The Caribbean has been advised to get rid of its insularity and to pool resources in order to achieve its maximum potential in sports, economics and social development.
That advice came from visiting scholar Professor Anton Allahar as he delivered the feature address at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus Sports Awards Ceremony 2011 at the 3Ws Pavilion on Tuesday night.
In a very frank presentation centred on the theme: Pool Your Resources, the Canadian-based Trinidadian intellectual lamented the fact that Caribbean people were still keen on perpetuating colonialist methods of divide and rule although they were now dividing and destroying their own people.
No Caribbean nation was omitted as Allahar pointed out that the region was quick to point to others as being responsible for whatever ills befell them while ignoring that by coming together and pooling resources like Europe, the region could become a mighty force.
“It is unfortunate that where the Federation was to be headquartered was one of the reasons for its disintegration,” Allahar stated.
Allahar also criticized Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar for her comments about the country not being an ATM machine for the Caribbean at a time when regional brothers and sisters were experiencing tragedy, and he pointed to objection by former Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur that Mara Thompson was a St Lucian and should not be running for a seat in Barbados Parliament.
Lamenting the treatment being meted out to Guyanese, Alllahar warned that Guyana held the most resources in the Caribbean.
“Guyana will rise again and I can only hope that that country will be more gracious towards its Caribbean neighbours than they have been to Guyana,” Allahar stated.
During the night’s activities plans were announced of the UWI’s intentions to win the Campus Games in Barbados next month as Cave Hill had not won since 2003, and even Allahar, a declared Mona man, indicated that it was time that the trophy was brought home to Cave Hill.
The performance of the cricket team in repeating as Division One champions proved no match for the hockey squad which won ten out of ten matches to gain promotion to the Premier Division and take the Team-Of-The-Year Award. Their leader Colin Elcock won Coach Of The Year.
Chess player Martin Castilho was voted the Sportsperson Of The Year, while the netballers also proved to be champions in winning Division Four to move up to Division Three. There was no doubt that the Intermediate cricket team was the Most Improved Team after staving off relegation in 2009 and returning to appear in the next year’s finals to be runners-ups.
The talents of Cave Hill were also displayed beyond the playing arena as netball captain Monique James sang Wind Beneath My Wings to her coaches and management, while in anticipation of the success of the Blackbirds in the Campus Games, Charlene Bovell did justice to Whitney Houston’s One Moment In Time.