RACISM IN ANTIGUA?

[Keilah Miller]

Dear Readers

 

I am finding it impossible to believe that Antigua is still, to this day, such a racist country and the boldness in which this racism is being carried out, even with a black majority.

 

So please let me know. I was told:

 

1. That there are two different groups of the Rotary clubs (parent group), one for whites and the other for black. Not to mention the segregation of elitist.

 

2.That the owner of the Epicurean (Woods Mall), boldly said that his supermarket was not built to facilitate black shoppers but was in fact built for the White population of Antigua.

 

3. That the reason for Gourmet Baskets closure was due to the fact that the higher population of shoppers were black which disturbed the shopping of the Whites

 

4. That this is being encouraged by the UPP government because of their elitist mentally.

 

 

Please let me know

 

Concerned
--
We must risk going too far to discover just how far we can go  (Jim Rohn)

[Cleon Athill]

Where do you live? Obviously not in Antigua..... so let me invite you for a vacation. Then you will see for yourself that of which you inquire.

 

CA

[Petra Williams]

Ms Miller

 

I have to first wonder if you are of Antiguan origin and secondly where have you been for the last ten to fifteen years. Racism is an issue that will not go away despite our very best intentions, but to make such broad statements of racism about a free country led by persons of Afro-Caribbean descent with a very cosmopolitan population gives rise to my initial questions.

 

There are two different Rotary Groups in Antigua and Barbuda both have membership from all spectrums of the society.  Neither are based on any racial exclusivity. 

 

I don’t know the owner of Epicurean, but making the logical assumption that he was driven by profit motive, it is difficult to imagine that he would have made such a sizeable investment to accommodate such a small segment of the resident population – white people.

 

I would further posit that if white people resident in Antigua and Barbuda are really uncomfortable mixing with black people, that their most natural and logical recourse would be to leave Antigua and Barbuda, since it is practically impossible to reside anywhere or conduct business without running into us.

 

To suggest that the sitting government, which was elected by the residents and citizens is being elitist in their transactions against black people is to suggest that they are turning on themselves and I would leave that for someone on the inside to comment on.

 

My concern is how we spend too much time searching out the negatives that would break and divide us, than dwelling on those issues which would result in nation building collectively and individually.

 

If racism is being practiced in Antigua and Barbuda it is wrong and illegal and not to be tolerated, but to dwell on half truths and innuendos and to spread them far and wide does no good to the future of Antigua and Barbuda.

 

Petra Williams

 

---

From: Takin...@googlegroups.com [mailto:Takin...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Keilah Miller

Sent: Monday, June 02, 2008 12:40 PM

[Barbara Fernie]

Congratulations Petra,

Very well said, although I do feel that there still remains a certain cultural divide amongst both races.  My daughter has lived with a native from J.P. and whilst in Canada it seems to be a common and deriguer practice.  Step back to the village, and the stares can become insulting.

I too have faced some funny incidences although through a voice of a child a loud cry that there was a "white women in the village!!!" I chuckled but I wonder how a child would come to that assertion???

We generally fair quite well with locals and have come to enjoy many visits from pals we've met throughout our visits to the island, needless to say those who have come to know us, as well as us them, its still a thought weather by flight or fancy us and them.

Now in no way do I intend to wage a war of words nor pick upon any indecencies either of us have or may encounter, however, we do have to acknowledge there is and perhaps might always be a few who will either feel embittered or embattled between us.

I hope and pray that perhaps with the coming of a African American man in the white house, we will learn to respect one another and truly believe as my once young son said to me about a friend of his being taunted for being different...."Mom its so unfair that some of the kids tease Amin...because when you turn his hands around he just the same as you and me."

Barb Fernie   Montreal

---

From: "Petra Williams" <pea...@candw.ag>
Reply-To: Takin...@googlegroups.com
To: <Takin...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: RE: RACISM IN ANTIGUA?
Date: Fri, 6 Jun 2008 06:24:02 -0400

[ethomas]

Barb,

    You stated, "I hope and pray that perhaps with the coming of a African American man in the white house, we will learn to respect one another and truly believe as my once young son said to me about a friend of his being taunted for being different..."

