Jazzing It Up In Barbados

A Bajan expatriate living in London, England, John Stevenson, was made aware of this ‘informative’ blog by one of his Bajan mates and former classmates at UWI Cave Hill. John is a music journalist among other things. He was in Barbados last month for the jazz festival and thought that readers might want to have access to links to his articles on the festival.

The first piece, in the Daily Express, entitled 'Blunt Rocks Barbados!' (see http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/83356/REVIEW-Blunt-rocks-Barbados-)is a brief general overview of the festival showing the Bajan audience reaction to British 'pop sensation', James Blunt.

The second article is part of his blog contribution to the 'excellent' Caribbean jazz blog, "The Woodshed" (see http://woodshedec.wordpress.com/2009/01/29/barbados-jazz-festival-2009-%e2%80%93-jazz-and). It argues, by way of a more detailed review, that festival organisers exposed the audience to the best of Bajan and West Indian musical talent this year.

I asked John to let us have an idea of his experiences as a Bajan living in Britain. He divides his time between freelance writing mainly about music for the Daily Express, eJazzNews.com, and Middle East magazine and occasionally broadcasting for the BBC World Service among others. He has been living in England since 2000 after stints as a radio show host, music journalist, and public relations associate in Barbados.

He also has a review piece coming out shortly on the memoir of Cuban American, Carlos Moore. He and his book 'Pichon' are now doing the rounds in the US press. The book argues that Cuban society is and has been institutionally racist toward its African-derived majority, and that for true transformation to take place there, the Castro administration must acknowledge this fact and institute genuine structures that establish racial democracy.

John is also doing a BBC Caribbean interview with Moore next week. In the 50th anniversary year of the Cuban revolution such a book is not only timely but quite sobering indeed.

What You Have You Hold.

From the time that president-elect Obama nominated Eric Holder to be the new Attorney General in his administration, Barbados and Barbadians have been keen to associate with Mr. Holder, although he was born in New York City and is an American citizen. Natural enough. His father was born in St. Joseph, Barbados, and went to the USA as a boy. His mother was born in New Jersey, but her parents were born in St. Philip, Barbados.

Jamaica and Jamaicans had had their days when General Colin Powell rose to be President Reagan's National Security Adviser (1987-89) the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-93), and then Secretary of State under President Bush (2001-2005). Many were disappointed that General Powell did not make a run for president, but he had his wife's reasons. General Powell was born in New York City of Jamaican migrant parents. Ironically, the Holders and the Powells raised their families in The Bronx, so we wait to hear if there was much if any contact between them during those times.

So, the US now has its first 'African-American' in this position, and one with strong and clear Bajan roots.

Mr. Holder seems to have been a pretty bright guy. He went to Columbia College and Law School and then went to work for the Department of Justice. He was previously a judge (appointed by President Reagan to the DC Superior Court in 1988), and then went to become the first African-American U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia in 1993. He became Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno in 1997.

In 2001, Mr. Holder went into private practice with Covington & Burling in Washington DC.

In 2007, Mr. Holder was joined the Obama presidential campaign as senior legal advisor. He served on Sen. Obama's vice presidential selection committee.

Controversy has touched 'our Eric', firstly for his part in president Clinton's last-minute pardoning of March Rich, a fugitive and Democratic contributor. There are suggestions that Holder was pressured by Rich's associates. He was also involved in recent decisions to dismiss certain Justice Department staff.

Now, hopes are high in the Caribbean that the Obama Administration may herald good things for the region. I personally don't see much of that happening, because US interests and those of this region are not necessarily very close. However, heaven help 'our Eric' if he supports legislation that impairs this region. Son of a native son? Let's see how you fare.

What I really love about the passage to the Obama regime and the prevalence of black faces in the upper reaches of the Administration is how the language used to describe its action now starts to get tricky. Think, for example, of the editorial gymnastics when a cub reporter offers, 'Holder heralds in dark days ahead for ...' or 'Obama's AG issues black list of ...'

We live in interesting times.

