Perpetual underdogs?

Tags

Bobsledders, Cool Runnings, Economic issues, Jamaica, Sochi 2014, Sports, Trinidad

One thing that is unlikely to escape a Jamaican travelling to Trinidad is the relative economic situations of the two countries. It’s not that Trinidad looks like a runaway economic success and that Jamaica looks like it’s ready to check out of Planet Earth. But, the infrastructure and general physical appearance of the countries reflect their different fortunes. Both economies have been the children of mineral wealth–bauxite for Jamaica, oil for Trinidad. Bauxite had its heyday and says “Hey, there!” with a muted voice. Oil and its byproducts have had the pole position in terms of desirable commodities for most of the past 50 years. Other things have worked for and against each country, but the net result is that Trinidad has ended up in a better place than Jamaica. We have had much need to keep putting out the begging bowl to keep from drowning (sorry about the mixed metaphors). Trinidad has been able ot live high on the hog (sorry for any offence to some of its Muslim population). So, we’ve been heading in near opposite directions.

Let’s cut right to the chase. Jamaica is nearly insolvent, with its debt to national income (GDP) ratio hovering near 150 percent. We hand over a huge amount of our national income just to pay interest on debt–that’s about 10 percent of GDP, or about 1/3 of government revenues.

By contrast, Trinidad’s debt to GDP ratio is just over 45 percent; its interest payments are only about 2 percent national income, and about 8 percent of government revenues.

So, whenever Jamaicans think it would be good for government to fund something (in part or wholly), we have to remember that the debtors have to be satisfied first. Then, we can argue about the left overs. So, with about 70 cents of each dollar only to work with, we have to make sure that our priorities can be met by that lesser amount. We cannot think that we should borrow more to make the money up. But, we also have to note that we need to reduce the debt burden by about 50 percent of GDP in only a few years. Did I hear you say “Squeeze!” Where are those old trousers that I used to wear when I was not so fat? So, we are either going to try to raise more revenue or spend even less.

Alright, we want to develop and help the next generations have some prospect of a future. As part of the current IMF arrangement, the Jamaican government is committed to minimum levels of spending on social programs (education, health, etc.). Well, that leaves much less for any discretionary spending. In an ideal world, the government would have some clearly set development objectives and want to stay on track with those. Anything else, has to be considered (and probably wont get a look in now because the whole process of agreeing the current priorities wore out even the most patient of persons). Jamaica has Vision 2030, and having settled on that we should hold the government’s feet to the fire to stick to that. Otherwise, they’ll be open to comments that they are unfocused and wishy-washy.

The problem with that is people like to see things they like supported. Look at the national bobsledders working their hardest to be respectable in Sochi, Russia, during the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. Where are government in helping them? Not sitting at the beach bar drinking another pina colada. More likely, government had no image that the sledders were going anywhere. The sledders themselves were not really on a clear track to qualify. Nice that they did it, but not nice in that we never had them in our sights. Instead, we had in our sights Champs–madness in March–and the Reggae Boyz trying to raise the flag in Brazil–Poof!

I really feel saddened that the sledders had to struggle so much for funding. But, could they have helped themselves a bit more, too? Maybe. When their backs were up against the wall–they’d shocked themselves and qualified–they found some imaginative friends and went to the modern piggy bank of crowdfunding. It got them over the hump in quick time. But, imagine what might have been the situation if there had been the equivalent of a ‘business plan’ or promotional venture called ‘From Ochi to Sochi–helping Jamaica’s sledders reach for gold’, begun in say 2010. Those four years could have been a very interesting period of fund-raising, consciousness-raising, talent spotting, and more to help the ‘cool runners’ run this time and maybe sow seeds to keep running after Sochi.

The world loves underdogs. We love being underdogs. We love being loved. However, if you keep putting yourself in the position of underdog, you will lose more than you win. All that worldly love doesn’t feed or develop us, even though it looks good on TV to see foreigners in false Rasta wigs and yelling “Irie, mon!” and wanting to take pictures with our struggling athletes. Our successes don’t and wont come from putting ourselves into the position of perpetual underdog. If not, we will end up where underdogs do most often–at or near the bottom–no matter how much ‘love’ is showered on us.