One of my favorite episodes of Star Trek was an episode where two factions on a planet were at war.  Captain Kirk was informed that they were at war because they were different.  When confronted with both parties, to Captain Kirk's surprise they were identical.  Every physical feature was identical including the shading of their skin.  One side of their body was white and the other side was black.  Captain Kirk exclaimed, "You are the same."  One of the members of the warring faction replied, "Can't you see....He is black on his right side....and I am black on my left."

Respect for one another is usually a product of our up-bringing and it originates from our local community and household.  What is right and wrong with the Black American Community goes beyond Obama. 

Obama can use his bully pulpit to advocate change.  He may symbolically satisfy our short-term hunger.  However, history can  teach us about the effectiveness of such an advocacy.  Margaret Thatcher, Eugenia Charles, Benazir Bhutto, and Kim Campbell were respective Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, Dominica, Pakistan, and Canada.  I can effectively argue that their achievement had little impact on sexism and the glass ceiling that woman face in today's dynamic world.

Lets stop creating a "Cult of Personality" around Obama and Hilary and lets discuss the issues.  They are real and the clouds are gathering. 

Rather than focus on the color of Obama's skin.  I would like to understand his position on this question.

"The impact of the rising price of oil on most CARICOM nations will be devastating.  Most CARICOM member state economies are primarily based on tourism and we import a large percentage of our consumer goods.  Attempts to diversify our economies from tourism were not supported by the United States in the past, ie..Antigua and Barbuda vs. United States WTO case.  What will your administration do to end the WTO case and assist the CARICOM nations to diversify and strengthen their economy." 

Eban Thomas.

On Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:04:13 -0400, Barbara Fernie wrote

> Congratulations Petra,
> Very well said, although I do feel that there still remains a certain cultural divide amongst both races.  My daughter has lived with a native from J.P. and whilst in Canada it seems to be a common and deriguer practice.  Step back to the village, and the stares can become  insulting.
> I too have faced some funny incidences although through a voice of a child a loud cry that there was a "white women in the village!!!" I chuckled but I wonder how a child would come to that assertion???
>
> We generally fair quite well with locals and have come to enjoy many visits from pals we've met throughout our visits to the island, needless to say those who have come to know us, as well as us them, its still a thought weather by flight or fancy us and them.
> Now in no way do I intend to wage a war of words nor pick upon any indecencies either of us have or may encounter, however, we do have to acknowledge there is and perhaps might always be a few who will either feel embittered or embattled between us.
> I hope and pray that perhaps with the coming of a African American man in the white house, we will learn to respect one another and truly believe as my once young son said to me about a friend of his being taunted for being different...."Mom its so unfair that some of the kids tease Amin...because when you turn his hands around he just the same as you and me."
>
> Barb Fernie   Montreal

---

From: "Petra Williams" <pea...@candw.ag>
> Reply-To: Takin...@googlegroups.com
> To: <Takin...@googlegroups.com>
> Subject: RE: RACISM IN ANTIGUA?
> Date: Fri, 6 Jun 2008 06:24:02 -0400
>
>
>
> Ms Miller
>  
> I have to first wonder if you are of Antiguan origin and secondly where have you been for the last ten to fifteen years. Racism is an issue that will not go away despite our very best intentions, but to make such broad statements of racism about a free country led by persons of Afro-Caribbean descent with a very cosmopolitan population gives rise to my initial questions.
>  
> There are two different Rotary Groups in Antigua and Barbuda both have membership from all spectrums of the society.  Neither are based on any racial exclusivity. 
>  

> I [ISO-8859-1?][WINDOWS-1252?]don’t know the owner of Epicurean, but making the logical assumption that he was driven by profit motive, it is difficult to imagine that he would have made such a sizeable investment to accommodate such a small segment of the resident population [ISO-8859-1?][WINDOWS-1252?]– white people.

