WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:12.000 OK well hello everybody thank you again for 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:16.640 coming out today for our first WGD discussion series presentation for this 00:00:16.640 --> 00:00:20.800 academic year for this semester and again I'm Daniel Sumner, 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:23.920 I'm the assistant director for women and gender in international 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:26.640 development at the center for international research and development. 00:00:26.640 --> 00:00:28.880 You're all used to seeing Dr. Maria Elisa Christie up here 00:00:28.880 --> 00:00:33.120 but she's traveling in Vietnam right now for one of our projects. 00:00:33.120 --> 00:00:37.120 And again I would always like to thank our continued support from the office of 00:00:37.120 --> 00:00:40.719 international affairs and from CIRED itself for their continued 00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:45.440 support for the discussion series and again as always as we in our 00:00:45.440 --> 00:00:48.320 acknowledging here that the Tutelo Monacan people who are the 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:52.079 traditional custodians of the land on which we work live and 00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:55.280 recognize their continuing connections to the land water and air that Virginia Tech 00:00:55.280 --> 00:00:57.760 consumes we pay respect to the 00:00:57.760 --> 00:01:02.960 Tutelo Monacan nations and to their elders past present and emerging and so again 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:05.119 we just think you have time to fill out the sign-up 00:01:05.119 --> 00:01:08.000 as it comes around or before you leave at the end of the presentation just 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:10.640 helps us track where all everything you are coming from 00:01:10.640 --> 00:01:14.479 and the types of events that we're going to continue to host 00:01:14.479 --> 00:01:18.159 and again any other further updates on our future discussion series speakers 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:23.520 will be on the website just check it out CIRED webpage and as always the 00:01:23.520 --> 00:01:25.520 presentation will last about approximately 00:01:25.520 --> 00:01:28.960 40 minutes followed by like a 10-minute period of discussion 00:01:28.960 --> 00:01:32.799 and I know you all might be noticing we will have some coffee bagels so grab one 00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:35.840 on the way out because you're going out or do you want to snack and talk 00:01:35.840 --> 00:01:38.960 in here in the room after the presentation. 00:01:38.960 --> 00:01:42.640 So but again it is my esteemed privilege to welcome our speaker today Dr. Andrea Baldwin. 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:46.640 Dr. Baldwin is the assistant professor in the department of 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:50.159 sociology here at Virginia Tech. She's also an attorney at law and holds 00:01:50.159 --> 00:01:53.840 a masters of science in international trade policy and a PhD in gender and 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:57.200 development studies. Dr. Baldwin has several publications 00:01:57.200 --> 00:02:00.560 including her most recent published last November titled 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:04.479 Moving forward and looking back transnational feminist spaces margins 00:02:04.479 --> 00:02:08.800 methods and modalities, and Outside in voices from the 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:12.000 margins of academia. Dr. Baldwin was born and raised on the 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:15.440 small Caribbean island state of Barbados and considers herself an all-around 00:02:15.440 --> 00:02:18.800 Caribbean woman who loves everything coconut and sopa so please 00:02:18.800 --> 00:02:21.360 join me in welcoming Dr. Baldwin here. 00:02:22.300 --> 00:02:26.800 [Applause] 00:02:28.160 --> 00:02:34.800 Good afternoon everyone thank you all for coming out today. 00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:37.280 I see some colleagues and some friendly faces 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:40.640 so I want to thank you all. I also want to thank Maria Elisa 00:02:40.640 --> 00:02:44.239 from the center for international research education and development for 00:02:44.239 --> 00:02:48.720 inviting me to deliver this talk today. I also want to thank thank my husband 00:02:48.720 --> 00:02:54.080 who has heard this talk twice in the last two weeks and who's 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:57.120 sitting here again to hear it for a third time 00:02:57.120 --> 00:03:02.239 and so um uh you know i think that means one of three 00:03:02.239 --> 00:03:05.920 things it the top he's either very supportive what you're going to hear is 00:03:05.920 --> 00:03:10.400 probably pretty good i don't know or a little bit of both so so i want to 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:14.959 thank everyone for being here uh so before i launch into the talk i 00:03:14.959 --> 00:03:18.400 want to take a few minutes to explain the way in which i'm using 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:23.040 the term Caribbean and by Caribbean I'm referring specifically to the 00:03:23.040 --> 00:03:28.959 Anglophone or English-speaking Caribbean so I forgot to put my timer on um 00:03:28.959 --> 00:03:35.599 anglophone or english-speaking caribbean which comprises as you can see here on 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:42.799 there's a there's a little car curve of smaller tiny islands and these are 00:03:42.799 --> 00:03:46.159 islands that span the geography of the greater less and greater and lesser Antilles 00:03:46.159 --> 00:03:50.319 as well as two islands two countries on 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:54.480 the mainland of South America Guyana in your fork and one four corner and belize 00:03:54.480 --> 00:03:59.040 in the other four corner um and so they include the now independent island 00:03:59.040 --> 00:04:03.200 nations of antigua and barbuda barbuda the bahamas barbados dominica 00:04:03.200 --> 00:04:06.799 grenada jamaica saint kitts and nevis st lucia 00:04:06.799 --> 00:04:10.400 saint vincent and the grenadines and the republic of trinidad and tobago 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:16.479 and as i said guyana and belize as well as british overseas territories 00:04:16.479 --> 00:04:19.120 of anguilla the british virgin islands the cayman 00:04:19.120 --> 00:04:22.240 islands montserrat turksenki and the turks and caicos 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:25.600 island and while you see that some of these are islands and some of the 00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:28.800 two of them are in the mainland of south america they 00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:35.120 all of them share a history in common um and although there might be some islands 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:38.800 and some um on the mainland of south america 00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:43.280 these countries all share a similar and yet distinct history 00:04:43.280 --> 00:04:46.800 having all been colonized by the british at one time or the other 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:50.400 the colonization resulted in the extinction of the indigenous peoples 00:04:50.400 --> 00:04:54.000 and only a few of their descendants can be found there today 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:57.840 the indigenous peoples have been replaced by persons of british 00:04:57.840 --> 00:05:03.759 african jewish indian syrian portuguese and chinese descent the 00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:07.520 african population makes up the majority of inhabitants being descendants of 00:05:07.520 --> 00:05:10.160 people brought to the caribbean as enslaved people to 00:05:10.160 --> 00:05:14.560 work the plantations owned by the white british the east indians 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:18.000 and later chinese migrated to the region as an alternative 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:21.680 source of labor after slavery was abolished and came to 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:24.560 inhabit in large parts the territories of 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:28.800 trinidad and guyana and to a letter to a lesser extent 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:32.960 jamaica and saint vincent so based on this snapshot of the 00:05:32.960 --> 00:05:37.440 geography and history of