The Caribbean influence on extra-regional countries
GOAL
For students to analyse how the global community and Caribbean society impact each other.
OBJECTIVE
Analyse the impact of the Caribbean on extra-regional societies.
Since the arrival of Columbus, the Caribbean region has been interacting with Europe (Spain, England, France, Holland, etc). The United States and Canada later became frequent interactors with the region, even to this day. This earliest form of interaction had many benefits for all who were involved. It is the safe to describe, as Mohammed (2015) agrees, that this interaction was an early form of globalisation, which knitted the economy, culture and society of the Caribbean and Western Europe into a close relationship. This relationship was of superiority and inferiority between the metropole countries, which dominated the means of production, and the Caribbean regions that were exploited for their economic gain. The influence of the society and culture of the Caribbean on extra-regional countries has been identified in a number of areas: politics, economics and culture.
POLITICAL INFLUENCE
Caribbean nationals over the years have migrated to parts of the United States, Canada and Europe. The most organised group of Caribbean nationals in the US are the Cubans, and they have had significant influence on US politics because of their number and economic power. Though illegal immigrants who arrived by boat, they were not repatriated because of their possible fate if they returned home. They represent a major voting bloc in South Florida. They have been credited with:
Forcing lawmakers to maintain and strengthen the trade embargo against Cuba (key legislation – the Helms-Burtons Act 1996).
The creation of Radio Marti, with the expressed intention to undermine the communist system in Cuba through the flow of information.
The political impact of Haitians is limited largely because they are divided along class lines. In Miami, Haitians act as a voting bloc. The Haitian Refugee Center has used the issue of the ‘boatpeople’ to mobilise the Haitian community and to bring a number of legal actions against the US government.
The increased flow of migrants and the extent of narcotrafficking to North America and Europe from the Caribbean have resulted in the enactment of more stringent immigration and surveillance measures such as:
1. A reversal of a decades-old policy on the repatriation of Cuban asylum seekers.
2. Increased cost to obtain visas or imposing visa requirement on some Caribbean countries (countries that enjoy Canada’s visa waiver are Antigua and Barbuda, St Lucia, St Vincent, St Kitts and Nevis, Barbados and The Bahamas).
3. Deportation to home countries of aliens convicted of crimes.
4. The Shiprider Agreement that allows the US Coastguard to pursue suspected drug traffickers in Caribbean waters.
5. Intelligence sharing and the splitting of proceeds from successful indictment of drug traffickers.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
Large populations of Caribbean migrants in New York, Toronto and London have created a tradition of carnival celebrations which are attended by thousands. These festivals boost the local economy in hotel bookings, taxes on entertainment services, the food industry, and provide work in producing costumes and organising aspects of the festivals. In a report published by the London Development Agency 2003, the Notting Hill Carnival was said to contribute £93 million to London’s economy and generate 3,000 full-time jobs. The West Indian Day Parade is said to attract two million participants and generate US$70m in revenue (Caribbean Quarterly 1985). The Caribbean Quarterly (1985) found that Caribana was to be attracting over one million visitors and accounted for CDN$200 million in tourist expenditure.
WORKFORCE
The US government has appointed people of Caribbean origins in high offices in various arms of the government and judiciary. The Canadian and US governments have also allowed temporary migrant workers (farm workers) to pick fruit in Canada and Florida. These economies are very dependent on Caribbean workers to harvest fruits before winter. Increasing from the 1990s, teachers, nurses and other healthcare professionals are actively recruited to fill growing vacancies in these areas to which nationals are not attracted or are in short supply. Caribbean people continue to impact the economy of developed countries by providing an educated and willing workforce.
OFFSHORE BANKING
Countries such as the Cayman Islands, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos, Anguilla, and Antigua and Barbuda are offshore economies catering largely to clients abroad. These clients are mainly interested in tax avoidance in metropolitan countries.
CULTURAL INFLUENCE
Caribbean cultural forms such as music, food, dance, and religion have penetrated the waves of international markets and have gained acceptance. The impact of Caribbean music, largely reggae and to some extent soca, is felt mainly in the urban centres of large cities such as New York and London. Reggae has been used to:
Market Levi jeans (Boombastic).
Create an online course ‘ The Rhetoric of Reggae’ at the University of Vermont.
Reggae music has been the main medium through which Rastafarian beliefs and lifestyle have been introduced to the wider world. Rastafarian communities and reggae are to be found on every continent. The steelpan was also transported to developed countries with the migrants. Currently, in North America, steel band music is part of the curriculum, while the tuning of pan is a growing skill that has the potential to contribute to the economic development of this region. One association, Pan European, is assuming the responsibility for creating a network to promote the development of pan in Europe. The steel pan is also incorporated into forms of music, like rap.
Caribbean cuisine competes with those of other ethnic groups in the urban centres in metropolitan countries. While companies like Golden Crust and Caribbean Food Delight have become big businesses in the US, Caribbean food caters mainly to the taste of Caribbean populations but remains a specialty to native populations, particularly those who have visited the Caribbean or who have close association with Caribbean nationals.
REFERENCES
Understanding the Contemporary Caribbean, Hillman & D’Agostino.
CAPE Caribbean Studies, Mohammed, Jeneffer. Caribbean Studies Modules I-III, Reid, Ruel.
The Caribbean: Struggle, Survival and Sovereignty. Sunshine, Catherine.