[Eustace N Phillip]

Why do you insist in prolonging this kind of nonsensical debate?
From time memorial there has been ethnicism or perhaps racism. Remember the Romans? The Greeks? The Chinese? The Africans? And every other Human Race under the skys, we never accepted and never will accept everyone as equal. We all have our prejudices. If it is not our hair or our education or lack thereof then it will be something else. Perhaps we had too much biblical brainwashing by our ancestors. Just try tresspassing on the domain of a cave person who has never been exposed to our KIND and observe the welcome. I have lived in Antigua, Barbados, Ottawa, England, Hong Kong, Japan and the USA and I have visited a number of others and the truth is that I see no difference. I get at least the stare where ever I go. Maybe it is because I am black or perhaps it was because I had a white Scottish wife, but who cares? We have six beautiful children and four beautiful grandchildren and I am sure that they will all experienc similar prejudices in their lifetime.
Good Luck.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from Cable & Wireless

-----Original Message-----
From: "Barbara Fernie" <fer...@sympatico.ca>

Date: Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:04:13

To:Takin...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: RACISM IN ANTIGUA?

Congratulations Petra,
Very well said, although I do feel that there still remains a certain cultural divide amongst both races.  My daughter has lived with a native from J.P. and whilst in Canada it seems to be a common and deriguer practice.  Step back to the village, and the stares can become insulting.
I too have faced some funny incidences although through a voice of a child a loud cry that there was a "white women in the village!!!" I chuckled but I wonder how a child would come to that assertion???

We generally fair quite well with locals and have come to enjoy many visits from pals we've met throughout our visits to the island, needless to say those who have come to know us, as well as us them, its still a thought weather by flight or fancy us and them.
Now in no way do I intend to wage a war of words nor pick upon any indecencies either of us have or may encounter, however, we do have to acknowledge there is and perhaps might always be a few who will either feel embittered or embattled between us.
I hope and pray that perhaps with the coming of a African American man in the white house, we will learn to respect one another and truly believe as my once young son said to me about a friend of his being taunted for being different...."Mom its so unfair that some of the kids tease Amin...because when you turn his hands around he just the same as you and me."

Barb Fernie   Montreal
----------------

From: "Petra Williams" <pea...@candw.ag>
Reply-To: Takin...@googlegroups.com
To: <Takin...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: RE: RACISM IN ANTIGUA?
Date: Fri, 6 Jun 2008 06:24:02 -0400

Ms Miller
 
I have to first wonder if you are of Antiguan origin and secondly where have you been for the last ten to fifteen years. Racism is an issue that will not go away despite our very best intentions, but to make such broad statements of racism about a free country led by persons of Afro-Caribbean descent with a very cosmopolitan population gives rise to my initial questions.
 
There are two different Rotary Groups in Antigua and Barbuda both have membership from all spectrums of the society.  Neither are based on any racial exclusivity. 
 
I don’t know the owner of Epicurean, but making the logical assumption that he was driven by profit motive, it is difficult to imagine that he would have made such a sizeable investment to accommodate such a small segment of the resident population – white people.
 
I would further posit that if white people resident in Antigua and Barbuda are really uncomfortable mixing with black people, that their most natural and logical recourse would be to leave Antigua and Barbuda, since it is practically impossible to reside anywhere or conduct business without running into us.
 
To suggest that the sitting government, which was elected by the residents and citizens is being elitist in their transactions against black people is to suggest that they are turning on themselves and I would leave that for someone on the inside to comment on.
 
My concern is how we spend too much time searching out the negatives that would break and divide us, than dwelling on those issues which would result in nation building collectively and individually.
 
If racism is being practiced in Antigua and Barbuda it is wrong and illegal and not to be tolerated, but to dwell on half truths and innuendos and to spread them far and wide does no good to the future of Antigua and Barbuda.
 
Petra Williams
 

----------------

[Nigel Archibald]

nicely stated Petra,
 
But Ms. Miller might be right but before the applauds to Ms. Miller and just incase, a few questions to you Ms. Miller
 
1) what is racism?
2) who is supposedly doing the racism in Antigua?
3) (to help you out) and is racism the choice of one set of people?
 