Road warriors

Tags

Carnival, Economic issues, Hedonism, Jamaica, Social issues, Trinidad

My daughter and I spent most of yesterday chilling out; we were very tired after our flight from Jamaica to Trinidad, and the late time to bed. We took a nice breakfast, including, for me, the statutory fish and bakes. She had some school work to do, so I had no problem with her lounging on the hotel bed, listening to some music and working on her exercises. I was writing and reading, as usual. Every now and then we’d break out into a song: we listen to some of the Jamaican popular radio stations while driving to or from school or after-school activities. One of our favourite songs is a Soca hit by Bunji Garlin, We ready for the road. It’s an infectious sound.

We joined my wife and her colleagues for a cocktail by the waterfront, where there were some of the regular characters of Carnival: Dame Lorine, Fancy Indians, Midnight robber, and Moko Jumbie. My daughter was fascinated by them; no surprise. We took a picture her between the legs of the boy on stilts. We enjoyed a small plate of Basmati rice, vegetable and chicken curries, and buss-up-shut, washed down with some cool coconut water. We were then ushered to the hotel ballroom for an ‘evening of culture’. I had not known what to expect, but thought it would be around a Carnival theme. It was.

A stage was well-decked with the lights and banners of a concert. The show began on time, at 8pm, and we were into the rocking, swaying, hand-waving, and ‘chipping down the road’. The show opened with a singer named ‘Fes’ and his dancing men and women. His long dreadlocks swayed like the snakes on Medusa’s head, and he had us in his hand from the first beats. I tried to just revel, but was caught by the words. Trinidad is about partying and in the season of Carnival there is just nothing else in the air but its spirit; it just carries you away. “Drinking and win’ing” are what the season is all about. Putting it in the words of a Trini: “Carnival Tuesday reach, yuh woman wining down de road wit a drink in one hand and she bottom rolling on a man”. The woman or man could be you.

Carnival is not the time to get high and mighty about the moral fabric of the country. It’s about bacchanal–debauchery. I whispered to a friend that I was looking forward to my daughter’s questions the next day. “Daddy, what is a bumper?” I’m not sure if I’m going to go into all the elements of Bacchus/Dionysus–the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Roman/Greek mythology, from whom my own name is derived.

For a while, I could not get my head out of thinking about the economic impact of Carnival. Not the tens of thousands of visitors to the twin islands for the fete of all fetes; not the millions of dollars spent and the many more millions earned by the event. No. I was thinking about the drop in output and productivity during this period. Strangely, perhaps, the official view is that, on the contrary, productivity is higher during the Carnival period. Hard work and diligence are much in evidence in getting costumes and floats and all the street party paraphernalia ready in time. I still wanted to hold onto my image of lounging and liming for days, though.

The songs seemed to want to portray the time as one where wasting effort was very much accepted. Soca icon, David Rudder had us all nodding and shouting “Yes!” when he sang Guilty. He was accused of rousing the people and getting them onto the streets, and the judge asked him how he answered the charge. “Guilty!” he proudly proclaimed; again and again, till the judge, herself, fell under his spell. 

“Wave your hand if you’re wutless!” We all waved. We were on the road…next stop, Perdition. We were cast out of Eden, completely, when Bunji Garlin hit the stage. My daughter and I were laughing at each other at that moment, and her mother realised that her priorities were off for having been secreted away all day into the early evening. People were on their feet. Hands were waving in the air. Some were rushing into the aisles. This is a good reaction–to get people from ‘chair dancing’ to actually moving all of their body parts, and not feeling or looking self-conscious. Some, clearly, foreign visitors whose cultural vibes had been lost in baggage claim at the airport, barely managed to tap their fingers. As Jamaicans say, “Mi sarry fi dem.”

We were treated to Rupee–the mixed-race Soca star from Barbados, making his first appearance in Trinidad for seven years. He got the crowd laughing more than dancing as he went through his older songs, and he showed us how Trinis can animate any event with their voices and mannerisms. “Oh, Gawwwwddddddd!” he said, slapping his cheeks and his thighs. “Dat you, Rupee, bay? Oh, Gawwwwddddddd!” Maybe, he was positioning himself for a next career. He’s a graduate of Barbados’ top school, Harrison College, so his head is well-prepped. He got us rocking, eventually, with Tempted to touch. Spirit willing; flesh weak. It’s OK. Breathe in. Carnival time.

The evening ended with Destra, the queen of bacchanal. Her energetic style did not come across too well on stage, but she tried to get us ready to accept that ‘rolling your bam-bam’ was not only alright, but essential. Our region has already received the intellectual seal of approval for its obsession with ‘full figuredness”, with an Oxford University study showing that big-bottomed women were smarter and healthier.

