Submitted by George C. Brathwaite
April 08, 2011
Dear Ms. Theodore:
Usually I am very keen to engage fellow academics. On this occasion, I am reluctant, yet I feel that I must. It is most unfortunate that you chose to ‘undress’ in public leaving all to see the types of bigoted behaviour that can sometimes emerge from the Caribbean. What is your agenda, and what gains do you hope to receive in relation to your commentary, ‘Is Barbados an apartheid state?’ Are you attempting to ‘blacklist’ Barbados through the use of grossly misleading statements and invectives? I am shocked and very disappointed that you are studying at the doctoral level and would resort to the lowest gutter in order to spew a load of intellectual diatribe.
All I ask of you Ms. Theodore is to support the assertions that you make because I will be sure to expose not only your weaknesses in writing, but the sordid contempt that you have for us in the Caribbean as whole. Perhaps you are shocked after having received more than you have bargained for from the outset. Maybe, just maybe, you are your own worst enemy because it is you who fit the build of having “the seed of distorted perception [wherein it] finds new meaning in a glowing age of literacy.
Ms. Theodore, are these your words and can you support the following claims with facts and evidence?
1. Although recent developments in the world at large mark the end of legislated apartheid, it seems that its entrenched social and economic effect operates covertly on Barbadian shores.
2. While opponents consider the analogy of apartheid defamatory and reflecting a double standard when applied to Barbados, it cannot be denied that in light of recent discriminatory practices towards their own Caribbean brothers and sisters, apartheid is practiced both internally and externally in Barbados. It is true that Barbadians have protected themselves with an aggressive nationalism.
3. In Barbados’s struggle to present to the rest of the Caribbean the picture of a perfect society or the Utopian dream, covert segregation among its own people prevails, denying the ordinary working class the historical legacies that they had overcome since the days of slavery to their present day liberation.
4. Supermarkets in Barbados only cater for tourists — another exchange that deliberately conceals the truth that Barbadians are treated unfairly on their own shores by the white bureaucracy — an exchange that prompted local calypsonian Gabby to reclaim Barbadian heritage for all in song and poetry.
I contend Ms. Theodore that the concluding words in your commentary are most apt; you wrote that “words have taken over my realism but the chaotic and baroque practice of apartheid in Barbados must be examined.” I am sure that any sane and practicing clinical psychologists or for that matter any reasonable psychiatrist is likely to conclude as I do that you are suffering from illusions of grandeur and really, your thinking has long left reality. In fairness, should you provide the facts to support your claims, I may have to apologise to you.
An additional point for you to consider Ms. Theodore; on what grounds will the CCJ be able to make an intervention and, how does one bypass all of the systems in the Caribbean to reach an International Court on Human Rights? I remind you finally, that the very country that you live in has a policy of strict adherence to its laws preventing discrimination on the grounds of racial hatred. Moreover, Canada, like Barbados, is a signatory to several UN conventions against the perpetuation of racist remarks. I consider the following remarks of yours to be racist, criminally intended, and invoking a subtle hatred not here in Barbados, but in Canada. Here are your inciting words that threatens the security of Barbadians and Barbados Ms Theodore: “As this matter transcends to an international human rights investigation, they will notice that with a tarnished reputation as a people strangled from within and one that discriminates against their own colour, they will in time be treated the same by immigration officials on the international scene and their tourist industry will suffer as well.”
May the Caribbean continue to produce intellectuals of the highest calibre; I hope Ms. Theodore that you may amend your ways of intellectual dishonesty for the sake of Dominicans, Barbadians, Jamaicans, and the wider Caribbean at home and in the Diaspora.
Barbados Underground 
Random Thoughts, that’s nice to hear about star niece. Whenever she’s ready, she and others like her r welcome to consider paying some taxes on their foreign earnings back to Bim. I think it’s only fair. I hope the Bajan govt’s putting our taxes to good use over there!!
RT, re: Moneybrain – my thoughts exactly about the requirement of Bim for tax income from high-flying Bajans living and working overseas!
@ ac
“Are black people in Barbados allow to be landowners.
