Yurumein (Homeland): A Documentary on Caribs in St. Vincent

YURUMEIN: film trailer from Andrea Leland on Vimeo.

Originally published on H-Caribbean, June 2014

(Director) Andrea E. Leland. Yurumein (Homeland). January 2014. 50-minute documentary / DVD format / 4:3 aspect ratio / surround sound.

Resistance, Rupture, and Repair: The Story of the Caribs of St. Vincent in the Caribbean

 

Yurumein by Andrea E. Leland effectively begins twice: first it begins in St. Vincent, and then, as a reflection of the contemporary relocation of the Garifuna, it begins again in Los Angeles, which probably has the largest number of Garifuna people outside of Central America and the Caribbean. The core of the film ostensibly follows the journey of Cadrin Gill, a Los Angeles family doctor, who self-identifies as Carib and who was born in Sandy Bay, St. Vincent, one of the residential areas of the island that contains a sizeable Carib population. Focusing on the reclamation of pride in Carib identity, and the beginnings of a cultural resurgence that happens in part as a transnational process of reconnecting indigenous communities in the Caribbean region (in this case the relinking of Honduran Garifuna and Vincentian Caribs), this film serves as an important document of the contemporary presence of indigeneity in the Caribbean. The film thus helps to fill in the map of indigenous cultural resurgence in the Caribbean, of indigenous communities that did not simply vanish due to European colonization, but that resisted and repaired what they could. In this sense the documentary helps to further challenge centuries of writings, and even modern historiography, whose emphases have been Carib decline and extinction. In addition, as there has been so little produced, whether in film or in writing, about the Caribs/Gairfuna of St. Vincent, apart from the occasional thesis or conference paper offered within regional institutions, this film further serves to fill in the gaps in our knowledge.

Yurumein represents part of a growing series of films on indigenous Caribbean topics, but is unique as one that focuses on St. Vincent. As a contribution to documentaries about the indigenous Caribbean, this film joins Last of the Karaphuna (Philip Thorneycroft Teuscher, 1983, focusing on the Dominica Carib Reserve); Caribbean Eye: Indigenous Survivors (UNESCO/Banyan, 1991, focusing on contemporary indigenous communities in Guyana, Trinidad, Dominica, and St. Vincent); The Garifuna Journey (also by Andrea Leland, 1998, focusing on Belize); The Quest of the Carib Canoe (Eugene Jarecki, 2000, focusing primarily on Dominica’s Caribs, but also bringing special attention to Trinidad and Guyana); Three Kings of Belize (Katia Paradis, 2007, focusing on Belize, including a focus on a Garifuna musician); and The Amerindians (Tracy Assing, 2010, focusing on Trinidad’s Carib Community).

“That paradigm has changed,” Dr. Gills says in the film, a change in paradigm that involves increased recognition of “our history and our heritage.” It is an important point, as he adds that this has happened “only recently.” Indeed, we are now in the third decade of a region-wide indigenous resurgence in the Caribbean, one that arguably began at least on a formal, organizational level in St. Vincent itself in 1987, with a conference on the indigenous peoples of the region that would later result in the formation of the Caribbean Organization of Indigenous Peoples (COIP), whose first president was the Belizean Garifuna anthropologist Dr. Joseph Palacio.[1] (Coincidentally, in my own research context in Arima, Trinidad, 1987 was the first year that Trinidad’s Carib Community received delegates from seven different Guyanese indigenous tribes.[2])

On a local level in St. Vincent, this paradigm change has also occurred. “We were brought up as Englishmen, so we had an English mentality,” Dr. Gill explains, “and consequently there was not much knowledge about my history…. [I]n my days, it was not ‘fashionable’ to be called ‘Carib.’” Echoing what I found in my research in Trinidad, the film presents a series of individuals in Sandy Bay who explain that they did not know of their Carib ancestry until they reached adulthood, while others did know and could not hide it and were thus targeted for discrimination in the wider society as “ignorant,” “backward,” “warlike” and “cannibal” people, leading some to suppress their own identification as Carib. (Unfortunately, this juxtaposition of lack of self-awareness as Carib, while the wider society discriminates against them as Carib, is a paradox left unexplored in the film.) While there is now a positive acknowledgment of their ancestral ties (and explaining why this has happened recently exceeds both the scope of the film and this review), Caribs in this film also reflect on what they say is their own lack of personal knowledge of Carib history and language. While they point to a number of surviving traditions, such as the making of cassava bread (which one woman claims, without much credibility, to have learned to do all on her own), it is clear that the identity is also understood in racial terms, with a not infrequent reference in the film to phenotypical markers, specifically dealing with one’s face and one’s hair. The kind of racialization that historically distinguished the Caribs of northern St. Vincent, especially in the towns of Orange Hill, Oven Land, Sandy Bay, Point, Owia, and Fancy, from the Garifuna or “Black Carib” of the southern town of Greggs (which is never mentioned in this film), is not confronted in this film. Indeed, the seemingly inexplicable adoption of “Garifuna” for all Carib descendants was one of the surprising things I learned from this film, and as a local historian explains, this is “relatively new” (but we are not informed as to why it has happened).

On an international level, the film speaks of examples where Caribs today are still stereotyped as “wild cannibals” in a few yet influential quarters. Here the film showcases Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean (2003- ) as one of the latest examples of this malignant stereotyping. Those presented in this documentary explicitly comment on their task as one of combating the influence of Hollywood.

