By Anesta Henry
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley is calling on young people in Barbados and across the region to collaborate to create an identity that will help them fight future battles.
Sharing with students the realities of the world in which they live while addressing the opening of an education summit, at Harrison College on Monday, Mottley told the young adults that regrettably they are going to face battles that the older generation did not have to face when they left school, and urged them to be prepared for the fight.
“As much as gun violence is a problem, gun violence has turned on its head and it has become a problem internally. The new battles will be to turn you into victims; victims of a diabetes epidemic, victims because you don’t have the discipline to do what has to be done; victims of drugs and I don’t mean marijuana that has been criminalised for so long, I am talking also about the other manufactured drugs; victims of abusive language popularised now in our lyrics as much as anything else; victims of consumerism because if you spend all your money and you don’t save because everything is about the moment and portability and fast food and everything in the moment, then you will find yourselves at the mercy of someone else having to save you.
“These are the new battles of the 21st century, but they come at a time when the world is looking inwards, regrettably, instead of looking outwards.”
Mottley told the students that they have to face a world that is going to require that they be mature, disciplined, discerning and empathetic, and to work in solidarity more than previous generations did, “because the war is real”.
The Prime Minister stressed that people all over are fighting battles because of where they are from, the colour of their skin and even their sex.
She noted that historically, especially over the past 100 years, the region has had a distinguished history of wanting to make the world a better place.
However, she called on Caribbean young people to work together against the battles that confront the region, pleading with them not to let down the legacy which they have inherited.
“If I have done nothing else this morning, I hope that you will understand that before you there has been a marvellous and majestic Caribbean history, culture and civilization. And if you try to go into the world without having yourself rooted, then the air force winds of this climate crisis will make you a victim, and will cause you to be enslaved in the same way that our great grandparents were enslaved in that crime against humanity called the slave trade.
“And whether you were black or white you were enslaved by the slave trade because one became an oppressor and one became the slave driver, but both ultimately were impacted negatively by that simple act,” Mottley said.
Head Girl of Harrison College, Lauren Louis said while appreciating the importance of existing regional organisations, initiatives such as the education summit have allowed the youth who are the leaders of tomorrow to take part in experiential learning.
Louis said the summit was an important moment in the future of the Caribbean as students speak on globalisation and its impact on the Caribbean economy, crime and deviance and sustainable tourism. anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb
