IT WAS THE KIND OF WEATHER New Yorkers, Bajans among them, abhor.
Temperatures had fallen so dramatically that outside felt like 12 degrees below zero. Snow was piled high on sidewalks and alongside major streets.
Still, more than 200 Bajans braved the biting cold winds of a February evening to hear what Prime Minister Freundel Stuart had to say about the state of the island’s economy, problems at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, reported prospects of a currency devaluation, the frequent shootings, some of them fatal; and the Government’s inability to pay some of its debts.
But when he spoke at the annual “cocktail sip”, a fundraising event sponsored by the Friends of Barbados (DLP) Association, he didn’t focus much attention on many of those issues. Indeed, he hit upbeat notes, concluding that “Barbados was alive and well”. Some said afterwards they would have preferred to hear more about what the Government planned to do than devoting so much time to the past.
“Contrary to what you may read or all that you may hear, Barbados is still 166 square miles. It is still the most easterly country in the Caribbean. Children are still going to school. Buses are still running. Families are still going to church. Supermarkets are still open and all of the dynamics of everyday life are still intact,” Stuart told the gathering.
“This is in spite of the fact that like every other country in the western world, Barbados has been experiencing some challenges as a result of the global financial downturn which began in this country in the last quarter of 2007.”
The poor economic conditions in the United States and Britain had triggered Barbados’ economic decline and persisted for seven years. That is until recently, he asserted.
Stuart mentioned the rich countries to illustrate their economic importance to Barbados, pointing out that they were the leading sources of tourists and foreign direct investment.
Hence, his question: if it had taken the world’s most powerful country, the United States to wrestle with the financial crisis, “what would it take for small countries” like Barbados and its Eastern Caribbean neighbours to come to grips with it?
The answer, according to Stuart was: much longer.
Stuart praised Barbadians abroad, especially those in the United States for doing “a very good job as unofficial ambassadors of Barbados” and in the process had made Barbados “proud” through their diverse activities.
In a speech before Stuart delivered his remarks, Dr Donna Hunte-Cox, the new consul general in New York, said she wanted to “build and strengthen diaspora relations” and intended to boost relations with educational institutions that would help members of the diaspora and the UWI’s Cave Hill campus.
She said the consulate general was planning a Barbados Network consultation in New York to be held in Brooklyn in May.
The DLP Association, the Democratic Labor Party’s arm in the United States, presented awards to Winston Lewis, a successful businessman and owner of the popular Culpepper’s Restaurant in Brooklyn who was given the organisation’s Community Service Award; Oswald Lewis, the President’s Award; and Trevor Massiah, the Membership Service award. Devon Headley, a Bajan student was given the Errol Barrow Scholarship.
Among those present were Derek Alleyne, director of the Urban Development Commission; Jessica Odle-Baril and Lennox Price, two former consuls general; George Pilgrim, DLP general secretary, and Evette King, the Prime Minister’s personal assistant.