What “loss” means, what constitutes “knowledge,” and knowledge of loss, are all difficult questions that the film brushes against on occasion. If the Vincentian Caribs do not know what “was” their culture, how do they know what was “lost”? Rather than risk diving into and drowning in an essentialist exercise of trait-listing, I prefer the formulation of the New Zealand anthropologist Steven Webster, who argues that “Maori culture is not something that has been lost, it is the loss; being ‘a Maori’ is struggling to be a Maori.”[3] There is more to this however, as some knowledge of what it means to be “Carib,” that is actually in line with its original political meaning in the first century of European imperial invasions, is knowledge that persists. As Odette Sutherland, a Vincentian Carib, says in the film: “They were rebellious people. They didn’t want to work as slaves. The Caribs always liked to be independent and work to help themselves and their family,” then adding as she continues working in her yard, “I am proud to say that I am a Carib.” Another person declares: “That is our king … the chief of the Caribs … Joseph Chatoyer. He fight for the Carib country.” Cadrin Gill expands on this theme of resistance in remarking that during colonial rule in the Caribbean, “St. Vincent was the mecca of freedom,” where escaped slaves from nearby territories often sought refuge and were welcomed by the Caribs. This historical knowledge, of the Caribs as the original anti-imperialists of the modern world system, is further attested to in a dramatic fashion, on display for tourists and all visitors, at Fort Charlotte. There a sign states, “built by the British as the chief defence against the indigenous people and their allies,” and all of the cannons are pointing not out to sea, but inland. (It is also possible that the message of anti-imperialism is simultaneously lost by being displaced into talk of centuries past, focusing on the British, as Dr. Gill does not seem conflicted about displaying a portrait of Barack Obama behind his desk.)

One of the unresolved tensions in this film is that of claiming lack of knowledge on the one hand, yet currently producing knowledge of contemporary Caribness that in some senses accords with the original political content of the identification. Colin Sam, Gill’s nephew, repeats the complaint of a lack of cultural knowledge of self. Yet he and his fellow Caribs clearly know a great deal, but it is not formatted, packaged, and labeled in the same way that academics produce cultural history in writing. Hence, rather than a detailed report produced by an archaeologist, in this film we have: “the Caribs were here ever since.” It is simple, perhaps, but it is also an understanding that is necessary for any sense of indigeneity. In addition, among those speaking in the film is Nixon Lewis, a Carib researcher who spends his spare time doing archival research during annual trips to London, and when not there, then being “on the Net all the time.”

Further adding weight to the idea of a paradigm shift are the words of the prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, who in speaking of the brutality of British rule declares: “let us not mince words: genocide by the British.” What is significant is the occasion on which these words were spoken: National Hero’s Day—an annual public commemoration of Joseph Chatoyer, a long sought-after national holiday first demanded by the Committee for the Development of the Carib Community (CDCC), an organization not mentioned in this film.[4] Demands for such a commemoration were rejected by the government for numerous years. In one scene of the film, we can barely make out a banner in the background on which these words are painted: “Indigenous People’s Day Rally.” Indigenous People’s Day is another of those events that Sherelene Roberts explained the CDCC had long pursued.

Some shortcomings of this film should also be noted, aside from some of the gaps and silences noted above. We are told that 2 percent of St. Vincent’s 120,000 people are Caribs, but the source for this not indicated, nor is the deeply problematic issue of counting such a contested and suppressed identity considered. Moreover, Roberts reported a figure of 3.1 percent reporting themselves as Carib during the 1991 Population Census.[5] The film might then lead some to believe that there has been a decline since then. The film also reports that there are a total of 400,000 Garifuna in the United States, Central America, and Caribbean combined, which is a very significant size (again, a source would have been useful). Aside from these points, there is no debate in the film about the problems with attempting to phenotypically define Caribness by the quality of one’s hair, and whether this could mean an implicit rejection of one’s Africanness. The film in fact generally ignores the African dimension of Garifuna identity and history (even when some of the traditions being taught by Honduran Garifunas to their Vincentian hosts are creole Afro-Caribbean ones). The fact that a largely African-descended population is the only population in the region to have kept the Island Carib language alive is surely one of the most spectacular stories of Caribbean history, and a key sign of trouble for any attempts to racialize indigeneity or to distill it out of larger processes of creolization. There is also no discussion in the film about the relations between Garifuna/Caribs and the national government. We hear Prime Minister Gonsalves delivering a stirring speech about British genocide against the Caribs, but then the film ends by pointing out that the Vincentian island of Balliceaux, where the Garifuna were imprisoned in 1795 before their exile to Honduras, rather than being safeguarded as land the Garifuna consider to be sacred has instead been put up for sale to private buyers. Also in the context of Balliceaux, the narrative in the film first claims that a radical cultural eradication occurred, but that then the survivors carried their culture intact to Honduras. Left like that, the statement makes no sense, and we should expect that a project that lists dozens of contributors in its credits would permit the opportunity for some to review and point out such contradictions that sometimes rendered the film’s narrative a bit too shaky.

In summary, several aspects of Andrea Leland’s Yurumein documentary are particularly noteworthy. One is the emphasis of an acute consciousness by Vincentian Caribs of their “cultural loss” and at the same time a renewed pride in their Carib ancestry. Another is the dimension of transnational resurgence, with Garifuna from Central America (originally from St. Vincent) returning to spearhead a renewal of Carib pride and to share traditions. A third observation we can make is about the degree to which this documentary is a nonacademic production, moreover one that is not mediated or narrated by any academic expert. A fourth notable aspect is the extent to which the project involved in making this documentary was locally constituted.

While the film’s gaps and the level of the narrative are bound to receive mixed reviews from academic audiences, this documentary could be useful for first- or second-year students in the North American university/college setting, and for the general public. With twenty years of immersion in indigenous Caribbean research, my own special interest has me enthusiastic to see just about any serious attempt at a documentary on the region’s indigenous peoples, given the paucity of such materials and my continued inability to complete my own long overdue video productions. One has to recognize the considerable effort that went into the making of this documentary, especially given its broad-based network of local contributors, the abundance of available narratives, the political implications of those narratives, the numerous topics deserving special attention, coverage of key local events, and on top of it all an effort to insert the viewer into some aspects of the daily lives of today’s Vincentian Caribs. With so many “moving pieces,” frustration and even failure are more likely than success. This documentary instead succeeds in encompassing a wide range of contemporary issues and historical processes, in a visually engaging manner, and really without trying to tell viewers what to think. In this last respect, it becomes ideal for the classroom setting because it leaves gaps to be filled in by a lecturer, and the work of interpretation open to discussion in the classroom.