Reaping the harvest of crime

Most countries in the Caribbean region have had a long experience of peace with other nations; few have actually been directly at war with other nations. However, we find that we are increasing "at war" amongst ourselves. With the stark contrast of Jamaica and to an increasing extent Trinidad most countries have also been free from high levels of crime, but this is changing fast. The development and impact of crime has been well analyzed in a recent World Bank/United Nations report, which points out how the region suffers from being an ideal transit location almost midway between a major supply of drugs (south America) and a enormous demand for drugs (United States). That position of transit has facilitated the entrance into Caribbean societies of a level and kind of violence that is truly alien to our cultures. More and more crimes are against persons and targeting locations that offer quick cash such as conveniene stores or gas stations. In some cases such as Barbados there has been a dramatic fall in commercial and residential burglaries during 2007, of some 15 percent compared to 2006.



The region is often discussing ways of implicating the Diaspora in its development. Now we are reaping a strange reward for migration with the return of criminals from the Europe (mainly UK) and USA, and most (some 50-70 percent) of these deported persons have been shown to be closely linked with illegal drugs and have higher rates of repeat offences. Data also show a close correlation between increased deportations and the rise in the murder rate in Jamaica and Trinidad.


The impact of crime on ordinary people, especially violent crime against persons, is devastating. Those who are victims and live are naturally traumatized forever. Those who die leave behind an increasing string of bewildered grievers. The sense of insecurity about their lives causes people to make decisions that would have shocked them several years ago. Take for instance a Jamaican friend with whom I had lunch yesterday. He has worked almost all his life for organizations in or for the region, and has spent time in Washington DC (dubbed "the murder capital of America"). He is a cancer survivor, who retired and restarted work in a regional organization here in Barbados. He is pondering his options when he really retires. Having felt strongly about going back to Jamaica he bought land there. Now the decision time is nearing he is plagued with worries as he hears more and more stories of what appear to be gratuitous violence. He retold a story of a couple in Montego Bay who were recently raped murdered by a group of men who faked an accident with the couple; this in the area known to be the region's tourist capital. So what is he contemplating? DC seems a better option, he feels. But so is Las Vegas. In short, a choice other than Jamaica.


In the 1950s and 1960s thousands of Caribbean residents were tempted abroad by work and prospects of a better life in Europe and North America. Now that the Caribbean countries have had time to mature in their independence and could use all the skills that were exported, we find that many are driven away from the region or are very reluctant to return.


My personal view is that governments have been extremely timid when it comes to addressing rising crime. And too little will soon end up with too late. Citizens have largely been limited in their direct actions against rising crime, beyond trying to do the natural thing and move away from areas where crime is rising; but the crime follows relentlessly and as it spreads then the chances of being in the wrong place increases. Politicians know their motives and their constituents and it's clear that in a good number of cases important constituents are criminals. I am not tarnishing politicians with this observation, but it needs to be considered when thinking about solutions. The region has one of the best democratic records in the world and rarely has a change of government that needs violence. Therefore we know that our votes count. I find it peculiar that the fight against crime has rarely featured on manifestos of recent elections in the region. If crime really worries us then maybe it's time to look at and think carefully about those for whom we vote.

Say cheese, please

I have a passion for cheese. England has many varieties of hard cheese that I like very much. So a visit to London is not complete without a trip to Covent Garden and my favourite cheese shop at Neal's Yard. It's easy to spend near to half an hour sampling, even though your mind may already be made up. Another excellent cheese shop, is Paxton and Whitfield, in Jermyn Street, which if you know London you will recognize as a place for excellent specialities. Both shops also do some excellent jams and condiments, which can make for some of the nicest gifts. At this time of year it's good to get a whole cheese for Christmas; Stilton is usually preferred but this year I have bought a Montogmery Cheddar to share with my Bahamian in-laws. In the Caribbean we rarely see real cheese and live with the processed variety.

I felt very sorry for an American man and his son, who went into Neal's Yard to get bread. They were tempted to sample but stopped by the cry of "Come awn. Let's go!" from him wife. Gladly, the rest of the family pounced on her for being in a hurry to go nowhere, as usual. However, my poor American, brow-beaten and sad-faced trudged out of the shop, bread under arm and not a morsel of cheese to whet his appetite. "Come back alone." I whispered to him. "I will." he replied.

