I’ve moved to the Med with my family and loving life here. There’s a beauty all around, not just in the stunning Mediterranean seas but in a rich cultural heritage which runs deeps and which feeds my soul. So I am enjoying this part of the world on may levels, despite missing the buzz of London and the intimacy of the Caribbean. I am not complaining. But I do have a gripe.

A lovely old Maltese scholar, a professor I met recently over coffee at the University of Malta told me he’s organising a major conference on small island states growth and development in Valletta and lamented that his staff  are struggling to find scholars to invite from the Caribbean. There’s no shortage of government ministers he says. No shortage of politicians with all the right titled portfolios – environment, economics, sustainable development, alternative energy. But he is hard pressed to find good old-fashioned scholars to invite to deliver papers, to dialogue and discuss, and could I help him with some names?  Of course I said!  There are dozens of bright, learned, forward thinking minds all over the Caribbean. Give me a day. I have since asked for the week.

The larger English speaking Caribbean countries have a case. Sir Ellis Clarke, the first post independence President of Trinidad and Tobago and an astute legal mind and constitutional expert of repute comes to mind. Some would argue that Barbados has scholars in its former Prime Minister Owen Arthur and Dame Billie Miller (also a former politician), and Jamaica is full of energetic minds at the Michael Manley Institute.  Other well known thinkers still courting readership of their work include Sir Shridath Ramphal and Sir Dwight Venner, Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.

Dr Ralph Gonsalves Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Despite the claims of a deep brain drain in the region, which I accept is real, there is no shortage of talented people and indeed, talent in the Caribbean.

And it must be said too that the entire region is pretty vibrant, if not rampant, with aggressive, vigilant journalists, columnists, talk show hosts and to a lesser extent bloggers.

But when I think about it, who is out there? Who in the region is considered to be a leading thinker in what we can loosely call “Caribbean affairs and geo politics”?

The irony for me is that in the fields literature and entertainment we continue to hold our own. Caribbean writers and creative folks are still busy producing good works – books, poetry, art as well as making a name for themselves on the world music stage.

But where are the independent researchers and scholars whose work is being produced and harnessed for the overall benefit of our Caribbean civilisation?Who are the influencers?  Where are the think tank contributors? The Caribbean men and women whose minds – their main asset with a body of work which aims to boost the social and economic welfare, security and sanity of everyday life in the Caribbean?

And what of the Spanish, Dutch and French-speaking Caribbean?

High on the agenda are several major issues – A water shortage now sweeping the region, other environmental issues and most importantly,  how this global economic crisis is affecting the region.

And  indeed it is. 

The World Bank President Robert Zoellick says “Caricom countries have been severely hit” adding that challenging economic times are very much still ahead. Read his full comments here.

On the ground though, the effects of the global crisis are being felt all over the Caribbean.

The tourist islands like Antigua, Barbuda, St Kitts Nevis and Barbados have all seen a significant slump in visitor arrivals as people all over the globe chose a ‘staycation’ rather than a vacation – travel is down as people stayed at home or simply chose to explore their own countries.

But the larger Caribbean economies like Jamaica and the gas rich Trinidad and Tobago also felt the wrath of the global melt down.  Once hugely profitable major corporations, insurance and investment firms, and entire banks were closed down with thousands losing their jobs.

The big picture shows economic growth for the region slowed. There are many scholarly articles written by some of the brightest minds in the Caribbean to read here on the Caribbean Development Bank’s website.

Like the rest of the world, Caribbean businesses had to grapple with credit contracts, a decline in demand for exports, significantly reduced demand for goods and services by consumers and like Wall Street and the Euro Market,  the once thriving commodity markets in Trinidad and Jamaica took huge loses from which they are still trying to recover.

In smaller areas – education funding and poverty reduction projects are on hold as the monies for training dries up and on a very basic level, local government councils all over the region simply cannot complete or kick-start projects aimed at improving the standard of living for Caribbean people all over.

Caricom heads came together in Belize recently to discuss in detail how the global economic crisis should be dealt with, as well as to come up with an action plan – a focus even the so called first world countries are still grappling with using numbers and budgets Caribbean governments could never fathom. But they need to try.

Caribbean bankers are taking a lead here and are to table a document of recommendations for the future.

Today’s World Bank meeting in Dominica comes with assurances from the international organisation that it is committed to helping the region with its specific problems and issues – issues often described as small island developing issues. But this conveys the wrong message because the Caribbean is a region of small islands with huge issues.

It is a testament to the region’s strength and versatility that this major meeting of minds is happening in Dominica – one of the most beautiful, lush unspoilt islands, if not untouched islands of the Caribbean.  Only two major relatively small hotels operate on the island, but Dominica, considered the ‘bread basket’ of the region and one of the islands with enough water for example to solve the problems of the drought striken countries, is totally capable of handling the event.

A sure sign that size does not matter.

Tragically at least one family who survived the earthquake, lost their lives to the tsunami and even more sadly they didn’t have to die. According to the BBC, the scientists investigating the coastline of Haiti, measuring the extent of the tsunami, say the family could have easily stood watching the spectacle of the waves moving away from the shore not knowing that they were in the middle of looming danger.

