Much has been made of the increasing number of Barbadians begging to be accommodated in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom as refugees.
For most citizens of this country, being a refugee connotes images of people with very few possessions, seeking to escape war, abject poverty, and misery.
It was suggested that at the height of the financial crisis, the misery index for Barbados was rising, as people felt little confidence about the economic situation and other conditions on the island.
The index, which became popular in the 1970s, seeks to capture the degree of economic distress felt by the average person as a result of the risks of high inflation and high unemployment.
To contextualize the situation, we referenced the commentary earlier this year by Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Undergraduate Studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus Professor Justin Robinson, who told this publication that he feared unless unemployment continued the downward trajectory this year, the misery index could spike again to 2020 levels or worse.
He argued that any surge in the misery index in 2022 would likely come from inflation, he stated one could expect the economic misery to be higher than usual even though the overall misery index might not be significantly higher than the historical average.
The UWI academic and Professor of Finance assessed that while the “economic misery” from unemployment might be greater than the misery from a higher cost of living, the misery from joblessness tended to be contained to the unemployed and their personal circles, while the impact from an inflationary surge was far more widespread.
Unemployment has eased significantly in Barbados since the disturbing highs of 40 per cent during the worst stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many people have not made up lost ground from depleted savings and outstanding pre-pandemic debt.
The spectra of inflation now overshadowing every aspect of our lives and has been worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This is part of the backdrop of living in Barbados for everyday citizens. It has been so for some time. We are quite accustomed to Barbadians migrating to metropolitan centres around the world in search of prosperity and greater opportunities.
Onlookers to the spate of Barbadians fleeing this country and claiming to be refugees are alarmed. Most asylum seekers are reportedly from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) community.
Our most senior diplomat in Canada, High Commissioner Gline Clarke, is not convinced by the arguments being made by most of the “refugees” that they feared for their safety if they remained in Barbados because our laws criminalized buggery and widespread anti-gay intolerance.
The majority may be convinced that it is most likely economic and financial gain that are the pull factors.
With the likelihood of receiving housing, education/health services, and financial support for successful applicants and their children, some may question the necessity of taking the long route to citizenship via established migration channels.
Clarke has lambasted the action of some Bajan asylum seekers, saying it amounted to “a smear” on Barbados and “degrading” to the country.
“We are a country which abides by the rule of law and doesn’t harass people because of their sexual lifestyle. It’s just inaccurate to make that claim about persecution in
Barbados,” Clarke was quoted in the local media.
It may not be the diplomatic thing for the High Commissioner to say, but the perception on the ground is that life in Barbados has become very difficult for those at the bottom of the income ladder.
An increasing number of young graduates from secondary and our tertiary educational institutions are also said to be considering migration as an option.
While it may offend some Barbadians that fellow citizens are claiming refugee status, we may have to concede that this is part of a larger issue related to economics, perceptions about the quality of life, and confidence in the future.
