With the disappearance of the indigenous people came the Europeans and the African slaves who, with the abolition of slavery, no longer fit the raw material-free labour paradigm of the metropolitan-centred economy. These slaves were replaced with a work force originating from Asian countries and the Mexican Yucatan, and were integrated into Caribbean economies under the system of forced labour. Subsequent to that, at the end of the nineteenth and during the early twentieth centuries, came an influx of artisans and wandering merchants from Arab and European countries. That Rainbow of workers is one of the factors responsible for the Caribbean being an ethnic and cultural mosaic, whose most significant asset is the diversity that characterises us.

However, it is also one of the factors that lead us to reiterate that all of us in the Caribbean came from elsewhere. We are a land of immigrants, subject to different socioeconomic systems occurring at different historical periods from the sixteenth century up to our time.

In light of the characteristics of the world today, not much thought goes into the mobilisation of vast contingents as in yesteryear. Nevertheless, capital’s essential need for cheap labour continues. This situation is complemented by factors of expulsion that attract workers from developing countries. Prevailing among them is the quest to improve the level of income, relative to the opportunities that may be offered them by their own countries..

Although migration is an old phenomenon, current migration has its own characteristics arising out of the context of globalisation. This context provides the facilities for the physical movement of persons and easy access to information pertaining to job possibilities abroad. In addition, it facilitates the creation of abundant social networks to support the movement of migrants and we have managed to make progress in the international recognition of the rights of migrants, all of which makes departure even more attractive.

In the case of Caribbean countries, the region’s migratory vocation has been established, reaching such a density that if it were to be represented visually, it would resemble a complex network of lines extending from one country to another and from each of them toward the countries of the North.

Current migrations are a determining factor of social development, given their impact, not only on the individual economies of migrants, but also on their native countries. Migration also has the opposite effect due to the erosion it visits upon the labour force of countries, given that the poorer population does not tend to migrate and in general, are usually individuals with training and proven initiative within their social groups.

With this we would like to emphasise that migration is an historical-structural factor of our societies. It is therefore our duty to work on its codification so that its impact does not hinder the development of the receiving societies, nor affect the rights of immigrants, but instead could be counted on as a social element for development.

Dr. Rubén Silié Valdez is the Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States. The views expressed are not necessarily the official views of the ACS. Feedback can be sent to mail@acs-aec.org

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26 October, 2004