It’s easy to see how this could happen people standing along the shoreline watching receding waves, flapping fish, sand dollars and beautiful shells, mesmerised by a mysterious underwater beauty, not fearing for their lives when they should be running away from the sea, heading for higher ground.

The Pacific Tsunami museum videos are worth a browse. Click here.

And this is the sad truth for the wider Caribbean – the very sad reality about the lack of awareness and education when it comes to tsunamis and indeed natural disasters.

There are lessons to be learned from Haiti. There is simply not enough information, policy, public education programmes about disaster preparedness throughout the Caribbean in general. But there are exceptions.

Barbados and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency is doing a very decent job of education its public and even more poignantly the children of Barbados. There are even guidelines for homeowners and the general public. Plain, simple english which could go a long way in saving lives.

Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica also have solid disaster preparedness programmes in place, but it’s time for checks and balances, and certainly time to help the smaller islands get their acts together.

The Barbados programme and the specific initiatives aimed at children could be found at www.weready.org.

But what of the rest of the islands in this paradise chain? 

Haiti should be a wake up call for the entire Caribbean more specifically the tsunami which quickly followed the devastating earthquake should be the wake up call for all Caribbean governments. 

The BBC report says “The Haitian tsunami gave scientists a chance to find out how well vital and potentially life-saving warning systems were working. Noaa’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory has developed a warning system that picks up signals of tsunamis directly from the sea-floor.”

The budgets of every Caribbean nation should factor in this equipment – Tsunamis and the Caribbean’s vulnerability  is a clear and present danger which cannot be ignored.

Yes, they were part of the global out pouring of aid when the terrible earthquake devastated this island a month ago…but the French President certainly took his time to visit his ‘former colony,’ and took his time too on the question of money and the issues raised by Caribbean scholars about France’s downright terrible historic relationship with Haiti.

At least 230,000 people were killed in that earthquake, 3.2 million people affected by being made-homeless, hungry, thirsty, suffering, injured, sick, fed up, depressed, and searching.

And it took the French, the former slave masters of Haiti, who the Haitians, led by one man, fought and won their freedom from in the country’s early, formative history, one month to reach the island with a ‘handout.’

Haiti does not need any handouts.

Here’s Al Jazeera’s report on the French pledging to write off 77 million in debt allegedly owed by Haiti with a total package of $450,000. What the hell is the Haitian President doing posing up in a helicopter with Sarkozy is another matter and a subject for another blog when thoughts are calmer.

I deliberately used the word ‘allegedly’ owed, because I for one subscribe to the doctrine that it is the other way around – it is the French who owe this Caribbean island money – 150 million gold francs to be exact with interest.

Whatever side of the fence you sit on this question of the  West versus Haiti – there is one fact that cannot be ignored  the complete (and systematic) emptying of the country’s coffers by France and America back in those early formative years – when Haiti was becoming the first self governing black republic in the newly emerging world.

Whether you are Irish, German, American or English – try starting a life with no money and feel free to post the results here.

Let me guess? There’s that camp that thinks those early Haitian slaves should have fished and farmed their civilisation in to being while not having sex to please the other side wanting population control.

And we mustn’t forget too that all of Haiti’s previous dictators – equally to blame for the mess the country was in before the earthquake – all wanted their voters/people living in abject poverty.

Reports are saying that the French President and his band of officials who stayed for less than four hours on the island, are hoping this  freshly announced donation signals a new era between France and its former colony.

I say hell no! Not so fast, let Haitians the world over be vex with France a little bit longer. And if you visited me in my own home with us parting company in less than four hours (as opposed to talking and laughing in to the wee hours of a beautiful starry Caribbean night) bet your bottom dollar it’s because the company sucked and the friendship wasn’t to be.

This water shotage is affecting islands like the oil and gas rich Trinidad and Tobago, and popular tourism dependent economies of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and Jamaica.

Authorities in Guyana in particular, are closely monitoring a drought in the country which agriculture officials say is related to the El Nino phenomenon. This is the definition of El Nino from the scientists.

But these water problems shouldn’t come as a surprise.     For a start, with most islands in the region so heavily dependent on the tourism sector – hotels, resorts, spa etc many multi-national corporations behind the hotel industry built in their desalination plants but where were the public awareness programmes to engage the populace?

It is only very recently, hotels across the Caribbean have started asking patrons “do you really need a replacement towel everday?’

It’s still a region where people enjoy  watering down their lush tropical gardens (much like a timed sprinkler system I guess) with a hose or where children still blissful bathe in stand pipes on the corner.

But a water shortage is serious and threatening.    The poor always seem to suffer the most.   Caribbean governments are paying attention and taking measures to  address the situationon until the onset of the rainy season may bring  nature’s own  solution to the problem.      The rainy season traditionally starts at the end of April and this may seem a long way off as people try to live with empty taps and dry local a stand pipe with no water.

And despite the media hype around the rainy season as it looms over Haiti in particular- pretty much all Caribbean peoples including Haitians who have not had any aid water bottles or any water of any kind since the earthquake struck, may be doing a rain dance or chant right about now.

230 thousand people lost their lives when the powerful earthquake struck, according to figures released.

