An in-depth focus on Caribbean issues
MOBILISING THE CARIBBEAN DIASPORA
THE Caribbean diaspora in Canada and the U.S. have been making a substantial contribution to the economies of CARICOM countries through remittances to family members. Now that North America is continuing to experience tough economic conditions, more Caribbean nationals should consider aiding the region’s economic development by using their professional skills back home. The West Indian Commission’s seminal report “Time for Action”, produced in the mid 1990s after meeting with Caribbean nationals in the region, North America and Europe, made some recommendations not yet implemented and still worth considering.

That report noted that in several fields, the number of West Indian specialists abroad, exceeded those who are at home and that many of these were trained at the University of the West Indies (UWI).

QUOTE: More Caribbean nationals who are thinking of returning to the region to retire or to live there six months of the year, instead of going to Florida, should be persuaded to spend their retirement income in the Caribbean. This will be appealing if the conditions are right in terms of housing and health care and if there is a visible effort to tackle the worrying crime situation.

During discussions in Canada, which I attended as Communications Consultant to the Commission, those professionals who participated expressed a readiness to help their home countries and to consider opportunities for short or fixed-term assignments.

The report of the Commission, established by CARICOM Heads of Government to review and recommend the way forward for the regional integration movement, said it was “urgent” that countries in the region “move decisively” to organise a scheme for attracting West Indians back.

The report also suggested that donor countries including Canada be approached to provide material support for such a system.This was just one of many recommendations from the Commission, headed by former Commonwealth Secretary General Sir Shridath Ramphal, which fell by the wayside.

One of the on-going issues with donor funding is the practice of the donors to use a significant portion of financial resources allocated for projects in the Caribbean to recruit their own nationals who are not West Indian-born as consultants.

Any new donor funds which Caribbean governments can negotiate for this or similar projects should use the services of West Indians.

There is still a need for a database of skills in individual member states to be developed by the various Caribbean High Commissions and Consulates. This in-depth research would have to be funded and systems developed for using this information by the various government ministries and private sector organisations looking for particular expertise not readily available at home.

All of the Caribbean diplomats in Toronto I spoke to on this subject agreed that a skills database would be a very worthwhile project.
One area of opportunity for Caribbean nationals to give back is making their expertise available to the University of Guyana or the UWI to assist with professional development in a wide range of sectors.

For example, a Guyanese Professor at Centennial College has been assisting the University of Guyana (UG) in the area of Information Technology. At UG, there is a dire need for a more professional training programme for journalists.

In Barbados, where there is a major drive to encourage entrepreneurship, what is needed is venture capital or seed money to launch new businesses with good potential. Caribbean nationals here with available capital may want to consider investing in this area.

Jamaica has recently been able to attract sizeable investments in technology and farming from Canada-based Jamaican nationals.
Yet another avenue to use the skills of West Indian nationals in Canada is through the Canadian Executive Services Overseas (CESO). Current skills in demand include expertise in marketing and finance, product quality improvement, credit management, agro-processing practices and international product labelling and packaging requirements.

Another organisation that uses the expertise of consultants is the Barbados-based Caribbean Export Development Agency, whose mandate is to assist Caribbean exporters to successfully penetrate regional and international markets.

More Caribbean nationals who are thinking of returning to the region to retire or to live there six months of the year, instead of going to Florida, should be persuaded to spend their retirement incomes in the Caribbean.

This will be appealing if the conditions are right in terms of housing and health care and if there is a visible effort to tackle the worrying crime situation.
It would be helpful if there was a reputable association in individual CARICOM member countries that could provide advice on real estate and retirement homes as there have been bad experiences reported in this area.
One Diaspora Organisation that is active is the New York-based Society for the Advancement of the Caribbean Diaspora. Among its projects is one to address the shortage of health equipment in the Caribbean. It also recently collaborated with the Jamaica Nurses Group of New York, which went to Jamaica on a fact-finding mission aimed at determining ways to assist with the development of the nursing industry there.

The Society’s President Minna Hamilton La Fortune says while Caribbean nationals are willing to share their skills, “greater trust and friendship” between local and overseas groups must be built. She observed that there is sometimes resentment by locals to nationals from abroad and it is also important that those with expertise don’t give the impression that they know it all.

Jamaica’s Consul-General in Toronto Seth Ramocan feels there is definitely a need for more participation by the diaspora in Jamaica’s national development and agrees that maintaining a roster of available skills is “absolutely necessary”.

One great example of drawing on the expertise of outstanding Caribbean nationals is the visit to Kingston by Toronto’s Deputy Chief of Police, Jamaican Peter Sloly, who has shared “Best Practices” in law enforcement with the Jamaica Police Force.

Other CARICOM countries should also tap into the considerable experience of this Toronto police force veteran.

Jamaica is in the forefront of utilising the expertise of nationals abroad. There is a Minister responsible for Diaspora Affairs within the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a national conference on collaboration with the Diaspora is held every two years with inputs from an Advisory Board drawn from leaders in the Jamaican community overseas including the Jamaican Diaspora Canada Foundation.

Other CARICOM countries should follow suit. Hopefully, CARICOM governments will soon revisit the West Indian Commission’s call for a system to capitalise on the vast expertise in the Caribbean diaspora.  (Sandra Ann Baptiste is a business consultant and specialist in Caribbean Affairs).