Our prayers are with them…

The prayers of all Barbadians must surely be with the Codrington family in Brittons Hill, whose home caved in yesterday in the wee hours of the morning. Apparently the apartment block which they had recently moved into was built over a well-known cave system. Yesterday the roof of the cave beneath their unit’s foundation, just caved in, sending them all plummeting about 50 feet into the belly of the earth.

 From various accounts, at least the husband/father Donavere, was alive after the first cave-in, and was heard telling witnesses that it seemed his leg was broken. There were also reports of cries and screams for help from the children for several hours afterwards.

But as the slow and painstaking rescue mission (which is still underway) went on through yesterday and today, those cries have reportedly faded.

A search and rescue team from the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue were flown into the island last night to help in the rescue. A search by sniffer dogs after the building was secured, has not turned up ‘any signs of life’.

But still pray.

Competition is bad…at least for CBC apparently

So as a cultural observer (and someone with an unused, government paid-for degree in the cultural industries) I was very excited by the Barbados PM’s announcement earlier this week that the long-mooted Festivals and Events Bureau would be taking over running of the Crop-Over festival from next year. This is to allow the NCF to focus on cultural development alone, freeing it from its commercial obligations which often usurped the time and attention of the Foundation.

All good. It’s been four years in coming, since the PM announced it (and a raft of other promises) in the 2003 Budget Debate (aka the Financial Statement…whatever).

 I think the proposals made then were very visionary (and I benefited from at least one) and it is about time that Barbados take the cultural industries seriously. After all, little old New Zealand is not the first, second or 133rd place you think of when it comes to culture but they are doing some major things with their cultural industry and it is the fastest growing sector of the economy. Of course it does help that native Peter Jackson decided to film both Lord of the Rings and King Kong there and set up sophisticated studios there bringing brilliant people from all over the world…anyhow!

I digress. What bothered me and struck me as very backward looking amidst all that came out of the PM’s meeting with cultural stakeholders, were his comments on CBC.

According to the Nation:

Noting that he did not intend for CBC to compete with anything else, Arthur said Barbados must have a dedicated public broadcasting station and felt removal of the commercial aspect should bring some clarity of purpose.

Error.

That will just make CBC more molly-coddled and incompetent than ever.

This is ridiculous- as far as I know, Barbados is the only island left in the Caribbean where the state-owned broadcaster still has a monopoly on public access broadcasting. Starcom/Nation have been applying and appealing unsuccessfully for a public access broadcast licence for three decades. These media companies have shown themselves to be efficient and capable of making a profit and running successfully.

I was even more surprised at Arthur’s comments because I recall being at a meeting some years ago (in my former incarnation as a journalist) where the Prime Minister came in to a room of journalists waiting to hear him speak on the Cricket World Cup and hopefully on the omnipresent fishing dispute with Trinidad and all of a sudden he started to BLIND CBC. Said that he had put off on allowing other companies to get public broadcasting licences because he was giving them time to get their house in order but that it did not seem to be working and he was fed up with them, he couldn’t even get his MCTV properly and on and on he went for about 5 minutes. Unfortunately, we were all caught COMPLETELY off-guard. Not a man had turned on their tape recorder. I know… I shame.

And then Sir Allan Fields was put in charge of putting CBC’s house in order and he made his damning report and there was a flurry of senior managers jumping ship.

So it seemed like something would finally get done. Like CBC would stop being allowed to get away with some of the crap programming they have and their numerous inefficiencies.

But now I hear him saying CBC must have no competition. Why not? Competition would be damn good for them. Sink or swim.

I suspect they would swim. Lots of other state-owned broadcasters did. TVJ in Jamaica did not die because of CVM. NTN did not wither up because of competition from HTS and DBS.

CBC needs to be forced into real action, not protected from competition and moreover, having their “commercial aspect” (read responsibility) taken from them so they have a free pass to not even worry about making money or being efficient.

