Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - Hier 08:46

Caribbean civilisation, activism of people

DARA E HEALY “What is missing from the notion of Caribbeanness, is…the need to transcend the intellectual pretensions dominated by the learned elite and to be grounded in collective affirmation, supported by the activism of the people.” – Edouard Glissant, Caribbean Discourse OVER THE decades, the writings, creative output and critical thinking of Caribbean authors, creatives and intellectuals encouraged us to question our role as citizens of this region. Their passion and commitment to liberation, conscientisation, decolonisation and building a strong region were essential in guiding us. As external powers bring their fights into our home once again, there is a growing conversation about the Caribbean civilisation. What are the next steps in building this civilisation and why is this idea so important now? Civilisation is described as “a complex human society that may have certain characteristics of cultural and technological development.” Indigenous peoples established complex cultures across the Caribbean, developing practices around areas such as gender relations, division of labour, child rearing, spirituality, leadership and social order. They worked out how to shelter themselves and feed their families. They documented their experiences with petroglyphs (drawings in stone), created rituals and belief systems in reverence for the environment and mysteries of the universe. These practices were shattered by enslavement, indentureship and colonialisation. Kwame Ture describes us as “a people of dispersal.” But he goes on to explain that “dispersal only begins the process, it does not end it. There is another key word – survival...” It is true that we survived, but that is because the people who were either forcibly brought or were enticed to come, walked with the memories of their own well-developed African, Indian and other civilisations. At the recently concluded Carifesta, Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, spoke about the significance of this coming together of traditions for the advancement of our own Caribbean civilisation. While it is necessary to put this concept into the public domain, I worry that as a region we are still too far away from the cohesiveness and single-mindedness of purpose needed to achieve a united force against external aggression. During the various civil rights and independence movements, internal self-awareness was identified as a critical first step towards regional unity. In TT, new voices are emerging across the spectrum of spoken word, literature, Tobago Heritage, jamoo, chutney soca, Best Village or film. They are challenging imposed notions of who we are, defining instead who we want to be. I also see internal exploration happening across the wider English and non-English speaking Caribbean. But it is not enough. Freedom of movement for work is still not as accessible as it needs to be. Our region struggles with a consistent loss of both young and experienced professionals, the very people needed to help build the Caribbean civilisation that we envisage. After independence, we adopted the food, economic approaches and media of other societies. This slowed down our growth and validated external forces whose aim was the extraction of wealth, knowledge and resources for their own benefit. And our people still suffer the backlash of political ideologies that promote colonial agendas of division, rather than leadership driven by empathy. As we grapple with these challenges, we must also come to terms with the fact that we may not be able to compete with the advances in robotics, artificial intelligence or the battle for space. However, what we do have is our resilience and capacity for survival, as pointed out by Ture and others. These are engendered by the deeply rooted ancestral values that fuel our creative and performing arts, literature, spirituality and food traditions today. The celebration of our culture is important, but we must become intentional with documenting it, ensuring that it is in a digital space where all Caribbean citizens have access. We need to focus on unity through language, to help eliminate the artificial barriers that were imposed on us. And we must reclaim our resilience and resistance through food. What we put into our bodies is unhealthy and continues to move us away from the traditions that kept us safe and whole. The notion of a Caribbean civilisation is appealing because together we are stronger. But to achieve it, as Glissant wrote, we need to move away from the pretensions of the elite and return to the force that best understands what it takes to create a civilisation – the people. Dara E Healy is a performing artist and founder of the Idakeda Group, a cultural organisation dedicated to empowering communities through the arts The post Caribbean civilisation, activism of people appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.