the region it is easy to envision that envisaged 00:05:37.440 --> 00:05:40.560 that the attempt to theorize the caribbean and more 00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:44.320 specifically the anglophone caribbean can be a challenging endeavor 00:05:44.320 --> 00:05:48.240 it would be inaccurate to perceive the region and its peoples as having 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:52.240 an identifiable single homogeneous caribbean identity 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:56.720 rather there are shared regional customs practices and beliefs 00:05:56.720 --> 00:06:01.280 characterized by analogous differences and i want to be clear 00:06:01.280 --> 00:06:04.639 that this particular research on reparations is based 00:06:04.639 --> 00:06:10.240 on this caveat in the contemporary caribbean period repertory 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:12.960 justice remains a relevant as well as 00:06:12.960 --> 00:06:17.280 controversial topic as these countries grapple with and con 00:06:17.280 --> 00:06:22.240 with continued development challenges a majority 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:25.360 a major cause of controversy in the region around reparations 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:28.880 involves the complexity and resulting misunderstanding 00:06:28.880 --> 00:06:33.759 of what it entails the international center for trans national for trans 00:06:33.759 --> 00:06:39.919 transitional justice defines reparations as serving to acknowledge the legal 00:06:39.919 --> 00:06:43.600 obligation of a state individual or group to repair the 00:06:43.600 --> 00:06:47.120 consequences of violations either because they have directly 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:51.360 committed or failed to prevent them this acknowledgment according to andrew 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:55.840 valls involves more than purely financial compensation 00:06:55.840 --> 00:07:00.000 and in fact covers many different types of material reparations including 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:04.639 restoring civil rights and political rights erasing unfair 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:08.160 criminal conviction physical rehabilitation and granting 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:12.240 access to land health care or education it must be 00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:15.680 noted that many wrongs for which reparations 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:19.280 may be due are of reason recent vintage and as such 00:07:19.280 --> 00:07:23.680 according to the ictj not only direct victims but also their 00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:27.840 family members and children should be including included in the 00:07:27.840 --> 00:07:32.400 reparative justice calculations as a means of overcoming enduring 00:07:32.400 --> 00:07:35.840 consequences and generational legacies of violations 00:07:35.840 --> 00:07:40.240 committed in fact it would be a mistake to focus 00:07:40.240 --> 00:07:44.720 reparations on violations committed during slavery alone without 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:50.400 acknowledging the systems of oppression that were set in motion by by but that 00:07:50.400 --> 00:07:55.840 exists several generations after slavery ended and under which people suffer in 00:07:55.840 --> 00:08:00.879 doing this we avoid eliding the whole history of discrimination and oppression 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:04.400 that follow the end of slavery and i will come back to this point later 00:08:04.400 --> 00:08:10.960 because this is the crux of today's talk and my research in general in 2013 00:08:10.960 --> 00:08:15.120 the caricom reparations commission or crc and for those of you not familiar 00:08:15.120 --> 00:08:18.960 with caracom i wanted to put this up here uh because 00:08:18.960 --> 00:08:22.639 the easiest way to explain caracom is to tell you that it is supposed to function 00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:26.800 like the european union um where members of countries have 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:31.039 a single currency there's visa free travel for citizens of 00:08:31.039 --> 00:08:33.680 those member countries and they're supposed to be the general 00:08:33.680 --> 00:08:38.159 trade and other cooperation mechanisms so you can see here that you that all of 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:42.240 these passports these are passports have the countries on them so you have 00:08:42.240 --> 00:08:46.320 barbados you have saint kitts and nevis but they all have these two seas at the 00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:50.480 top which represents that these these the people holding these passports 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:54.000 are from caracom which and they can travel freely 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:58.080 without visas um to each country um 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:03.600 so the crc which was established in 2013 with a mandate to 00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:07.680 prepare the case for repertory justice for the region's indigenous and african 00:09:07.680 --> 00:09:10.399 descendant communities who have been victims of 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:13.120 crimes against humanity in the forms of genocide 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:16.720 slavery slave trading and racial apartheid 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:21.519 this body has pushed for repertory justice 00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:25.360 and this was endorsed by the caricom heads of government in 2014 00:09:25.360 --> 00:09:30.000 through a 10-point plan which has formed the basis of discussions on reparations 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:33.680 in the region today this 10-point plan was outlined by the 00:09:33.680 --> 00:09:36.640 crc emphasizes the impacts of the legacies 00:09:36.640 --> 00:09:40.399 of colonialism how these impacts need to be considered 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:46.240 as part of the reparations agenda and sets the current uh estimates 00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:50.880 for reparations to the region at 76 billion pounds 00:09:50.880 --> 00:09:54.560 according to hillary beckles the plan calls first for 00:09:54.560 --> 00:10:00.320 a formal apology and i'll show you the plan real quick the plan first calls 00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:04.959 for a formal apology um from the governments of europe and 00:10:04.959 --> 00:10:08.320 for a repertory justice for caribbean societies around issues of healthcare 00:10:08.320 --> 00:10:11.519 education cultural development food security and 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:14.800 debt cancellation to ease the burdens of caribbean economies 00:10:14.800 --> 00:10:18.880 and to transform their communities and facilitate sustainable development 00:10:18.880 --> 00:10:22.320 beckles goes on to state that reparations is not an issue of repaying 00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:26.720 the enormous debts owed to descendants of enslaved africans but 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:30.000 is part and parcel of the global movement for racial 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:33.600 justice for social justice and for economic justice 00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:37.760 no and this is kind of goes into what i'm proposing in 00:10:37.760 --> 00:10:42.480 in this talk while acknowledging this plan as a step in the right direction 00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:46.800 i'm however concerned with the ways in which the current reparations in the 00:10:46.800 --> 00:10:51.040 region does not include gender as a cross-cutting issue 00:10:51.040 --> 00:10:54.399 i believe that the importance of not considering reparations through a purely 00:10:54.399 --> 00:10:57.440 racial lens but also through a gender lens cannot be 00:10:57.440 --> 00:11:00.800 overstated some reparations theorists like balfour 00:11:00.800 --> 00:11:04.320 for example have called for gender sensitive conversations 00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:07.920 surrounding reparations specifically specifically for black americans 00:11:07.920 --> 00:11:12.079 but this case can also be made for black women in the caribbean who have suffered 00:11:12.079 --> 00:11:14.320 consequences of racial and gender oppression 00:11:14.320 --> 00:11:18.000 as a consequence of slavery and colonialism 