I do not think, however, that this documentary should be viewed alone in the context of a course on the Caribbean or on indigenous peoples (or both), that is, in the absence of any other scholarly materials in this topic area. Having said that, it is at present the best current filmic resource on an indigenous community in the Caribbean, one that has long been virtually invisible in the academic literature and documentaries. Others may have done more, but they are becoming increasingly dated. That this documentary has already received some excellent reviews, including by specialists in Garifuna studies, further underscores its virtues.

Notes

[1]. Joseph O. Palacio, “Caribbean Indigenous Peoples’ Journey toward Self-Discovery,” Cultural Survival Quarterly 13, no. 3 (1989): 49-51.

[2]. Maximilian C. Forte, Ruins of Absence, Presence of Caribs: (Post)Colonial Representations of Aboriginality in Trinidad and Tobago (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2005).

[3]. Steven Webster, “Postmodernist Theory and the Sublimation of Maori Culture,” Oceania 63, no. 3 (1993): 222-239.

[4]. Shereline L. Roberts, “The Integration of the Caribs into the Vincentian Society” (BA thesis, University of the West Indies, 1996).

Printable Version: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=41305

Citation: MAXIMILIAN FORTE. Review of (Director) Andrea E. Leland, Yurumein (Homeland). H-Caribbean, H-Net Reviews. June, 2014.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=41305

First Peoples Conference in Trinidad and Tobago

Two Vincentians are representing this country at the International Conference of First Peoples of the Caribbean and the Americas, which began today, Friday 11th October, and will run until Sunday 13th October, 2013, in Trinidad.

Mr. Edwin Johnson of the Greiggs Black Carib (Garifuna) Community, and Ms. Molena ‘Mel’ Nanton of the Sandy Bay Kalinago community are attending the Conference hosted by the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community of Trinidad, and held under the theme, ‘Exploring Heritage, Consolidating Traditions, Creating a Legacy’.

The Conference is being held in collaboration with The University of Trinidad and Tobago, and the Ministry of National Diversity and Social Integration, Trinidad and Tobago, and carries as its objectives, to: map the cultural continuity of First Peoples communities of the region, including governance systems, gender and the participation of youth; raise awareness of the indigenous spiritual traditions and world views; highlight and propagate the importance of sustainable living practices of First Peoples communities; regenerate the knowledge systems of First Peoples communities in preserving natural resources; revitalize the traditional skills associated with First Peoples culture for the larger usage by different communities; explore governance systems, politics and international affairs.

The Conference will be held at The University of Trinidad and Tobago, O’Meara Campus, and features seven working Panels, covering the areas of: Youth, gender and elders; Indigenous World Views; Approaches to Spirituality, Rituals and Festivals; Governance and Relationship with the Natural Environment.

In addition, there will be two Performance Panels, showcasing the music, song, dance, handicraft, cuisine and literature of the First Peoples.

St. Vincent’s Nelcia Robinson serves as the Conference Administrator.

Indigenous-African Relations Across the Americas

Our Legacy: Indigenous-African Relations Across the Americas, is a three-day conference about to start at York University, in Toronto, in which I am pleased to participate. It was organized by Canadian indigenous scholar, Bonita Lawrence. The noteworthy feature of this conference is that it also serves as a mini international gathering of indigenous representatives from across the Caribbean, primarily from Belize, Honduras, Dominica, St. Vincent, and Trinidad & Tobago. To begin the event, Joseph O. Palacio was to have been the keynote speaker, but no longer appears to be attending. 

During the morning of Saturday, 30 April 2011, two panels will be focusing on the Caribbean. Panel 2, Contemporary Indigenous Caribbean Identity, will feature: "Carib Identity, Racial Politics, and the Problem of Belonging" by Maximilian Forte; "Good and Evil in the Garden: Indigenous and African Oppression and Solidarity in the Post-Contact Caribbean" by Leah Stewart; and, "Surviving as Garinagu in the 21st Century: Resisting and Transforming Colonial Categories of Race in Honduras" by Kimberly Palmer.

Panel 3: Historical Perspectives on the Colonial Project in the Caribbean and Circum-Caribbean Region will feature: "Caliban's Caribbean Voyage: Historicising Caribbean Discourses of Indigeneity and Indigenization" by Melanie Newton; "The (Re)vision of Slavery: Bartolomé de Las Casas and Francisco José de Jaca's formulation of a counter-legal discourse in the Hispanic Caribbean" by Rebeca Moreno-Orama; and,  "Black Cultural Brokers on Spain's Indigenous Frontiers" by Jane Landers.

Unfortunately, the panels appear to be taking place simultaneously, which will hinder my own coverage of the Caribbean-related events.

In the afternoon on the same day, a very exciting panel:

Contemporary Indigenous-Black Relations in the Caribbean with:

Zoila Ellis Browne, Garifuna Cultural Foundation of St. Vincent,
Irvince Auguiste Kalinago Nation of Dominica,
Brendon Lacaille, Santa Rosa Carib Community, Trinidad

Adapted from the conference program, more about each of the above:

Zoila Ellis Browne, of the Garifuna Cultural Foundation of St. Vincent, lives in St. Vincent. She has an Masters Degree – Mphil in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, U.K. and a Bachelor of Laws (Llb) ) Honours from the University of the West Indies, Barbados. From June 2006 to the present, she has been a Magistrate of District III, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, in charge of adjudicating Civil and Criminal Cases in Seven (7) Magistrates Courts in the District. For many years she has worked to develop programs to guide the disbursement of European Union Grant Funds to support public and private sector projects in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominican Republic. She has been Senior Attorney-at-Law at legal firms in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Belize, and a consultant on human rights, anti-poverty, farmers and environmental concerns and efforts to promote biodiversity in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Belize. From 2001 to 2009 she was the founder and President of the Garifuna Heritage Foundation, a non- governmental organization dedicated to the promotion and development of the indigenous Garifuna Culture in St.Vincent and the Grenadines and the diaspora. She speaks English, Spanish, and some Garifuna.

