St Vincent PM urges closer cooperation with African countries
Gonsalves said that the assistance to Haiti should be regarded as a moral debt owed to the “first independent state of African descendants in the Western Hemisphere”.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, CMC – St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has told African leaders that the bonds between the African continent and the Caribbean must be strengthened.
“We wish to reaffirm our love to Africa and our commitment to work together to build a better life for our populations,” he told the 14th Summit of the African Union (AU).
Gonsalves, speaking on behalf of the Caribbean, cited as an example of African-Caribbean cooperation and solidarity, the decisive military action by Cuban forces in Angola’s Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, which led to the downfall of the apartheid regime in South Africa.
He urged the 53 African leaders to assist in the rebuilding of Haiti that was hit by a powerful earthquake on January 12, resulting in the death of an estimated 200,000 and more than one million homeless.
Gonsalves said that the assistance to Haiti should be regarded as a moral debt owed to the “first independent state of African descendants in the Western Hemisphere”.
A statement issued by the St. Vincent and the Grenadines government said that St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas as well as government ministers from Belize, St. Lucia and Grenada, and other representatives from Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and various Caribbean Pan-African organisations attended the AU summit that was held under the theme “Information and Communication Technologies in Africa: Challenges and Prospects for Development”.
That’s right Ralph. I have been saying this for too long, the Caribbean needs to form a non aligned bloc with African nations. We all share the same social, economic and political histories. We are all products of colonialism and we are all regarded as pawns for developed countries. Our relationship must be premised on like minded interests. That of economic stability and sustainability. This was the real intention of ACAP , which became undermined by the LOME Convention.
I cannot begin to stress the importance of creating an economic union among African and Caribbean States, especially in this state of dire economic crisis, which threatens to wipe out our economy. This union would also serve as a strategy for confronting the myriad problems that globalization has presented to us. From stagnating economies, to environmental degradation.
I also applaud the Prime Minister for advocating that all assistance to Haiti be regarded as a moral debt. This is true not only for African countries, but for European countries who have benefited economically from centuries of slavery. It is also relevant for Afro Caribbean people to recognize their debt to Haiti, because without Haiti, we would not be free people today. It is most of all the responsibility of African and Caribbean countries to come together in the spirit of brotherhood, to assist in the rebuilding of Haiti.
I must however admonish Ralph to practice what he preaches. To live the thing is what really matters. He can interlocute about the importance of African Nations to cooperate with Caribbean nations, but if in St Vincent he continues to undermine the social, economic and political progress of African descended Vincentians, then all he is advocating is moot. Another thing, Ralph seems to be caught up within the humanistic scholarship. I certainly do not think that it is his position to advocate on the basis of African descended Vincentians. He certainly cannot claim agency for Afro Vincentians experience with colonialism and slavery. Let me remind you Ralph that you are a product of the same plantocracy that enslaved my people and you cannot deny that you and your generations still continue to inherit this legacy. You are part of that white oligarchy that informs decision making and political power in St Vincent. As a matter of fact, the fact that you are the Prime Minister today, bears credence to this. So for making a political recommendation, I applaud you. This however should not be mistaken as a gesture of your “good intentions” for deprived Afro-Vincentians. Please don’t speak for us, we claim agency over our experiences. We can speak coherently, write legibly and think lucidly.
DEMYTH IFIER. When I read your article it brings water to my eyes. I have been advocating your sentiments for some time now. Black history month came and Ralph had nothing to say about it, not that it suprised me.
Ralph is marginalized us as Vincentains in an attempt to cloud our vision.
Ralph is a product of that aristrocratic socialized enslaved mentallity. He talks out of both sides of his mouth, he goes to Lybia and Addis Ababa and sing a different song. Vincentains should not be fooled by Ralph antics.