THE EDITOR, Sir:I HAD the honour of speaking to a gathering of students in their final or penultimate years at secondary school and I decided to speak on the state of free movement of persons within CARICOM, arising out of the changes being inaugurated by the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).
I was convinced that my topic would resonate with the audience as many of these young persons were on the cusp of the transition to identifying potential career paths and employment prospects. As the employment situation has generally turned quite hostile in North America I thought that these students would appreciate being presented with other options than migration "up North."
I also felt that the region has lost too many of its best and brightest to Northern jurisdictions and I wanted to do my bit to try and encourage retention of these bright and promising minds within the region (if not in Jamaica) to harness their potential in contributing to the region's growth and prosperity.
I was prepared for a tough sell. So, I tried to paint a dynamic picture of the varied opportunities existing within the region. I initially tried to identify what the career interests of my target audience were so that I could tailor my presentation to their particular needs and I was pleased to discover that, to a large extent, their aspirations could be achieved through employment opportunities currently existing within the region. I cited example after example of the possibilities for employment that exist in CARICOM. I even played the patriotism card adverting to the vital contribution these students could make in the development of their region. I tried to cater to their sense of ambition by mentioning the concomitant boon they would receive from 'sticking it out' in the Caribbean as they would then be 'in on the ground floor' when the region started to 'boom'.
I waxed eloquent and colloquial. And yet my audience sat unmoved, unmotivated, and unconvinced. Then an epiphany hit me. No one in my audience cared about CARICOM or the CSME. I surmise that this is because Jamaica's youth are simply not being taught about CARICOM and their economic future in it (which is not surprising since a large number of our teachers view employment up North as a panacea). After an hour of fruitless talk I conceded defeat and left the podium to muted applause. The few questions fielded during the question and answer session which followed my presentation, came from government ministers in attendance who are clearly convinced of the utility of the CSME enterprise based on considerations that were largely alien to the rest of the audience. I left the convocation wondering aloud, "Who cares about the CSME anyway?" And the answer came echoing back 'Not the young!'
I am, etc.,
MAURICE TOMLINSON
maurice_tomlinson@yahoo.com