And then he mentioned that Barbados must have a dedicated public broadcaster. Agreed. But having competition is not incompatible with having a quality public broadcaster. Look at Britain (though I suspect Bajans would die before paying a tv licence fee – we can’t even get people to pay for their cable). But the point is, the BBC faces competition from ITV, Channel four and Channel Five and they still do their thing. The government could decide, like the British government has, that they are going to keep sustaining the state broadcaster out of tax payers’ funds and it is under no obligation to be a money-making venture, it is just to pursue the public good. And under those circumstances, let the other, commercial licence holders chase advertising dollars.

After all, that’s what the government does now anyhow. Moreover, in the radio broadcast sector, there are several commercial stations competing with the state-owned radio stations and everyone holds their corner fine, including somnolent old BBS 90.7.

If I was in the radio department at CBC I would really resent the folks in the tv department who have no (local) competition and no worries.

Hmm…wouldn’t you?

So the press and the opposition in JA are acting all outraged and spluttering that Sista P seems to be delaying the elections after the passage of Hurricane Dean.

Ummm…duh. Wouldn’t you? I mean come on. If Portia does not win this election, she is done for. The woman barely got a year to savour being PM before she had to call an election and try to engineer a win for a party that has been in power for an amazing and unprecedented four terms. Do you know how hard that is?

And she is losing ground in the polls swiftly, particularly after that disastrous debate.

 There is not a politician in the WORLD who would not use the opportunity of a CATEGORY FOUR hurricane swiping their country as a delaying tactic. It’s not like a lil bs tactic- it was a big ole vicious hurricane. From the time it was coming, anyone with sense could see it coming.

So why are people acting even remotely surprised that Portia would now use the situation of the hurricane to her advantage – to show the human, down-to-earth qualities that are her benefit? Bruce got his debate to show his intellectual advantage, is her time now. It’s just ordinary, run-of-the-mill politicking folks…let’s be real. Anyone else in her situation would have done it.

Are we killing the newspaper?

An interesting article here from the Toronto Star about how concern about the demise of the newspaper industry has been overblown and also about some new trends that will take place in the media industry with greater intensity over the next few years.

Now I have been a journalist. I have always wanted to write and I was about 15 when I decided I would start my own publication. I am now old enough to do so but what a time in which to start!

On the one hand, it is absolutely the most terrifying, topsy-turvy time to be a journalist, especially a newspaper journo. The whole journalistic model is being turned upside down. Websites like craigslist and gumtree allow people to put up ads for free (well in some cities), taking valuable chunks of newspaper revenue. Citizen journalism puts us all under pressure and under ever more intense scrutiny. If you’re wrong, some freakishly well-informed bloggist (blogger/journalist- I think I’ve made that word up…should trademark it) will point it out. Furthermore, many bloggers take pleasure in showing up traditional media – they tend to frame it in a David v. Goliath or ‘us versus them’ kind of way. Yet I am a blogger. And a journalist.

On the other hand, it is absolutely the most exhilirating, exciting time to be a journalist. It has never been so easy to be a publisher. As soon as I hit the ‘publish’ button here, my thoughts, opinions and analysis are out there for the world to see. Popular bloggers have been able to earn 6-figure salaries off of their blogs. For just the smallest start-up fee, you can produce a publication that has a wider reach than paper can ever hope to have.

So it leaves me, the young journalist and aspiring publisher with a bit of a dilemma. I have always made clear my intentions to eventually own my own publication. When I set my goals, I did not anticipate the explosion of the internet and its swift impact on my trade. So should I even bother to throw my hat in with the printed press anymore?

The Jamaican dichotomy…an American analogy

Jamaica is the most conservative island in the Caribbean.
Sounds pretty rich coming from a Bajan doesn’t it? Considering that Barbados is usually considered the most conservative island in the Caribbean, ‘little England’ and all that.

