Carib Scope

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  • PM hails Sir Emile Straker as a ‘national loss’

    PM hails Sir Emile Straker as a ‘national loss’

    Barbados is this week mourning the passing of one of its most influential cultural figures, Sir Charles Emile Straker, the pioneering musician whose six-decade career helped cement the island nation’s global cultural identity. In an official statement released Friday, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley labeled Straker’s death an irreplaceable “national loss”, offering a heartfelt tribute to the artist who shaped generations of Barbadian cultural expression. As co-founder, lead vocalist, and creative driving force of the internationally celebrated band The Merrymen, Straker leaves behind a legacy that stretches far beyond the Caribbean, tying the island’s story to audiences across the globe.

    Straker’s career spanned more than 60 years, during which he built a catalog of beloved tracks that remain inseparable from Barbadian daily life and national memory. Among his most iconic works are fan-favorites including *Beautiful Barbados*, *Nut Seller*, *You Sweeten Me*, *Sam Lord*, *Big Bamboo*, *Ring-Ting-Ting* and *Gary Sobers* — each a snapshot of Barbadian life, history, humor and landscape that has been passed down through generations. Mottley emphasized that Straker did more than create popular music: he built a living cultural archive that preserves the Barbadian experience for future generations.

    “His voice, songwriting, musicianship, and generosity of spirit helped tell Barbados’ story to the world,” Mottley wrote in the full tribute. As the lead singer, guitarist and co-founder of The Merrymen, Straker helped craft a sound that was unapologetically authentic to Barbados and the broader Caribbean: warm, playful, elegant, and rooted deeply in the rhythms and everyday experiences of the island’s people. Through his lyrics and melodies, he captured the unique cadence of Barbadian speech, the beauty of the island’s landscapes, the nation’s core history, and the quiet confidence of its people, Mottley noted. Rather than only providing entertainment, Straker gave his homeland a collective cultural memory, leaving a permanent record of what it means to be Barbadian.

    Beyond his cultural impact at home, Straker also served as one of Barbados’ earliest and most effective tourism ambassadors. Decades before the rise of modern destination marketing and social media promotion, Straker and The Merrymen brought Barbadian culture to audiences across the Caribbean, North America, Europe and beyond. The band performed in hotel venues, concert halls, and major international festivals, welcoming first-time visitors to the island, comforting diaspora communities living abroad, and inspiring countless international guests to fall in love with Barbados and return for future visits.

    Mottley highlighted that Straker’s life and work affirm a long-held truth: much of the Caribbean’s socio-cultural history is preserved in the lyrics of its native music, and Straker’s body of work stands as one of the most complete and beloved records of Barbadian life ever created. Over his career, Straker earned widespread recognition for his contributions to music, culture, and tourism. His many honors include the Barbados Service Star, the Pride of Barbados Award, the Barbados Centennial Honour, and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his services to the nation’s tourism and music industries. In 2019, he received one of Barbados’ highest national honors, being named a Knight of St. Andrew, in recognition of his role founding and developing The Merrymen and their distinct musical style. Mottley called the knighthood a fitting honor for a man whose work always carried the dignity, warmth, and unique character of Barbados.

    On behalf of the Government of Barbados and the island’s population, Mottley extended sincere condolences to Straker’s children Dean, Ray and Stacey-Jane, his grandchildren, extended family, friends, fellow musicians, former bandmates, and cultural collaborators, as well as the countless Barbadians and international admirers mourning his passing. She also remembered Straker’s late wife, Joyce Lady Straker, who shared his life’s journey and was herself part of Barbados’ national story.

    “May Sir Emile Straker rest in peace and rise in glory. His voice may be stilled, but his melodies will continue to play wherever Barbadians gather, wherever visitors remember Barbados, and wherever *Beautiful Barbados* is sung,” Mottley wrote in closing.

  • Reyme pleit voor moderne invulling dienstplicht om jongeren voor Defensie te winnen

    Reyme pleit voor moderne invulling dienstplicht om jongeren voor Defensie te winnen

    During ongoing budget deliberations in Suriname’s National Assembly, parliamentarian Steven Reyme from the A20 party has put forward a bold proposal to reimagine national conscription as a developmental opportunity for young people, rather than the punitive mandate it has often been framed as in public discourse.

