This is an assignment I wrote this semester for a course entitled Geography of Development (we had to write about something that we feel passionate about)...This post stands as a tribute to this course, representing a voice I never had the confidence to let out prior to this semester. If I had to sum my experience up in one statement I'd say I've learned a great deal about what it means to be 'developed' versus 'underdeveloped' in a world where everything status-related is decided for you by higher forces. While I hope this won't the continuous tone of my blog, I was quite proud of this piece and so I'd share it with the Internet. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Yours in writing, Hannah.
Foreign is better: Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire
The
more I learn about the Caribbean and its development strategies, the more I
feel that the region is characterized by a series of ‘get-rich-fast’ schemes some
of which have left us handicapped. The Caribbean is plagued with a warped sense
of what it means to be ‘developed’ and a severely devalued self image. In
reading case studies of various islands of the region I find myself becoming
increasingly frustrated as more and more, the Caribbean seems to be expending
all of its resources for the sake of economic growth, ‘developed nation status’
and ‘modernity’ with help from the always extended arms of transnational and
multinational companies. We as free Caribbean nations seem to always be ready
and willing to concede to the top-down version of what it means to be ‘developed’
forgetting the people we have on the ground and forgetting the struggles of our
ancestors in their fight for freedom, equality and a future in which we do not
second guess ourselves, our people, our expertise and our ability to be
‘developed’ without foreign intervention.
‘Foreign
is better’- We teach our children to aspire to be doctors and lawyers not bred
in the Caribbean, but at the best schools in America and Europe. We buy
imported cereals and snacks at the grocery because of the variety, foreign
meats because they seem to be of a higher quality and foreign vegetables
because somehow they look cleaner or more appealing. When it comes to
development we are quick to jump onto bandwagons of ‘Invitation’ schemes and
foreign aid. Everything is foreign: the television stations we look at, the words
we say, the clothes we wear and now more than ever the thoughts we have.
Somehow we have managed to convince ourselves that being waiters, servants and puppets
in our own country is acceptable. Tourism, Education, Commerce: all better if
they are foreign, if they are white, if they have the global North’s stamp of approval.
When Sir Arthur Lewis publicized his Industrialization by Invitation plans,
Trinidad was one of the countries in the Caribbean that supplied multi-national
corporations with facilities, equipment and labor in return for the expansion
of the oil and gas manufacturing industry. Tax holidays, environmental
degradation, the move away from agriculture and self-sufficiency all seemed
like ‘necessary evils’ at the time, given the rapid growth of the population.
As mentioned before, get-rich-fast seemed to be a first priority, but to what
end? In terms of education, I remember teachers and students alike complaining
about the switch from GCE O and A level examinations to CXC and CAPE because it
was too much work, a waste of time and not accredited. In other words, it was
not foreign and of course anything that does not come from ‘up above’ is a complete
waste of time and energy in our eyes. When I entered UWI, the mother of a
friend of mine asked me what my plans were, so I told her “well, I’m going to
UWI to pursue Geography and Psychology”. Her reply to me was “why are you going
to UWI? It’s such a waste of time; no degree you get there is going to be worth
anything”. The moment that made me truly realize how our people view themselves
was when I asked her what university she went to: Her reply was, “UWI”. How is
it possible to downplay, degrade and as Trinidadians say, ‘bad-talk’ the
institutions our very own ancestors fought to create and preserve? How can we,
as proud Caribbean people, prefer to do what others tell us, rather than to
make our own way? In terms of recreational activities, ‘foreign’ seems to be
the only avenue we endorse. Currently the cinema complex Movietowne we all love
to go to is built on precious mangroves but we’re happy to let it all slip away
for air conditioned buildings, big screens, comfy chairs and popcorn. I have often
heard Movietowne referred to as ‘our very own slice of America’. We are proud
to say this and support the services it offers, yet how many of the outlets and
services are local and can be seen as representative of Trinidad’s progress and
development? As far as our government sees it, development in Port of Spain
involved the water front development and NAPA, our very own National Academy
for the Performing Arts. However, how much of ourselves and our culture are
truly invested into these establishments? We use foreign architectural designs,
foreign planners and architects, even foreign construction companies! We say
that NAPA is the landmark of culture and the arts within Port of Spain, yet
literally across the road is the Queen’s Park Savannah, the hub of Trinidadian
culture for past generations, forgotten and overshadowed. Why must development
involve skyscrapers, large highways, foreign franchises and policies? Why
instead of the Hyatt Regency on the national waterfront is there not a park for
children to play in, or a cultural space for Trinidadians to express
themselves? Is our idea of development and progress a Port of Spain skyline
where the Twin Towers are barely visible amidst a sea of foreign glass towers
and hotel chains?
Without
a doubt Trinidad and Tobago is experiencing growth because of outside
investments into our oil and gas industries, commerce, recreation and education
and it is through foreign loans that we were able to further develop our
nation, but at what cost? Out of the frying pan of slavery and colonization,
and into the fire of industrialization by invitation, environmental degradation
in the name of ‘development’ and a brainwashed region who believes themselves
to be servants, waiters, second-in-command over their own lands and their futures.
Our way of thinking must change, the
way we evaluate ourselves, our worth and our abilities must be corrected. Caribbean people are not damaged, we are not
abused and we are not a dependent people. Local is better,
believe it or forever be chained within the age of mental slavery that is,
development away from the ‘local’.
Foreign is better for those who have not lived abroad
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