CARIBBEAN INFLUENCES ON EXTRA-REGIONAL

COUNTRIES

The influence of the society and culture of the Caribbean on extra–regional countries has been identified in a number of areas, these include:PoliticsEconomicsCulture

POLITICAL INFLUENCEThe most organized group of the Caribbean nationals in the US are the Cubans and they have had significant influence on the US politics because of their number and economic power. They represent a major voting bloc in South Florida. They have been credited with:“forcing” lawmakers to maintain and strengthen the trade embargo against Cuba (key legislations the Helms-Burtons Act 1996)The creation of radio Marti, with the expressed intention to undermine the communist system in Cuba through the flow of information.

The political impact of Haitians is limited largely because they are divided along class lines. In Miami, Haitians act as a voting bloc. The Haitian Refugee Center has used the issue of the ‘boatpeople’ to mobilize the Haitian community and to bring a number of legal actions against the US government. The increased flow of migrants and the extent of narco-trafficking to N. America and Europe from the Caribbean have resulted in the enactment of more stringent immigration and surveillance measures such as: a reversal of a decades old policy on the repatriation of Cuban asylum seekers.increased cost to obtain visas or imposing visa requirement on some Caribbean countries (countries that enjoy Canada’s visa waiver are Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, St. Kitts and Nevis, Barbados and The Bahamas).

deportation to home countries of aliens convicted of crimes.the Ship rider Agreement that allows the US Coastguard to pursue suspected drug traffickers in Caribbean waters.intelligence sharing and the splitting of proceeds from successful indictment of drug traffickers.

Caribbean people are found in many countries around the world. Their presence impacts immensely on the culture on the host countries.The large presence of Cubans living in Florida for example provides a powerful pressure to lobby the US government to formulate policies designed to destabilize the Fidel Castro led communist regime of Cuba. It seems as though these Cubans have deliberately taken up residence as close to Cuba as possible so as to remain a political force in pursuing the end of Castro’s communist reign.Haitians also live in Florida however their illegal entry has become a little disturbing for the us immigration authorities and so has caused them to tighten their security. This has become an international issue forcing the us to be more accommodating and so significantly influencing its immigration and foreign policies towards refugees.

Wherever Caribbean people reside there have always been issues affecting them. There large numbers provide political votes that will be sought after prospective political representatives and so are therefore able to influence their domestic politics to further their interests in these metropolis cities. Many of these issues involve immigration policies, refugee status, deportation, work permits etc. Canada has recently changed its immigration policies to accommodate the large number of Trinbagonians staying there and so an expensive visa and an interview will be needed to be obtained unlike before where none of this existed.

ECONOMIC INFLUENCEThe Caribbean depends heavily on extra-regional countries particularly the US for its economic survival. Nevertheless, it has positively influenced the larger economies in areas such as:trade: the Caribbean is the 10th largest importer of US goods and services and created thousands of jobs in export businesses (Mohammed 2007).festivals: thousands of jobs and millions of dollar and pounds in revenues are generated from the Caribbean-derived Nottinghill Carnival in London and Canada’s Caribbean.labour: there are formal government to government arrangements under which Caribbean nationals provide service in the agricultural and domestic work sectors 

Caribbean people provide both skilled and low skilled labour abroad and so contributes to the development of the economy and as well there have been increase remitting of foreign goods so the economy abroad has been growing but at the expense of the Caribbean economy. There has also been an increase in money laundering and drug trafficking.

CULTURAL INFUENCE

Caribbean cultural forms and expressions have penetrated international markets and gained acceptance. The impact of Caribbean music largely reggae and to some extent soca, is felt mainly in the urban centers of large cities such as New York and London. Reggae has been used to:omarket Levi jeans (Bombastic)ocreate an online course ‘ The Rhetoric of Reggae’ at the University of Vermont.

Reggae has been the vehicle that transported Rastafarian beliefs and lifestyle to the wider world. Rastafarian communities and reggae are to be found on every continent.  The steel-pan was also transported to developed countries with the migrants. Currently, in N.America steel-band music is part of the curriculum, while the tuning of pan is a growing skill that has the potential to contribute to the economic development of this region. One association, Pan European, is assuming the responsibility for creating a network to promote the development of pan in Europe. The steel-pan is also incorporated into forms of music like rap. 

Caribbean cuisine competes with those of other ethnic groups in the urban centers in metropolitan countries. While companies like Golden Crust and Caribbean Food Delight have become big business in the US, Caribbean food caters mainly to the taste of Caribbean populations but remains a specialty to native populations particularly those who have visited the Caribbean or who have close association with Caribbean nationals.