Dear Editor,
How much longer do citizens of CARICOM countries have to put up with the “Pappy Show” to borrow a Jamaican term called the Heads of Government meeting? The statements coming out of this annual meeting are mind-boggling. This Old Boy’s Club (minus the one woman) annual soiree is an excellent example of groupthink. The only thing that comes out of these meetings is the people who went in.
An example of the time wasted at these meetings is the statement that “CARICOM Heads condemn lyrics that denigrate women, promote violence” (Stabroek News Saturday, March 2, 2024). The statement says, “The CARICOM Heads said they remain committed to maintaining this Region as a zone of domestic peace and safety to ensure the preservation of our Caribbean civilization.” Are these leaders living in the same region as the rest of the citizens?
Caribbean countries are rife with violence. A review of murder rate per capita by country globally for 2024 shows CARICOM countries in the Top 20 as follows: Jamaica (2), Belize (5), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (7), Saint Kitts (9), Bahamas (11), Trinidad and Tobago (12), Dominica (No. 17) and Saint Lucia (20). Jamaica has consistently been in the top 5 for the past 20 years and achieved number-one status several times. Regarding rape, there are five countries in the top 20 presently, i.e., Suriname (5), Grenada (9), Saint Kitts and Nevis (10), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (17), and Barbados (19). Are the musicians promoting violence, or is there a lot of violence in CARICOM countries? Shouldn’t our leaders, after these meetings, let us know what decisive policy actions have been devised to address the violence?
Picking on musicians is the lowest of low-hanging fruits and a waste of our collective taxpayers’ dollars. Also, we are not falling for this obvious distraction from inflation, rising food prices, unemployment, and increasing poverty and violence in the region.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address supplied)
