YOU, ME & CSME: The flow of people

IT WAS estimated that 10 000 Polish people would pour into Britain, on Poland’s entering the European Union. When all was said and done, 100 000 Polish people had migrated to Britain in the first five years of their membership in the European Union. More remarkable, they made an enormous contribution to the British economy.The scenario is mirrored in every example of region building that we know of.The specifics of Britain are no less remarkable. A crumbling soft fruit industry saw an immediate revival as a result of the Poles coming in and taking the jobs the Brits did not want. They did very well for themselves and single-handedly rebuilt the soft fruit industry of Britain. But the British had to give up a few things for this wealth, namely the thinking that ‘the Poles shouldn’t be here’ and ‘the Poles are taking something away from us’ and ‘ the Poles are so different from us’.Many a Brit today would say the European Union and all its binding policies, is a tad like the Curate’s Egg, in that in some parts it’s jolly good, in others, awfully bad. But there is no denying that with 64 per cent of all existing British trade being within the European Union (EU), Britain, like most countries, cannot do without the EU and vice versa. Their economies are so interwoven they cannot even think of fighting each other again. And even though they are as diverse as regions come, they are certainly on their way to becoming something akin to a United States of Europe, as it is far more dependent on each other than the states of the United States are.Another major but connected issue is that of language . . . .What will it mean for a culture like the French, when businessmen, businesswomen and teenagers insert into their language the English versions as though there is no corresponding word in their language for the concept.The funny thing about culture is that it continually changes. And systems, because they are made for people, must shift likewise to accommodate the changing dynamics of any given population.Europe, dynamic region that it is, has sought to create of each state a speciality contributing to the whole. For instance Germany’s specialty can be seen as environmental technology; France’s, their ability to feed Europe; the British have their fiscal prowess, and the Italians, their art, their culture.Though emphasising differences can erupt in huge challenges/problems, specialising in areas contributes to the region, all want, all need, each provides a commodity, a service each has the commodity advantage in.Should we be cognisant of the disorder in the international capital infrastructure, use it as an opportunity to fully implement our CSME, we will have to play up the strengths of each and unite on that basis. In this way, there is less of a chance to exploit any Caribbean state.We all recall when coal was king, it drove the industrial revolution. However, fossil fuels took over, and everywhere oil was found, saw almost instantaneous wealth accumulation. Something else will replace oil one day. It is a law perhaps . . . of capitalism. And until we find systems that work better . . . for the majority’s benefit, we will need to win at this game.It is inside of this rubric that in a few years time when Cuba, when Guyana, when Haiti have refound their footing, there very well may be, there very likely will be Caribbean people flowing to Haiti, to Guyana, to Cuba, en masse, for some of the same reasons people flow to Barbados, to Trinidad and Tobago, to Belize or Bermuda now.We ponder on what gifts they will go bearing when these times arrive.