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:22.480 martha biandi asked the question whether the reparations policy will address the 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:26.560 systemic violence and oppression enslaved women face and the legacies 00:11:26.560 --> 00:11:30.000 that flow they're from this is a very important question 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:34.000 because as many caribbean historians including beckles have pointed out 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:38.160 due to conditions under slavery caribbean women and men took on very 00:11:38.160 --> 00:11:40.560 different roles in the family and in society 00:11:40.560 --> 00:11:44.399 for example because enslaved people were not allowed to legally marry and the 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:47.519 slave code made it illegal made it legal for 00:11:47.519 --> 00:11:51.040 enslaved partners to be violently separated through sale 00:11:51.040 --> 00:11:54.959 or otherwise removed at any time legitimacy was given to the 00:11:54.959 --> 00:11:58.480 centrality of the mother's role in the family it meant 00:11:58.480 --> 00:12:02.480 that under this system women assumed the responsibility of 00:12:02.480 --> 00:12:06.240 providing materially but also for caring for their dependents 00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:09.920 including children the elderly and the disabled and they 00:12:09.920 --> 00:12:13.839 had to be creative in developing ways to do so often to the 00:12:13.839 --> 00:12:17.600 detriment of their own well-being the patterns of caring 00:12:17.600 --> 00:12:21.600 for themselves and their families that emerged because of these conditions 00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:27.120 remains a central feature of our caribbean societies today and of 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:31.920 what women in the caribbean do today understanding then this then beyond 00:12:31.920 --> 00:12:36.880 these questions mentioned earlier is grounded in a larger ultimate and 00:12:36.880 --> 00:12:40.320 ultimately more complex set of questions concerning the 00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:45.440 appropriateness of introducing gender and gender oppression as central 00:12:45.440 --> 00:12:48.959 categories of of analysis in the discourse on 00:12:48.959 --> 00:12:52.000 reparations what would our vision of the harm 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:55.279 suffered as a result of these racist institutions look like 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:59.600 if attention to the relationship between gender oppression and racial oppression 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:02.959 was more central to the theoretical framework underlying 00:13:02.959 --> 00:13:06.000 discussions on reparations how would we come 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:10.560 to conceive the measures required by a substantive repertory 00:13:10.560 --> 00:13:14.000 reparative project if attention to gender 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:20.160 were to become a fundamental part of our way of thinking about these issues 00:13:20.160 --> 00:13:23.600 so returning to the earlier point made by vols 00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:27.600 uh that reparation should also include not only violations committed 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:31.760 during slavery alone but systems of oppression that were set in motion 00:13:31.760 --> 00:13:36.240 by and exist several generations after slavery ended 00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:40.000 i will use remain of this talk to demonstrate how the legacy of forceful 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:44.079 transportation of african people to the caribbean has produced 00:13:44.079 --> 00:13:48.320 patterns of out-migration particularly of caribbean women 00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:51.760 in the post-enslavement and post-colonial period 00:13:51.760 --> 00:13:57.519 that therefore needs to be including in the calculations for reparations 00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:03.600 so according to verdi vareen shepard the his the historical injustices of 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:07.600 slavery and colonialism have undeniably contributed to poverty 00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:11.360 under development marginalization social exclusion 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:15.360 economic disparities instability and insecurity 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:19.440 that affected developing countries caribbean governments have inherited 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:22.240 from slavery and colonialism a massive burden 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:26.000 of community poverty and institutional unpreparedness 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:30.800 for development best and levitt in discussing the impact and 00:14:30.800 --> 00:14:36.399 significance of the plantation legacy for the caribbean evolving for the 00:14:36.399 --> 00:14:40.480 caribbean's evolving landscape contended that the caribbean remains a 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:45.279 plantation society today one that is deeply enmeshed in colonial 00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:49.040 structures in the caribbean slavery with its 00:14:49.040 --> 00:14:53.519 accompanying plantation system has characterized as was characterized 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:56.959 by a monocrop economic structure supported by 00:14:56.959 --> 00:15:01.199 preferential terrorists in europe once that system was terminated 00:15:01.199 --> 00:15:06.000 caribbean economies were crippled and found it hard to survive within the 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:10.639 global capitalist system as they failed to diversify and 00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:14.160 continue to rely mainly on a single foreign exchange 00:15:14.160 --> 00:15:18.959 earner either in agriculture international finance or tourism sectors 00:15:18.959 --> 00:15:22.079 today while the actual slave plantation has 00:15:22.079 --> 00:15:24.800 been replaced by multinational corporations 00:15:24.800 --> 00:15:29.120 the formula remains the same foreign-owned corporations 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:33.360 operating within tax-free zones supported by unskilled or semi-skilled 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:37.199 labor with profits being repatriated abroad 00:15:37.199 --> 00:15:42.639 now during slavery migration flows were characterized by sustained forced 00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:46.000 movements this was followed by indentured labor 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:53.360 movements during the period 1838-1917 these inward flows during slavery and 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:56.399 colonialism formed the basis of the contemporary 00:15:56.399 --> 00:16:01.680 caribbean migration caribbean peoples thus always have been 00:16:01.680 --> 00:16:05.360 a migratory people with ties to africa india asia and 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:09.440 europe all centering on and on the workings of 00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:14.160 the plantation after slavery persons move to laboring 00:16:14.160 --> 00:16:17.360 to larger neighboring islands to central america 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:21.440 and eventually the colonial mother country and mother country and 00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:26.399 quotes um in search of employment and betterment for themselves 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:31.040 and their families these migratory flows are in large part in response to labor 00:16:31.040 --> 00:16:36.399 demands within the global labor market or um sorry within 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:41.040 the global labor market overpopulation inequalities in 00:16:41.040 --> 00:16:45.120 instability and institutional unpreparedness but there's no denying 00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:49.600 the significance of slavery and colonialism and contouring 00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:52.880 the character and directions of the migration 00:16:52.880 --> 00:16:56.160 outflows for instance during the immediate 00:16:56.160 --> 00:17:01.199 poor slavery period when sugar faced crisis and planters were filing for 00:17:01.199 --> 00:17:06.480 bankruptcy and abandoning estates many west indians began migrating to