WILD COOT – Wrong man

“Boy, you and the secretary stirring up a hornet’s nest,” said a caller to me last night. “You will need some help in replying to the secretary. That argument about xenophobia is a red herring. The burden of the article which the secretary cannot or refuse to answer is the issue of greater fertility rate against a dwindling rate.” The answer will be given in Barbados when the census is done. Muslims are of all races and classes; therefore the question of xenophobia does not enter the equation.If the native population is eventually outnumbered, then the present culture is subject to change for good or for bad. Abraham Lincoln once said that “the ballot is stronger than the bullet”. (The people of Fiji can attest.) Another wise gentleman said “the greater the power the more dangerous the abuse”. My question “frightened” was addressed to the powers that be; not that I am frightened and it is a challenge to confront the reality that may come to Barbados. Why is the secretary so touchy and getting his hackles up? We have no sacred cows now in Barbados, and freedom to discuss issues is still our prerogative. Women and men, young and old, married or divorced, single or widowed, congregate whenever and wherever they lik; our rum shops are on every street corner; we have as many religions as square miles; and people speak freely on Down To Brass Tacks.The British government was constrained to give protection to Salman Rushdie when he wrote the Satanic Verses. My friend told me that he hopes that the Barbados Government will offer me the same hospitality. Now to Mr Secretary. Wrong man, because according to Gabby, ‘my navel string bury hey’. Why resort to xenophobia talk? I am only saying that I would never like to see my children under an Islamic rule in Barbados. I believe that superior fertility rate and immigration can lead into problems. Like former prime minister Rudd, I believe that Muslims are welcome to live in Barbados, but if they want to proliferate in a non-assimilating way so that the natural culture of Barbados is at risk, then I say that is unwelcomed. I hope that non-Muslims are welcomed at your school and can wear a Barbados uniform. I am not knocking the Muslim faith; far be the thought. I am not knocking Islam, although I may not agree with its concepts; but I also disagreed with my father and my children on many issues. I do not want to delineate all the issues between Barbados culture and that which we see and hear portrayed abroad in Islamic countries. I believe that a peaceful coexistence should prevail, but my feelings are that I should bring to the fore issues that confront or may confront our country. After all, I am senior enough. First of all, is the argument correct that the fertility rate is changing the population balance of these countries? If that “be” so, will it not lead to a cultural change? Is not the fertility rate an issue now in Europe? Should we in Barbados not be concerned about a burgeoning Islamic trend that can supersede the Christian population, as in the case of Europe, Canada and the USA? Thus I fear and suspect your argument that “while progressing at a rapid pace Europe and America became the place to be to achieve material success. That plus the fact that Europeans decided that neither marriage nor children were important any more and those that did find themselves impotent due to lifestyle and pollution, several European countries were in a dilemma”. Amen! Listen to what you are saying.  Instead of repudiating my bringing these things to the Barbadian public’s attention, which as history shows is not xenophobic, you should be diligently examining whether my observation have validity. What is happening in Europe and the USA is happening in Barbados. Women are confining themselves to one or two children, not out of “pollution and lifestyle”, but because times are changing and the age of 14 children per family is obsolete.