Migration is perceived as one of the defining features of the Caribbean, since colonisation, slavery and indentureship. The celebrated Caribbean poet, Edward Kamau Brathwaite in lauding the Caribbean Diaspora, says you can find them everywhere,
“…on seaport quays; at airports; anywhere there is a ship or train, swift motor car or jet to travel faster than the breeze… You see them gathered; passport stamped… Where to? They do not know. Canada, the Panama canal, the Mississippi pain fields, Florida? Or on the dock at hissing smoke locked, Glasgow…” 1
Such is the geographical spread of our Caribbean peoples who live overseas. When we speak of the millions who live in the Community we have to double that figure to include those on the Diaspora, hence the two Caribbeans.
The premium being placed on the Caribbean Community’s relationship with the Diaspora is best expressed in the impending groundbreaking Conference on the Caribbean in Washington DC on 19 -21 June 2007, under the theme: Conference on the Caribbean: A 20/20 Vision. [Read more]
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