The Tribune

By ALICIA WALLACE

In her speaking engagements, Mottley is clear, direct, and unapologetic in making her points. Her confidence is evident and obviously undergirded by a wealth of knowledge. In conversations about Caribbean countries, particularly related to “development,” it’s necessary to provide the historical context which must explicitly include slavery and colonialism. These systems have shaped our economies and societies, and the related ideologies continue to reverberate through time and space.

Barbados was “shaped by the British conquests and they started a parliament in 1639. It’s the third oldest in the Commonwealth,” Mottley told Noah. “They passed a law which really is something that we are not proud of at all, and it became the structure for modern racism and institutional racism as we know, and it was the bedrock for slavery,” she said. “It was the 1661 slave code passed by the Barbados parliament. It was followed in Jamaica, it was followed in South Carolina, it was followed in Georgia, it was followed in Antigua. Almost all the countries in the Americas used that 1661 slave code, which denied the humanity of black people as the basis for their thinking.

“The British treated Barbados as the jewel in the crown. It was the producer of sugar. It was, for them, the earner of great wealth. And it was also the place by which they understood how to control and denigrate black people as slaves.”

This is not only a reference to history, but a connection between history and the reality we all face today. The relationship between countries in the region--through law and the atrocities it allowed--is one we know, yet ignore when it’s considered inconvenient.

When we want to differentiate ourselves, put up barriers, and force separation, shared history gets in the way. People often focus on competition between countries rather than the opportunity to struggle together for the benefit of all.

Immigration is the topic that’s certain to drive division.

“I fear that the conversation about immigration and migration is rooted in racism rather than rooted in the needs of a country,” Mottley said. She suggested that people seem to be afraid of becoming minorities. Immigration, however, is necessary for economic growth.

“The first thing I did when we won government in 2018 was to create a National Population Commission because, having served as Minister of Education, many years ago, I realised just from the numbers going into schools that we had a problem,” she said.

She noted that there were approximately 4300 students entering school each year, and it decreased to approximately 2500 in 2018. Today, there are about 2200 students entering school.

She drew comparisons between populations of Caribbean countries with countries in other regions of similar size. Revised in February 2024, the Barbados Population Policy states, “The total population has grown by just 16.5% in the last 60 years. Since 1960, birth and fertility rates have consistently fallen, and fertility rates have remained below replacement since 1980. Offsetting this decline has been only a modest rise in immigration levels alongside a decline in outward migration of Barbadians. This combination of factors has resulted an aging population structure . . . There are approximately 10,000 fewer persons residing in Barbados in 2021 than there was in 2010.”

The Barbados Population Policy was developed to “promote sustainable and inclusive development and good quality of life for Barbadians and residents without compromising environmental sustainability and the ability of future generations to meet their needs.” To meet this objective, the Policy set three goals and eight subgoals that include increasing the population of working age people, enhancing support for family wellbeing and reproductive decision-making, and strengthening the care economy. There must be strategic action to address the issue of declining population, she said, which affects the economy as well as the family, particularly as people age and need more care.

Noah asked Mottley if she is encouraging people to have children. Her response was that, while that would be advantageous, there is a need for more people now. There are skill gaps that cannot wait 18 years or more to be filled. This, of course, means there is need for people to enter the country and work.

In The Bahamas, the hatred of black immigrants—particularly those from the Caribbean—only seems to be growing in intensity and visibility. There are assumptions made about people who move to The Bahamas to work and their impact on the economy. People consistently complain that migrant workers are “taking all of the jobs” and making use of national resources. We have a need for reliable, accessible data on migrant labour in particular, and on the Bahamian economy and the labour and skills gaps.

There is a lack of understanding of our needs, our capacity, and the benefits of migrant labour. In addition, we need national education on human rights and the entitlements of all people, regardless of their place of origin, migration status, employment status, or geographic location. Even further, it would be beneficial to understand and embrace our relationship to and strengthen our relationship with other Caribbean countries. Just as our histories and bloodlines are shared, our struggle for liberation is one.

“Most people don’t want to leave their own countries,” Mottley continued. “They leave because there’s a reason . . . They’re either running from something or running toward something.”

She spoke to the need for a global agreement on what must be provided to people, including pre-primary to secondary education and basic healthcare, regardless of their nationality. These are fundamental human rights. Everyone is already entitled to them. Her suggestion, however, points to the lines people often draw between nationals and immigrants—a symptom of ignorance regarding both the interdependent nature of rights and our own reliance on migrant labour for our economic survival.

“I often wonder if this is not a natural byproduct of people experiencing a standard of living that declines over time and then they start to point somewhere . . . ,” Noah said, referring to the way people look for a person or a group to blame for misfortune.

This is familiar to us in The Bahamas, of course. From crime to unemployment, migrant people are an easy target.

What if we were all willing to acknowledge migrant labour as a solution?

What if we collected, analysed, and shared data on the impact of migrant labour on the country and its people?

What if we made decisions based on evidence?

What if we leveraged our regional relationships to demand what is owed to us?

From reparations for the Trans-Atlantic Trade in Enslaved Persons to climate financing, much is due to us. We have to stand together and make our demands.

Recommendations

1.    20th Anatol Rodgers Memorial Lecture at University of The Bahamas. “Story Too Long for One Night”: Indigenous Survivance, Slavery’s Afterlives, and Bahamian Decolonial Thought with Dr. Malinda S. Smith of University of Calgary is scheduled for Thursday, January 29 at 7pm in the Harry C. Moore Library Auditorium at University of The Bahamas. “Drawing on Indigenous, Caribbean, and African decolonial thought, this paper advances a re-theorisation of The Bahamas that centres Indigenous survivance, slavery’s afterlives, archipelagic sociality, and relational epistemologies as critical sites of freedom. Engaging the work of Ian Strachan, Patricia Glinton-Meicholas, Nicolette Bethel, and Marion Bethel, alongside a wider Bahamian intellectual tradition, within a dialogic Indigenous, Caribbean, and African decolonial field, the article demonstrates how oral narration, performance, and feminist poetics articulate archipelagic epistemologies of relationality, mobility, and refusal of closure, contributing to broader epistemologies of the Global South.” The event is free and open to the public.

2.    Pot Luck: Cartoons from The Guardian and The Tribune of the 70s and 80s, featuring works by renowned artist and architect Eddie Minnis, opens at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas on Friday, January 30 at 6:30pm. The exhibition includes a “vital body of editorial cartoons that captured the pulse of Bahamian life at a time when public discourse looked very different, yet feels strikingly familiar today.”

3.    Feminist Standards for Governance: Social Services. Equality Bahamas has designed a collaborative process to develop a people’s agenda for 2026 to 2031 and welcomes members of the public to participate in a series of workshops. With nine thematic areas including education, health, environment, and youth, Feminist Standards for Governance workshops provide a space for people to name issues, identify root causes, and develop solutions together. Join the next session at Poinciana Paper Press, 12 Parkgate Road, on Saturday, January 31 at 11am. See the details for upcoming workshops and register at tiny.cc/feministstandards.