But really it’s Jamaica even though it is considered the most radical and outspoken island in the region. But JA in many ways reminds me of the United States in that it is deeply conservative on the one hand but on the other it seems outrageous.

But it’s really not outrageous at all. Jamaica is all about a very conservative status quo.

On the one hand it is the land of dancehall and Rastafarianism – the one considered risque, the other radical. But even within these lifestyles there is deep conservatism befitting an Islamic republic. Man ‘fi have nuff gal and gal in a bungle’ (or a Rasta king should have many queens) but women on the other hand, should only “have one man alone” and ‘battyman fi dead’. Not to mention espousing a real Old Testament-style ‘eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth’ mentality.

And then there is the issue of race. Despite the black pride rhetoric and teachings of Garvey and of Rastafari, Jamaicans more than anyone else have some major issues with race. Not that there is not shadism all over the region- hell all over the black world but in JA it surprised me how entrenched it is.

It was in JA that I learned how to identify the signs of bleaching. Furthermore, I would see it even amongst educated intelligent women which was just…mind boggling to me because that is just not something you would see in Barbados.

And then of course, JA has ‘the most churches per square mile in the world’…or at least so my friends tell me. And they believed in a piece of Pentecostalism and evangelism! The first I ever saw hardcore Pentecostals, as in the types who don’t straighten their hair and wear skirts and no jewellery was in JA. In Barbados, even the most devout Pentecostals haven’t done those things in like 30, 40 years. I didn’t even know that it was even done among Pentecostals until I went to JA. Then again, evangelical fervour is always stronger in countries that have issues.

But it’s weird how a country can be so different. It’s a strange, bi-polar island it is…but you got to love it.

In Praise of Old Schools

What with the scholarship results announced last week (lion’s share to BCC once more) I think this is a most appropos time to resurrect this article from my other blog…

*****

The other day, I was at Queen’s Royal College in Trinidad to do a story on that school’s contribution to West Indies cricket (a dozen WI representatives over the years).

And that school just has so much history. I mean Eric Williams, CLR James, VS Naipaul all went to that school. It was really moving to think of all that school and their alumni had contributed to the development of Trinidad and the Caribbean on the whole. Actually, it reminded me a lot of my own school, Harrison College.

I find it is popular now (in Barbados at least) to bash ‘old schools’. Apparently old schools are these instruments of elitism and damaging to the self esteem of those who don’t get in. If I have to hear another bleeding-heart go on one more time about how terrible it is for children when they don’t get into a ‘good school’ and how it just devastates their hearts and we should do away with this archaic, cruel system, I may well expire.

The other popular school of thought is that old schools aren’t ‘all that’. That they are only good because they get the good students and they get better teachers and facilities than the newer secondary schools.

Now let’s dismantle these myths one by one.

First off, older secondary schools are elitist. Yes they are. And just what is wrong with academic elitism? No-one’s heart bled for me during my school days because I couldn’t run, jump or throw to save my life. I was never going to be an Olympian, far less even make it onto any school team. Athletic elitism is ok, so why not academic elitism? What exactly is so very wrong in acknowledging that some people are smarter (or to be pc – academically gifted) than others? No-one’s heart bled for me because I can’t hold a note and was never going to be at the National Stadium in the Calypso monarch competition, far less in a school talent competition. Artistic elitism is accepted. Some people sing/draw/dance better than others and we’re cool with that.

Children have to learn from early- life is not fair. Life is not equal. We try our best to ensure that everyone has access to the basic fundamentals of a humane society- education, food, water, clothing, shelter, but we cannot ensure that everyone is as smart/fast/pretty as the other. Yet people like they would like to get rid of the Harrison Colleges, QRCs, St. Mary’s College (St. Lucia or Trinidad- take your pick), Campions of the Caribbean so we can pretend that all children are of equal intelligence.

Which is nonsensical. I learnt from the time I was in Class 3 that I was never going to be a netballer. I got one tryout and I was rotten and that was it. I had to learn to suck it up.