escape 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:09.600 memories of the atrocities of the plantation system 00:17:09.600 --> 00:17:12.880 grave distress and to seek employment elsewhere 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:16.319 the largest wave of immigrants during this period 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:20.400 were mostly caribbean males who went to help build the panama canal 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:26.000 from 1880 to 1914. this was followed by a period of crisis 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:30.640 between 1920 to 1940 and as a result very little migration 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:35.360 took place during that time the completion of the canal in 1914 the 00:17:35.360 --> 00:17:39.520 crash in sugar prices in 1921 the enactment of 00:17:39.520 --> 00:17:43.280 restrictive and racially discriminatory immigration 00:17:43.280 --> 00:17:46.320 legislation and finally the great depression 00:17:46.320 --> 00:17:50.880 brought about a period of considerable mobility 00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:53.919 to the about that period of considerable mobility to an 00:17:53.919 --> 00:18:00.480 end so then we go to uh post-world war ii um and onward where immigration 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:03.919 resumed with colonial subjects going to their respective mother 00:18:03.919 --> 00:18:08.720 countries in large numbers and they were going to find employment 00:18:08.720 --> 00:18:13.440 mostly in industry transport and hospitality services 00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:17.440 these migrants are referred to as the wind rush generation because they went 00:18:17.440 --> 00:18:21.919 over to um to england on the windrush ship 00:18:21.919 --> 00:18:25.039 so they learned they're they're called the rin rush generation 00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:28.559 migrants from the 1960s onward were characterized by a 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:33.919 predominance of women caribbean women were migrating independent of men 00:18:33.919 --> 00:18:37.039 and even surpassed their male counterparts 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:40.720 in some cases in many cases women went first 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:44.799 and sent for their family so that while it might have been the case that men 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:49.039 dominated migration flows in the initial stages of immigration from the caribbean 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:57.120 by the 1960s and onward female migration was similar to our outpaced that of men 00:18:57.120 --> 00:19:00.240 why was this happening for two main reasons 00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:04.320 first prior to world war ii sexual and racial discrimination in the 00:19:04.320 --> 00:19:07.840 professional workforce limited women's employment possibilities 00:19:07.840 --> 00:19:12.480 in the early 20th century working-class women were engaged in labor-intensive 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:15.280 work while middle-class women were seen as 00:19:15.280 --> 00:19:19.600 suitable only for certain types of professions such as teaching and nursing 00:19:19.600 --> 00:19:22.880 and face certain unemployment or temporary on 00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:26.960 temporary employment if they got married or became pregnant 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:30.000 promotions were exceptional and women's wages were 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:33.200 always less than those of men since women 00:19:33.200 --> 00:19:37.440 were primarily seen as a homemaker but as i said earlier that was not true 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:40.080 women were tasked with also being the persons 00:19:40.080 --> 00:19:44.080 who supported their households financially and then we had the second 00:19:44.080 --> 00:19:47.520 world war which was the second reason um and this 00:19:47.520 --> 00:19:52.240 was a turning point in almost all caribbean societies as caribbean 00:19:52.240 --> 00:19:57.039 governments implemented economic policies in the 1960s 00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:00.559 which were supposed to sustain industrial development and economic 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:05.440 growth and provide employment the policies however consistently failed 00:20:05.440 --> 00:20:09.039 to meet their objectives for the most part these puerto rican 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:12.320 model policies created industries that were relatively 00:20:12.320 --> 00:20:15.840 capital intensive and depended on the import of raw 00:20:15.840 --> 00:20:20.559 materials and machinery the models also developed few linkages 00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:24.320 with other sectors of the economy the local economy which helped to 00:20:24.320 --> 00:20:28.159 reinforce foreign control over economic activity over local 00:20:28.159 --> 00:20:32.559 economic activity by the 1970s the economies of the 00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:35.760 caribbean region could hardly be sustained 00:20:35.760 --> 00:20:38.880 this resulted in widespread economic despair 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:44.480 in the region and by 1985 the world bank had loaned the region 00:20:44.480 --> 00:20:48.880 over us 100 million dollars that's u.s 00:20:48.880 --> 00:20:52.320 um while because there's an exchange rate so 100 million in 00:20:52.320 --> 00:20:58.559 in us is 200 million barbados dollars while the imf had standby and extended 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:02.320 fund arrangements as a condition of these loans the imf 00:21:02.320 --> 00:21:05.360 and world bank at the end of the 20th century 00:21:05.360 --> 00:21:08.480 and the beginning of the 21st century introduced 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:11.679 structural adjustment policies what we call in the region 00:21:11.679 --> 00:21:17.039 saps these policies were based on neoliberal economics and saw the 00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:20.720 expansion of private sector influence over policy and development 00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:24.080 and were overwhelmingly concerned with the restoring 00:21:24.080 --> 00:21:27.200 uh restoring the macroeconomic stability with a 00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:31.840 with a view of promoting economic activity 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:38.559 the catch though is that while sapps uh expected to have to introduce these 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:41.360 strong economic growth they didn't through and 00:21:41.360 --> 00:21:44.720 this was through a trickle-down economics that once the rich got richer 00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:48.159 then it would trickle down to the poor people 00:21:48.159 --> 00:21:51.600 they did not pay attention to the social and human 00:21:51.600 --> 00:21:56.640 dimensions of adjustment this period saw not only a reordering of production 00:21:56.640 --> 00:22:01.600 toward exports for the world market and the lifting of import controls but a 00:22:01.600 --> 00:22:04.799 reduction of spending on social welfare programs 00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:08.320 as well as the end of consumption subsidies relaxed 00:22:08.320 --> 00:22:12.080 labor standards for employee employees and high prices 00:22:12.080 --> 00:22:16.559 for basic consumption goods which led to a severe decline in 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:20.799 real wages and there's a really good documentary on this called life and debt 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:25.360 um and it and it features jamaica and how saps basically destroy the jamaican 00:22:25.360 --> 00:22:29.760 economy um so during this period my own mother 00:22:29.760 --> 00:22:34.480 uh ended up migrating to the u.s to work and she came here to clean hotel rooms 00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:38.240 when i was a child because according to her she needed to make sure 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:42.000 that we could eat and that was a sacrifice she needed to make 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:45.520 and this created this this particular thing created a 00:22:45.520 --> 00:22:50.559 entire generation of students whose whose mother specifically went abroad 00:22:50.559 --> 00:22:54.400 so that they could support um their children i'm not sure 00:22:54.400 --> 00:23:02.159 how if any of you know what these are um but these are barrels and these barrels 00:23:02.159 --> 00:23:08.400 um were what migrant parents sent back to their children in 00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:12.240 the caribbean to support them and they usually left 00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:17.120 their children with other women from their family or friends and so 00:23:17.120 --> 00:23:20.480 their the migrant women would send these barrels back for children 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:24.799 and this this actually spawned a name for children whose parents were overseas 00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:27.200 or and their mothers sent barrels home they 00:23:27.200 --> 00:23:30.400 were called barrel children and so i was a barrel child 00:23:30.400 --> 00:23:35.440 um the migration trend continued on early in the new millennium 00:23:35.440 --> 00:23:40.159 when the region faced new manifestations of the effects of globalization 00:23:40.159 --> 00:23:44.000 the more significant was the destruction of the main agribusiness 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:47.840 production system and the removal of protective mechanisms 00:23:47.840 --> 00:23:52.240 such as the european union quotas for preferential markets and the attempt to 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:54.960 alleviate these effects with the signing of the 00:23:54.960 --> 00:23:59.039 economic partnership agreement in 2008 and in 2008 i was actually working for 00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:03.200 the european union and so i was i saw this economic 00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:06.480 partnership agreement the negotiation of this agreement 00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:11.200 in addition most caribbean countries while still promoting and investing 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:17.039 in the tourism sector um so this is the present while most 00:24:17.039 --> 00:24:21.039 caribbean countries were still investing and promoting in the tourism sector 00:24:21.039 --> 00:24:25.279 they also ventured in to international financial services 00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:29.919 so this is uh some ads marketing the caribbean as this great destination for 00:24:29.919 --> 00:24:33.840 tourism and then you see them enter into 00:24:33.840 --> 00:24:37.760 international financial services so that they can get much needed for an 00:24:37.760 --> 00:24:41.360 exchange and this would also be a source of 00:24:41.360 --> 00:24:43.840 employment for many skilled and education 00:24:43.840 --> 00:24:47.679 educated people so investments in financial services 00:24:47.679 --> 00:24:51.600 have resulted in the region becoming relatively competitive in international 00:24:51.600 --> 00:24:55.600 business however this came under scrutiny uh 00:24:55.600 --> 00:24:58.640 under the scrutiny of the international community with some states being 00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:02.320 blacklisted and relisted and as you can see here many caribbean countries are 00:25:02.320 --> 00:25:06.799 listed under the the dirty 30. um which is 00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:10.640 which is ridiculous because the us is the biggest money launderer in the world 00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:16.720 um global censure in addition to the negative effects of the 2017 global 00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:20.720 economic crisis made deep impacts people who graduated 00:25:20.720 --> 00:25:24.159 with university degrees and skill service skill certificates 00:25:24.159 --> 00:25:28.000 entered the workforce which was steadily shrinking as both 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:32.880 private and public sector businesses made employment and financial cuts to 00:25:32.880 --> 00:25:36.880 remain competitive others were forced to close their doors 00:25:36.880 --> 00:25:39.520 this was compounded by the volatility of oil 00:25:39.520 --> 00:25:42.960 gas and commodity prices and the decreasing ability 00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:46.799 of the state to subsidize rising costs as its coffers 00:25:46.799 --> 00:25:53.279 continue to dwindle and debts continue to rise additionally as states try to 00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:56.960 implement strategies to raise internal revenue caribbean 00:25:56.960 --> 00:26:01.600 people were further burdened with new and rising taxes in addition to 00:26:01.600 --> 00:26:07.200 molten personal debt it is these conditions 00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:10.799 which have their foundations in the plantation economy 00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:16.880 built and this is my argument built in a system of slavery and 00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:22.320 buttressed by colonialism that compel caribbean women to migrate 00:26:22.320 --> 00:26:24.960 in search of opportunities for themselves 00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:28.480 and the people that they care for and about 00:26:28.480 --> 00:26:32.799 if we understand the underdevelopment of the caribbean and the decades of forced 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:35.600 migration because this is forced migration in my mind 00:26:35.600 --> 00:26:39.840 and the decades of forced migration resulting from the disadvantages 00:26:39.840 --> 00:26:43.679 of these underdevelop of this underdevelopment and as a result of 00:26:43.679 --> 00:26:46.400 slavery then we must acknowledge caribbean 00:26:46.400 --> 00:26:50.080 women's migration as a necessary component of the reparations 00:26:50.080 --> 00:26:54.240 project to reclaim rebuild and restore human 00:26:54.240 --> 00:26:58.720 dignity and also to help their households and 00:26:58.720 --> 00:27:02.960 communities uh stabilize and for economic security 00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:09.039 and i think that these women sacrifices need to be part of that calculation 00:27:10.240 --> 00:27:15.360 so in 2016 i published an article in the journal for international women's 00:27:15.360 --> 00:27:18.640 studies along with my colleague from the university of 00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:22.640 mona uh university of the west indies mona jamaica um 00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:26.640 on referee on on looking at caribbean women's migration 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:31.760 and so natasha and i used anna johnny's daughter's theory of political sexuality 00:27:31.760 --> 00:27:34.799 and caribbean feminist urine by using biotoastery of gender 00:27:34.799 --> 00:27:39.120 caribbean gender systems to develop our to develop our theory of love power 00:27:39.120 --> 00:27:41.679 migration to try to better understand caribbean 00:27:41.679 --> 00:27:44.480 women's migration because we were saying we weren't getting the pushball thing 00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:48.880 there was more we thought that encompassed caribbean women's migration 00:27:48.880 --> 00:27:53.279 than just push-pull it was more complex than that um 00:27:53.279 --> 00:27:57.279 in that article we argue that within their relationships caribbean women who 00:27:57.279 --> 00:28:00.480 are socialized in colonial and post-colonial society to care for their 00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:04.399 families and loved ones migrate to take advantage of several 00:28:04.399 --> 00:28:08.559 opportunities including work and career professional advancement education 00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:11.760 or family reunification as a means of providing 00:28:11.760 --> 00:28:16.159 much care and love for their families love power migration can also be 00:28:16.159 --> 00:28:19.039 embarked upon as a mother as a method of forging 00:28:19.039 --> 00:28:22.640 new relationships and networks the foundation for building and rebuilding 00:28:22.640 --> 00:28:25.679 in diaspora which both impacts and is impacted by 00:28:25.679 --> 00:28:29.120 the reconstruction of relationships and the creation of new networks 00:28:29.120 --> 00:28:32.320 within a vibrant transnational space love 00:28:32.320 --> 00:28:37.440 we argue incubated in the social and cultural context of the caribbean gender 00:28:37.440 --> 00:28:40.799 relations which are shaped by colonialism must be 00:28:40.799 --> 00:28:45.120 considered as one of the underlying motivations for migration of caribbean 00:28:45.120 --> 00:28:49.120 women not only do women play a significant role in the past and present 00:28:49.120 --> 00:28:53.039 migration flows in