Mobility identity and policy in the Eastern Caribbean.

This paper explores 2 world views of Caribbean peoples that have resulted from using different units of analysis tracing their implications for the study of mobility identity and policy. The 1st most common and most traditional view of Caribbean mobility sees the Caribbean as dependent on the world beyond and sees international flows as the ultimate form of dependency. The unemployed and underemployed from among the burgeoning island populations are forced from their homelands as demographic growth outstrips economic development as technological innovations make agriculture more capital-intensive and as opportunities shrink. In contrast the 2nd and more recent view is of a Caribbean integrated into the world capitalist system--interdependent with rather than dependent on other countries. The world is viewed as a system of potential relationships. The scope for future possibilities is large because of awareness of integration into wider social economic and political systems. There is no doubt that there is a continuing desire for mobility in the eastern Caibbean when it is examined at the level of the individual but the situation becomes less clear if the country or nation-state becomes the frame of reference. In the most recent development plan formulated for Barbados (1979-1983) the only reference to out-movement is in the section on projected population growth. The position in other eastern Caribbean islands is unclear. Particularly in these times of global recession Caribbean island governments need to state an explicit policy towards the departure of their citizens. Immigration regulations of the US and Canada are selective of skills and contribute to the scarcity of skills and enterprises throughout the region.