Tragic loss is commonplace in our tiny space. Whether it be losing young people to unnecessary violence, unfortunate imprisonment for something as simple as marijuana, or the loss of our most talented persons who see it fit to make full use of their abilities elsewhere ; our nation, and especially our youth, suffer tremendously.
Let’s delve into one issue at a time, as they are all complex in their own right. Follow me as I discuss with you the issue of brain drain, the aforementioned flight of our most talented individuals.
Why is it that our people leave us to self-actualise elsewhere? This is an incredibly deep and diverse subject, and admittedly I need to conduct more research, which is already underway, before I can claim to know the full extent of the matter.
At this time, my current understanding is that persons do not see opportunities to realise their dreams here, as well as feel that the environment is generally toxic, with no plans of succession for most leadership positions. Those with the power cling too tightly and fail to allow fresher minds to take their place – an absolute travesty.
Within our civil service, these issues are largely apparent as “nobody gets fired from government.” The result is decades of complacency where incompetent persons remain permanently in positions they are not suited for, and more capable persons, especially young people, are overlooked in favour of not ruffling feathers and selective application of labour laws. When young people do get opportunities to enter the civil service, it is almost always menial labour with very limited chances of upward mobility, so long as their superiors are not as yet at retirement age.
Within the private sector, especially in the behemoth that is hospitality, a similar situation arises where management positions are largely held by immigrants. I refuse to say “expats” as we are guilty of selectively applying this term to white people, while showing anti-Blackness and other prejudices to our fellow Caribbean people, especially those of Hispanic origin. This needs to stop, but I digress. These immigrants are able to work perpetually on work permits, and there is a major failure to utilise the understudy programme as intended. I’ve witnessed this for myself while working in Human Resources at a large resort. I do not need to delve into this being “modern day slavery,” as it’s a phrase we love to repeat. The main point I want to get across is that we allow these major properties to be established, and their de facto function is to bleed money out of our economy while paying locals chump change and keeping us suppressed. Ine wid it cuz, but alas, it’s our status quo.
This is all I will say for this week, but check me again next week when I have more raw data and anecdotes from our most affected people – our youth.
Please note that my opinions are my own, and do not represent the views of the orginisations I am a part of or hold leadership positions in.
See you again next week, same time, same place. Stay safe out there.