    Reyme’s call follows recent comments on conscription by fellow legislator Michael Marengo of the National Democratic Party (NDP), and comes amid a crippling wave of departures from Suriname’s National Army that has eroded the force’s personnel capacity over the past five years. Between 2020 and 2025, the country lost nearly 1,150 active service members, with more than 300 of those exits recorded in 2025 alone. “We have to figure out how to reignite enthusiasm for service and encourage people to return to the military, but this will not happen on its own,” Reyme told the assembly.

    At the core of his proposal is a push to shift widespread public perception of Suriname’s national defense sector. Reyme argues that policymakers must work to build a new mindset among young Surinamese: framing military service not as a punishment, but as a life-changing stepping stone. For disadvantaged youth who have faced systemic barriers to opportunity, he says, modernized conscription offers a structured environment to build critical life skills including discipline, personal accountability, and collaborative problem-solving. Beyond individual growth, Reyme frames the policy as a tool to strengthen national social cohesion and embed a culture of civic engagement among the country’s younger generation, positioning it as “an opportunity to boost societal involvement and rebuild shared social unity.”

    The lawmaker also tied his proposal to deeper structural and financial challenges facing Suriname’s defense sector. He noted that the vast majority of the current defense budget is allocated exclusively to personnel salaries, leaving only a tiny fraction of funding available for critical infrastructure upgrades, capability-building programs, and long-term institutional investments. He pointed to the border outpost at Albina as a stark example of the substandard conditions troops face across the country. “It’s embarrassing to visit that post. Troops are working in extremely poor conditions, and this is the first impression of Suriname that many cross-border visitors take away with them,” Reyme said.

    Reyme has issued an official call for Suriname’s Minister of Defense and the Minister of Transport, Communication and Tourism to develop targeted policy interventions to upgrade facilities at border posts and all military detachments across the country. He emphasized that improving working conditions is a critical first step to boosting retention and morale among current service members, addressing the root of the ongoing personnel exodus.

    At the same time, Reyme extended public praise to current Defense Minister Uraiqit Ramsaran for recent steps taken to address longstanding personnel backlogs, including the promotion of 151 service members and the authorization of new living and duty allowances that improve career prospects for active troops. Despite this positive note, he called on the minister to publicly clarify the criteria used for these promotions, noting that hundreds of additional service members remain waiting for career advancement. “A budget on paper is not enough,” Reyme reminded the sitting government. “The Surinamese public wants to see visible, tangible results that improve daily life for service members and the nation.”

    On the day of Reyme’s address, the government was scheduled to respond to the questions and proposals raised during the National Assembly debate.

  • Dominica-based Sickle Cell Cares Foundation launches Caribbean’s first digital health platform for Sickle Cell patients

    Dominica-based Sickle Cell Cares Foundation launches Caribbean’s first digital health platform for Sickle Cell patients

    To mark World Sickle Cell Day, the Dominica-founded Sickle Cell Cares Foundation Inc. (SCCF) has made history by launching the Caribbean region’s first dedicated digital health platform for people living with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), filling a long-standing gap in specialized care access across the Eastern Caribbean. The new platform, named SickleConnect, is built to give SCD patients user-friendly, on-the-go access to condition management tools via any smartphone or internet-connected device, according to an official press release from SCCF.

    As defined by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Sickle Cell Disease is a group of inherited blood disorders that cause genetic mutations resulting in red blood cells taking on a rigid, sickle shape. Unlike flexible, round healthy red blood cells, these misshapen cells cannot move easily through blood vessels, often blocking blood flow and leading to debilitating health complications including recurring extreme pain crises and persistent chronic fatigue. This genetic trait is most common among populations of African descent; interestingly, carriers with one sickle cell gene and one normal gene do not develop the full disease, and the trait is linked to natural resistance against malaria.

    For SCCF Founder and CEO Kellyn George, the launch of SickleConnect is deeply personal: George lives with HbSS sickle cell disease, and shared in a statement that the platform is exactly what she needed when she was growing up managing her condition. Every feature of the platform was designed specifically around the unique daily challenges SCD patients face, rather than adapting general health tools to fit their needs.

    One of the platform’s core tools is a customizable pain monitoring system that lets users log every pain crisis, rate its severity on a standardized scale, and track potential environmental or lifestyle triggers that may precipitate episodes. For female patients, the tool adds the ability to map pain symptoms against menstrual cycles, helping identify consistent patterns and correlations that can inform long-term management.

