Premier calls for elimination of racism 'in all forms & places'
"The murder of George Floyd in the United States and other incidents that are of a similar nature, have forced societies everywhere to confront the existence of systemic racism and how this has been used, repeatedly, over centuries in a deliberate strategy by some persons to retard the progress and mobility of black people, and to disproportionately favour others," Hon Fahie said in a Thursday, June 11, 2020, statement.
Global tipping point
The Premier speaking in the Virgin Islands (VI) House of Assembly (HoA) said what the world is seeing happening in the United States and elsewhere, is the arrival of the tipping point after more than 100 years of hiding the serious issues of hate and discrimination under the carpet, or simply turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to it.
'Mr Speaker, it is no secret that based on our own history here in the BVI, we do have some similar issues to confront and to overcome. And we have to deal with these issues sooner rather than later."
While not specifically addressing what those issues are in the VI, the Premier said they must not be left to fester, "It is better to be proactive than reactive, because being proactive significantly reduces the pain and the hurt, as compared to when the reactive route is used."
The Premier's Statement comes after a recent call for the United Kingdom (UK) to allow persons from the Overseas Territories to be Governors in the region rather than the Uk sending its people to the various territories.
“Choose about two or three or five persons from the OT’s and put them in the UK and train them how to become governors and let them become governors in different OT’s but not the one they are from," he suggested.
Addressing institutional racism
Over the week's, Local social commentator, Claude O. Skelton-Cline has also been regarding the UK appointed Governor's seat and his office as an example of institutional racism retained from the territories colonial past.
The Premier in his statement noted that racism has now wormed its way so deep into shaping how things are done, "what is considered to be right and wrong, and where we turn to for approval and recognition, that many of its manifestations have become recognized as the norm, thereby giving them legitimacy."
The Leader of Government business said that in order to fix a problem, we first have to accept that it exists, "Racism is real, and, unfortunately, it has managed to bury its roots very deep into the systems that run countries, and the world, even up to today."
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32 Responses to “Premier calls for elimination of racism 'in all forms & places' ”
While on the topic of training, people on the police force need educational training on the law and how to be peace keepers, problem de-escalators, because pompous ignorance is not a good look and the force is full of them.
Thank you.
.for systematicall racism to be address and stop from the two highest level of black and white to rich and poor
Colonialism and the plantation system were birthed and operated on race. The whole structure, ie, cultural, economic, economic, educational, law enforcement (notice a Her Majesty’s Prison but no Her Majesty’s High School, political, government, constitution....etc) was built on race. It started that way in 1672 and is so today. Slavery, the most dehumanizing event in human history, will that leave for another day.
Another saying of MLK is, ‘the ultimate measured of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Let’s march on Saturday, June 20th, for marching, protest is an effective tool of the unheard.
Claude can never be a racist NEVER
We really need to learn our history.
Who have the majority of the highest positions and highest paid salaries in these trust companies,...they come here knowing nothing and get positions by the white managing directors and CEOs in the global head office, while junior staff have to train them, junior staff who makes a 1/3rd of what they make. Meanwhile those junior staff could only buy cars, while we have the uncle toms fronting for these expats who earn these big salaries, buying land and houses for them. Big positions, big pay andBVIdlanders with similar qualifications or better have no seniority and less pay. Where is the justice in that.
Stop your nonsense about Claude, he speaks truth, very articulate and intelligent and because of that you and a whole lot of BVI people don’t like him..The ******** is racist, he is arranging his people in the UK to come down and take over the minohe can get his hands on this gold pebble, thank God the other Government is not in control, the gold pebble would be history.
.he speaking the truth a lot u all turn a blind eye to all these years....claude ur works not just on sunday but every day .....where the rest of them holy sheep ...
I'd say most white people living in BVI are not racist in the way the KKK are racist, but a lot of people do have a "white saviour" mentality where the ineptitude of local government and the civil service is frequently mocked. Now oftentimes, it deserves to be mocked but this has nothing to do with the race of the people making the decisions but their own incompetence and stupidity. There are plenty of corrupt and incompetent white civil servants and politicians around the world. At least with the KKK there is no doubting their view point, but sometimes this less overt racism can be more insidious because it is harder to spot but it is there. There are also specific prejudices directed to Belongers, rather than people of colour overall. This is because outsiders dont feel on an equal footing (because they are not) and so there is a reluctance to employ them, for example, because it can be more challenging to lay them off if they do not perform. A white employer, without permanent residency is going to be loathe to put themselves in the firing line with the Labor & Immigration Department, so its better to not employ Belongers for that reasons. not saying this is right, but this is the reality. This needs systemic change, which includes protection for both Belongers and Non Belongers. Opening up the labour market to collective bargaining and trade unions might also offer better protection for all employees of all ethnicities and nationalities. I am afraid to say, I have worked with some very lazy Belongers who made it clear that once their foot was in the door, they would sit back and collect a payslip. They made it clear to management that if any attempt was made to sack them that they would cry foul and cause problems for the (foreign) manager. So in one case, that person took a very well paid job ($90,000 per year) and did virtually no work for almost five years until they eventually left of their own volition. The other Belongers in the office saw exactly what this person was doing and were mighty p***ed off about it. Those people were hard working and diligent and excellent in their roles, These Bad Apples do a lot to sour the barrel for the many more BVIslanders who want to work hard and succeed. I agree with the protectionist sentiment of putting BVislanders first, but it has to be a merit based approach and employers also need to be supported so that people who are capitalising on their preferential status do not take advantage of it. One Love to All.
Please investigate racist discriminatory employment policy at go**** o*****. Why only black servants? Why only white non belongers get high paid jobs there? Why jobs not advertised to belongers to apply to?
Please investigate possible discrimination there.