Are black people in Barbados allow to vote for a government of their choice. Racism itself does not make the sum total of apartheid.There are more motivating factions and factors which would deny blacks a free life in the pursuit of happiness. Racism is only a small factor of the whole. You must read up on Apartheid in South Africa and the whites imperialist who made it impossible for blacks to have freedom. My dear Frank that i have not seen in Barbados and i am inclined to believe that you have a myopic vie of Barbados being away for 46 years . Our country is one of democracy and is still growing good and bad will affect our decision but like in a democracy we correct and try to learn from our mistakes.”
A RESPONSE TO ac
All the sources I checked conforms what I know that apartheid is i.e. living separately
OK ac black people are allowed to own property in Barbados… of the 80% of African descent Bajans in Barbados how many own property in BROAD st? How many of the 80 or so % own PRIME estate compared to 20% non African Descent Bajans. Lets look at it this way, I can say to you yes you can buy this airplane but if you don’t have that money in your pocket to purchase it and are unlikely, in your lifetime, to earn that money to purchase it then buying it is only an illusion a theory but in reality you will never own it; unless there are some readjustment in your earnings and the price of the aircraft. In this case in this case the people of Barbados will not own in relation to their merit.
Yes in Barbados you can vote. So let us say, by some Divine inspiration or otherwise, the people wake-up tomorrow morning and decided that, owing to the fact that it was our fore-parent whose blood, sweat and tears produced the wealth of the island they now want a reformation to appropriate the wealth of the land to the people who earned it.; and the people come out in masses to demand that adjustment like the people did in Egypt and Tunisia DEMOCRACY!!! JUSTICE!!! Is the cry – what do you think would happen? And if any of our leaders had the ball or tits to accede to the people; what do you think the result would be? I tell you what would happen: Europe would do exactly what they did to Zimbabwe…they would use all their tentacles and strangle our dearly beloved Island. They would get together and put our Barbados under total EMBARGO and say that the ‘Prime minister of Barbados ruined the country; a country that was the envy of the region.’ VOTE? DEMOCRACY? As long as things remain the way they are suppose to be your VOTE count otherwise it don’t. When Manley accepted Castro’s friendship and sought greater benefits from the bauxite and other produces the CIA flooded that country with counterfeit Jamaican dollars (that was printed on the same press as the genuine ones) to pay for destabilization and violence from which the country has not recovered.
And yes Racism does make apartheid whenever the racist wishes…it is the common ingredient of Apartheid.
Me being away for forty-seven years does help me to see my dear Barbados from another angle.
when you are up against a mountain you cannot see the contours and shape of the mountain it is only when you are at a distance that you can truly determine it contours and shape.
Do I know what apartheid is…under Apartheid in SA Steve Bantu Biko (The man who’s face is on the page above) was banned from making public comment as a columnist on a magazine this would have been difficult for him but he went on informing the people under his adopted name ‘Frank Talk’ (which you know means talking frank.)
They were many liberal things happening under the apartheid system mixed-race children were borne and some white people decry the system. Equally under democracy there are ‘Apartheid.’
Yes I know about the Bantustans, Transkei, Soweto I know that under apartheid African people were forcedly remove so that developers could use the land for profit; but that is happening today under ‘non apartheid governments too in S and Central American countries and in Asia. In our Beloved country those modifications does not have to be made they were long in place. The point is (ac), that it is not the name you call a ‘System’ that determines what it is but it is the essence of what it is that matters. Our brother, Mr. Braithwaite, who heads this debate are informing us that
“George Beckford describe in his seminal work, Persistent Poverty, that, “social structures with rigid patterns of stratification based on race, color, and other ascriptive characteristics; cultural pluralism; and highly centralized government and political organization” (Beckford 1999, 40), typify former colonised societies such as Barbados. Hence, focus on these intrinsic phenomena provides range in determining to what extent is democracy in Barbados able to advance the cause of those marginalised by such structures.”
And you, ac tell me that: “Our country is one of democracy and is still growing good and bad will affect our decision but like in a democracy we correct and try to learn from our mistakes.”
