Endless eyepass
Editorial
It seems that these days almost anyone can enjoy themselves at our expense. In a press report in the St Kitts-Nevis Observer, issue of October 22-28, l999, which we have seen recently, Anguilla's Chief Minister Hubert Hughes who is also the current chairman of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) emboldened by the fact that the Leeward and Windward Islands now have what he described as the strongest currency in the region talked humorously of `recolonising' Guyana and Jamaica. Speaking at the opening of the ECCB's new 500 seat auditorium and conference centre Mr Hughes is reported as referring to problems with immigration from Guyana and Jamaica and other bigger states. He said the small islands had proven that they could teach a lot to the rest of the world by their unity (by virtue of its structure the central bank is in fact virtually free from political interference) and they could be "the economic Gibraltar of the Caribbean". "We can go into Guyana with the strength of our money and the resources of Guyana and we can create a better standard of living for the people of Guyana and stop them from being nomads in the Caribbean" Mr Hughes is quoted as saying. He may well laugh. Since the Burnham days when our economy lay in tatters and traders were roaming the region looking for goods ranging from foodstuff to soap, toilet rolls and car tyres there has been a patronising attitude to us as people who seem unable to look after their affairs and are forever in need of help of one kind or another. The diaspora, of course, started in the fifties and predates the Burnham era but by the late seventies our plight was plain for all to see. But the attitudes, reflected unfortunately in the hostile treatment still experienced by Guyanese at Caricom airports and in the somewhat hubristic humour of Mr Hughes (from Anguilla, if you please) remain. Indeed Suriname is now pitching in, pushing its bogus claim at a time when it perceives there is weakness due to internal division and an approaching election. It shows what damage we have done to ourselves by the intemperate nature of our politics and what an impotent image we have created. And in the case of Suriname it must be said that given their consistently unreliable and sometimes treacherous behaviour our naivete on both the boundary issue and their admission to Caricom has only been exceeded by our lack of preparedness. Our politicians continue blithely on their well trodden paths. On the one hand there is an unwillingness to acknowledge or come to terms with an inadequate foreign policy, on the other an uncompromising and destabilising belligerence. Yet recent events have shown us the value of working together when this is possible. And surely we have learnt by now that the kind of beggar my neighbour politics we have become used to are a prescription for disaster. There must be rules, there must be some degree of moderation, opposition cannot be unlimited and unbridled, there is a national interest that must be above politics, not only in times of crisis or war. If we continue to devote much of our energy to pulling each other down we will continue to be a laughing stock in the region and further afield and may end up with little or nothing to fight over. Indeed we have had to be designated as a Disadvantaged Country by the heads of government of Caricom by virtue of the fact that we have been identified as a Highly Indebted Poor Country. Let us show that there is a common interest that transcends party politics, namely the integrity of our country and its economic development. Let us find as much common ground as we can. There may be differences on tactics and programmes but there are and should be many shared ideals. Let the struggle for political power be conducted in such a way as not to continually weaken our young nation and perpetuate the emigration Mr Hughes was talking about. We must display some maturity in the conduct of our affairs to stop this endless eyepass.
 Follow the goings-on in Guyana
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