A former university principal says Barbados is emerging from the negative economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic but is yet to focus sufficient attention on the disruptive social dimensions of the lockdowns on young people and their parents, especially single mothers and out-of-work fathers.
Professor Emerita, The Most Honourable Eudine Barriteau, made the point while delivering the 5th Annual Ermie Bourne Memorial Lecture on Sunday evening.
The online presentation was titled The Values Of The Village? Preventing Social And Economic Alienation In Contemporary Barbados
“I maintain that the country is experiencing greater social dislocations, post-COVID-19 lockdowns, which have been exacerbated by developments during the pandemic. Analyses have focused narrowly on the absence of morals, the erosion of ‘the values of the village’ and insufficiently on a comprehensive overview of the economic and social trauma visited upon the country by this pandemic,” reasoned Barriteau.
The retired principal and pro-vice-chancellor of the University of the West Indies Cave Hill said the “most vulnerable always find it more difficult to cope” and acknowledged that “people who break the law have to face the consequences. However, long-term solutions lie in preventative rather than punitive measures”. (JS)