Irvince Auguiste, Kalinago Nation of Dominica, is former Chief of the Kalinago (Carib) Territory of Dominica and remains a member of the Carib Council. The Carib Territory in Dominica is the Caribbean's largest remaining community of Caribs. This 3,700-acre reserve has approximately 4,000 people of Carib descent. Auguiste has been involved in numerous projects to promote Carib heritage, including being project manager of the Touna Village development project. This project aims to show visitors a living Kalinago village; all 70 villagers in Touna have a stake in the project and open their homes to visitors. They demonstrate traditional skills such as basket weaving, making cassava bread and extracting juice from sugar cane. Auguiste notes that the Kalinago have been working as guides in tourism for many years; however, with projects like the Touna Village, Caribs are beginning to control and benefit from tourism; moreover, this has stimulated an interested in revitalizing traditional Carib practices. Recently, Auguiste has also been involved in a project to develop a radio station for the Carib territory. He notes that an indigenous radio station for the Kalinago people would foster greater communication amongst the island's Caribs, as well as promoting cultural revival and education programs about Carib people in Dominica.

Brendon Lacaille, Santa Rosa Carib Community, Trinidad, is a member of the Santa Rosa Carib Community, Arima, Trinidad, where he addresses Afro-Carib identity within the membership. He has a BA in Liberal Arts from the St. Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies. Since 1999 he has been the Administrative Director as well as part-time lecturer at Arts-in-Action, Centre for Creative and Festival Arts, University of the West Indies in Trinidad, West Indies. Arts-in-Action utilizes the creative arts, specifically drama/theatre, including the carnival arts, festival performances and folklore (as is mandated by the mission of the Centre and Arts-in-Action's own emerging methodology called 'Legacy Theatre') in making theatre for educational purposes. In relation to its youth work portfolio, the group has completed projects that deal with violence, self-esteem, drug abuse, globalisation, consumerism, environmental literacy and conservation, curricula and its 'flagship' project "Jus' Once" which focuses on sexuality, STI's and HIV/AIDS.

Reports from the conference may appear on this site, and you can also check tweets from @1D4TW. Until later...

The Empire Strikes Back, by Paul Lewis

Submitted to The CAC Review by the author. Copyright remains with the author.

Balliceaux, the small Grenadine Island off the coast of St.Vincent, the scene of the 1796-97 internment of the Black Caribs (Garifuna) after their defeat by the British, and where thousands died due to mistreatment, disease, malnourishment and neglect by their captors, appears to have been sold to British investors. Documents lodged by J. Barnard, Realtors (on behalf of Baliceaux Development ) with the Physical Planning and Development Board of SVG to construct a new Residential/commercial building on Baliceaux, point to the sale of the island since a “contract for purchase agreement was made in March 2008.”

This is no ordinary purchase. It involves the sale of both Balliceaux and Battowia for an unconfirmed price of EC$400 million for 191 hectares (471.96 acres) of land. The project, according to the said documents, calls for an investment of US $750 million over a five year period. The plan is hugely ambitious but appears totally unrealistic and environmentally unsound particularly as it will be located in a hurricane zone. The glossy presentation by Richard Hywell Evans, Architectural and Design Limited of England presents a futuristic look for the new Nirvana of the eastern Caribbean, a project reminiscent of designs currently employed in the Gulf States.

(A rough sketch of the Developer’s Plan)

Balliceaux will accommodate 45 luxury condominiums with private jetties, 2 mega villas, Owner’s Club, two beach bars in North Bay and Landing Bay, and a “Carib Indian Monument.” Linking Balliceaux to Battowia will be an extensive marine development that will accommodate 350 yachts, a clubhouse for 200, 80 village apartments, 25 marine houses, 118 marine duplexes and 131 wharf houses.

Battowia will be the site of a huge luxury resort hotel, 35 cliff villas, 15 hillside villas and a summit restaurant. The government has agreed to lease Church Island to the developers - to make the project more realistic. Church Island will be the location of a destination spa and treatment room with medical facilities.


This three- phase plan involves the construction of swimming pools; facilities for machinery, diesel fuel storage, sail loft, chandler, shipwright, and a customs house and police station. The stated purpose of this huge project is to construct not only residential accommodation on land but luxury residential marinas that will cater to international, regional and local homeowners, and transient yachts, while ‘preserving’ the environment of the area. It will be built to accommodate as many as 1000 persons, but because of peaks and lows in the tourist season they expect an average of 300 guests.

The project’s environmental investigations as presented in the Planning Board’s documents are skewed towards very technical areas- water, currents, climate, hydrology, pollution etc. But noticeably absent are studies that would document the impact on the flora and fauna. The indigenous plants and animal species- the wild life- appear not to figure prominently in their programme. Earmarked for closer examination are three areas, including paragraph 2.9 on Conservation. It states quite blandly that “Any species of note located shall be temporarily protected or if not possible relocated to a more suitable site area, for inclusion on the final site landscape plan.” In section 2.8, the developers state: “Balliceaux is acknowledged as a site for cultural and historic Importance in the Carib Indian population. It is intended that a better understanding is achieved and that a monument to the Caribs is designed and built with available access on Balliceaux.” Magnificent! But who are these developers with this surprising social conscience? Vincentians know nothing about them, yet they are suggesting that they will build a monument to the Garifuna people. Will the monument be the sum total of their “better understanding “of the Indigenous people? Is this some form of ‘atonement’ for the treatment of the indigenous people by the British, possibly Gordon Brown’s Apology to the Carib Nation? Or, is this a new form of Reparation?