The Caribbean female warrior in her natural profile

If ever a name was made for a task, the researcher, Dr. Carpe, could have coined carpe diem (and Caribbean people may eventually have the phrase “carp dem” to described their full-fendered female friends 🙂 The time for seizing was now, and the place was here.

Thankfully, she was the last act. I looked at my 10 year-old, enjoying her first Soca concert. I wondered what the question mill was churning and would throw out the next day. I didn’t need to rush her probing, but I am going to be as prepared as I can be to deal with the scales falling from her eyes.

Who put the boy in ‘Boycott’?

Tags

Boycott, Economic issues, Jamaica, Political issues, Trinidad

Remember last November, a little furore in Jamaica about 13 Jamaicans being denied entry to Trinidad? No. Remember the idea of boycotting Trinidadian products? No. Shame on you. But, not really. I guess that Christmas got in the way. A reputable survey showed that only 4 in 10 Jamaicans were ready to put their money where their mouths seemed to be and support the boycott. Some people believe that its due to poverty and illiteracy that most Jamaicans have not jumped on this particular waggon. It could also be…shock, horror…common sense.

I tried looking carefully at things ‘Jamaican’ at the time of the suggested boycott. I noted that several prominent brands that we thought were ours, were theirs. When I was doing that I was just chomping on my bag of Excelsior Crackers. Well, Rahtid! They are owned by a Trini company.

Excelsior Water Crackers: Wonderful with anything or just alone

The crackers flew out of my mouth so fast, my daughter thought I needed medical help. I gasped for air. She brought me a glass of water. I started to sweat profusely, and she went to get me a towel. I asked to lie down, and she guided me to the sofa, and held my hand as I calmed down, stopped babbling “Mi crackas! Mi crackas!” Her “It’s OK, Daddy,” just wasn’t helping, though. It was NOT OK.

The sense of sell-out was too bitter in my mouth. Could I find a truly Jamaican brand? I could, but they did not taste right. Would I have to live my life as a traitor, a quisling? Maybe, I would need to order them online and have them delivered to my home, rather than buying in the supermarket and have real Jamaicans point their fingers and hiss their teeth as I piled them into my cart. “Look at him!” I could hear them whispering. “I hope he chokes,” they would add.

I’m usually strong-principled, but this was a tipping point. I just had to stop eating those crackers.

But, the challenges were all around me. I wanted to go on holiday with my family over Christmas. My wife had booked the tickets and bought the presents for her family. We were packed and at the airport. Then I looked at her in an Epiphany moment. She had parked our luggage in front of the counter for Caribbean Airlines. What was the woman doing? She’s regionally savvy. Was she just being heartless? Was this another test? I’d failed so many. Why were we not flying American Airlines, even though their flights were not direct and would force us to have a four-hour layover in Miami, after enduring the long lines at Immigration, and the risk of not getting a connection because of the severe snow storms that were battering the US east coast? I could tolerate that in order to stay true to my cause. Was she selling us for the ‘thirty pieces of silver’ that was the promise of an tasty in-flight meal? She’s a good Christian, so it couldn’t be that. This was not the place to have ‘that talk’, so I did what good husbands should, I bowed my head and did not make eye contact with her for the rest of the day. But, the shame, I felt. The shame.

Caribbean Airlines: almost unique for giving economy-class passengers real food in-flight

I let that pass during the festivities because she bought me such nice gifts. I had almost forgotten how she had acted until this week.

She had to travel for some serious work reasons, involving the region’s main financial decision-makers amongst the stakeholders who would be present. It would coincide with Valentine’s Day. (You know she cares enough to remember you at such times.) She suggested that our daughter (who had no school the following Monday and Tuesday) and me join her and spend a long weekend. She promised me the chance to play in a golf tournament with some of these financial high-rollers. Her previous trips had been either to exotic places, such as Brazil or Mexico, or to places in the US that offered new interests, such as Miami. I said “Yes, please.” Then the bombshell. She was headed to Port of Spain.

So, from almost needing the Heimlich maneuver a few months back, to being put into an embarrassing public position during the season of goodwill, I now had to suffer the indignity of going into Devil’s Lair.