Our own eminent Mr. Braithwaite from Cave Hill, no less, tells us:
“My argument therefore contends that there are encroachments to the democratic space available to Barbadians. This is due largely to changing world dynamics whereby globalisation; liberalisation; development aid; debt burden; the mobility of factors of production; the hemispheric and global dominance of US power; the pre-eminence of the international institutions which George Belle refers to as the ‘imperialist metropolitan consortium’; together with other ideological and miscellaneous nuances at local and international levels, stifle the ability for autonomy by the independent Government of Barbados. Hence, by extension the citizens of Barbados are severely constrained in the rendering and remonstrating of their views”
So where are we now ac I tell you what see if you can get a look at the books below:
1) http://stuffedandstarved.org/drupal/node/474
Published on Monday, November 21, 2005 by CommonDreams.org
2) Economic Apartheid in America
by Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman
3) Ending Apartheid in America By Arthur Serota
@ FrankTalk
Comparing Libya to Bim is ridiculous because the majority of people in that Country are very poor and hungry compared with Bajans of all races. If you are implying that Bajans might rise up and slaughter or harm whites that is very UNLIKELY since most black people in Bdos that want to improve their life ARE doing just that and are clever enough to understand that our economy is based on white$$$$ from Tourism, Offshore Business etc. They clearly understand the economic consequences.
I remember when in 1968 one of the Black Power advocates decided to come to Bim, the Great Errol W Barrow refused permission saying “we already have Black Power”.
The very intelligent long term leaders of Bim… Adams/ Barrow/ Adams/Arthur were and are absolutely superior to leftist clowns like Manley and Burnham who ruined those countries and naturally lost their most productive people who refused to take part in said ruination. The average national of those 2 countries has a much lower standard of living than the average Bajan in spite of having far more land, resources etc.
The Americans would have to be idiots to encourage another communist state on their doorstep, not that I have proof of what you claim they did re currency etc. The over-riding proof is that history has shown that communism FAILED! Even China and Russia have radically changed course and embraced Business. Their citizens are far better off as a result. Bim’s leaders did NOT have to play corrupt, stupid leftist games to comprehend the immortal words of Sir Winston Churchill, “capitalism is the unequal sharing of wealth, whereas communism is the equal sharing of MISERY.” Bajans of any race should appreciate the good common sense and brain power of these elite leaders with which we have been endowed.
Zimbabwe should never be sited positively with anything to do with Nation building as Mugabe has proven that he is one of the few humans on Earth that could turn one of the top 3 richest nations in Africa into ECONOMIC HELL for the majority of Black people. Any trained chimp could have achieved the objective of land reform better than Mugabe, he is a disgrace to Africans especially Zimbabweians who have lost everything. Great Leaders dont destroy successful countries, they build their country over time.
The boom in selling Bim to foreigners was questionable although having built up the country, a major bust might eventually provide good properties at bargain prices for the locals.
@ Frank Talk.
You asked; How many Barbadians own property on Broad Street.
My question to you Do Bajans have a right to purchase property in Broad Street if they need to do so . No nobody or a government or law does not deny them such a opportunity in Bim. You still don’t get the relevancy of Apartheid. In South Africa Blacks even if they had the financial wherewithal were not allowed to purchase property . It was against the Law. money did not matter if a person was black. IT was all about control of a people and a system who had a fear of seeing Blacks achieve and becoming a dominant force to be reckoned with.
moneybrain, read what you are telling Bajan readers and the rest of the world:
“The boom in selling Bim to foreigners was questionable although having built up the country, a major bust might eventually provide good properties at bargain prices for the locals.”
moneybrain, the concluding paragraph of your argument…..shows how PATHETIC IT IS
If this is all that, to quote you,
“The very intelligent long term leaders of Bim… Adams/ Barrow/ Adams/Arthur were and are absolutely superior” could leave Bajans with; (Wishful Dreams) then the situation is equally pathetic.
The problem with Bajan like you (I do assume you are Bajan) is that you are too educated but the education is not home grown. It is the philosophy of the hunter on the hunted. It a case of THE LIGHT IS ON BUT NO ONE IS AT HOME
Moneybrain
I find it very strange that of the two countries I mention: Egypt and Tunisia, you (incorrectly) reference my comment as associating Barbados with Libya. In so doing you are associating my scenario and Barbados with violence, anarchy and the break-down of law and order that is common place in Libya today.
You generalisation ‘far too many Jamaican hate anyone who are white’ seem to emanate from a mentality of ‘divide-and-rule’ tactic used by the slave masters to keep African and African Descendant people divided and weak.
Note from my previous posting to you, the ‘hint’ that I had inkling that you were white. After reading that you are indeed white your opinions make more sense.