You see Ms. Miller there are certain shade of People that are as you stated and heard of especially in Antigua that are racist but much more than you think.
 
My experiences for instance is
 
1) I am blessed to be born in Antigua and of a geneology mixed of different caribbean (carib) Indian, european and african cultures and skin shades of people that at the end of the day my complexion is one of fair skin that you at first chance would think i am not "Black" as did my school mates from one of the largest secondary schools in antigua at the time - my many nick names varied but with especially a certain adjective in it such as "Whiteman, white boy, white this, white that, white punk - just to name a few of the lovely ones (you get the picture); ALL of my neighborhood Ottos friends are, yes, way darker or Blacker than me but even though we were ALL best friends no matter what, even though they looked upon me as "he is white" but actually that wasn't the truth.  You see its their mental thinking and perception of me that even one in particular noticed that most of the young ladies i dated were not dark colored but fair to high complexion that his blatant argumentative accusations of me is that "you white  and racist" or a "MASSA" which almost cost our friendship.  Heaven knew that i did not single out any shade of skin color to date, i would have even dated chinese, it just happened and i only realized that he was correct on most of the females skin shade but he was still wrong cause those were the only ones he at times saw me with, (he also had an amnesia about the darker than his color ladies that i dated).
 
2) Yes there were times when either my friends or my brother and sister of darker complexion (same father and mother) have been walking through hotels like the Royal Antiguan and Halcyon in those days and i would eventually be by myself walking, only to realize that my companions were stopped by the security or hotel workers that i had just passed and only to hear the security/hotel worker telling them that locals should pass on another path, guess what color the security/hotel worker themselves were, darker than my friends/brother & sister's complexions but some how they deliberately missed me, the local whose hair wasn't long, straight and blonde but only because i am of fair complexion they did not bother me.
 
3) What about walking through town and the city being stopped by Taxi drivers asking if i needed a taxi and there beside of the taxi or on the sidewalk is either a local dark complexion exhausted and stressed out antiguan female  with children in tow and bags in her hands or even this one would crack you up - another time there was these Black complexion tourists husband and wife not being offered the taxi but its me whom the taxi drivers stopped to offer the service.
 
Guess the taxi driver skin color "you got it - BLACK".
 
4) What about when one heavy rainy eve when i had just purchased a vehicle decided that i and my finance (4th generation antiguan black woman as you would state it) would go for a drive which we came along the route of Free Trade and Processing Zone to Jabber wok only to miss judge the curve and having the vehicle over steer into the bushes and see sawing upon some sort of man hole on the roads edge.  We took the chance of the remaining sunlight to flag down help from ALL THE BIG SUV's with their drivers of high positions from varying churches and businesses whom of course saw and heard us but just kept on passing straight and not stopping to give a hand to a young BLACK antiguan couple.
 
Guess what skin color they were yep "BLACK", BUT wait we did finally got some help, guess from whom an "Antiguan WHITE BOY" (as you would have stated it) and his old pick up.  My fiancee, was relieved and surprised at what actually transpired that evening that i had to tell her "that's antiguan racism for ya!". She is now my wife and mother of my, what should i say " ohh lovely and beautiful complexion children" if she read your email about "white racism in antigua" i am sure she would correct you and the person you heard it from especially from what she experienced above.
 
So please inform whomever you heard it from that the acts being dealt to me above by people that i should think are my own kind, aren't they racist acts similar to what they told you? As an old adage i leave with you "the coin has two sides". 
 
Martin Luther said it perfectly "I have a dream" and his dream lives on in me for my children and hopefully theirs to come.  the world is getting smaller that men and women are interracially procreating, what are we going to do if and when the skin colors of black and white are the minority numbered or no longer in existance ? teach our children a new way to hate each other. GOD forbids! 
 
