Anguilla News covers Anguilla
 |
|
Anguilla News
Bridging
Gaps & Expanding Horizons. |
|
|
|
|
|
Anguilla News covers Anguilla and the wider
Caribbean.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
x |
|
|
|
Thirteen
Years of the ACS Forging the History of the Greater
Caribbean |
July 26, 2007: TIME HAS A PROFOUND IMPACT on
institutions as well as on people. Such is the case with the
ACS, where these thirteen years have undoubtedly made the
Greater Caribbean somewhat different from what it was when
this organization was founded. For instance, although the
geographical area has always existed, the political notion
emerges along with the ACS, producing a historical fact that
changes the old colonial model.
Colonialism did not take shape based on the common features
of the area. Rather, each of the conquered areas focussed
inwards, establishing a direct connection with the
respective metropolises; thus, as has been pointed out
before, the borders of each colonial society were
established between the Caribbean Sea and Europe. This
caused each of those societies to look to their respective
metropolis much more than to surrounding neighbours. Thus,
the tendency was towards isolation among those communities.
One of the results of that situation is that the most
relevant perception of the area has been the conflicting
fusion of a series of characteristics which, although
similar, are perceived as dissimilar.
For centuries, what this geographical area meant per se
lacked political attention on the part of the States
comprising it and it is there that the ACS came to play its
unifying role. This is a political move of great historic
significance, as it is a conscious effort to try to unite
what, for so many years, foreign interests had kept apart.
It can be asserted that since the establishment of this
Association, communities of the Greater Caribbean have begun
to value the fact that they share the same geographical
area, both as island societies as well as those on terra
firma.
Initial attempts at Caribbean unity occurred in response to
colonial differences. The first unifying models were set up
according to the linguistic similarities of each group of
countries in the area (the French, Dutch, English and
Spanish). Nevertheless, all the islands recognized one
another as neighbours. But in that process of identifying
the neighbourhood, they overlooked the Caribbean Sea. So,
when they began to refer to themselves as the Sea of the
Antilles (West Indies), they not only reduced the marine
space in question, but also became further isolated from the
continental area.
In this way – despite the socio-historical differences among
them–, given their physical proximity, the islands achieved
a certain level of rapprochement and identification among
themselves. But the Central Americans were the ones who
remained isolated the most from the Caribbean identity, as
in that area “Caribbean-ness” was not recognized as a
cultural trait, but rather as something strange, exclusive
to the West Indies. Among other reasons, as we have cited on
previous occasions, this explains why Central Americans
identify more readily with the Atlantic coast than with the
Caribbean coast. |
Advertisement - Article continues
below
|
Although the shores of the Caribbean Sea have always been
the same, the political fact implied in recognizing said Sea
from both sides, as part of a single area, had to wait until
the founding of the ACS. With this Association, a historic
break occurred that departed from the five-century old
colonial model, creating for the first time, a structure
that responds to the genuine interest of all the countries
surrounding the Caribbean Sea.
But in comparison to five centuries, thirteen years is still
not enough time to be able to see the potential results of
this new unifying model. It has been sufficient to recognize
that there is now dialogue on cooperation which, in addition
to channelling resources, fosters confidence-building among
stakeholders who had never before come together to discuss
common problems from a multilateral perspective.
Viewed in time, the successes of the ACS have been many.
Among these, we could mention four Summits of Heads of State
and Government, more than a dozen Ministerial meetings, the
development of a series of projects in the four priority
areas: trade, tourism, natural disasters and transport; more
recently, the formation of the Caribbean Sea Commission;
widespread recognition in the main international spheres
such as the summits of the European Union – Latin America
and the Caribbean; and the important mention of the ACS in
the agreement between SICA and CARICOM, the Assemblies of
the Organization of American States.
By: Dr. Rubén Silié Valdez is the Secretary General of
the Association of Caribbean States. |
|
Anguilla Business Quick Links
|
