(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Once again, the people of the region proudly celebrate CARICOM Day on 7 July 2008, under the theme ‘One Caribbean, One People… Endless Possibilities.’
This Day is observed and acknowledged in recognition of our regional achievements, while focusing on our current challenges and proposed solutions, with a special focus on the youth and their role in the integration process and the region’s future development.
As a united bloc, the Caribbean may be at the crossroads as our political leaders grapple with near-chronic day-to-day issues. These run the gamut from food security, exorbitant oil prices, environmental problems and reduced trade prospects, to unfair and unequal trading conditions, stagnant economic growth, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, increased crime and violence, declining foreign investment, and those perennial challenges that plague small island developing states.
There is therefore an urgent need to move from apparent symbolic sovereignty to a more integrated form of economic reality, and this can only be achieved within a regional alliance such as the Caribbean Single Market and Economy. However, it is far from sure-fire, as the absence of any serious political resolve, which presently haunts the existing structures of governance, seems to be hampering its realisation.
May be, the time has come for the Region’s youth to let their voices be heard and use the sheer power of our numbers to signal to our leaders that the time for Caribbean unity is now; now more so than at any other time in our history. We need to demand that our countries engage in necessary intra-regional trade and enhanced South-South cooperation, which would eventually lead to greater self-reliance.
Although our capital base is small, and obvious exigencies force us to rely on trade with the North, this should not be done to the exclusion of the South. We must pursue greater South – South cooperation.
The young people of the region are central to the solution since they represent 60% of our population. The time has come for heavy investment in their future to build their capacity. No longer can their needs or purpose be ignored. They must see themselves as equal architects of this new era in the region’s development.
They in turn must survey the challenges and opportunities as they prepare to engineer the way forward. And, in this era of globalisation and competitive and aggressive economic pursuit, this can only be achieved through the integration process; that is, integration in a most pragmatic form.
That current global trends have forced us to look inward for solutions to many of our situations, it behoves us to seize the opportunity.
As young people, we should not sit passively and watch our leaders craft our fate and define our future, without actively participating. We have a responsibility to ourselves and to the Region, not only to be heard, but also to be involved.
In the final analysis, if the status quo remains then we have only ourselves to blame for not becoming involved in national and regional issues; to blame for not educating and equipping ourselves to deal with global matters, particularly trading problems; to blame for the absence of innovation and ideas, and for not pursuing the requisite avenues for investment in research and design; and to blame for over-reliance on national governments to supply our every need.
As we celebrate CARICOM Day, we must also reflect on those outstanding leaders that the region has produced over the years, and we must recognise and honour their contributions. Much of their legacy should inform our future development.
We must also reflect on how far we have come as a people, with a clear understanding and vision of how much further we can go, the endless possibilities that exist, and the knowledge that socio-economic sustainability and overall development can only be assured through integration.
Let Us Appreciate And Enjoy CARICOM Day!