    SickleConnect also includes comprehensive medication management functionality: users can build personalized medication schedules, track their adherence to treatment plans, receive automatic reminders for prescription refills, and access evidence-based warnings about dangerous drug interactions common to frequently prescribed SCD medications including Hydroxyurea and Penicillin. To address the well-documented role of consistent hydration in reducing SCD complication frequency, the platform also includes a visual hydration tracker that guides users to hit the recommended daily intake of three liters of fluid, with clear progress indicators to help build sustainable habits.

    A standout innovation is the platform’s AI-powered clinical reporting tool, which aggregates a user’s 30 days of self-tracked health data into a structured, clinician-friendly summary that can be directly shared with a patient’s haematologist. SCCF confirmed that this feature will remain completely free for all users during their first 30 days on the platform. Beyond self-management tools, SickleConnect also connects patients to direct care and support: users can book private one-on-one video consultations with SCD-specific counselors and advisors with lived experience of the condition. For emergency situations, the platform includes a one-tap Crisis SOS feature that sends an immediate alert with the user’s location to pre-designated contacts.

    To foster peer connection and shared learning, SickleConnect hosts six moderated community chat rooms, where patients from across the Caribbean and the global Caribbean diaspora can connect, share personal management tips and experiences, and access curated educational resources.

    SCCF emphasized the urgent public health need for this initiative: across populations of African and Caribbean descent, approximately one in every 500 people lives with Sickle Cell Disease, a condition that carries a high risk of severe pain crises, permanent organ damage, and drastically reduced life expectancy. Across Dominica and much of the Eastern Caribbean, access to specialized haematology care for SCD patients has long been extremely limited. Before SickleConnect’s launch, there was no regional digital health platform purpose-built to address the unique needs of this patient population.

    SCCF anticipates that the new platform will transform care across the region: it is expected to improve individual disease management outcomes, strengthen fragmented patient support networks, and close critical gaps in access to specialized care for underserved communities. SickleConnect is available immediately at no cost to users, accessible via any web browser at app.sicklecellcares.org. It can also be saved as a native-style app to both iPhone and Android devices without requiring a download from traditional app stores.

  • Antigua and Barbuda Cabinet Recommends Sir David Harrison to Lead UWI Five Islands Campus Council

    Antigua and Barbuda Cabinet Recommends Sir David Harrison to Lead UWI Five Islands Campus Council

    The Cabinet of the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda has formally approved a recommendation to appoint prominent British business leader Sir David Harrison to two key leadership positions at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Five Islands Campus. Under the proposal, Sir David will serve as both Chairman of the campus’s governing Council and Chairman of its dedicated Campus Endowment Fund.

    Sir David boasts a 40-plus year track record as one of the United Kingdom’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, building his reputation through transformative growth in the financial services and fintech sectors. He currently leads True Potential LLP, a Newcastle-based financial technology and services firm that ranks among the UK’s fastest-growing businesses in the industry. Before taking the helm at True Potential, Sir David founded and scaled Positive Solutions into the United Kingdom’s largest independent financial advisory network.

    Beyond his impressive corporate success, Sir David has long been recognized as a vocal champion for expanded educational access and improved social mobility, causes he has prioritized both through his advocacy and direct philanthropic giving. The Antigua and Barbuda Cabinet specifically highlighted Sir David’s ongoing extraordinary generosity to the country, noting his targeted support for local educational and youth empowerment programs, alongside millions of pounds in pledged investment to advance learning and opportunity for young Antiguans and Barbudans.

    In recognition of his decades of contributions to business, education, and social advancement in the country, Antigua and Barbuda awarded Sir David its highest civilian honor in 2022: Knight Grand Cross of The Most Distinguished Order of the Nation.

    Cabinet officials expressed unwavering confidence in Sir David’s ability to drive the Five Islands Campus forward, noting that his decades of leadership experience, forward-thinking strategic vision, and deeply rooted commitment to educational equity align perfectly with the institution’s growing mission. Launched in 2019 as the UWI system’s fifth permanent landed campus, the Five Islands location was established specifically to expand access to high-quality tertiary education across the Eastern Caribbean. It has since become a central pillar of the Antigua and Barbuda government’s long-term strategy to build national human capital and establish regional leadership in post-secondary learning, serving students across the entire Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

    According to the Cabinet’s statement, Sir David’s stewardship of both the governing council and endowment fund is expected to strengthen the campus’s institutional governance, boost large-scale fundraising capacity, and speed up progress toward the institution’s ambitious, transformative vision for higher education development across Antigua and Barbuda.