In spite of the fact that I clearly stated that Zimbabwe was a victim of international EMBARGOS (Which is not a secret.) As the money man, which you claim to be; you should know that even highly industrialised and wealthy countries like Europe and the USA would crumble under total IMBARGO yet you are peddling the lie that Robert Mugabe has destroyed his Country. What about the (PIGS) countries: Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain? Or the whole western Economy…collapsed your statement that even a trained chimp could do better has connotations of the Racist in that region who wanted to maintain the status quo. It would be interesting to look at the Nation that made the initial move on Mr. Mugabe and you will see an interesting story; they are Australia, Canada, Britain, New Zealand and the USA. All land grabbing thieves who have stolen land from the native people and who would NEVER tolerate a successful Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe who Re-appropriated the land to the people…for it would convey ideas to the Aborigines (Origines) Native Americans, Maoris and Africans that they too could Re-appropriate theirs
Not surprising at all Mr. moneybrain. Not surprising you tell us that the disenfranchised people of Barbados have to hope for an economic Tsunami before they can hope to share in the wealth their fore-parent sweat blood to earn and ‘you’ inherited
@Random thoughts….”I am no moneybrain myself but my knowlwdge of statistics tell me that if you are recruiting from only 5% of the population for your board you WILL miss what the other 95% have to offer your Board.”
Well said! This is so clear that even a child could understand this. It is very clear what he thinks of the 95% is good for.
Mooney Brain remember the moon is made of cheese! You chessey idiot! You up in Canada trying to pass as a white Canadian and if they only find out that you have some tar behind your ears you gine see!
@ FrankTalk
It matters little whether it is Libya or Egypt/ Tunisia there are all poor ass people when compared to tha VAST MAJORITY of Bajans. These people have $2 /day, indeed Libyans are the richest of the three.
I dont need or want to divide and conquer because the vast majority of Bajans dont like wild ass Jammies anyhow, if you doubt this check out the abundant evidence on this site under “Is it time for Bdos to tell Caricom to go to Hell”. Check that out and come back again bro.
Mugabe’s land reform and economic policies were ignorance personified and has lead to any embargoes after his stupid actions that have made many more black people suffer than necessary.
You had an inkling I was white, I certainly dont hide that bro. I can assure you that many black Bajans who are well educated agree with many of my points. I was brought up with black people, next door neighbours, playing cricket in the village etc so dont think you talking to someone who cant identify, I can and do.
Your argument about white people not wanting Mugabe to succeed because then the other native peoples around the world would want back their land is ridiculous. If white Govts decide not to pay up or give back land to native peoples there is very little they can do about it. Sad but true! Mugabe has hurt his own people and killed many, including the opposition leader who was beaten up badly.
Your attempt to twist my point regarding RE in Bim is a rather poor attempt since I made it clear I was doubtful about what had transpired over the recent past. I appreciate why you want to twist my words, it is because you are a racist and expect that any white person must be too.
@islandgirl246
You were obviously educated at the pipe during Saturdays in August. Learn to read your Mom will then be proud.
If you had read what i wrote you would comprehend that I gave a scenario which made it clear to anyone with even below average intelligence that it would be COW’s loss if he missed out on appointing genius black guy to his board. How does this make any difference to your financial and personal growth? Just so you know I have $Millions and am only on this MB to help direct people such as yourself on how to improve your life! You want to attempt to make fun of me instead of trying to learn BUT I am MR TOP 2% in many categories on this Earth, including $$$, height and IQ. My confidence is unshakeable for very good reasons!
http://freeport.nassauguardian.net/social_community/299850055025378.php
Sixty-five Bahamians deported over past six months
By YASMIN POPESCU
North America is continuing to rid the country of foreign criminals by sending them back to their countries of origin and over the past six months, some 65 Bahamians were deported.
News Americas recently reported that more than 88,000 criminal immigrants were deported back to Latin America and the Caribbean over the past six months.
The problem here is that a lot of these countries blame their rising crime on these ex-criminals that have been returned, but may not have had much contact with the country prior to.
There were also cases of persons being incorrectly sent to countries, as in a case where a person was born in one country but all family members were from another country and the child was moved to the United States before they knew themselves.
Therefore they have no identification with the country of birth, but more with the country of their parents, i.e. a person born in The Bahamas by Haitian parents who then moved to the United States.
