BY Hon. Thomas Christopher Famous JP, MP Bermuda
“Sheep head and Goat head not the same”
A Caribbean phrase often repeated by the elders when some things which may look similar, but are definitively not the same.
At the conclusion of the recent CARICOM 49th heads of Government meeting held in Montego Bay Jamaica it was stated that 4 Caribbean nations would embark on Freedom of Movement, effective October 1st, 2025.
Those nations include The Republic of Barbados, Belize, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Diversity and Reality
The Caribbean consists of islands and countries of various sizes and populations. From Hispaniola with over 20 million persons to Saba with a population of less than 2,000 persons and everything in between.
We have a wide variety of economies ranging from Agriculture to Tourism and Financial services, with different cultures and subcultures.
In the smaller islands such as Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Virgin Islands, there are presently an ongoing set of challenges that are adversely affecting the generational islanders.
These include low birthrates; lack of affordable housing; as well as declining populations of generational islanders. In both the Cayman Islands and the Virgin Islands, belongers account for less than 35% of the total populations. This has created cause for concern that they are now irreversibly in the minority in their own islands.
Many are now competing with guest workers for employment and livable wages. Compounding this issue is that housing and home ownership for the working and middle class has become increasingly unaffordable, with many reduced to becoming lifelong renters at best.
Unlimited and unrestricted migration from other islands will cause immediate upward pressure for housing on islands that have limited land space. Unrestricted labour influx would cause the wages in many professions to stagnate.
Unrestricted residency rights will lead to native persons further becoming minorities in their own islands.
In other small islands, there are infrastructure challenges with adequate water and power supply. Any significant population increases would demand immediate costly investment in expanding these services or risk water shortages and power brown outs.
So, for the persons in those islands and those that represent them in their respective parliaments, the logistics of Freedom of Movement is not really appealing to them at this point in history. Effectively, proposing uncontrolled immigration would end political aspirations for many.
Contrast and Compare
Freedom of Movement will have its benefits where and when properly prescribed. An example would be a need for more hospitality workers in Barbados resulting in increased remittances to Dominica. There will be those countries which will have net positives.
Freedom of movement cannot adversely affect larger countries such as; Belize, Jamaica, Guyana or Trinidad and Tobago. It is simply logistically impossible for them to run out of land space or for the native persons in those countries to become the minorities in their own lands.
Simply put, one size does not fit all. As Granny says, “Sheep Head and Goat head are not the same.”
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Yes, This should be obvious to all by now that a one size fits all free movement policy is not good idea. Smaller territories should continue with work permit systems based on availability of work once insufficient local workers are available to be trained or interested whereas larger territories could have more open borders. However, once the gates have been opened interesting things happen in the background e.g. immigrants who are doing well start bringing in their friends from other countries to take up jobs and housing that they know about leaving locals out in the cold anyway. So, not sure if these changes to society can be prevented. What might help is to have better regional systems for directing talent where it is actually needed. E.g. returning doctors in Antigua complain about a lack of work while Dominica complains about a shortage of healthcare workers. Some islands complain about a shortage of engineers while there are many young people in other territories who could easily study such with the right funding opportunities. People from agricultural islands such as St. Vincent come to Antigua because of the higher pay but then struggle to find jobbin their area of work leading to increased crime whereas they could go to another island in need of their skillet or start a healthy food processing venture selling items to countries with limited agriculture like Antigua. So, if freedom of movement in any form is done, it should be done with the proper support systems in place to enable migrants to find employment and housing easily while also prioritizing locals for such first in each community.
The reality of CARICOM’ with its free movement of people. This free movement of people will become an albatross for many Islands. It’s already evident with the rapid increase in crimes all across the region.
To be completely honest the smaller the island the more restrictive government should be, I don’t believe one person should be able to buy 2, 3 plots of land have 2, 3 homes.
On immigration, I don’t believe in visas especially for a region west Indies is basically one in my eyes and visa only really makes it harder for people to get a job once they move. Obviously people move to where they believe have better opportunities. And under the system we will always have a unemployed sector, so if companies are ignoring that to import workers should be discouraged and we have policies where locals are given priority in employment.
Low birthrate normally just societal issues, most time people just feel it’s so expensive to have children mostly, people think it should be solved by just restricting women right to work and make them housewife’s which is rising again around the world stupidly. While simply asked ask women what it would take to make them have more children while providing things to lower to cost of having kids, by providing longer parental leave with pay and guaranty their job on return and free childcare.
Antiguans are almost the minority here and we will soon get there compliments ABLP, they do not care about anything but winning elections
Hail up de Man Fram Point
Antiguans (not those born to non-Antiguans over the past forty years) are already in the minority. There should be a question on the National Census which can and should determine this. But you are correct ABLP either way their Garrison Style Politics and gerrymandering introduced during the Lester Bird Administration spearhead by Asot, Browne & Sanders, LLC, keeps them as the ruling arm of the government.
Harold Lovell should have went to the Courts and challenged, those 6 votes which he didn’t lose by. It shows Harold Lovell weakness as a politician.
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