Devil’s Lair

I took a deep breath. I saw my daughter’s eyes begin to well with tears as my brow started to frown. “Daddy?” Her voice quivered. “Daddy, say yes!” My head was spinning. All I could see was darkness in front of me. I thought about the notion that bad things happen in threes. Jesus and Peter; the cock crowing; denial. My mouth went into a pout. Was this her way of telling me something that she could not tell me? She’s not Jamaican, so her heart would not be broken like mine. Those fears about intercultural marriages raised themselves. I took a deep breath before I answered.

So, last night, close to midnight, I stepped off a jet plane. My daughter had slept most of the flight, drooling on my shirt as her head lay on my arm. We were met my ‘men from the Ministry’ as we cleared Immigration. We waited for our bags and were then taken to a large police force van. We were whisked from the airport to the hotel as fast as the driver could make it, with the aid of an accompanying jeep that helped us bypass every red light. Soca music was blaring from the bus’ sound system; the essence of Carnival was already in the air. We arrived at the hotel. “Good morning, Mr. Jones,” was the greeting from the small ‘committee’ there to welcome us: it was past midnight. My wife called to us as we were headed to the reception desk.

Talk is cheap; money buys land, goes the saying in the Caribbean. Add me to the 6 in 10.

The good, the bad, and the ugly (December 8)

Tags

Crime, Jamaica, Regional cooperation, Social issues, Trinidad

Nelson Mandela’s death will have struck many as the saddest event this week and for some time. I don’t want to categorise it, but want to make sure that I note it. Mr. Mandela and Jamaica were close friends, and Jamaican politicians and artistes (musical and pictoral) were amongst the earliest and fervent supporters of the struggle of blacks in South Africa to overturn the Apartheid system, through boycotts and publicising its injustice. Madiba, we will miss you!

Good

Minister of National Security, Peter Bunting, launched a series of anti-crime initiatives (see a great summary on Petchary’s Blog). Murders are hitting a crazy rate. Public concerns include the low rate of clear-up of such crime, but the police senior officials don’t seem able to agree amongst themselves what that rate is, with two deputy commissioners citing 29% and about 50%. Both can’t be right, and if senior officials are not agreed on how they are measuring this aspect that is not encouraging. This is the kind of internal disagreement that erodes public confidence in the police’s grip on crime problems.

Bad

Trinidad’s Security Minister (Griffiths) had to make it clear that his country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs (Dookeran) was not the man to decide how potential immigrants to that country would be treated, and therefore had no business making commitments to Jamaica on that without at least consulting with him. His choice of words (Trinidad is “not a mall where anyone will be allowed entry”, and talking about “undesirables”) was undiplomatic, which is why he’s not in charge of foreign affairs. Jamaicans are still bristling at the regional dislike that seems to be facing them, and some Opposition politicians are ready to go on the ‘warpath’ to show those Trinis that Jamaicans have had enough of this apparent bias against them. Sorry to say it, though, we are reaping what we have allowed to be sown by not dealing with some of our social problems and letting them flourish abroad.

Ugly

Speaking of social problems…Sexual assault of three female students of a prominent St Catherine school by a gunman on Thursday has left worried residents demanding urgent action that will lead to the arrest of the perpetrator.

The good, the bad, and the ugly (December 1)

Tags

Caribbean, Caricom, Crime, Diplomacy, Economic issues, Jamaica, Political issues, Trade wars, Trinidad

Good

The JLP ‘soap opera’ of political infighting, though likely to have more episodes, took a little breather of sorts. The Supreme Court did not accede to a request by one JLP senator, who objected that his leader allegedly used undated letters of resignation to oust him and another JLP senator from their Upper House positions, to give an injunction against their posts being filled by new JLP-chosen replacements. The JLP leader–who could soon be renamed “His Holiness”?–is keeping his focus clear, and building the team he wants, so announced his replacements for the two senators and they got down to business by week’s end.

CARICOM finds its voice and chastises the Dominican Republic. It suspended the Dominican Republic’s bid to join the 15-member regional grouping. This follows a court ruling in September that would potentially render stateless thousands of Dominican Republic people of Haitian descent.

Bad

The refusal of entry and subsequent deportation of 13 Jamaicans by Trinidadian Immigration officers led to heightened feelings of resentment in the land of wood and water. Many Jamaicans called for retaliation–eg, denying Trinidadians entry to Jamaica, or boycotting goods from Trinidad. Meanwhile, the Jamaican government has offered to have diplomatic talks with Trinidadian foreign affairs officials, who are due to arrive in Kingston on December 2.