But at this moment in time you did state you "HEARD", you should not deal with hear say bring evidence to the table. Especially knowing that Antigua is an open Tourism Destination and we live on that tourist dollar and for which "tourist" in itself implies people from different race, creed etc. are accepted even from perverse sexual morals sad to say, as one former Tourism Minister of the late 1990's to 2000's stated and i quote "Even if the ship have gays on it, it must dock at Heritage Quay for them to spend their money, we need their money"! Antigua is NOT a "racist country".
 
Have a good day.
 
 

---

From: fer...@sympatico.ca

To: Takin...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: RACISM IN ANTIGUA?

Date: Fri, 6 Jun 2008 18:04:13 -0400

[Barbara Fernie]

You go to the top of the list for marrying a Scottish women, not because your black (LMAO)!!!0:)

Barb Fernie

---

From: "Eustace N Phillip" <phil...@candw.ag>
Reply-To: Takin...@googlegroups.com
To: Takin...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: RACISM IN ANTIGUA?
Date: Sat, 7 Jun 2008 22:40:15 +0000

[Keilah Miller]

Ms Williams

 

To answer your questions, yes i am Antiguan.  Which has brought me to the realisation that the negatives that we have avoided, swept under the carpet and ignored for the last 10 years have come back to haunt us now.

 

I am looking for Antiguan who are fed up of allowing things to happen because for some twisted reason it has become the norm and stand up for what is right. Realising they may not always be in the position to catch the gravy.

[Keilah Miller]

Well said Nigel

 

you have given all of us food for thought, i like that you are able to look at it from both sides of the spectrum.

 

[Petra Williams]

I am aware that many of us, particularly those of us of the darker hue, often feel uncomfortable in reveling in our blackness and being proud of our origins.  We often walk on eggshells because we are afraid of being accused of racism in reverse. 

 

The reality is that the practice of racism on whichever side will never be completely eliminated.  There will always be discrimination on the basis of colour, sex and many other reasons.

 

Ms. Miller’s remarks strongly suggested that racism was entrenched in Antigua and Barbuda.  Nigel’s remarks suggest that racism in reverse was also well entrenched.  Having resided in Antigua for most of my life, save for 3 years in Jamaica and having had the benefit of being well traveled I will reiterate that while racist tendencies cannot and must not be tolerated, Antigua does not have entrenched nor institutionalized racist practices.  It is not accurate nor fair to send out any such message about my native land.

 

Many of the issues raised particular by Nigel sparks of poor social relations and reflect the upbringing we are exposed too.  Further while listing all the negatives of being of a lighter shade in a predominantly black society, Nigel forget to mention any of the privileges he enjoyed as a result of his complexion and I am sure they were many.

 

In terms of negatives, as a society we have become less friendly that in my youthful, carefree days.  I would suggest that this is a mixture of becoming a more development society (downside) and the influx of persons where we no longer know everybody and as such are immediately willing to lend a helping hand.

 

Rest assured that I am not one to accept the status quo but I believe that our actions should do most of the talking and focused my limited energies in that direction.

 

I will not rest idly by while we seek to highlight the negatives of our nation over the positives to our own detriment.

 

For the record my most racist treatment came while I was in China for six (6)  weeks  (where I actually understood and finally experienced racism first hand) and in the land of ‘milk and honey’ the USA where I worked for a brief period.

 

 

 

---

From: Takin...@googlegroups.com [mailto:Takin...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Keilah Miller
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 8:28 AM
To: Takin...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: RACISM IN ANTIGUA?

 

Ms Williams

[natalie clarke]

Hello Everyone,

I have read with great interest the "PRIDE and PREJUDICE" conversations going back and forth. Love the discourse.

As a woman who was born in TnT, grew up in West Africa, Nassau and Freeport, moved on to UK for university and live in Antigua and Barbuda having beautiful sons of this soil...its always struck me how the human species interacts and on what levels we display our fears of each others cultural norms, each others ways of seeing and understanding.

Prejudice for me and I agree with Petra has a whole lot of nuances and shades that cause and effect our relationships whether white, black, pink or orange.

For me the clinch mainly boils down to social structure, class, and economics. These three organize the mind into a pattern of positive and negative constructs that cause the human species to react in ways destructive or enlightening and there really is not alot you can do about it until you as the individual becomes emotionally mature enough to leap hurdles and ford streams.

