People, Privilege and the Pandemic

The poison of privilege lies in the fact that because many of us are protected economically and otherwise from the brokenness and suffering that is happening around. We believe that it does not exist, trivialise or silence those experiencing it and ignore our responsibility to care for the community, to stand for community, and to be supportive members of our community.

We have not yet come to terms with the free fall of our societies, the crises that have been exacerbated by this pandemic and the new ones that have been created. Historically the Caribbean has been built on cyclical poverty, exploitation of people, and their classification as objects and problems even though they were not the architects in creating them.

Deprivation, trauma and depression are normalised conditions numbed by alcohol, silence and other crutches, and supported by other levels of abuse in various institutions.

It is not an accident or a mere product of individual choice that many of our people do not have running water, or indoor toilets, or own land. It is a result of systemic and historical forces still at play today. It is not an accident or a mere product of individual choice that we have teenagers who become young mothers through rape, incest, and prostitution but whose stories are told from the narrative of being villains, reckless, and mendicants. It is a result of systemic and historical forces still at play today. It is not an accident that today we who by virtue of a change in our economic class through the work of our parents or occupation, or by our obscene loyalties target the fruits and not the roots of injustice and attack ourselves. It is a result of systemic and historical forces still at play today.

What are these forces? They are inclusive of but not limited to the philosophy of running a country like a colony/business, centralised development for a few, machine politics with quick payments but few dividends, infrastructural development but not human development focused on social, cultural and educational advancement, a fragmented civil society, citizens who are still 'subjects', the prioritization of greed over needs and governance with very little mechanisms for accountability, punishment, and partnerships.