THAT BARBADOS has been on the downward slide from its once coveted economic pedestal, amid growing national concerns for recovery, is a reality being faced at home and abroad. Hence, the elation in officialdom over a reported economic growth of less than half of one per cent at the end of 2010, instead of a feared contraction of 0.4 per cent as originally projected by the Central Bank.
Even as the official Opposition questions the basis for the revised data, Caribbean nationals across this region and beyond would want to wish the best for Barbados – one of the founding members of our Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and once noted for an impressive record in quality social services and economic management.
As a CARICOM “family member”, Barbados would also be aware of a shared responsibility in sustaining what its “Father of Independence”, Errol Barrow, had emphasized in speaking of Caribbean Integration – The Reality And The Goal; namely, that “the fact of our regional togetherness is lived every day by ordinary West Indian men and women in their comings and goings”.
When, therefore, in this season of spreading discontent – resulting from challenging social and economic problems that afflict so many member states of CARICOM – readers of the Weekend Nation (January 28 edition) were confronted with a headline No Citizen, So No Care, it should have aroused a spirit of caring among all “family members”to discourage any inclination towards divisiveness, sparked by a narrow sense of nationalism.
The news article had to do with the shocking treatment experienced by a 75-year-old St Lucian-born national who has been living in this country for 55 years, but who was denied health care at a polyclinic because she could not produce proof that she was a Barbadian citizen or had permanent resident status.
The official position, as recently enforced by the Ministry of Health, is that only Barbadians or non-nationals who are permanent residents may continue to receive free prescribed drugs from polyclinics, and all private pharmacies have also been so advised.
I do not know the affected elderly woman, but she would have been an innocent victim of a poorly conceived and executed official communication programme to sensitise the general population – in addition to doctors and pharmacists in the public and private sectors – that free drugs and medical care were now restricted to Barbadian nationals and immigrants who are permanent residents.
If the Government is in possession of the data, then it would have had a reasonable idea how many non-nationals (CARICOM and others) would be affected by its new health care policy.
No non-nationals living and working in Barbados but who do not have permanent resident status should quarrel with Government if they are denied free drugs or medical care – even as taxpayers – although being aware that such services are still obtainable in other CARICOM jurisdictions, irrespective of immigration status.
It may surprise more than a few Barbadians how many CARICOM countries still continue, in these days of socio-economic downturns, to permit CARICOM nationals to receive free medical care – even without a work permit.
Rickey Singh is a noted Caribbean journalist.