  • New Seed Bank and Sweet Potato Projects Aim to Strengthen Antigua and Barbuda’s Food Supply

    New Seed Bank and Sweet Potato Projects Aim to Strengthen Antigua and Barbuda’s Food Supply

    Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister for Agriculture has presented a progress update to the nation’s Cabinet on ongoing collaborative work between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), a longstanding key partner in the government’s strategic push to reframe agriculture as a foundational driver of economic expansion, national food security, and climate adaptive capacity across the twin-island nation.

    Per the Minister’s briefing, multiple development projects are moving forward under IICA’s 2025 Technical Cooperation Programme, with Antigua and Barbuda counted among the primary beneficiaries of region-wide initiatives focused on three core priorities: boosting agricultural output, reinforcing disaster preparedness frameworks, and advancing holistic food and nutrition security across the Caribbean.

    One of the highest-priority flagship initiatives is the Next Generation Sweet Potato Production in the Caribbean Project, delivered through a three-way partnership between IICA, Antigua and Barbuda’s Ministry of Agriculture, and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI). The project centers on increasing sweet crop yields, expanding the use of diverse sweet potato genetic resources, and directly contributing to stronger national food security.

    Key activities rolled out under the sweet potato initiative include the introduction of genetically improved planting stock, field testing of high-yield varieties bred to withstand extreme climate conditions, hands-on training for smallholder farmers on climate-smart good agricultural practices, and upgrades to regional pest management systems that cut post-planting crop losses.

    Beyond the sweet potato project, the Minister highlighted major advancements in the Mobile Seed Bank Project, another collaborative effort between IICA and CARDI built to strengthen regional disaster preparedness and speed post-disaster agricultural reconstruction across the Caribbean. Antigua and Barbuda, alongside Dominica, has been selected as a core pilot country for the initiative thanks to its existing robust seed production and storage infrastructure.

    The project will roll out a first-of-its-kind mobile seed banking system that enables rapid conservation and distribution of viable seeds during climate and weather emergencies, while also building long-term local technical capacity for seed and germplasm production and conservation. Additional components of the initiative include digitizing regional inventories of seeds and planting materials to improve supply chain traceability and quality control, and creating centralized reserve stocks of planting material to support immediate restart of crop production immediately after hurricanes, droughts, or other climate shocks.

    Already, CARDI has launched on-the-ground seed production activities in Antigua and Barbuda, focused on multiplying pumpkin and eggplant seeds that will be stored in reserve and distributed to local farmers to support recovery following future natural disasters.

    In addition to crop-focused initiatives, the Minister updated Cabinet on regional cooperation to strengthen monitoring and response capacity for African Swine Fever (ASF), a highly transmissible viral pathogen that threatens both commercial and wild pig populations. Through IICA and its network of regional partners, Antigua and Barbuda is taking part in cross-border programs to upgrade national ASF surveillance protocols, improve sample collection and laboratory testing capabilities, and develop coordinated cross-boundary response frameworks to protect both local and regional livestock industries from outbreak.

    Following the briefing, Cabinet members formally welcomed the measurable progress delivered through the ongoing partnership with IICA, and reaffirmed the Antigua and Barbuda government’s unwavering commitment to agricultural modernization, expanded climate resilience, and long-term achievement of full national food security and sustainable agricultural development.

  • Antigua toughens legislation dealing with cybercrime

    Antigua toughens legislation dealing with cybercrime

    In a decisive move to modernize the country’s criminal investigation framework, the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda has approved sweeping amendments to the nation’s electronic crimes legislation, introducing unprecedentedly harsh financial penalties and potential prison time for individuals and corporate entities that refuse to surrender requested digital data to law enforcement during active criminal probes.

    Attorney General Sir Steadroy Benjamin, the lead sponsor of the Electronic Crimes Amendment Bill, told lawmakers the updated regulatory framework was crafted to resolve a persistent, years-long barrier that has stymied investigators working on cases ranging from financial fraud to violent organized crime. For years, Benjamin explained, service providers have repeatedly stonewalled police requests for critical digital evidence—including cell phone location pings, social media posts, and user activity logs that are essential to tracing the mechanics of criminal activity and building prosecutable cases.