Going back to England is always pleasant for me, having lived there for over 30 years. The place is always familiar, even though the physical changes are now so great that I have a hard time figuring out where I am. I would have a hard time driving around without getting lost, especially around Heathrow, near which I used to live. But London always has bounce, and a skip that I much prefer compared to New York or Paris. This time it was nice to pass through The City [London's main financial district], where I used to work and also St James's Square, near where I went to school.

Friends took me to a great fish (and chips) restaurant in Highgate last night, run by a Georgian family, and this again opened my eyes to how London has changed with the inflow of central and eastern Europeans--seemingly much more numberous now especially in the service sector. Actually, the restaurant offers much more, including wonderful grilled sea bream--part of a healthy meal that comes with just salad. They offer a few bowl of fish soup with each meal. As I have mentioned to restaurant and hotel people in Barbados, you have to give customers a few incentives.

The trip had a nice surprise because I discovered that bus transport between the Heathrow area and nearby Underground stations is free. London has greatly modernised its public transport fares and everyone talks about getting an "Oyster" (a card that has a basic amount of credit and allows travel, but the credit can be increased at will, and using it is cheaper and faster than paying individual fares).

However, "sticker shock" is also the order of the day. The pound has strengthened much against the US dollar (around 2.06 as I write), so those UK prices now sting a lot. Still, things are great value and usually great quality. My daughter, who is studying at a university in the UK this year is suffering that big time. She is normally based in Canada, so with the Canadian dollar also strengthening, she's really only traded one pain for another.

Well, I will head back to New York and then on to Barbados today. I do not relish more cold weather and sandwiching that between tropical climates is not fun. So, another few days of muffling up ahead of getting back to my life in T-shirt and shorts.

Where Africa has hope

Guinea and many sub-Saharan African countries have a double-edged sword to play with. Its youths represent both its best hope and its greatest danger. Hope because their energy and vision are needed to take these countries out of the economic and social pit into which many of them have fallen. But they could be the source of massive social explosions if their energies are left unused or underused. As in the Caribbean and many other regions that are developing, young people are in the majority, but they tend to lack economic and political power.

Guinea is apparently growing only slowly yet everywhere there are signs of growing consumption and investment, especially in buildings. Shopping in many African countries is not done in the way that is familiar in the UK, US or Caribbean. Most goods are bought is open air markets. In the Caribbean open air markets are mainly for fruit and vegetables. In Africa, you have to get used to checking out your needs and wants on a street or in a huge organized market. Almost anything you want you will find. Many of these goods are coming from China, from where many goods can be imported at acceptable prices, which are significantly lower than can be found in Europe or North America. Admittedly, many of these goods are being imported in a clandestine manner. They are coming into the countries in suitcases or in containers whose contents have not been truly declared, so they arrive at lower costs (which often means a loss to the government in terms of tax revenue).

Quality services are something that Guinea and many African countries lack. Public services often suffer from government budgets that are so strained that wages (often the first priority for a government) cannot be paid regularly. Thus, other public services are going to be provided in at best sporadic fashion. If the means of supplying the services have never been well established you will see a rapid deterioration in public provision of services such as water and electricity supply. Guinea was notable for many years as a "dark" country, where day or night few areas could rely of electricity and most of the area was in darkness once daylight was gone. That is an aspect that has changed in the past year after a series of national strikes forced changes in how the country is governed. However, where the private sector is allowed to operate services of at least reasonable quality tend to come forward. One area where this has shown spectacular growth is telecommunications. Guinea is just seeing an "explosion" in mobile phone services as Orange (a French company) launched its services on the market this week.
They went on a marketing blitz, which saw the capital plastered with company signs and flags showing where cards could be bought appearing almost every retail space overnight.They added a few "parties" in the capital and were out in force at the weekend trying to encourage more customers. They seem ready to really engage with the market leader, Areeba (part of the MTN telecom group), who started providing services in mid-2006 and has apparently taken some 60 percent of the mobile market. Orange is basically giving away SIM cards (you pay 15,000 Guinea francs [about US$ 4] for a card but it comes with the same value of credit). Orange's service is currently a bit quirky, for instance you get no information about how to activate your SIM or how to know your number, and you have to make calls as if you are calling from abroad. But they are showing that they will aggressively get into the mix. They seem to have taken most of the new buildings that had mushroomed in the capital in the past year.