Did this government renege on their promise to erect a monument in memory of the death of 2,500 Garifuna on Balliceaux between 1796-7? The Government of SVG, especially Hon. Rene Baptiste, Minister of Culture, have spoken about this project for many years. But it seems that it is no longer a local project but a gift by British developers to the people of SVG! This new corporate citizen has attempted to ingratiate itself with the locals by sponsoring a 2008 Carnival Queen contestant. Again, who are these investors? Are they British or Arabs? Of concern too is the absence of any planned archaeological or historical investigations –even rescue archaeology, nor any proper environmental cataloging of the islands. It is to be noted that the developers want to use the experimental High Efficiency Pump (HEP) from inside the hillside of Battowia, as an additional source of electricity.

But there are larger development questions here. We must be concerned about a project that is worth more than twice the combined value of our Gross Domestic Product and our National Debt. When we combine the operations of projects in Mustique, Buccament, Mt. Wynne and Canouan, and the power and influence of such foreign developers, we must ask questions: Who runs this country? Who calls the shots in SVG? How much sovereignty do we really enjoy? Moreover, with so much money floating around these developers can make or break governments, and keep unruly ones in power almost indefinitely.

Globalization has brought us many benefits. However, signing on to international trading agreements has reduced our ability to protect our home markets. We are forced to open up to all and sundry, and our weak economy and general bargaining power, makes us vulnerable, uncompetitive, and puts at the mercy of more powerful countries. Reciprocity is critical if one accepts the new globalized international system, and big developers coming to SVG to maximize their profits. They are hardly concerned with uplifting the welfare of the ordinary people. Some of the real benefits of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) the administrative, technical, and technological transfers do not happen in every project, and this is certainly one such case. Moreover, it would hardly attract ‘old’ money as residents, but the nouveau riche and the drug lords, awash with plenty cash, will find an ideal opportunity to invest in a lovely villa in “Paradise Regained.’

There is a need for a firm policy on foreign investment in the Caribbean. What are Caricom and the OECS doing about the rampant sale of our lands to foreigners? It is time that the foreign investment regime for the region is revisited, and a moratorium instituted to stop the sale of Caribbean lands to multinational corporations. We are selling off too much of our patrimony, and politicians are putting too many roadblocks in the way of local and regional investors that would allow them to pool resources, and access funding from regional and international lending institutions to develop large projects in the region. We prefer to be re-colonized by our former colonial masters, thanks in part to the example of our Portuguese Prime Minister, the 'blackest' politician in the Nation, and a former ‘black power’ advocate. We need to stop the foolish jealousy among ourselves, especially when we see another local doing well. We are putting everything in place to allow the rich foreigner to become even wealthier.

The Project in Balliceaux as presented to the Planning Board is excessive and would challenge the ability of locals to control their living pace. It does not address fundamental issues pertinent to the islands such as the impact of the project on the fragile ecosystem, the fishing industry, protection of the physical environment, and the history and archaeology of the islands. The project will create a state within a state. Through its wealth and financial power it would wield a disastrous influence on the politics of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

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Government of St. Vincent Planning Sale of Island Central to Garifuna History

Thanks to a number of colleagues, especially Joseph Palacio, Paul Lewis, and Wellington Ramos, for forwarding this news over the past three weeks (my apologies for the delay in posting these items). This news concerns moves by the Government of St. Vincent & The Grenadines to possibly sell off the island of Balliceaux:

Garifuna may lose the right to visit the island of Balliceaux

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

By: Paul E. Lewis

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent: If Dr Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, is allowed to have his way, the Garifuna and all Vincentians may soon lose the right to visit Balliceaux . This small island, which is located on the south-east coast of St Vincent was the scene of the internment of the black Caribs after their defeat by British forces in the Second Carib War in 1795-96. Now the government wants to sell/lease a privately owned island to foreign developers for hotel construction. Never mind the government does not own the island, it has assiduously sought foreign financiers to develop this small and historically neglected island in the hope of saving its disastrous economic policies. Chances are, however, these islands might have acquired a new owner in recent times, unknown to the general public.

Balliceaux, long neglected by central governments, has played a pivotal role in the history of the defeated black Caribs, now know as the Garifuna. The Treaty of Paris (1763) gave Britain control over St Vincent and ushered in a period of 33 years of concerted efforts by Westminster to parcel out land to Englishmen. Such efforts to control the best lands on the island for sugar production and general colonization and to destroy the culture of the native Caribs resulted in two so-called Carib Wars of 1772-73 and 1795-96.

The struggle by these indigenous groups led by the more numerous black Caribs, a hybrid group of shipwrecked and escaped Africans on the one hand, and island Caribs on the other, against the rapacious French and British colonials, resulted in the Caribs in St Vincent being the last of the indigenous people in the region to hold out against rampant European imperialism. Paramount Chief Joseph Chatoyer, first National Hero of St Vincent and the Grenadines, is the most visible symbol of that struggle to maintain the sovereignty of lands that today are being ‘returned’ to its 18th century usurpers.

The British-Carib Wars were culture conflicts -- a clash of values and lifestyles between two widely differing peoples and cultures that hardly understood each other, and made little effort to do so, especially in the case of the British. One side desired to be left alone in its unique cultural milieu, while the other was determined to conquer that group’s land and change the society, if necessary in complete disregard of the others wishes. This culture clash pitted a society with relatively high technological capabilities, notions of economic progress and a commitment to the application of reason, science and military power, against one in communion with nature. Notions of intuition, a communal lifestyle, and a belief in the supernatural and non-christian deities informed and conditioned Carib society. In another sense, it was a conflict between an acquisitive society and a self-abnegating one.