    “Police require this evidence to map out how crimes were committed, but providers have consistently refused to comply with these lawful requests,” Benjamin stated during parliamentary debate.

    The new legislation outlines a tiered system of penalties for non-compliance. For defendants facing summary conviction, any individual or entity that fails to comply with a court-issued production order within the mandated timeframe—without a verifiable reasonable excuse—will be subject to fines reaching as high as 100,000 Eastern Caribbean dollars, alongside potential prison time, or both. For more severe charges brought by indictment, penalties jump to a maximum fine of one million Eastern Caribbean dollars, up to seven years of imprisonment, or both.

    A key targeted provision addresses a common loophole that service providers have long used to delay investigations: passing the buck to overseas corporate headquarters. Benjamin noted that local managers of telecommunication firms and other digital service providers have frequently claimed they lack the authority to comply with information requests, insisting that formal approval must come from executives based outside the country. To close this gap, the amended legislation explicitly holds on-island managers and local executives legally responsible for complying with production orders. Any company operating within Antigua and Barbuda’s borders is now legally required to cooperate with lawful information requests, rather than shifting responsibility to foreign leadership to stall investigative progress.

    The debate around the bill featured a personal testimony from Education Minister Daryll Matthew, who shared that he had recently fallen victim to a sophisticated financial scam, highlighting the urgent need for stronger digital investigation powers. “I was a target of financial crime,” Matthew confirmed, noting that his bank is currently working to resolve the incident.

    Cross-party support for the legislation was widespread, with opposition lawmakers backing the government’s effort to streamline criminal investigations. One opposition legislator praised the initiative, noting that the government’s move to update regulatory powers to enable faster access to digital evidence was a commendable step forward for public safety.

    Government officials emphasized that the amendments are just one component of a broader, long-term strategy to boost Antigua and Barbuda’s capacity to combat evolving criminal threats. As transnational cybercrime, financial fraud, and other modern offenses increasingly depend on digital communications and electronic record-keeping, updating legal frameworks to allow for timely evidence gathering has become a critical priority for national security.

  • New BHTA chair urges private sector to move from ‘sidelines to table’

    New BHTA chair urges private sector to move from ‘sidelines to table’

    Barbados’ tourism industry is currently hitting historic highs, but deep-seated disengagement among private sector stakeholders puts its long-term prosperity at severe risk, according to newly elected Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) Chair Kelly-Ann Payne. In her first address after winning the leadership post at the association’s annual general meeting, the veteran hospitality executive did not hold back in sounding the alarm over a growing culture of apathy that is eroding the industry’s institutional foundation.

  • Judicial data gaps undermine court efficiency, chief justice warns

    Judicial data gaps undermine court efficiency, chief justice warns

    As a regional workshop focused on standardizing case management procedures for Caribbean judicial bodies got underway this week, Chief Justice Leslie Haynes has delivered a stark warning: the absence of reliable, systematically collected judicial data is actively undermining regional efforts to cut through crippling case backlogs and boost overall court performance across the Caribbean. He is calling for immediate action to build formal, structured frameworks for gathering and analyzing court data to evidence-based justice reform.

    Opening the two-day workshop on judicial case management standard operating procedures (SOPs) at Hotel Indigo on Thursday, Haynes emphasized that meaningful, lasting change to the region’s justice systems will remain out of reach without consistent, credible information to guide policy and operational decision-making. Currently, the region lacks any standardized, institutionalized framework for judicial data collection, he explained. Instead, data gathering tasks are most often delegated informally to overstretched legal assistants, judicial support staff and court clerks, with no clear, unified protocols in place to standardize collection or storage.

    Even in jurisdictions where some data is collected, Haynes noted, continuity of records is frequently broken when staff transition to new roles or leave their positions, leaving gaps that erase institutional knowledge. Without a formal data collection framework, Haynes argued, judicial leaders are forced to make critical reform decisions based on anecdotal observation rather than hard evidence. “There is a necessity for us to create a framework for the collection of this data because if we do not, we will be unable to make the necessary decisions that we ought to make, and our decisions will be based on anecdotal evidence,” Haynes told attendees.