This report noted that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation data obtained by NAN (North America News) show that from the beginning of the 2011 fiscal year in October last year to the end of March this year, 88,497 criminal “aliens” or migrants were deported back to their country of birth in the Latin/Caribbean region.
According to the article, a “criminal alien” is defined under U.S. immigration laws as a migrant who is convicted of a crime.
While the Latin America crew stop at 86,469, only 2,028 were sent back to the Caribbean.
It was noted that over the entire fiscal year 2010, from October 2009 to September 30, 2010 some 190,860 criminal migrants were deported.
In the report, those deported from the Caribbean were: the Dominican Republic which received the most criminal deportees, some 1,066. They were followed by Jamaica which received 528 since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2011. Trinidad and Tobago was third with 125 followed by Belize with 74, The Bahamas with 65 and Guyana with 64.
So far this fiscal year, 50 migrants have been sent back to Aruba and 31 to the earthquake ravaged Haiti. Other Caribbean nations received far less criminal deportees.
Cuba received 20 in the past six months; Barbados was sent 11; Dominica 10; St. Lucia seven and Antigua five. Bermuda has received four criminal migrants since last October while St. Kitts received three; Suriname, the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands, two each, and Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos, one each.
As for Latin America, the largest receiver was Mexico with 70,874 deported as of March 28. The second largest number was returned to Guatemala; some 5,163, while Honduras followed with 4,682.
Then El Salvador was fourth with 3,956.Other Latin nations received far less deportees – Colombia, 471; Nicaragua, 365; Ecuador, 337 and Brazil 260.
Sixty criminal deportees have been sent back to Bolivia so far this fiscal year while there were 50 each for Venezuela and Argentina. Chile has received 49; Panama, 47; Uruguay, 27 and Paraguay, six.
Not too surprised by those numbers David.The economic news in the US is dire at best as the Government is doing its best to look after its citizens first as would any government logically,even if it is Obama whom is supposedly liberal but so far has the highest removal statistics of any sitting President even more so than former President Clinton and Bush.
It’s also interesting to note that considering the Jamaican situation there has been no outcry against the UK government for denying Vybz Kartel a visa to enter for the purposes of “shows”.It is very likely he will be denied entry into all of Europe considering if he was denied in the UK all European countries usually follow suit with their own denials based on another member states denial.There is still common sense in the world I think.
http://www.examiner.com/jamaican-pop-culture-in-national/vybz-kartel-denied-u-k-visa-shows-europe-cancelled
Quoting moneybrain “I have $Millions … I am MR TOP 2% in many categories on this Earth, including $$$, height and IQ”
Being in the top 2% for height is meaningless.
A lotta, lotta people, tens of milions are in the top 2 for intelligence (including me) and that’s pretty meaningless too.
If you were in the top 2% for $$ you would have billions, not just bare mingy millions. A lotta, lotta people have millions (maybe even me). Having a few millions is no longer a big deal.
Mooney Brain remember the moon is made of cheese! You chessey idiot! You up in Canada trying to pass as a white Canadian and if they only find out that you have some tar behind your ears you gine see!
————————–
Aint whats behind your ears its whats between them .
Not much judging from the quality of posts here.
Although I have not lived in BIM for many years (I still visit every year though), I always find a sense of pride when I come to forums and see the general intelligence level with which such articles as the one from Ms. Theodore are meet with.
Having studied at post-graduate level myself, I was baffled to see the lack of facts, propaganda and blatant accusations provided in her ‘article’ but there will always be folks who try to gather attention by any means possible.
Luckily Barbados being one of the most educated countries in the world with a literacy rate of 99.7 has an abundance who can defend themselves with intellect… something that Ms. Theodore probably did not count on.
I have a mate who grew up in the U.K and as a young black man, he thrived to become a lawyer and thus he went to university, conducted himself with a manner of pride and did not use ‘street talk’. However, rather than supporting him, many of the other young folks would say he was trying to be white or he thought he was better than everyone else… I am happy to say he is a successful lawyer now and is doing well. He also gives back to the community with volunteer work while many of those who ridiculed him are in very much lower jobs or on benefits.
I find Barbados has somewhat been placed in the same position where there is always remarks that we believe we are white or we are better than our Caricom neighbours, etc.
We have one of the highest literacy rates in the world, a standard of living classed as third behind USA & Canada in Americas, a good reputation world wide, etc so we should use such articles to push harder up the ladder of success.