There is no excuse for prejudice of any kind but the excuse for the human element must always be our innate imperfection and lack of love for ourselves and therefore our fellow brothers and sisters.

Natalie Clarke

"Great minds discuss ideas ... small minds discuss people"

[lee williams]

I have been following some of the discussion on racism in Antigua and I do support Petra's comments fully.
 
I have seen and experienced real racism while I was in Brazil. I got to the point where I became "real powerful vex" but on second thought before I reacted on impulse, and  knowing also that I was in Brazil and things have to be done the Brazillian way, I said somethings and just went on my way. I was truly glad when I left for my Antigua but pity my black brother and sisters who have to endure this all of their lives.
 
I also went to Vienna Austria in 2007, for a world congress for Public Services International and two of my male colleagues from Barbados and Grenada went to a restaurant just after midnight to have a meal because the flight into Vienna was extremely late. Upon arrival in the restaurant they were told that they do not serve "blacks". That is racism. Brothers and sisters, the neo-liberals are still prevalent in Austria.
 
Like Petra, I am well traveled also, therefore I have many experiences on racism and I can conclude that those of you who are in the habit of smearing my good country's name with inaccurate message should desist.

Sandra Williams

---

From: pea...@candw.ag

To: Takin...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: RACISM IN ANTIGUA?

Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:41:31 -0400

[ALPfire...@aol.com]

Sunday morning, June 15, 2008

The Bronx, New York

 

Dear Taking Sides,

     I would bring to your bloggers' attention a chapter of my book Democracy By Diplomacy in which I tell of Antigua and Barbuda's efforts to bring to the attention of those who care the racism that ensnares people of African descent in Latin America. Read Chapter 7 on the Inter-American Democratic Charter and our assertions that persistent racism belies the claim of democracy in Latin America; or, read Chapter 4 and the snippet on Racism In Latin America.

    I reproduce below that two paragraph snippet for the benefit of those who do not have the book. (It is available in Antigua at Best of Books.)    

    There may be individual slights and unfair treatment from time to time based on skin colour and, maybe, even race- in Antigua. But the systemic racism which ensnared our forebears is no more. That is the result of adult suffrage in 1951, the end of colonialism by 1967/81, and the end of apartheid in South Africa by 1994. Our forebears have successfully challenged racism in Antigua and Barbuda and succeeded. I challenge anyone who would claim otherwise. There will always be people who dislike others for all manner of reasons, but do not confuse those behaviours with the pernicious system that denied us leadership and wealth accumulation in the land of our birth during an earlier period. 

 

 

Fighting Latin American Racism

    Anyone who has traveled to South and Central America will immediately recognize the extreme poverty and ignorance in which the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking black citizens of the 18 countries live. Throughout Latin America, only the indigenous people are poorer than the descendants of Africans. The African descendants, whose ancestors were brought to the continent to be slaves and who worked without compensation for hundreds of years, are deprived of basic human rights and dignity in the countries of Central and South America. The Antigua and Barbuda delegation at the OAS, under the leadership of the author, decided that it can make a difference and that it will address the issue of persistent racism in Latin America.

    Antigua and Barbuda collaborated with the head of a non-governmental organization in Washington that supports the Afro-Latin struggle for dignity and equality. When the author became Chairman of the OAS Permanent Council in 1999, he invited Mr. Michael Franklyn to address the Council on the troubling issue of unrepentant racism in Central and South America. It was a moment that will be remembered at the OAS forever. By challenging the representatives of the governments at the OAS, we hoped that notice of their exclusionary practice would reach their legislatures and their political leaders who would act to change the circumstances. We also hoped to get media coverage that would shame the Latinos into corrective action. One can never be sure of the level of success of such a grand cultural shift; but our delegation felt absolved and that we had made our sovereignty useful yet again.