Ugly

Two policemen were among three would-be robbers arrested Friday morning, after they allegedly attempted to rob an individual at a service station in uptown St Andrew, Jamaica. The incident occurred sometime in the very early morning, but quick action by motorists led to a subsequent chase, which resulted in the men being apprehended. Remember, this is Police Week, which began with ‘Police High Visibility and Public Interaction Day’. A bit sick.

Trinidad, the convenient scapegoat

Tags

Economic issues, Jamaica, Trade issues, Trinidad

A Trinidadian friend of mine sent me a series of messages this morning about the ongoing spat between Jamaica and Trinidad. She made a very interesting remark, when dealing with Jamaican accusations that Trinis are ‘buying up’ Jamaica. “What’s not for sale, cannot be bought.” Good point, I thought. Where were Jamaican investors when the opportunities came to buy local companies? Jamaicans sold their assets; they were not stolen!

My friend represents something very simple and real: she’s married to a Jamaican and they are a happy couple, from all I can tell. They have reached agreement on many things. Trinidad and Jamaica are not a happy couple and have been that way for decades. Resentment between the two countries has been barely hidden below the surface for decades. Each country, almost at opposite ends of the Caribbean Sea, has been trying to stand as the premier island amongst the English-speaking group. The mutual annoyance comes out easily: it could be over sport, or what we eat, how we party, anything.

That competition comes out in many ways. I was interested that the recent proximate problem between the two islands would morph. Trinidadian Immigration officers took exception to 13 Jamaicans trying to enter the twin isles, and denied them entry and later deported them. Jamaican public opinion started to get inflamed, and soon turned to talk of ‘retaliation’. However, the prime weapon chosen was what was seen as Trinidadian pocketbooks, by looking to boycott Trini goods. Jamaica has a huge trade deficit, and a large part of it is the deficit with Trinidad, of some US$1 billion. Stop them earning those dollars and they will soon start to ‘treat us right’. I don’t see it, but each man to his own choice.

The core disagreement between the two countries comes down to what the trade deficit represents: Trinidad can make and sell goods and services that people want more cheaply and sometimes with better quality than Jamaica can. It’s almost emblematic of the fortunes of the two places. Trinidad has certain benefits that are now key to economic success: it has oil and gas aplenty. It has cheap energy, which can fuel its economy. Jamaica has a painful energy bill, with oil imports making up a large part of our deficit to the rest of the world. The fact that Trinidad can offer its companies cheaper fuel is a huge boost, no doubting it. Maybe, somewhere in the Jamaican psyche, resentments is lurking and already ready to snarl when Trinidad and Tobabo step on our corns.

But, here’s the funny part. If Trinidadian goods were not desired and attractive to Jamaicans how could they come to penetrate our shores? They were not forced on the people. Jamaican companies and Jamaican consumers chose to support these goods and services. Admitted, importers could have tried to get their items from Outer Mongolia–though not known for catering to Jamaican tastes. You get my point. Trini companies meet the needs of many in the region. The same way that the US and UK do. We’ve been seduced by the taste for foreign things.

Now, try boycotting all you want, many are not ready to go ‘cold turkey’ and throw away the corn flakes from Trinidad that they already have in their larders. I suspect that any move to stay away from the Trini items, people will revert to what they did before. Where are the choices? I noted that the Facebook page that was opened by one boycotter listed items that were from Trinidad–shockingly, for some, including Jamaicans’ much-loved Excelsior water crackers. Having done that, the page did not list the alternatives that people could go for. Why? Some do not exist, because they are not produced here. Some can only come from another foreign country.

Jamaicans have put themselves into a trap and the ‘Trinidad affair’ only allows it to stand in clear light.

If we sense that Trinis are arrogant towards us, they may have good reason: they feel that they have done better than we have, and many things show that to be the case, as far as economic statistics go. Trinidad is quickly going the way of Jamaica as regards crime, but we wont hold that up as a major detraction at this stage.

If we really want to ‘hurt’ Trinidad we better move to stop playing tit-for-tat and ‘beggar my neighbour’. We need to work to overcome our own deficiencies. If we cannot do that, then as rain falls from the sky not come from the ground, we will have to accept what has been our lot: we have to take what others give us. The problem, however, is that we really cannot just do that because we do not earn enough to have real choice. That’s been the problem for decades and Trinidad is a convenient scapegoat to throw stones at, rather than be honest with ourselves as having a bit of an economic disaster.

Boycott! But, who will feel the pain? Jamaica, I fear.