Areeba had turned the market when it started in 2006 with pay-as-you-talk SIM cards, which they made easily available by having sales outlets almost everywhere and charging relatively little. This was after years of difficulty to get a mobile phone and the scandalous behaviour of the main (national) provider, Sotelgui, who provided poor service but also allowed price gouging whenever new SIMs were put on the market. Both Areeba and Orange will offer aggressive competititon and the support of international companies. In a country of some 9 million people there is enough market for both.

Both Areeba and Orange are basing their services on national coverage. That national image will quickly seem real because the logo of each company is quickly covering every free space, from the walls of football stadiums, to every lamp post, to many minibuses, etc. In quick time most of the country gets reliable mobile services. Some would say that this will probably make a major change in how things will develop. When most of the country can communicate without needing to actually move that is a platform for very fast development. (Another possible twist in the future could be political: in Cote d'Ivoire several years ago it was the existence of such communication that helped cement legitimate election results as people could quickly relay information before polling station officials had time to "change" the outcomes.

Sure, a better life needs more than the ability to make phone calls on mobile telephone, but when you have been denied many trappings of modernity it is a significant step. Isolation is no longer imposed by geographical separation. When you can get such services on a pay-as-you-go basis at very affordable prices, that will change a lot of people's lives. This is not the solution to Guinea's or Africa's problems but it has tended to be an important start in getting past the problems. So, though it's early days I will watch this dust-up over mobile phone services with interest to see if it does provide a solid base for significant social and economic change.

Back to Africa

It is over a year since I left my post in Guinea, west Africa. For those who have no idea where that is, take a line almost due east from between Barbados and Trinidad and you will hit it. Those who know a little of the history of the British slave trade will know that a lot of slaves were shipped from that area of Africa to the Caribbean as part of the infamous "triangular trade", which sold minor goods to African slave traders in exchange for slaves, who were sold in the Caribbean, and rum and sugar bought from there for shipment to Britain.

I have had the opportunity to make the triangular trip both ways myself. I have taken small gifts from England (duty free items or good English cheese and jam), and given (not sold) them in Africa. I have taken a body from Africa (my daughter's nanny), and I have shipped rum, rum cake, jams, pickles and spices from the Caribbean to Britain.

I have done the triangular trip in reverse. too. I have taken goodies directly from the Caribbean to Africa (jerk seasoning was a great hit; reggae music had hit the Continent years ago). I sent bodies from there to Europe (my tennis coaches were given the chance to go and train in France), and then taken goodies from England to the Caribbean (nothing like English beer and cheese). None of this is likely to raise any red flags.

But the rest of the world's interaction with Africa has been fragmented, and tends to be exploitative. Africa has struggled--some would say "failed miserably"--to make things good for itself. It's hard to generalize but Generals have been amongst Africa's major problems, as they have led army revolts that have ended democracies, held on to power too long, transformed themselves into civilian leaders and then held on longer. And what can those militaristic rulers show for it? Very little in terms of improved well being for their populations

Africa is always a fertile ground for new entrepreneurs, home grown or foreign. Good returns are there for those ready to take some risks. Amongst the major investors now in Africa are the Chinese, both the State and private sector. Many African countries, and Guinea is not different, have seen this as bringing short term improvements. Chinese government contracts have built roads and some "feel good" structures such as new Parliament buildings and a lot of sports stadiums (the Caribbean knows this latter from the recent Cricket World Cup). But Chinese goods--any many of them are better than Europe and the US had been prepared to offer--are readily available, and that too makes peoples lives seem better in terms of choices and costs. Certainly, Chinese traders and goods are more common place in African cities that European and particularly American traders (if one excludes major mining and petroleum companies), and are affecting peoples lives at every turn. Africans know a lot about Chinese food now!

So, as I go back to a place where I worked for three years, I am going to try to observe what has changed in the last year of so, and figure out if things are moving ahead, stalling or going backwards. Whatever I find in terms of economic and social changes, I know I will find people who are warm and ready to welcome someone who is prepared to spend time trying to deal with the many problems that exist on this continent.

Trying to embrace Africa

I have written a post on my other blog, Caribbean Comment, which poses some questions about the challenge of embracing Africa, spurred by the upcoming Bicentennial Global Dialogue conference, due to start in Barbados on August 23.

Also, technical problems with Blogger are preventing me from posting as I wish on this site.