25 students from Antigua and Barbuda were in Belize from Monday, September 14 to Friday, September 18, as part of a CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) Public Education Program.
Salas Hamilton is the Communications Director for CSME in the Office of the CARICOM Secretariat. He said that the purpose of the program is to clear up all the negative views that exist on the movement towards CSME. Since last year, students of various CARICOM countries have been traveling to sister countries to experience the process first hand.
The group from Antigua and Barbuda held a reception on Thursday, September 17, to close off their project. Hon. Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, was the Special Guest at the reception. Minister Elrington encouraged the Antiguan and Barbudan students to look at themselves as Caribbean citizens and not only as Antiguan and Barbudan. He invited them to come back to Belize in the future because “Belize is your home as well”. The Minister continued by explaining that the future of CARICOM nations depend on the movement towards CSME because we cannot survive divided.
While in Belize, the students visited various departments of government to learn about the challenges that Belize face in the movement towards CSME. When they return to Antigua and Barbuda, they are expected to write a report on their experience in Belize. Some of the students said that Belize is very similar to Antigua and Barmuda in terms of infrastructure. However, they were surprised about the various ethnic groups living in Belize and operating as one. They said Belize’s greatest challenge in the movement towards CSME is its distance away from the rest of the CARICOM nations. Because of that, shipping of goods to or from Belize is far more expensive, and the movement of human resources is difficult as well.
In speaking with the students, it is clear that people in Antigua and Barbuda are reserved about the movement towards CSME as well. But one student said, “that is because they look at the CSME as someone coming to take their jobs. They do not look at it as an opportunity for them to go to another country and find employment as well.” He continued by saying, “There is a lot of benefits in CSME but to see it we must stop being so negative.”
Last year students from Belize traveled to Trinidad and Tobago as part of the Public Education Program. The project is sponsored by the European Commission and so far has cost over 500,000 Euros.