terms of numbers but they also play a significant role in 00:28:53.039 --> 00:28:56.559 transnational flows the resettlement of their spouses 00:28:56.559 --> 00:29:01.039 children and other relatives their roles these roles have been 00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:03.919 enhanced by the fact that women also play 00:29:03.919 --> 00:29:10.240 a major role in the formation and maintenance of social networks 00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:14.559 which bind communities together and facilitate the entry adjustment and 00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:19.279 adaptation of later migrants christine barrow notes that several 00:29:19.279 --> 00:29:22.960 investigation of family in the caribbean have 00:29:22.960 --> 00:29:27.120 identified female-dominated kinship networks often 00:29:27.120 --> 00:29:31.039 extending abroad to incorporate migrant ties these networks are created and 00:29:31.039 --> 00:29:34.640 maintained as women by women as adaptive strategies for 00:29:34.640 --> 00:29:38.159 survival in circumstances of property and deprivation 00:29:38.159 --> 00:29:41.679 further these networks come to function as migration 00:29:41.679 --> 00:29:45.200 as causes of migration in themselves because they lower the cost 00:29:45.200 --> 00:29:49.120 and risk of migration and increase its expected returns 00:29:49.120 --> 00:29:53.360 what i'm arguing here is that gender is a social construct everybody knows this 00:29:53.360 --> 00:29:56.880 and the core organizing principle that underlies but it's also the core 00:29:56.880 --> 00:29:59.840 organizing principle that underlies migration as a strategy 00:29:59.840 --> 00:30:04.159 to escape hardship that can be traced back to slavery and colonialism 00:30:04.159 --> 00:30:08.000 therefore as a complex phenomenon migration must be considered for 00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:13.360 for both uh the positive and negative consequences that continue 00:30:13.360 --> 00:30:18.320 to be continue to impact immigration uh migrants their communities and 00:30:18.320 --> 00:30:20.960 countries of origin when we think about reparations 00:30:20.960 --> 00:30:24.080 therefore we need to we need to have a conversation 00:30:24.080 --> 00:30:27.360 about what have caribbean women suffered or benefited 00:30:27.360 --> 00:30:30.880 how have their families communities country suffered or benefited 00:30:30.880 --> 00:30:34.480 how can the consideration of this suffering are these benefits 00:30:34.480 --> 00:30:38.880 impact what reparations are requested and how reparations are calculated 00:30:38.880 --> 00:30:42.799 for example most caribbean women sorry women who migrate 00:30:42.799 --> 00:30:48.880 do so of their own effort and volition and with no assistance or extension of 00:30:48.880 --> 00:30:52.559 legal rights to them through colonizing countries in fact 00:30:52.559 --> 00:30:55.520 many caribbean women have migrated in violation 00:30:55.520 --> 00:30:58.880 of the laws of some of these countries and have lived with the added pressure 00:30:58.880 --> 00:31:02.880 of being labeled illegal and the ramifications of such an 00:31:02.880 --> 00:31:07.200 unwelcoming destination unstable work low wages unregulated 00:31:07.200 --> 00:31:11.519 unemployed employment vilification imprisonment violence and 00:31:11.519 --> 00:31:14.080 abuse as well as other forms of discrimination 00:31:14.080 --> 00:31:16.640 and treatment 00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:20.480 as well as other forms of discrimination and treatment 00:31:20.480 --> 00:31:25.440 um and alienation in destination countries 00:31:25.440 --> 00:31:30.320 migration also results in much loss for households committees and societies in 00:31:30.320 --> 00:31:34.559 the form of family breakup negative impacts on children left behind 00:31:34.559 --> 00:31:38.559 and the women who leave them as well as brain drain when skilled and 00:31:38.559 --> 00:31:43.760 professional persons leave yet they have 00:31:44.480 --> 00:31:47.760 yet as they have endured um discrimination in 00:31:47.760 --> 00:31:51.679 these foreign lands our caribbean households and communities have 00:31:51.679 --> 00:31:55.919 benefited from the remittances in the form of money and goods as well 00:31:55.919 --> 00:31:59.600 as social and cultural capital that flow back from and benefit 00:31:59.600 --> 00:32:04.080 caribbean societies for example natasha mortley has shown 00:32:04.080 --> 00:32:06.799 how migration of caribbean nurses resulting 00:32:06.799 --> 00:32:10.559 in nurse shortages and deteriorating health care in the short 00:32:10.559 --> 00:32:13.279 term has also resulted in medium and 00:32:13.279 --> 00:32:17.120 long-term gains for the health system through knowledge 00:32:17.120 --> 00:32:20.399 transfer and skill transfer as well as economic 00:32:20.399 --> 00:32:22.960 and social benefits for the health system 00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:29.120 these areas of hardships and benefits that i just mentioned can be linked to 00:32:29.120 --> 00:32:32.880 what i showed you earlier which is the reparations calculations that ten point 00:32:32.880 --> 00:32:36.960 plan um including education health culture 00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:42.880 and technology transfer so what might we consider 00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:47.039 uh so what might con considering gender and the migration of caribbean women 00:32:47.039 --> 00:32:51.279 look like as part of a reparations agenda 00:32:51.840 --> 00:32:57.760 um in and this is um some of the things i believe it can look 00:32:57.760 --> 00:33:03.039 like and there are probably much more um so it can look like bilateral or 00:33:03.039 --> 00:33:07.039 bilateral agreements that fund programs in the area of sustainable development 00:33:07.039 --> 00:33:11.840 based on the networks caribbean women have already constructed 00:33:12.320 --> 00:33:15.679 and reconstruct and maintain in diasporic communities 00:33:15.679 --> 00:33:19.600 for example getting former colonizers to strengthen 00:33:19.600 --> 00:33:23.600 the people-to-people partnerships in health and education facilities 00:33:23.600 --> 00:33:26.720 that have been built by caribbean migrant women 00:33:26.720 --> 00:33:29.919 there are caribbean overseas based nationals school 00:33:29.919 --> 00:33:33.039 alumni and professionals who contribute time 00:33:33.039 --> 00:33:36.480 technical assistance and equipment to support population and development 00:33:36.480 --> 00:33:40.880 services in their home countries teams of jamaican physicians for example 00:33:40.880 --> 00:33:46.000 and nurses in the diaspora periodically visit to perform operations 00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:48.720 or donate much needed equipment and supplies 00:33:48.720 --> 00:33:51.840 to support the health system back home similarly 00:33:51.840 --> 00:33:56.320 alumni of of teachers colleges provide scholarships for students 00:33:56.320 --> 00:33:59.440 caribbean tourism and specifically diaspora tourism 00:33:59.440 --> 00:34:03.519 revenues have also grown throughout these and other networks of nationals 00:34:03.519 --> 00:34:07.519 in the diaspora in my opinion reparations look like assistance to 00:34:07.519 --> 00:34:10.159 maintaining and helping grow these networks 00:34:10.159 --> 00:34:13.440 reparations also looks like the development of programs for the social 00:34:13.440 --> 00:34:16.720 and economic development of diasporic women within the framework 00:34:16.720 --> 00:34:21.200 of a new partnership based in the spirit of solidarity and mutual respect 00:34:21.200 --> 00:34:24.800 for example caribbean nurses who have migrated have 00:34:24.800 --> 00:34:28.320 not only improved themselves through professional development and enhancing 00:34:28.320 --> 00:34:31.119 economic security but they are part of nursing 00:34:31.119 --> 00:34:35.280 associations lobby groups and other community groups contributing to 00:34:35.280 --> 00:34:40.399 the better health care within the diaspora here and 00:34:40.399 --> 00:34:45.440 other places some are leaders within lobby groups associations and are part 00:34:45.440 --> 00:34:49.520 of political mobilization and activism within their 00:34:49.520 --> 00:34:52.960 adopted communities acknowledging this work has the 00:34:52.960 --> 00:34:56.800 potential to form uh to be a form of repertory justice for 00:34:56.800 --> 00:35:00.079 the caribbean societies as professional women within the diaspora 00:35:00.079 --> 00:35:04.560 have accessed the economic resources and have social and political clout which 00:35:04.560 --> 00:35:06.960 makes them ideally positioned to facilitate 00:35:06.960 --> 00:35:11.440 partnership among ngos and policy makers at home and abroad 00:35:11.440 --> 00:35:15.359 thus the