Read Carter, Sanders and Hergash and educate yourself: You should

Jul 20, 2022 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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Kaieteur News- This is the third occasion in my 34-year columnist career that I have mentioned an analysis by Mr. Ben Carter. Writing in the BBC online edition of November 15, 2013, Mr. Carter produced a masterpiece of an educated commentary on how we must use context to understand life’s phenomena.
It is titled, “Sachin Tendulkar: The world’s 29th greatest batsman?” This is good material for grasping the reality hidden behind the things that appear to us to be truthful. Mr. Jack uses context to explain that Tendulkar is not even near on the top of the list of great batsmen. He put fellow Indian batsman, Rahul Dravid as being better. What Jack did is to use context in a powerfully potent manner to explain why others are better.
The lovely thing about Jack’s column is that it opens your eyes. Why wouldn’t a human want to stick with their beliefs when facts and evidence are there to educate them that some of their beliefs are not in harmony with reality? You have an obligation to yourself to enlighten yourself. That is one of the purposes of being on earth.
Another piercing analysis to read is an article by Sir Ron Sanders in this very newspaper. It removes impressions you have as a Caribbean, Western educated person, growing up in Western culture that sees the United States as a close friend of the Caribbean.
You have people in this country that give off an automatic condemnation of CARICOM heads as soon as CARICOM countries do not vote with the US in the UN or oppose a US policy or criticise US behaviour. But Sanders’ analysis reveals that CARICOM is not even on the radar of the US and the US as the richest government in the world is extremely stingy in its aid to the CARICOM region.
His column is titled, “For the Caribbean, relation with the US and China is not one or the other,” October 17, 2021. Here are statistics for your education provided by Mr. Sanders. Read his analysis and educate yourself. When you do so, you better understand the world around you.
Mr. Sanders noted: “The 14-nation independent states of the Caribbean Community have been at the bottom of US official development assistance for decades. In 2019, for instance, total US foreign assistance globally was US$47 billion, of which collectively, CARICOM countries received US$338 million or 0.7 percent. For emphasis, that is less than one percent of the global total. Haiti alone received US$268 million of that US$338 million intended for all 14 CARICOM states, leaving the other 13 to share US$70 million only. For 9 of the 13 countries, the sum provided did not amount to US$1 million.”
Ask yourself, against this backdrop, why CARICOM nations must not seek developmental aid and trade which they desperately need with countries that the US do not want them to trade with? That makes absolutely no sense in the real world of survival. You would think that given their enduring democratic substance and traditional friendship with the US, CARICOM would be better treated. They weren’t even under Obama who was certainly no friend of the Caribbean.
Finally, Mr. Harry Hergash. This gentleman was one of the first UG graduates. He published a letter in the Sunday edition of this newspaper which was also carried in the e-paper but unfortunately was not found in the letters section of the newspaper’s home page. It meant that some in the diaspora might have missed it. I have asked the editor-in chief to make the letter available to everyone.
In his letter, Mr. Hergash quotes the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau as saying this: “No country would find 173 billion barrels of oil in the ground and leave them there.” Mr. Hergash cited his source for the quote. He also referred to President Joe Biden’s announcement in April of further oil and gas exploration. The article goes on to make powerful points about how super-rich countries have become extraordinarily wealthy through fossil fuels and today give a pittance to poor countries that they want to save the world’s environment.
Anyone, who lives in the Third World and has the temerity to even propose that poor countries that found oil should distance themselves from the fossil fuel industry while rich countries that continue with their fossil fuel industry, need to educate themselves in a profound way to understand how the world operates.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is indefensible. Countries just cannot invade other countries in which young men lose their lives senselessly. To ask poor nations to sanction Russia is not an incorrect request. But rich countries that want the Third World to do so must start giving substantial aid to poorer states. They need it ASAP.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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