these new arrivals have proven to be a godsend in relation to our overall development, and have made a very valuable contribution to our economic, social and political evolution over the years.

Significantly, their own development as a legitimate component of Vincentian, and Caribbean society, has been forged in the hardships encountered to cementing their own place in colonial society.

For instance, on Tuesday of this week, October 7, the local Indian component of our nation, together with appreciative other sections of our Vincentian society celebrated Indian Heritage Day. Though the first Indians arrived at Indian Bay on June 1, 1861, life for them, in planter-dominated SVG, was far from rosy. After two decades of oppression, they could take no more, and on October 7, 1882, some 50 of them marched barefooted from their Argyle base to Kingstown to protest the hardships of colonial society.

This open manifestation of resistance was officially recognized by an Act of Parliament in March, 2007, the date officially recognized as Indian Heritage Day. There is no doubt that the Indian community has made an indelible and valuable contribution to the development of Vincentian society and continues to do so. We salute them and applaud their contribution.

But in another aspect, our country has also broadened its contacts and relations with other Asian people. Only the Chinese people are today more numerous than those from India, and indeed, can claim an even more ancient civilisation. Developing relations with the Chinese people is therefore almost an imperative in today’s diplomatic world.

Unfortunately, this has not been easy because of seemingly intractable differences between the two modern manifestations of Chinese civilisation- the billion-plus economic and military powerhouse of the Peoples Republic of China, with its capital in Beijing, and the Republic of China on the offshore island of Taiwan who had their own National Day celebrations on Tuesday of this week.

St Vincent and the Grenadines opened diplomatic relations with Taiwan soon after independence, in the cold war days of 1981. Much has changed since then, including relations between the two Chinese manifestations. Though politically apart and diplomatically hostile, the two nations have developed significant trade and economic relations which make the cold war look very outdated in today’s world.

Fortunately, the leadership of this country has been able to navigate the diplomatic relations. We work with the Beijing manifestation on regional and international levels such as The Caribbean Development Bank, the World Bank etc., while maintaining unbroken diplomatic and related relations with Taiwan.

This pragmatic approach has proven to be a valuable one for us as our relations with the Taiwanese civilisation have demonstrated, without being drawn into the differences between onshore and offshore manifestations. As we salute our Indian brothers and sisters, let us also continue to pursue a wise path. Best wishes to the Chinese people on both sides of the strait of Taiwan, and our hopes that one day we will be able to enjoy fruitful relations with this major section of human society.