socio-economic cultural and political contributions of caribbean 00:35:15.359 --> 00:35:18.960 women to diaspora communities in colonizing spaces 00:35:18.960 --> 00:35:22.480 should be factored into the discourse on repertory justice and sustainable 00:35:22.480 --> 00:35:26.160 development i also cannot emphasize enough the need 00:35:26.160 --> 00:35:28.960 for reparations that address psychological harms 00:35:28.960 --> 00:35:33.839 in doing this research i have spoken to women who left their minor children 00:35:33.839 --> 00:35:37.920 and these minor children are now grown women including my own mother 00:35:37.920 --> 00:35:41.280 who when they talk about leaving their children decades ago 00:35:41.280 --> 00:35:45.359 are still moved to tears because they are riddled still riddled with the guilt 00:35:45.359 --> 00:35:49.760 and unresolved feelings of abandonment and loss reparations look 00:35:49.760 --> 00:35:54.560 like helping with that according to benson 00:35:54.560 --> 00:35:58.000 if as reparations advocates quite reasonably 00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:02.160 argue the nature of reparation policies must reflect the nature of the injuries 00:36:02.160 --> 00:36:04.560 suffered then attention to the relationship 00:36:04.560 --> 00:36:08.160 between race and gender will be an important factor in 00:36:08.160 --> 00:36:12.079 ascertaining that certain harms are not excluded from 00:36:12.079 --> 00:36:16.880 the list of reckonings as cop chortan writes historical 00:36:16.880 --> 00:36:20.480 injustices can have spillover on just effects in an 00:36:20.480 --> 00:36:23.760 indirect way and so we need to think outside the box 00:36:23.760 --> 00:36:27.280 when it comes to how we address reparations as we 00:36:27.280 --> 00:36:29.440 think about the future of the caribbean region 00:36:29.440 --> 00:36:33.920 there's also a larger developmental advantage to considering 00:36:33.920 --> 00:36:37.599 caribbean women's migration caribbean women have 00:36:37.599 --> 00:36:42.079 caribbean governments have signed on to the sustainable development goals 00:36:42.079 --> 00:36:46.000 several of which are directly linked to migration for instance goal five 00:36:46.000 --> 00:36:49.359 the empowerment of women and girls go eight growth and decent work growth 00:36:49.359 --> 00:36:52.960 goal 10 reducing inequalities and goals 17 global partnerships 00:36:52.960 --> 00:36:56.320 and sustainable development all can relate to migration 00:36:56.320 --> 00:37:01.119 rather than a narrow lens on brain drain and aiming to prevent migration policy 00:37:01.119 --> 00:37:04.480 migration policy planners need to better document 00:37:04.480 --> 00:37:08.000 and manage migration flows especially that of female 00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:14.160 migrants who have the potential to help achieve those development targets so in 00:37:14.160 --> 00:37:16.960 conclusion i would like to say that paying 00:37:16.960 --> 00:37:22.160 attention to migration uh reforms from former colonizers in order 00:37:22.160 --> 00:37:25.680 to take advantage of the full extent of what our diaspora communities 00:37:25.680 --> 00:37:29.359 have and want to offer will simultaneously work 00:37:29.359 --> 00:37:33.599 well since simultaneously working on systems to streamline how our countries 00:37:33.599 --> 00:37:36.720 can take advantage of these opportunities is essential to a 00:37:36.720 --> 00:37:41.040 reparative justice demand that ensures development 00:37:41.040 --> 00:37:44.880 assistance improved access to global markets and so on 00:37:44.880 --> 00:37:49.119 as well as pushing policy makers to invest in education 00:37:49.119 --> 00:37:53.359 employment and cultural programs in partnership with diasporic communities 00:37:53.359 --> 00:37:57.520 policy makers and governments should see the need to develop 00:37:57.520 --> 00:38:01.520 targeted programs in these areas in order to empower and value groups 00:38:01.520 --> 00:38:06.079 such as young women and girls further policy needs to focus on how to include 00:38:06.079 --> 00:38:11.040 the cost of reintegration programs from for return returning migrants so 00:38:11.040 --> 00:38:15.280 that they could transfer any economic and social benefits accrued abroad 00:38:15.280 --> 00:38:18.960 access employment opportunities when they finally get home 00:38:18.960 --> 00:38:23.760 access grants and loans and reintegrate successfully into their home communities 00:38:23.760 --> 00:38:29.040 i posit that as a region the caribbean should engage in a repertory 00:38:29.040 --> 00:38:35.040 uh a pro sorry participatory approach wherever possible one that involves and 00:38:35.040 --> 00:38:38.079 engages in collaboration with equity experts 00:38:38.079 --> 00:38:42.160 and women's organizations vulnerable groups such as women girls 00:38:42.160 --> 00:38:46.000 boys and retirees in planning development implementation 00:38:46.000 --> 00:38:50.079 and evaluation of policy and practices on migration 00:38:50.079 --> 00:38:53.920 this work has started but is in its infancy 00:38:53.920 --> 00:38:57.760 very recently the sir arthur lewis institute for social and economic 00:38:57.760 --> 00:39:01.359 studies created a migration cluster of which i am a part 00:39:01.359 --> 00:39:04.960 and which is championing championing research like this 00:39:04.960 --> 00:39:08.640 that seeks to take a closer look at gender and migration 00:39:08.640 --> 00:39:13.119 this the importance of of including migration and specifically the migration 00:39:13.119 --> 00:39:16.160 of caribbean women who have been raised in a plantation 00:39:16.160 --> 00:39:20.240 society into the reparations narrative cannot be overstated 00:39:20.240 --> 00:39:23.839 to not include their experiences in the reparations debate 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:27.359 that is currently taking place in the region is short-sighted at best 00:39:27.359 --> 00:39:30.960 and detrimental to the region's development at worse a reparations 00:39:30.960 --> 00:39:33.599 agenda which examine these women's experiences 00:39:33.599 --> 00:39:37.359 can move us forward to a more holistic and deeper understanding 00:39:37.359 --> 00:39:41.520 of what we can achieve if we place migration on the table as a crucial 00:39:41.520 --> 00:39:46.800 piece of the reparations puzzle last thing i would like to say that as 00:39:46.800 --> 00:39:49.680 the number of international migrants worldwide 00:39:49.680 --> 00:39:56.000 continues to grow rapidly reaching 200 258 million in 2017 00:39:56.000 --> 00:39:59.680 we need to understand according to the un secretary general that migration is 00:39:59.680 --> 00:40:03.839 an expression of human aspirations for dignity safety and a 00:40:03.839 --> 00:40:08.560 better future there is a clear need 00:40:08.560 --> 00:40:12.400 for more justice-based and gender-sensitive migration policies 00:40:12.400 --> 00:40:14.960 which are also sensitive to other factors 00:40:14.960 --> 00:40:18.720 such as such as age disability ethnicity religion 00:40:18.720 --> 00:40:22.480 and sexuality understanding the benefits of migrations 00:40:22.480 --> 00:40:25.520 migration has tied up in the reparations agenda 00:40:25.520 --> 00:40:29.520 i am hoping will help us and by us i mean caribbean people 00:40:29.520 --> 00:40:32.640 both at home but also and more importantly abroad 00:40:32.640 --> 00:40:35.920 as well as those interested in repairing injustice 00:40:35.920 --> 00:40:39.280 to see the need in demanding our own conversations 00:40:39.280 --> 00:40:44.000 to include how we can in addition to calling for debt 00:40:44.000 --> 00:40:49.040 cancellation and compensation get closer to reperto 00:40:49.040 --> 00:40:53.760 reparatory justice that include these things including advocating for migrants 00:40:53.760 --> 00:40:56.800 from other countries who are currently being detained at the 00:40:56.800 --> 00:41:00.160 southern border what i hope to have demonstrated in this 00:41:00.160 --> 00:41:05.760 talk is that past injustices can have ongoing effects on present 00:41:05.760 --> 00:41:08.800 persons who were not themselves personally 00:41:08.800 --> 00:41:13.599 wronged by inculcating social attitudes that continue to accord them 00:41:13.599 --> 00:41:18.880 lesser than equal respect and result in them having to enact 00:41:18.880 --> 00:41:22.079 modes of survival not required by other groups 00:41:22.079 --> 00:41:24.560 thank you 00:41:31.200 --> 00:41:35.839 thank you so much 00:41:40.480 --> 00:41:49.839 i only went over by three minutes 00:42:01.280 --> 00:42:05.920 i guess related but one is where is the discussion of reparations what's 00:42:05.920 --> 00:42:09.920 happening on the ground where is the position within are there 00:42:09.920 --> 00:42:13.359 political parties taking it up is this a social movement issue 00:42:13.359 --> 00:42:18.160 