Second myth- old schools are only as good as they are because they get advantages – better teachers, better facilities, wealthier students and parents etc.

Again, patent nonsense. Old schools in the Caribbean have long been an avenue for the poor-but-bright to make it- Kamau Brathwaite, Austin Tom Clarke, George Lamming, Frank Worrell, Everton Weekes, Clyde Walcott – all of these men went to one of two venerable old Barbadian schools (did I just indirectly call Combermere venerable- I need a moment to recover from that…). They were poor but bright and the Caribbean is better for their contribution and the opportunities they got through old schools.

And with the advent of free secondary education, this avenue has become a highway. At Kolij there were children who were wealthy. There were children like me who were middle class-but-struggling. And there were children who were poor and from the ghetto.

As to the idea that older schools get better teachers and facilities…I don’t know that I believe that. At least based on my own experience at Kolij, we had some teachers that were dreadful- just biding their time. And we had some that were absolutely wonderful- and most of them had taught at other schools before they got to Harrison College. And to be honest, one of the best teachers I ever had was one who taught me maths lessons – and he taught at St. Leonard’s Boys Secondary. But that may be just anecdotal evidence. On the other hand, I have not seen or heard any evidence to prove that newer secondary schools get the shitty end of the stick when it comes to teacher quality.

And the charge that older schools have better facilities is just ridiculous. Actually it often felt as if Kolij was deliberately neglected because the feeling was that we had money coming from…somewhere. We were one of the last schools to get Edutech- literally, we were in Phase 5 I believe it was of the Edutech implementation programme. I think they may finally have been included in Edutech two or three years ago. And Harrison’s physical plant was deplorable. Asbestos, windows dropping off at the slightest touch, numerous condemned buildings (one of which was somehow uncondemned and became my lower sixth class). It was just in need of serious work.

But what sets Kolij and other old schools around the Caribbean is not just their students but the spirit of the schools. It is an intensely competitive, ambitious and driven atmosphere. When you go to a school like Harrison College or QRC or St. Mary’s, you cannot help but feel inspired and motivated by the weight of history.

And our teachers did their level best to drum this spirit into us. We were expected to achieve. We were expected to do not just well but excellently. We were given talks by alumni like Tom Clarke, Obadele Thompson, Kamau Brathwaite – you couldn’t help but realise this is what you were expected to live up to.

When we were getting ready to do our CXCs, our year head informed us that we were expected to compete with and beat, not the local schools- that was supposed to be a given. We were competing regionally – we had to beat Queen’s Royal College in Trinidad, Queen’s College in Guyana and Campion in Jamaica.

That is what makes old schools ‘all that’. The weight of expectation and the spirit of ambition. And it is not something to be taken for granted. A school can lose that edge. Look at the Lodge School for example. In the 80s or so it lost its way to some extent and a school that used to be 3rd or 4th in the island dropped down to 7th or 8th. The aura of the school changed.

There is an insidious campaign that has been going on in recent times to cut old schools ‘down to size’. The awarding of the Barbados Scholarships for example. No-one can tell me that is fair- but that is a whole other post. So despite the fact that Harrison and Queen’s and Combermere might still have the highest results at CXC, those students are then disadvantaged two years later when it comes to the allocation of the scholarships and people lick their mouths gleefully and say it proves what they thought all along, when the fact is that the playing field is not level. So it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because why would you stay at a 6th form school when you can get a scholarship so much easier at BCC (Barbados Community College)? Interestingly enough, I have noticed in the last 2,3 years that increasing numbers of the BCC scholarship winners went to the same very ‘old schools’ – perhaps a sign that these children are now forcing out those who would have had a chance at BCC before? How does a child with 5 or 6 CXCs compete against the hungry, ambitious ‘old schoolers’ with their requisite 8 CXCs? Have we created a monster?

But this is not the point of this post. I come to praise old schools. They have done great things for the Caribbean. Long live old schools.