The Carib Wars were wars of liberation. However, the numerically superior British forces and advanced military equipment defeated the locals, and approximately 5,000 Caribs surrendered and were subsequently interned on Balliceaux, a small island off the mainland. Disease, melancholy and starvation reduced the population to 2,500 when the remainder were rounded up in British naval ships and, under the leadership of Captain Barrett of the HMS Experiment, were shipped off to Roatan Island off the coast of Honduras , there to begin a period of wandering and subsequent settlement in many Central American republics, including Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Belize . The survivors of British injustice formed the nucleus of the modern Garifuna community in the Diaspora.

In defeat, the indigenous enemies of the British were treated differently from their French allies. While the French were accorded the usual treatment and sent back to Guadeloupe, the Caribs were required to surrender unconditionally, this included loss of entire homeland, culture and ultimately their lives. By late October 1796, approximately 4,195 black Caribs, 44 slaves and 102 “yellow Caribs,” were sent to Balliceaux -- the last two categories were subsequently returned to the mainland.

The genocidal act of British authorities on Balliceaux resulted in the deaths of thousands from a “malignant fever”, variously diagnosed as either typhus or yellow fever. Nancy Gonzalez in Sojourners of the Caribbean: Ethnogenisis and Ethnohistory of the Garifuna, has noted that while the primary disease for many Englishmen in the Caribbean was yellow fever, the descriptions of the illness matched that of typhus. And while contemporaries claimed that it was not an important disease in the tropics, Barbados had reported an outbreak in 1795. Be that as it may, more than half of those interned fell to typhus or yellow fever. The death rate compared favorably to the mortality rates of New World natives when they were initially exposed to contacts with Europeans in 1492. Many Gaifuna died within a week on contracting the mysterious illness and death was frequently accompanied by pain that included fevers, petchial ulcers, emaciation and weakness (Gonzalez). The Garifuna were also affected by overcrowded conditions and a paucity of clean drinking water.

The British decision to return light-skinned Caribs to the mainland divided the indigenous community since one obvious consequence was the breakup of family groups. It was a political act too that “rewarded” those who were assumed to have supported the British -- a devious and mischievous decision by the British. Later some planters continued to press for the removal of all Caribs, again for other reasons, to Central America. However, no more deportations took place after 1797 and the remanding Caribs were “pardoned”, given lands, but denied all political rights.

Historically, Battowia was blessed with relatively more water than Balliceaux that in turn had more of an abundance of pasture land. The Linley family capitalised on this good fortune and for many years worked as farmers, producing cotton, sugar, and raising stock animals as cash crops. The family built small boats to facilitate the transport of goods to market on the mainland. But the islands were never settled in the true sense and, and apart from the great ‘Disastrous Migration’ of the Internment years when the owner, a Mr Campbell was paid £1,731.15 by the government for the use of the island (Adams) , neither Balliceaux nor Battowia was ever settled, and the Linley family had always retained control of the islands. But having survived for over 200 years in ‘splendid isolation’, a progressive government of ‘right thinking’ individuals were determined to end this somewhat rustic but idyllic life for those who lived on Balliceaux, by pulling this land of farmers and their itinerant helpers into the maelstrom of 20th century economic development and corporate politics -- another demonstrable manifestation of ‘good governance’ by Ralph Gonsalves.

On or about January 4, 2008, immediately after Dr Ralph Gonsalves was accused of rape and sexual assault by a female police officer, he departed for Europe to seek investment funds to develop the island of Balliceaux. There had been no public discussion/debate on development for Balliceaux or Battowia. Transparency is not his style. But force of circumstances catapulted him into bearing gifts to the nation. In this case it was development for one of our sacred places -- Balliceaux. This tendency of the PM to pull something out of the hat whenever he is in a spot of difficulty has become his modus operandi.

The B & B Project must be placed into a wider political context: (1) the desire of the Gonsalves regime to turn this 150 square mile island into a first world country in quick time, but without the requisite human resources and material infrastructure to do so, (2) to leave his mark in the annals of Vincentian history as the greatest political leader, and (3) to transfer the development agenda of the nation into the hands of white foreigners. The Portuguese Gonsalves considers himself to be the ‘blackest politician” in SVG, yet he seems to favour white entrepreneurs since “Vincentians can’t manage anything.”

Gonsalves, a leader of the radical student movement of the UWI, Mona Campus during the 1970s, a self-professed ‘black power’ advocate, a fierce critic of the Tom Adams government in Barbados, and a solid supporter of Marxist Leninist principles in his younger days and who still considers himself an “old communist,” has jettisoned all political principles and now seeks comfort in the entrepreneurial efficacy of the white expatriate developer class! Balliceaux will be offered to the Gods of Neocolonialism -- the new economic credo of this regime -- complements of the ‘blackest politician’ and ‘second best run black government in the world!’

Last week a foreign-born local businessman with media interests, himself a substantial landholder in SVG, took some potential European investors to Balliceaux and Battowia to view the ‘investment.’ The title to the islands is vested in the hands of the Linley family and not in the government of Ralph Gonsalves. All potential investors must be aware of such legal implications. The likely orchestrated visit of potential buyers might be used by the government to ‘strong arm’ the owners of Balliceaux and Battowia to sell the islands for the economic benefits of foreign operators. The sale would not be in the long term interests of the people of St.Vincent and the Grenadines. But the fact that Gonsalves announced to the nation in January that he was proceeding to Europe to secure development funds for a number of projects, including Balliceaux, strongly indicated that a sale may have taken place or was about to be concluded. If that is the case, and if as reported the recent visit of those Europeans “looked serious,” then Balliceaux and Battowia could soon slip out of the control of Vincentians and into the hands of a European commercial house. And if Joseph Linley, the court appointed controller of Balliceaux, has effected such a sale , then the government must ensure that certain guarantees are put in place that would protect the interests of Vincentians. It is critical that government:

1. Establish a memorial park to the Garifuna People, and institutionalize an annual commemoration ceremony
2. Guarantee Vincentians access to the island, including significant heritage and natural sites
3. Guarantee that Banana Bay and other archaeological sites remain in situ and not be disturbed to construct jetties etc.
4. Conduct extensive archaeological Investigations on Balliceaux and Battowia
5. Impose a ban on the construction of large living structures
6. Monitor that all beaches remain public beaches
7. Monitor and enforce all applicable environmental laws

Many Vincentians believe that both islands hold too important a place in the historical record, and are too valuable as the home of rare birds and wild life to be cavalierly given to foreigners for commercial exploitation. If, on the other hand, no deal has been struck then there is still time for the government to reconsider its position. There is a growing consensus that the 1796-7 site of the severe suffering of the Garifuna people should be a heritage protected zone , set aside permanently for the use of all , especially the Vincentian people. The ideal solution would be for the government of St Vincent and the Grenadines to purchase the island as a National Heritage Park. It should not be sold to foreign developers.

