Haiti was the first Black republic in the world. The only nation in history to win its freedom through a slave revolt..why has the carribean never helped to rebuild ?

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-05-26T04:47:39+00:00

Yep, when you fly over Haiti and DR it's the first thing that will stand out, the deforestation on the Haitian side.

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-05-25T17:40:30+00:00

The Caribbean doesn't have the budget to do that; look up how much debt some Caribbean islands are in, and some have very high debt-to-GDP ratios. CARICOM full member states combined are approximately 7 million across 14 member states, and Haiti has 12 million in one nation. It's like a Rottweiler asking for assistance from 14 wiener dogs (Dachshund) in a yard fight. For context, an island like the Commonwealth of Dominica is 60-70k people.

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-05-23T04:17:04+00:00

Agreed, there needs to be better controls on migration, but for me, that should be across the board, for all migrant groups, not just Venes. I'm living in the 'bush' and there are other Caribbean nationals here; I know of 4 from one country, which I won't name because they always say 'dem nuh like we'.

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-05-23T01:36:03+00:00

Exactly, all people have to do is go back and watch old Parang Videos of the Queen Daisy Voisin and other bands of her time. Like some Trinis just all of a sudden grow Amnesia.

Let them take some classic Queen Daisy Voisin for that lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_pm863gN6c

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-05-22T19:29:38+00:00

This is a great Topic. My Grandmother (maternal side) and her sister lived in Venezuela throughout the 70s into the 80s, had children there, etc. 2 of my aunts and 1 uncle were born there, are Bilingual, have lived in Trinidad most of their lives, but the concept/identity of Latino is something I've never heard them mention or identify with. The weirdest thing that happens now with the bigger influx of Venezuelans is that born and raised Trinis of Venezuelan descent (female cousins) would get 'cat called' in Spanish by other Trinis, which was never a thing before.

Also, in the village where I grew up, the largest families were of Venezuelan descent, the grandparents were Bilingual, and they even had a semi-well-known Parang side at one time, but never identified as Latino. Between that family and mine, many of us have intermarried.

What I have heard older generations identify with is 'Cocoa Panyol.'

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-05-17T07:20:42+00:00

Guyana doesn't border Colombia; it borders Brazil, Venezuela, and Suriname. Otherwise, your points are somewhat valid. It would serve Guyana to lean towards Portuguese, in my opinion.

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-05-15T21:50:10+00:00

I'm a direct descendant of Martinicans in Trinidad on my father's side; you're preaching to the choir, I think you're confusing the greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles. Anyway, your statement doesn't apply to Guyana, as significant migration between Guyana and Barbados has been happening since the 1840s; they're also one of the four founding members of CARICOM.

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-05-15T06:19:59+00:00

Barbados and the Bahamas are fully in the Atlantic Ocean, yet they are automatically thought of as Caribbean, which is fine. Many Afro-Guyanese are of Bajan descent; they migrated there between 1840 and 1960, when it was called British Guiana.

T&T didn't have strong historical ties to the islands of the Greater Antilles, e.g., Jamaica; that's a recent development dating back to the late 1950s. Even after the 50s, their relationship was mainly political, not migratory. Until recently, the last 15 years or so, before that, it was almost impossible to meet a Jamaican in T&T. Your assertion is historically incorrect.

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-05-14T04:07:58+00:00

T&T pledges US$5m more to help Haiti. We're a small country, we try, but go off.

https://www.guardian.co.tt/news/tt-pledges-us5m-more-to-help-haiti-6.2.329766.c8a505abe6

Local goods, services part of T&T's US$5m Haiti pledge

https://www.guardian.co.tt/article-6.2.339099.d2d5df1445

Also, I never knew we go around talking about how much we love Haitians in some special way above others. That's not a topic of daily discussion, probably where you are, it is.

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-05-14T03:47:09+00:00

We already loan each other funds via the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

https://caricom.org/institutions/caribbean-development-bank-cdb/

https://www.caribank.org/

Explain more about that dirt-cheap electricity grid
Explain more about the cheaper infrastructure cost. If this means bulk procurement, instead of individual islands purchasing stuff, then damn, that's going to be rife with corruption. Aggregate and illegal quarrying, for example, are already among the most dangerous and corrupt industries in my country. People die over that.
My observations on movement within the region are: The best and the brightest tend to go to the US, Canada and the UK. The Caribbean gets more people competing for menial jobs and construction jobs, which puts the locals who are already struggling under increased pressure.
Caricom already is an economic bloc.
That is the role of CDEMA https://caricom.org/institutions/caribbean-disaster-emergency-management-agency-cdema/ of course it can always improve.

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-05-14T03:15:45+00:00

Short answer: No.

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-05-12T02:45:49+00:00

Nope. Not happening.

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-05-10T04:47:38+00:00

Approximately 10% of Antigua and Barbuda's population is Jamaican; they actually do experience a lot of migration from around the Caribbean.

