Barbados is taking a major step towards freer movement across the Caribbean, with legislation that Foreign Minister Kerrie Symmonds said will give Barbadians the right to live and work in several regional states without permits.
Symmonds framed the legislation as a milestone not only for current Barbadians but for generations yet unborn, drawing parallels with freedoms enjoyed by citizens of the United States.
As the House of Assembly debated the Caribbean Community (Free Movement of Nationals) Bill, the foreign minister said: “What we now give to the people of Barbados, generations born and unborn, is a menu of options that takes them for the first time outside the geographical confines of this little rock to be able to do and live their dream, meet their aspirations, whatsoever ambition that little seven-year-old child may have.”
The bill extends rights long enjoyed within Barbados — such as the ability to live, work and reside where one chooses — to selected CARICOM countries, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica and Belize. Under the new regime, Barbadians will no longer require work permits to practise their professions in these territories.
Symmonds drew on international examples to underscore the transformative potential of the legislation. “Just as a little boy born in New York City is able to go to Chicago and set up residence, to be able to go to California and set up residence, and work where they please, we are now giving Barbadians that same opportunity regionally,” he said.
Describing the Free Movement of Nationals Bill as the fulfilment of a longstanding Caribbean dream, Symmonds traced its origins to the visionary ambitions of past regional leaders who advocated deeper integration and the eventual establishment of a federation.
“That was the dream of Eric Williams, that was the dream of Forbes Burnham, that was the dream of Michael Manley. And I say in all candour, Mr Speaker, that an even larger dream may have been had by Sir Grantley Adams before them, in terms of the federation of this region,” he said, linking the bill directly to the historical aspiration for a unified Caribbean.
Barbados is now answering a decades-old clarion call, acknowledging the limitations of previous administrations, according to Symmonds. “The shame is not that we have come this far. The shame is that we have not got further,” he remarked, reflecting on the enduring struggle to achieve full regional mobility for Caribbean citizens. (SZB)
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