We must be concerned about turning over a site of such huge historical and archaeological significance to foreign developers for purely commercial exploitation. Insufficient archaeological excavation, especially at Banana Bay, has been done to give us a satisfactory picture of the internment period, and to square the historical records as to the number of people who were effectively corralled into that small space. Questions such as: Were there really 5,000 people living simultaneously on the island? What diseases did most of the Garifuna die from? What artifacts did they take with them to the island? What can these artifacts tell us about the black Carib society of the 1790’s? Apart from the investigations of Bullen and Bullen (with the assistance of Early Kirby), and the earlier investigations of Fewkes, no follow up work has been done since.

There is the real fear that any hotel development will effectively shut out all relevant activities of locals and visitors alike: An inability to use the beaches, experience the exquisite landscape, and a denial to visit the site of the fallen Garifuna brethren will be a psychological blow to the Garifuna at home and abroad.

Such fears are real because a hotel development in Balliceaux would most likely go the route of Mustique – a playground for the rich and famous and perhaps not so famous too! Privacy and exclusivity would b be the operative words to describe such a development and locals visiting the island will not be appreciated. And, will known burial sites remain in situ or be bulldozed to put up fancy homes for the new ‘settlers’? Any such development will be tragic and a severe indictment of our government that is making some tentative steps under Minister Baptiste to show greater respect for our heritage.

Baptiste, however, cannot do it alone, and it is difficult to find anyone else in the cabinet with some degree of sensitivity and commitment to cultural issues. The lack of response from some Garifuna groups in SVG in relation to indigenous issues has concerned many Vincentians in recent times. The Garifuna Cultural Foundation headed by Zoila Ellis Browne, Belizean born wife of Mike Brown, Minister of National Mobilization , has said nothing and is not expected to say much about this issue, just as it kept silent during the 2005 Disney-Carib controversy over the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean when Disney producers insisted on writing scenes of Carib ‘cannibalism’ into the movie . So I call on Minister Baptiste, the only Minister with any “cultural worth” to protest against the sale/ lease of Balliceaux to any foreign developer.

The sad part though is that when there is a conflict between heritage preservation and economic development, the preservation and protection of the nation’s heritage s not given equal weight in the discussion. Too often the heritage agenda seems an ‘inconvenient moment ‘for the politician who is too busy ‘wheeling and dealing’ to stay in power; and the cry of economic development is always made to resonate more with the voters. But when we give away all our lands to foreigners and the critical decisions are made elsewhere, what tin pot politician with a hugely inflated ego will have the political and economic clout to influence a board meeting of a multinational firm in London, Paris, New York or Rome?

Today there is the real danger of the region losing ‘effective’ sovereignty to multi-national corporations when it hands over (selling/leasing) significant strips of territory to persons with unknown international connections. Such individuals, if not properly screened and effectively monitored, can bring more harm than good to our small and vulnerable island states in the Caribbean. We do not wish to be drawn into the vortex of the dangerous international drug cartels. The Regional Security System (RSS) and the local Coast Guards are still unable to adequately handle drug trafficking in the region, hence the importance of British and American naval forces in the region; and with so many islands now effectively controlled by foreign interests- Palm Island, Mustique, Canouan and now the prospect of both Balliceaux and Mayreau drifting further away from the control of the mainland, alarms bells must be sounded both at home and abroad.

The sale of Balliceaux is symptomatic of Caribbean peoples’ plight to retain control of their living spaces. Moreover, it is a slap in the face of organizations and experts who have counselled governments to be more cognizant of indigenous citizens’ rights to land ownership. The recent remarks of Dr Len Ishmael, Director-General of the OECS Secretariat, who in her address to the 46th Meeting of the OECS Authority in Dominica 16-18, January 2008, expressed alarm at the tremendous land sales to foreigners that was slowly disenfranchising locals from owning property. Ishmael noted that locals are not only being alienated from the ‘quiet use and enjoyment’ of their lands, but further criticized developers who were “acting in ways to intimidate locals from using beaches on which their resorts have frontage.” More importantly, she asked a number of fundamental questions:” What are we doing in the name of development? At what price is development? Is no price too high? Is the alienation of the rights of islanders a realistic price for what we define as progress? After the land is gone, what’s left?” After Balliceaux is gone, what’s left, Mr Prime Minister? These are some of the questions that the government of SVG must answer before it goes ahead with any more development projects.

Balliceaux can better serve the interests of the people of SVG if it is purchased by the government and converted into a heritage park for the enjoyment of all. We need not develop every square inch of land. And the sustainable development of both islands as national parks can bring enjoyment to the people and revenues to the public coffers. The government must find another way to reduce its deficit of over $1.2 billion EC Dollars. Selling Balliceaux and Battowia is not the solution to its financial woes, or the personal difficulties that the Prime Minister faces over multiple allegations of rape and sexual assault charges leveled against him by women at home and abroad.


