ACTING?PRIME?MINISTER? Ronald Jones believes the unrest in sections of the Middle East and Africa could have some impact on Barbados.
His assessment came during the opening ceremony of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus Research Week yesterday.
Jones, who is also?Minister of Education, suggested that researchers could take this opportunity to look at why, in the 21st century, people were fighting for democracy and liberation and not being scared of “standing up against the bullet”.
“We have to ask ourselves those questions and research them now so that as we look at our own space, should these things confront us, what do we do? How do we respond or do we work to ensure that those issues don’t confront us?
“Let us not say it cannot happen here in Barbados,” he added.
Jones noted that the masses in the Middle East and parts of Africa were not only fighting for political freedoms, but against hunger, for education, and the liberation of women.
“We therefore will have to also examine the total process of what will be the impact on the mixture we have here in the Caribbean,” said Jones.
He urged researchers and professors to demonstrate their democratic rights and freedom in order to carry out the necessary research, noting that he did not personally have the resources to fund that kind of research but suggested that they could look to Government.
The minister, who was addressing a room of professors, researchers and scholars, suggested there should be more research on specific topics such as plants, animals, politicians’ behaviour and the recession.
“There are so many things in our environment begging for research. If you could hear the flora and fauna saying ‘come, make use of us’. Let us turn that into something of value to help yourself and the economy of Barbados. So I want to challenge all of you really to do more . . . there is room for more work and Government will support these initiatives,” he said.
