Kerwin Eloise
Back in more uncertain times, when our economy was too small or too restrictive, our parents and grandparents travelled the world over to Panama, to Trinidad to the USVI and other Caribbean nations for work. Now today it has become increasingly difficult for many of us to do the same this time for reasons more focused than on pleasure.
As young adults growing up, my friends and I often bemoaned the lack of a region wide ferry that would allow us to exploit the Friday and Monday holidays on the calendar and spend the year island hopping across the wider region. Alas like many pipe dreams, this one continues to be even more hopeless.
The advent of IShowSpeed’s stream across the region and his exploration of the various islands, their street foods, their culture, the friendliness of the people, their content creators and many other aspects continue to hammer home that the main barrier to regional integration is often not the people.
Though we are quick to ignite island wars on social media in defense of real and or perceived slights.
Our major bogeyman is of course the cost to travel between islands. Currently I can see both Saint Vincent and Martinique from my workplace, yet it is far more expensive to travel there via air than it is to the continental United States. The IShowSpeed stream-a-ganza illustrated many of the unique touristic experiences that each island showcased, it also brought to the fore many of the historical, linguistic and cultural similarities and continued to tickle at our adventurous bones.
The words indefinite stay when you come across another OECS island and other CARICOM countries being stamped into your passport is a thrill that many of us have experienced. Moreover, we consider it as an essential aspect of the modern Caribbean person to be well read and experienced but if experiences are open solely to those who can afford the region as an aesthetic or tourists who have no true deep appreciation for what the region entails then it is really a farcical reality. We often speak of true regional integration and unity, yet the regional experience is not available to many, students, athletes, families and creatives are among the many who are limited by the astronomical prices attached to tickets.
The stark reality is like Carnival regional inter-island travel has prioritised the tourism dollar over anything else, above the puny EC or the hopes and dreams of regional integrationalists to say the least. Many of our transport services cater to the foreign dimension rather than the local experience and will continue. Especially with the advent of ride shares and surge charging, which while first plugging the gap of the broken bus system will become another way of local exclusion.
Flights are cheaper and thus more accessible for the metropolitan visitor than a local. Look at the ease with which Speed and his entourage were able to experience the lush and unique greatness that is our Saint Lucia and the other islands which are almost as magical.
We are not blind, however, to some of the realities that conspire against us, high fuel costs often volatile and fluctuating, crippling airport taxes. The yearly cycle of hurricane vulnerability and the devastation they unleash to say nothing of the limited airlines and the small market (although the pricing out of the common man may be a reason).
IShowSpeed has shown us what we are missing out on our commonalities and shared experiences. How many Soufrieres and Roseaus are there? How many waterfalls and beaches and hiking trails are there to conquer. It has fueled a fire among many as to how to engage fully as a Caribbean person. The hope is only that this fire will help us batje a kayak before it is too late.