THE GOVERNMENT OF ST VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES SELLING BALLICEAUX IS AN INSULT TO THE GARIFUNA PEOPLE WORLWIDE

May 5, 2008

By: Wellington C. Ramos

The island of Saint Vincent and all the other territories in the Caribbean, the Americas and the rest of the world existed long before the Europeans decided to venture into these regions and colonized them. The Europeans have always defended their colonization of these territories by saying these people were cannibals, pagans, backward and needed to be converted to Christianity. During the colonization, slavery and genocide that was committed by the Europeans against many of the native cultures of these regions causing their lives to be disrupted indefinitely. The Garifuna people who were labeled as “Black Caribs” by the British were living in that area since the early 1600’s and were first sighted by the French colonizers. Before the French came into that region, the Spanish attempted to conquer that region but they were defeated by their ancestors the native Kalinagu Indians.

The French were aware of the Spanish attempts to engage these people and were defeated so they came with a different strategy which was to try and convert them into becoming Christians and then colonize their territory. The Kalinagu Indians became suspicious of the French waged a war against them and forced them off the island. Yet, despite this defeat, the French claimed that this island and it’s people belong to them and ceded this island along with other territories in the Treaty of Paris signed with the British in 1763. Saint Vincent at the time was the largest agricultural producing nation in that region and the food that it produced was needed to feed the French invading forces. After the treaty was signed with the French, the British aggressively sought the colonization of this island. The native Kalinagus and the Garifunas decided to resist all attempts by the British to take over their native lands.

After many years of war the British defeated the Garifunas and the Kalinagus and interned them as Prisoners of War on the island of Balliceaux. The were subsequently deported to Roatan Honduras on April the 12th, 1797. Only a few thousand Garifuna people survived and they were handed over to the Spanish Crown. Most of the Garifuna people names were changed from French names and original Garifuna and Kalinagu names to Spanish. Today, a majority of the Garifuna people have Spanish names and they reside in the countries of; Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Belize and the United States. The Garifuna people have maintained their culture despite their ordeal with the Spanish, French and British colonial experience.

Today the Garifuna people’s music which is called “Punta Rock”, an upgraded version of one of their cultural dances called “Punta” have played a major role in internationalizing the Garifuna Culture. Famous Garifuna musicians and artists such as; Pen Cayetano the inventor, Andy Palacio, Chico Ramos, Muhubub Flores, Arielo Martinez, James Lovell, Poots Ti,Ti Man Flores, Paul Nabor Centino, Wrekless, Paula Castillo, Maimie Martinez, Rhodel Castillo, Aziatic, Guwie Augustine, Alvin Payne, Junior Aranda, Gabaga, Koro Velasquez, Brother Nate Francisco, Machete, Isawel Flores and many other Garifunas have all contributed to the continuing development of Punta Rock music. Even though Punta Rock and Jankunooh dances are highlighted the most, the Garifuna culture have more different type of dances and music that play a vital role in their culture. Garifuna music and dances that are utilized by Garifunas depending on the type of cultural activity they are engaged in at a given time and moment.

Since the Garifuna people were deported from their homeland, the government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have failed to do something significant to have an on-going cultural exchange program with the countries in Central America where the majority of Garifunas currently reside and practice their culture. Saint Vincentians could be sent to Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Belize to conduct cultrural researches and engage with their people in order to learn the language, religion, arts, crafts and all aspects of the Garifuna Culture. Embassies and Consulates should also be established in these countries now if there isn’t any.

Instead of trying to sell the island of Balliceaux, the Saint Vincent Government should establish a Garifuna Village and Museum on the island where the Garifuna people from Saint Vincent and the rest of the world can visit and witness all cultural activities taking place daily and the exhibits of the sites could be seen before they were deported. The revenue this will bring through tourism to the Government and people of Saint Vincent will far surpass the sale of the island. This would also accomplish the dual goals of preserving the culture and providing jobs and economic stimulus to the Saint Vincent economy. If the government was to make the mistake and sell this island, it will outrage the Garifuna community at large and a movement will emerge to stop that drastic move. I am now appealing to the people and government of Saint Vincent to think twice before they make this huge mistake.

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Andy Palacio: Diffusing Garifuna Culture Internationally

Andy Palacio, a Garifuna singer and songwriter from Belize and a former teacher and current government minister, has been recording a string of hits and making news across Central and North America. Recent coverage in the US press has included feature articles in The San Francisco Chronicle (see: "Music that could save a culture," by Chuly Varela, Wednesday July 25 2007, which appeared on page E-1 of the print edition), and The Wall Street Journal (see: "Black, Amerindian and Proud of Building on a Tradition," by Ed Ward, June 26 2007, which appeared on page D5 of the print edition).

In The San Francisco Chronicle article, Palacio speaks at length on the issue of the Garifuna language. He says: "I think my generation in Belize is the last to be raised where Garifuna was our first language in the home, streets and playground. But in the classroom, English was the language of instruction." He adds that, "in its essence Garifuna is one of the Arawak family of languages, with borrowed words from Africans, who intermarried with Arawaks and Caribs. The French also had a significant impact on the Garifuna vocabulary when we were relocated to the Central American republics."

Palacio also praises the role of women in maintaining Garifuna culture: "[It is] the women who have nurtured these songs and kept them alive [and the] men who have been beating these drums all along. Our mothers who have retained in their minds recipes for tasty Garifuna dishes. It is at their feet that I sit in order to learn."

The article in the SFC also notes that, "in 2001, UNESCO proclaimed the Garifuna language, music and dance Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Palacio played an important role in securing that recognition, and that led to his appointment as deputy administrator of the National Institute of Culture and History in Belize."

The Wall Street Journal article also reveals Palacio's concern for the loss of the Garifuna language, rooted in a visit to a Garifuna community in Nicaragua where the language had virtually disappeared: "This established a certain consciousness in me, that there was the frightening prospect that we could wind up in Belize like the Garifuna in Nicaragua."

The article ends on a note of ambiguity, indicating that while Palacio has generated a great deal of excitement at home and abroad, it is doubtful whether his success will help to preserve the language. On the other hand, as the writer of the article noted, similar efforts to revive Cajun music and Irish music in the 1960s and afterwards proved successful.