obviously the global political climate doesn't seem favorable to 00:42:18.160 --> 00:42:21.680 the issue but that doesn't that's not my most important concern but where is it 00:42:21.680 --> 00:42:25.680 within the politics within caribbean nations what 00:42:25.680 --> 00:42:27.839 is happening with discussions around this 00:42:27.839 --> 00:42:31.760 and in addition to gender is there a discussion that there's also this 00:42:31.760 --> 00:42:35.520 discussion happening around climate reparations it seems 00:42:35.520 --> 00:42:39.599 particularly relevant to the caribbean region as well so are 00:42:39.599 --> 00:42:42.000 there where is this where is this discussion 00:42:42.000 --> 00:42:46.400 happening right so there is definitely buy-in from from at 00:42:46.400 --> 00:42:52.000 the regional level caricom level um where caribbean governments uh from 00:42:52.000 --> 00:42:55.440 all these countries that i mentioned in the first slide have come together 00:42:55.440 --> 00:43:00.480 understanding that reparations is um needed and necessary for further 00:43:00.480 --> 00:43:04.960 development um so the government's on board the academy 00:43:04.960 --> 00:43:08.319 is on board hillary beckels is was actually the principal of the 00:43:08.319 --> 00:43:10.160 university of the west indies in barbados 00:43:10.160 --> 00:43:14.240 and he's now like a pro vice chancellor and he was actually here 00:43:14.240 --> 00:43:19.200 when when congress was talking about reparations and he presented to congress 00:43:19.200 --> 00:43:22.800 this was like a few months ago because he he is like considered a global 00:43:22.800 --> 00:43:26.079 reparations expert um so the academy is on board 00:43:26.079 --> 00:43:29.680 governments on board the thing is i think the the the society 00:43:29.680 --> 00:43:34.000 itself as in the people are skeptical um they are not 00:43:34.000 --> 00:43:37.359 necessarily on board to the extent that they're saying yeah we need reparations 00:43:37.359 --> 00:43:40.240 they're like we need to get over it and move on 00:43:40.240 --> 00:43:46.960 these are the local people um and in terms of climate um 00:43:46.960 --> 00:43:50.240 this new class this new migration cluster there are several 00:43:50.240 --> 00:43:55.359 different sub sets so myself and natasha mortley who's working on this project 00:43:55.359 --> 00:43:59.040 we are the people who are dealing with reparations with regard to gender 00:43:59.040 --> 00:44:02.240 but i'm sure that there are other people dealing with reparations with regard to 00:44:02.240 --> 00:44:04.640 climate no should we be having all having the 00:44:04.640 --> 00:44:07.520 conversation with each other at the same time i do believe so 00:44:07.520 --> 00:44:10.800 but that's not happening right now 00:44:14.800 --> 00:44:18.800 so um you said that the caribbean government at the 00:44:18.800 --> 00:44:22.079 at the government level there there's by and 00:44:22.079 --> 00:44:28.880 what about governments outside of the of the care um i have no 00:44:28.880 --> 00:44:36.240 critical that yes yes so the thing about the caribbean and um and how they 00:44:36.720 --> 00:44:40.160 i used to work for the european union and i also used to work for caribbean 00:44:40.160 --> 00:44:46.960 uh a barbadian governmental organization and the issue is that 00:44:46.960 --> 00:44:54.560 a lot of the the relationships are tied to these um 00:44:54.560 --> 00:44:58.960 what do you call them that in order to in order to move forward with anything 00:44:58.960 --> 00:45:00.800 there are these conditionalities that are 00:45:00.800 --> 00:45:04.160 always tied to it and so rep the reparations 00:45:04.160 --> 00:45:10.079 uh talks with uh europeans um especially like the british for 00:45:10.079 --> 00:45:12.160 specifically for the anglophone caribbean 00:45:12.160 --> 00:45:16.480 are tied to the fact that and if this might change because of brexit 00:45:16.480 --> 00:45:19.599 um are tied to the fact that the brit the 00:45:19.599 --> 00:45:23.359 england british they are part of the european union 00:45:23.359 --> 00:45:27.520 and so everything all the money is tied to 00:45:27.520 --> 00:45:31.200 this europe this understanding of how is this going to affect 00:45:31.200 --> 00:45:34.400 our relationship with the european union where does this money come from 00:45:34.400 --> 00:45:38.079 we need to support the smaller lesser developed countries 00:45:38.079 --> 00:45:41.359 in the european union before we give this money 00:45:41.359 --> 00:45:46.720 to these countries who we didn't have responsibility for since 00:45:46.720 --> 00:45:51.119 barbados was independent since 1966. so why are we trying to give them this 00:45:51.119 --> 00:45:55.200 money talking about reparations when there are people within the union 00:45:55.200 --> 00:45:58.960 that are suffering and need help so that's the kind of 00:45:58.960 --> 00:46:01.040 conversation the kind of pushback that you're getting 00:46:01.040 --> 00:46:04.560 and this might change because of brexit i don't know um if there's a crash out 00:46:04.560 --> 00:46:08.319 of brexit it probably won't change which it looks like though there's going 00:46:08.319 --> 00:46:15.280 to be a crash show so we'll see leslie um two questions kind of 00:46:15.280 --> 00:46:18.319 connected to what he mentioned have i don't know if you've 00:46:18.319 --> 00:46:22.480 noticed if there's a difference in the attitudes 00:46:22.480 --> 00:46:26.839 about reparations based on the different types of economies particularly 00:46:26.839 --> 00:46:33.280 yes so for countries that are wealthier has is the attitude and 00:46:33.280 --> 00:46:36.480 different to countries that are quora and um 00:46:36.480 --> 00:46:40.640 given the historical context of gender inequality 00:46:40.640 --> 00:46:46.960 are there um differences for these now wealthier countries in the lives of 00:46:46.960 --> 00:46:49.520 women compared to the other countries or the 00:46:49.520 --> 00:46:52.400 effect of holy oh i see what you're saying 00:46:52.400 --> 00:46:56.000 um so the first question in terms of welfare so for instance 00:46:56.000 --> 00:46:59.359 leslie's from trinidad and trinidad is considered a wealthier caribbean country 00:46:59.359 --> 00:47:02.480 because it's bought up every all the land and industries and 00:47:02.480 --> 00:47:05.119 all the other caribbean countries including barbados so we have this 00:47:05.119 --> 00:47:09.520 little spa um but in terms of the wealthier 00:47:09.520 --> 00:47:13.200 countries i think it also has to do with also the 00:47:13.200 --> 00:47:17.119 racial demographic as well because trinidad also has a large 00:47:17.119 --> 00:47:21.440 population of east indians who and then and the government is 00:47:21.440 --> 00:47:26.240 divided between the black people and the east indian 00:47:26.240 --> 00:47:28.400 people and so one of them could be in power at any 00:47:28.400 --> 00:47:33.839 time but they're aligned by race and it depends on um 00:47:33.839 --> 00:47:36.960 i think to a large extent it also depends and you could correct me from 00:47:36.960 --> 00:47:39.359 wrong on which government is in power because if 00:47:39.359 --> 00:47:42.480 it's the east indian government in power then reparations is not a big 00:47:42.480 --> 00:47:47.040 a big issue um if it's the descendants of african-american folks then 00:47:47.040 --> 00:47:50.319 reparations is um a bigger issue and i think the 00:47:50.319 --> 00:47:55.200 economy is tied to that so because trinidad has a lot of oil and gas and so 00:47:55.200 --> 00:47:57.680 it makes that is where they get their wealth from 00:47:57.680 --> 00:48:01.520 and so i think that the argument is uh is tied up in race as much as it's 00:48:01.520 --> 00:48:04.880 tied up in wealth because then whoever's in power can make the argument 00:48:04.880 --> 00:48:09.200 like we don't need reparations because we have all this wealth that we can use 00:48:09.200 --> 00:48:11.520 um and then it also like where's the 00:48:11.520 --> 00:48:14.160 economy in terms of trend that hasn't been affected so much but in terms of 00:48:14.160 --> 00:48:18.079 the volatility of gas and oil like then how does that come into play 00:48:18.079 --> 00:48:21.680 like are we gonna want reparations if the country's not 00:48:21.680 --> 00:48:24.960 selling us oil and gas so much and you know the coffers are 00:48:24.960 --> 00:48:29.200 dwindling or are we going to so so i think it's contextual in terms 00:48:29.200 --> 00:48:32.079 of who's in power and what the global economy is doing 00:48:32.079 --> 00:48:36.640 does that make sense yeah laura i'm going back to my 00:48:36.640 --> 00:48:41.119 um my degree in international trade policy for all this stuff y'all 00:48:41.119 --> 00:48:43.599 this hasn't 00:48:44.800 --> 00:48:49.839 any other questions 00:48:57.200 --> 00:49:03.839 thank you thank you so much