Let’s put these figures in to context for the entire Caribbean.

This would be the entire populations of the following countries completely wiped out:

Cayman Islands

Turks and Caicos

St Vincent and the Grenadines

Dominica

Antigua and Barbuda

Grenada

St Marteen

St Kitts Nevis

US Virgin Islands

Most of  Barbados

And all the British dependancies ( BVI, Anguilla, Monsterrat).

This is a horrendous death toll and one which requires reflection.

Meantime heavy rains are coming.

The Duvaliers ruled Haiti when Papa Doc grabbed power with his militia gangs called the Tontons Macoutes.

But the Swiss government is blocking the release of  any monies until a law is passed to return it to Haiti.

Agreed. At the very least this the moral thing to do since it has long been recognised that the Duvaliers – Papa Doc and Baby Doc ruled Haiti during its darkest days.

When ‘Papa Doc’ came to power he re wrote the Haitian constitution to declare himself ’President for life.’

Ordinary Haitians must cringe at the prospect of any member of the Duvalier family getting money for whatever reasons a Swiss Court may have considered.

Meanwhile Wikipedia reports that Jean Claude Duvalier now lives in Paris and is considering asking a foundation set up in the name of his mother to ‘send’ US$8 million dollars to a leading charity in Haiti.

This monies and a green donkey the people of Haiti will never see.

Word today that the G7 countries will write off Haiti’s financial debts as this grouping of  industrialised countries continue its aid effort to this Caribbean nation struggling to get back on its feet.

According to the Canadian Foreign Minister US1.2billion has already been written off  in bilateral debts with Haiti and the industrialised nations plan to write to the multi-lateral lending agencies urging them to do the same.

Britain’s PM Gordon Brown said “It must be right that a nation buried in rubble must not also be buried in debt.”

No one can argue with this. And in the words of the Haitian born Governor General of Canada  (a G7 member country) Haitian’s need to “stand firm.”

France is a G7 country and it is conspicuously silent.

It is worth recalling Haiti’s financial slave history with France. Indeed there are fresh calls for France to lead the way in restoring financial wealth to Haiti – once a wealthy, prosperous nation.

Back in the early 1800s when Haitian slaves fought and won its freedom from France, then its colonial rulers, French authorities refused to recognise Haiti’s independence, declaring it a rogue state.

Professor Hilary Beckles of the University of the West Indies writes this as what happened next:

The French government sent a team of accountants and actuaries into Haiti in order to place a value on all lands, all physical assets, the 500 000 citizens were who formerly enslaved, animals, and all other commercial properties and services. The sums amounted to 150 million gold francs. Haiti was told to pay this reparation to France in return for national recognition. The Haitian government agreed; payments began immediately. Members of the Cabinet were also valued because they had been enslaved people before independence. Thus began the systematic destruction of the Republic of Haiti. The French government bled the nation and rendered it a failed state. It was a merciless exploitation that was designed and guaranteed to collapse the Haitian economy and society. Haiti was forced to pay this sum until 1922 when the last instalment was made. During the long 19th century, the payment to France amounted to up to 70 per cent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings.

West Indian scholars say the island never recovered from this. Nor did the fragile Haitian economy ever recover when a decade later the Americans repatriated US500,000 for ‘safe keeping’  in to a New York bank.

 The UK Guardian headline called it Haiti’s long descent to hell.

This is not to discount Haiti’s years of dictatorship rule by its own sons, several natural disasters and of course the 20 year military invasion and occupation by the Americans.

When you study Haiti’s history it is difficult not to feel anger and to think that this island has been systematically ‘made’ in to the poorest in the western hemisphere.

The average Haitian lives on US2.00 a day. So before and after the recent devastating earthquake which killed more than 100 thousand Haitians, completely reducing the capital Port au Prince to rubble, Haiti was already crumbling under a mountain of financial debt.

And we shouldn’t confuse the G7 countries latest decision to write off  Haiti’s debt with the calls for reparations from France and America. Reparations or simply paying back the 150 million gold francs is not a hand out it is?

The Times writer at large Ben MacIntyre puts its best when he says The Fault line in Haiti runs straight to France.

With their heads covered heading back to their jail cells, the ten American missionaries in Haiti have been charged with abduction. They were all arrested on Friday as they tried to take 33 Haitian children to an alleged orphanage in the Dominican Republic.

The  Haitian courts were able to prove that ALL the 33 children were in fact not orphans, and all have close relations still alive and searching for them.

They face up to 15 years in jail. Full coverage from the New York Times here.

American authorities say they are letting Haitian justice take its course. And in the UK Guardian newspapers, the Haitian Prime Minister has been quoted as saying the ten missionaries are generating more headlines than the millions of people still suffering on the streets of Port au Prince.

Yes. Sigh. All we need now is for the missionaries to start saying that “God is testing them.”

Why did they not put through the proper paper work?

Why did they not make contact with the Haitian authorities- NGO, Government or otherwise?

Why no apology from the group, even when goaded by an American TV journalist?

Were they taking advantage of the crisis in Haiti as many have said?

Why are they all wearing dark sun glasses and smiling for the cameras?