    Haynes was careful to reframe judicial data not as a tool for disciplinary blame, but as a diagnostic instrument to pinpoint and resolve systemic inefficiencies across court operations. “We need data to understand where the bottlenecks exist, and having gathered the data, to resolve the issue,” he said. Beyond data infrastructure, the chief justice also pushed back on the common assumption that technology alone can solve the judiciary’s most pressing challenges. Organizational culture and institutional accountability, he argued, are equally critical to sustainable reform. He put it bluntly: “Culture eats technology for breakfast.” Meaningful change, he explained, requires a fundamental shift in institutional mindset that cannot be achieved through digital upgrades alone. Successful reform, he added, demands greater operational discipline, consistent accountability, respect for procedural timelines, a shared commitment to efficiency, and a widespread willingness to adapt to new processes across the judiciary.

    Haynes stressed that the regional workshop could not be more timely, noting that criminal justice systems across every Caribbean territory are facing growing, unsustainable pressures. The region can no longer be reduced to the outdated, romanticized image of a laid-back tropical paradise, he argued: shifting social and economic realities have brought new, complex security and public safety challenges that demand a modernized justice response. “The Caribbean region can no longer be described as an easy-going paradise where we drink coconut water in various mixtures,” he said. “That crime is now an everyday reality for us is reflected in the songs that we sing, the movies that we watch, the news reports that we listen to, and the day-to-day stories shared by our friends and neighbours.”

    Rising crime rates have driven a sharp increase in court caseloads, placing unprecedented demand on a justice sector already constrained by limited resources. Combined with evolving complex social issues and rising public expectations for faster, fairer justice, these pressures have made systemic reform an urgent priority, Haynes said. He highlighted that collaborative discussions across the two-day workshop will play a pivotal role in strengthening three core pillars of the regional criminal justice system: credibility, efficiency, and fairness. Improvements to these areas, he added, will in turn rebuild and strengthen public trust and confidence in how justice is administered across the Caribbean.

  • LETTER: Mental Health Stigma in the Workplace & the Society

    LETTER: Mental Health Stigma in the Workplace & the Society

    Across workplaces and broader communities, a quiet crisis of unfair treatment toward people living with mental health challenges is gaining long-overdue attention. Multiple informal reports and on-the-ground observations have documented repeated cases of bias and mistreatment targeting individuals who manage mental health conditions or navigate acute mental health crises, often at the hands of their own colleagues.

    Mental health struggles do not discriminate by profession, income bracket, background, or age – they touch every corner of society. Most people can name at least one person, whether a close connection or a distant acquaintance, who is quietly grappling with these challenges away from public view. A wide spectrum of triggers can spark mental health distress, from unmanageable workplace burnout and the grief of personal loss to crippling financial strain and other unexpected life upheavals, many of which remain hidden from outside observers.

    The treatment that many of these individuals face in professional settings is both deeply unjust and alarming. Being met with mockery, harmful gossip, and implicit or explicit bias simply for experiencing a mental health episode does more than erode a person’s sense of dignity at work. It also creates a crippling barrier that stops people from reaching out for the life-saving support and care they need, trapping them in cycles of silence and distress.

    To reverse this harmful trend, workplaces and community institutions must center empathy, intentional understanding, and radical inclusivity as core values. Mental health status must never be used as a justification for discrimination or social exclusion. Instead, all spaces should be cultivated to be safe, supportive environments where every person feels respected, regardless of the mental health challenges they navigate.

    Currently, preliminary discussions are already underway around the development of a dedicated national mental health bill. There is widespread, cautious curiosity about how the proposed legislation will be structured, and whether it will deliver tangible progress on three critical fronts: reducing the persistent social stigma attached to mental illness, strengthening legal protections for the rights of people living with mental health challenges, and expanding access to affordable, accessible support services for all those who need them.

    As a collective society, the time has come to move beyond performative, selective compassion. We have a shared responsibility to extend consistent, unwavering empathy to all members of our communities, especially the most vulnerable among us who are navigating the isolation of mental health distress.

  • SEA opens all-male youth workshop amid concern over crime among boys

    SEA opens all-male youth workshop amid concern over crime among boys

    Against a backdrop of growing concern over rising youth violence, increasing encounters with the justice system, and shifting social pressures reshaping adolescence for Barbadian boys, the Social Empowerment Agency (SEA) launched a targeted all-male workshop for 12 to 16-year-olds Thursday at the 3Ws Pavilion on the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies.