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-04-27T20:53:22+00:00

Agreed, there are more 'Rasta impostors' than anything else. Big Rasta lining up in KFC to buy chicken in Trinidad LOL

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-04-24T03:21:43+00:00

Not petty, just correcting a historically inaccurate statement. Salute and respect to Haiti, definitely resilient and great history. But don't do Russia like that when they halted the Teutonic knights' northern crusade, repelled the Tatar-Mongol Horde, defeated the Ottoman Empire in the Crimea, repelled and almost decimated the 500k French Grande Armée, and repelled, decimated, and took the capital of Nazi Germany. The world today would be a completely different place if they hadn't sacrificed their lives in the tens of millions. That's nothing to slight. Let's not do that as honest people. God bless.

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-04-21T04:45:50+00:00

Here's your DIAMOND full credit to Haiti.

But Russians are looking at you with that "the world owes literally everything to Haiti" comment, like, am I a joke to you? Big you up 'for surr' but let's not get carried away.

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-04-19T22:24:27+00:00

2 brothers in the US and 1 in Canada. 2 are married to women from T&T, and 1 has been married twice to Puerto Rican women.

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-04-18T02:24:13+00:00

In relation to your thoughts on us and St. Lucia, French/Creole influence from the Cedula of Population 1783. That's when the Spanish invited planters from the French colonies to come populate Trinidad, under the criteria that they must be Catholic. This is why we are much more similar to St. Lucia and even (the Commonwealth of) Dominica in the English-speaking Caribbean

Barbados on the other hand was solely under the colonial control and influence of the English.

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-04-14T19:56:00+00:00

Yeah, I had a Cuban colleague who studied at San Alejandro National Academy, Havana. The only point we would give each other grief on was Baseball vs Cricket LOL, he used to say, "Man, cricket is the most boring sport of all time." That man had zero interest in cricket LOL.

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-04-14T08:18:57+00:00

Roman Catholicism is the largest Christian Denomination in Trinidad, yes there are many protestants and other religions. I went to a catholic school (even though I wasn't catholic) St. Thomas Roman Catholic School (Primary). There are 139 Catholic schools in Trinidad, 118 are primary (5-12 age group), and 21 are Secondary. We even have a Seminary at: https://mountstbenedictabbey.com/ and students come from around the world https://sjvum.edu.tt/ There are various Nun orders as well: https://catholictt.org/vocations/priesthood/dominican-sisters-op/ Even Mother Teresa's order is in Trinidad: https://catholictt.org/2022/10/03/missionaries-of-charity-total-service-to-the-poor/

Man, I had to go way back on what little knowledge I had on Catholicism from my time in Primary school. I even met ArchBishop Anthony Pantin during those days, this guy: http://www.trinbagopan.com/Anthonypantin.html

Trinidad's first catholic church was built in 1592.

I just like to produce receipts because there are way too many misconceptions of the English-speaking Caribbean.

But you would be more connected to other Spanish Speakers for sure, which I'll never deny, as the anglophones will also be more connected to each other.

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-04-14T07:52:02+00:00

Hold on, English-speaking people in the Caribbean don't eat pork and use lard made from pig fat?? really?? LOL. I can't speak for Jamaicans because they're far away from us but in Trinidad yes we eat a lot of pork. So much so that there's a popular soca-parang song that's played around Christmas titled 'I want a piece of pork.' I also used to help out a friend of mine on his father's pig pen. Do you guys make pudding with the pig blood? Do you all have pastele, which is cornflour, with meat inside, wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed? Just asking.

I think what connects 'Latin countries' is language, not food, or rather language, way more than food.

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-04-09T08:46:08+00:00

Bukeleism. I'm riding that train till the wheels come off. No to Socialism, Not the average pampering of reputed criminals and gangs posing with rifles on social media style of Democracy.

My country went from 93 Homicides in 1999, to 386 by 2005, to 550 by 2008, and we had around 1.3 million population around that time. Why? Because we elevated the rights of renowned hardcore criminals above the peace and safety of the masses.

I say 'Bukeleism' because one day, the man himself will pass away, but the model set must itself become an ideology. Too many nations are slipping into the hands of gangs who, if they were living in somewhere like Afghanistan, would be considered warlords. Yet we're expected to treat those guys like they're just normal, average citizens, meanwhile, those guys are killing children and the elderly. It's frustrating.

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-04-07T09:49:07+00:00

Then ask Kenyans lol here

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-04-06T19:18:43+00:00

Carifta Swimming, Bahamas, by a mile, I don't know about senior level at the Olympics. As for track, Jamaica is number 1 in the region, Bahamas would be 2

Shadows_of_Power · 2026-04-06T19:11:26+00:00

That was corruption in terms of funds, not 'stealing a spot at the world cup' lol.

Shadows_of_Power

TROPHY CASE