    Latin American immigrants may confront the white bigots in the USA through their immigrant organizations. But in their own countries, the governments of Latin American states knowingly deny the same rights and freedoms to their black citizens that the immigrants demand in the USA. Antigua and Barbuda brought the issue of persistent Latin American racism to the OAS, repeating our displeasure at every general assembly, every summit, and every gathering of the OAS at which democracy was discussed. Antigua and Barbuda carved out a special role for itself --in the tradition of the West Indian intellectual. The author has received plaques and commendations from several groups for his leadership on this pressing issue.

    For those who may remain skeptical of this claim, even the Catholic Church in Latin America recognizes its own racially exclusionary practices. In May 2007, the Pope visited Brazil where he canonized a Brazilian saint and delivered the opening address to Latin America’s bishops. One of the challenges faced by the Catholic Church in Brazil, as described by the New York Times of Sunday, May 13, 2007, is “the racial and ethnic composition of the clergy…Of Brazil’s more than 400 bishops, only 11 are black and blacks are also underrepresented among seminarians.”¹ Yet, the vast majority of the Catholic faithful in Brazil is black. That is an issue which the leaders of the Catholic Church agree must be addressed. Antigua and Barbuda would encourage them.

1 Sunday New York Times, May 7, 2007, page A4.

Lionel Max Hurst (Democracy By Diplomacy)

 

 

---

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[Sherriann Telesford]

I must say that your book “Democracy by Diplomacy” has shed some light as to the extent of racial discrimination against blacks in Latin American countries, I was however oblivious to the fact that this has been previously addressed from a political standpoint. I reside in Mexico and daily feel the hard sting of discrimination as it blows in my direction, I however, have never seen it across the board including all Latin American countries but have restricted the behavior to Mexico blaming the situation on ignorance and a people in constant search for their own identity.

 

This racism extends to the darker Mexicans and Latin Americans residing in their country as well as the foreigners, who are prone to an even deeper level of degradation from the constant pointing, name calling and all other levels of repugnant behavior displayed by the ordinary working class citizen to the middle class levels and even the affluent.

 

It was disturbing on arriving here in 2006 to be welcomed by a statement made by past president Vicente fox, I am unable to quote but it was in regards to (Mexicans being forced to do jobs in the United States that NOT EVEN the blacks are doing) but it was not until given the chance to live within this community I understood that this was more than an unenlightened president addressing a border control issue, this is something integrated in this society. Many sociologists here has defined this absurdity as inquisitive human nature, I beg to differ because more than 700 Caribbean students including myself can attest to a very high level of racial discrimination fitted to us by police officers, university professors, Government officials, store clerks, taxi drivers and the unemployed just to name a few.

 

Unable to embrace a distorted history, inability to accept ones identity and low self worth has restricted many Mexicans to this dungeon of fear and reluctance to welcome that which is different it is like civilization is only manifested in the physical attributes of the country failing to envelope the mind and character of the people.

---

From: ALPfire...@aol.com
Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2008 09:11:39 -0400

Subject: Re: RACISM IN ANTIGUA?

To: Takin...@googlegroups.com

[Psltapa]

It is very interesting - this racism interaction.  I would like to mention the strange metamorphosis that comes over nonnationals of other colors who adopt Antigua as their home.  Quite a few of them adopt racist attitudes which sometimes is quite foreign in their homelands.

While visiting Cuba I remarked on the love, respect and sharing which was seen everywhere - never a quarrel or fight or even strong words between people all over.  Hovever I have seen a Cuban couple actually begin a fierce quarrel with the person who was in front of is wife at the checkout of a supermarket where the husband was holding the space at the checkout for his wife who stuggled with the shopping cart and the baby.  Not only was he loud an abusive, but he was not nearly the gentleman who arrived on these shores two years ago.  Both he and his wife are molatto Cubans, and their attitude was as if they had preferred status.   Their behaviour would never have been tolerated in Cuba - it would not even have happened. 

Maybe the racism which is being observed is really not the Antiguans, but the imports! 

----- Original Message -----

From: Sherriann Telesford

To: takin...@googlegroups.com

Sent: Sunday, June 22, 2008 8:31 AM

Subject: RE: RACISM IN ANTIGUA?