Tags

Economic issues, Jamaica, Migration, Trade war, Trinidad

Jamaicans are getting upset about their treatment by fellow CARICOM member, Trinidad and Tobago, over reports of the recent denial of entry to 13 Jamaicans. Some people have decided that the right reaction is to try to hurt T&T financially. “Boycott!” some have cried and some notable efforts have been started by consumers in this direction. But, will boycotting ‘Trinidad’ really hurt that country? It may sound easy to stop buying a particular country’s goods in the supermarkets, but do people really know or understand the impact that a true boycott of that country would mean? It has to go much wider to work and there lies the problem.

Trinidad & Tobago has had the manufacturing edge over Jamaica for many years, and, not surprisingly hold a clear edge in trade, with Jamaica importing many goods from the twin isles. Trinidad has also had the edge in many services, with its companies taking over several Jamaican providers.

Many ‘Jamaican’ goods and services are actually owned by Trinidadian entities or have Trinidad connections. For example, Air Jamaica, until recently, our national carrier, is now folded into Caribbean Airlines. Would the boycotters stop using the ‘regional’ carrier? If so, at what cost?

Jamaica Beverages Limited pushes Trinidad-made soft drinks in the local market: it distributes Chubby, Fruta, Busta and Viva beverages for its parent manufacturing company, SM Jaleel Limited, based in Trinidad. Anyone, thirsty?

In 1999, Trinidad Cement Ltd (TCL) took a majority stake in Jamaica’s Caribbean Cement Company. Anyone thinking of doing some building work?

For instance, the Trinidadian Neal & Massy conglomerate acquired Jamaican business such as H.D. Hopwood (a 70-year-old Jamaican-based manufacturer and distributor of pharmaceuticals and consumer goods), Gas Products Ltd and a 40 per cent stake in Cool Petroleum Ltd. In 1999  Trinidad’s Guardian Holdings Limited acquired the insurance trio of Dyoll Life, Crown Eagle and Jamaica Mutual who were all ‘Finsaced’ and merged them under the banner Guardian Life. Insurance, anyone?  In 2000, Trinidadian banking giant, RBTT, acquired FINSAC’s 99.9 per cent shareholding in Union Bank of Jamaica and changed its name to RBTT Bank (Jamaica). Union Bank was the result of a merger of the business of four FINSAC-controlled commercial banks and their three allied merchant banks, all seven of which sought Government intervention when faced with insolvency: Citizens Bank; Eagle Commercial Bank; Island Victoria Bank; Workers Savings & Loan Bank; Citizens Merchant Bank; Corporate Merchant Bank; and Island Life Merchant Bank. Where will people put their money or find other banking services.

Trinidad leads Jamaica in many key areas: in petroleum products, mixed juices, detergents, baby diapers, prepared foods, bread and cakes, copper wire, urea, and sweet biscuits. Consumers may well be able to source some items from in Jamaica but are still likely to need to import. We will still be paying another piper.

But, if Jamaicans stop buying Trinidadian goods, the first pain will be felt by Jamaican retailers and importers–Trinidadian companies may well already have the money for the goods–who may well be left with stocks unsold? The negative impact will be on Jamaicans. In the short run, what will happen to them and who will be under threat? My eyes turn to Jamaican workers in those retailers and importing groups.

Alternatively, Jamaicans will be without certain goods and services, at least temporarily. The items people want to buy that are not from Trinidad cannot be provided from elsewhere in an instant. So, will shoppers decide to do without certain items? What goods will they turn to, instead? The importers may need to go to US, UK, China and other major producing countries to fill the gap, or maybe other countries in the Americas, say Brazil, or Caribbean countries, before they turn to Jamaican providers–if they exist.

The impact on Jamaican workers and their incomes may be large. I’m not sure how consumers will react when they realise that neighbours and friends are in the firing line of what may seem to be well-intended actions. It’s not necessarily the case, either, that the impacts would be reversible, if sustained and successful.

The links that bind Jamaica and Trinidad are many but often not clear, and if the boycott is to be successful it will need to be complete. Jamaica has to hurt itself in order to try to hurt Trinidad.

It’s something to think about–and might not have been considered much, if at all. For a country already in dire economic straits, and just showing the first signs of turning a stagnant economy towards growth, I wonder how ready people will be to mash down the seedlings that are starting to sprout in terms of upward moving economic activity.

The term is ‘no pain, no gain’. Are we ready to inflict wounds on ourself?