Well here I am, with the soothing Caribbean Sea at my back and the news in front of me that Opposition spokesman on industry and commerce Karl Samuda is recommending that we leave Caricom if Trinidad does not cooperate with us. When I sent out a message last Wednesday night to my Facebook friends that I had landed in Barbados, I got responses like “Be careful!” and “Remember, they don’t like us there”.

We are emotional about West Indies cricket, and many are proud graduates of UWI which is responsible for a high rate of inter-marriage among our Caribbean people. Yet we are still haunted by the ghost of Willie Lynch, that West Indian slave master who first posited the “divide and rule” mantra to his fellows in the southern states of America. Here is an excerpt of his speech as he gave guidelines as to how slave owners could preserve their “stock”:

“I have outlined a number of differences among the slaves, and I take these differences and make them bigger. I use fear, distrust, and envy for control purposes. These methods have worked on my modest plantation in the West Indies, and it will work throughout the South… I shall give you an outline of action – but before that, I shall assure you that distrust is stronger than trust, and envy is stronger than adulation, respect, or admiration.”

There have been queries about the authenticity of the actual speech, but its spirit is so well nurtured by our politicians that it is not the Willie Lynch of old that we need to worry about, but the modern ones who are so fixed on their tiny fiefdoms that they will not focus on the welfare of nation or region. The way we strut around and preen, who would believe that the total population of the 15 member states of Caricom is a mere 16 million, with Haiti making up over half of this number?

The success of governments worldwide who value cooperation and accountability should be a lesson to our leaders, who meet year after year to discuss the same problems, come up with the same “solutions”, and leave us in the same predicament. To compound the issue, Jamaica’s political culture contributes to dividing, not uniting. The continued presence of orange and green flags on light posts in mostly poor communities is a sad commentary on those representatives who continue to proclaim that they serve one Jamaica.

Experienced onlookers have been posing some uncomfortable questions. One demanded that I look more closely at those sittings in Parliament. “Do you see any passion for country? Do you hear any strong recommendations backed up by statistics and global case studies?” she asked. Another noted, “They are too busy hiring their friends as ‘consultants’. I went to a meeting recently and could not believe the number they had at that one ministry.” My jaundiced friends say we have the most selfish set of politicians ever visited upon us on both sides of the House. Well, I know personally the dedication of folks like Rev Ronnie Thwaites and Dr Chris Tufton. They could lead the unity charge – what a mighty movement that could become!

It is ironic that in one of the most faithful church-going countries and regions of the world, we still refuse to cooperate with each other. I am writing this column here in Barbados where I am attending a church conference with colleagues from Antigua, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. We hope to use our skills as communicators to spread God’s word throughout our region. We are Signis Caribbean, a Roman Catholic group. Catholics are only 2.6 per cent of the Jamaican population but our impact on education and outreach is significant. Our Church requires that we have an ecumenical outlook, cooperating with members of other faiths.

I believe our religious leaders in the region should come together to demand better of our politicians. They may be our last resort towards achieving positive, unifying leadership.

Perhaps our churches could put up a website for the region where they post their expectations and commend exemplary politicians for their work. From this exercise, we could have Caribbean role models to promote a higher level of regional governance.

Be sure about it, neither Jamaica nor the region can prosper if we continue to tear each other down. Under present conditions, a few politicians may prosper while we become the cautionary tale of a richly blessed archipelago who sold out their birthright for a mess of pottage.

FIFA honour

The legendary Winston Chung Fah recently received FIFA’s highest honour, their Order of Merit, in Budapest, Hungary. A chapter in my book Souldance is dedicated to observations by Winston on the importance of football to Jamaica. Chungie founded the Santos Football Club in 1964, describing it as “the tent under which all classes could meet – uptown, downtown and cross town”.

He later became the unforgettable coach of Clarendon College, making their team the most envied schoolboy football players. His inspiring coaching techniques gained him wide popularity throughout the CONCACAF region.

We engaged Chungie and Johnny Barnes for a schools football clinic in the late 80s at the request of Owen Moss-Solomon, then CEO of Hardware & Lumber. As the children lined up, Chungie demanded of one boy, “Where do you think you’re going with your shirt out of your pants?” The boy quickly made himself tidy! Discipline was a key component of Chungie’s coaching regimen.

Chungie was the beloved technical director for the Cayman Islands Football Association and returned to Jamaica to coach our national team for two years in the early 90s, taking us to victory in the Caribbean Cup. Winston Chung Fah is only the 16th person from CONCACAF to be awarded since the institution of the FIFA Order of Merit in 1984. We look forward to what promises to be his riveting autobiography.

Exquisite dance theatre

Our beloved poet Claude McKay gave us the poignant Harlem Dancer and his writings captured the ferment of that centre of African-American cultural development in New York. So we were particularly keen to see the performance of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, gifted us by US Ambassador Pamela Bridgewater and her team in honour of Jamaica’s 50th Anniversary of Independence. Our expectations were rewarded as we enjoyed the fine presentations of this versatile and expressive dance company. Thank you, Ambassador, for a truly memorable evening!

lowriechin@aim.com

www.lowrie-chin.blogspot.com