    Titled *The Blueprint: Designing the Man You Want to Be*, the initiative brought together cross-sector experts ranging from local law enforcement and drug counselling specialists to healthcare providers, legal representatives, probation officers and educators. The collective goal is to arm at-risk young males with practical tools to navigate an increasingly complex and risky social landscape that looks far different than it did just a generation ago.

    SEA Deputy Chairman Carl Applewhaite explained that the workshop was intentionally designed to create a judgment-free, safe space where young men can feel seen, supported, and heard, aligned with the agency’s community-centered mission. Drawing a connection to local Barbadian culture, he noted that the agency’s acronym SEA sounds identical to the Bajan phrase “we see you” — a core promise from the prime minister that the social service body would remain rooted in local identity and priorities.

    Applewhaite emphasized that the challenges facing young Barbadians have shifted dramatically in recent years, requiring a new approach to intervention. “We are fighting a different fight in 2026 than we did years ago,” he said, pointing to escalating peer pressure, worsening mental health crises, a widespread scourge of violence, and a host of overlapping stressors that disproportionately harm young male adolescents. The workshop forms part of a broader systemic effort to address the root causes of youth delinquency, rather than just responding to its outcomes, with a key objective of dismantling automatic, survival-driven responses that often lead to violent behavior and criminal justice involvement.

    Roseann Richards, Director of SEA’s Social Care Delivery and Support Directorate, added that the workshop marked the conclusion of the agency’s five-part stakeholder workshop series, developed specifically in response to alarming local trends involving adolescent boys. She noted the timing of the event is particularly critical, as Barbados has recorded a steady increase in the number of boys under 18 coming into conflict with the law.

    Drawing on decades of experience working with local children and families, Richards voiced deep concern over growing disconnection among many young boys, noting a troubling pattern of disengagement from family, community social structures, formal education, and positive extracurricular activities such as sports and community groups. She also highlighted rising rates of harmful behavior among underage males, including underage smoking and drinking, and peer bullying. Richards urged participants to reject rigid, harmful stereotypes of masculinity that force young men to suppress their emotions, encouraging them to open up to trusted adults about feelings of happiness, sadness, and frustration rather than bottling up their experiences. She stressed that consistent access to positive role models and strong mentors is critical to guiding boys through a healthy transition to adulthood.

    Jakeem Sealy, a social worker in SEA’s Child Care Unit, reiterated that the initiative was tailored specifically to the unique, on-the-ground realities facing young male Barbadians. “We recognise and understand that in Barbados, as we are all aware, the crime rate among boys 18 and under is extremely high,” he explained. One core session of the workshop explores the well-documented link between childhood trauma and adverse behavioral outcomes later in life, helping young people connect their past experiences to their current actions. A central takeaway for participants is the message that emotional vulnerability is not a weakness for men: it is okay to cry, feel pain, express sorrow, and seek support, with dedicated safe spaces available in schools and communities for young men to share their experiences without judgment.

    Roger Husbands, founder and chairman of local support organization Drug Education Counselling Services (DECS), focused his contribution on teaching participants how to identify and resist unhealthy social influences. He explained that while some peer pressure can be positive, much of what pushes young men toward harmful behavior goes unrecognized, and the workshop helps boys clearly distinguish between positive and negative pathways. Husbands encouraged participants to trust their own judgment and take ownership of their paths, noting “You don’t have to follow the path, you can be your own lone wolf.”

    Presenter Paul “Ras Simba Akoma” Rock led a session focused on redefining masculinity and teaching practical emotional self-control. He challenged the common cultural narrative that frames violence as a core trait of manhood, explaining that true strength means having the capacity for violence but intentionally choosing non-violent responses. Rock emphasized the importance of teaching young men to recognize their personal emotional triggers, understand when their emotions are out of balance, and develop practical strategies to regulate their responses — a critical skill in a cultural environment that often normalizes and glorifies chaotic violence. “If we want to prepare boys to be men, we have to let them understand their own capacities to be violent and to control it in the midst of an environment that sort of encourages chaotic violence and representations of that violence,” he said.

    Unlike traditional intervention programs that rely on one-sided lectures, the workshop is structured around a collaborative “shoulder-to-shoulder” engagement model that encourages open discussion and participation. Core topics covered include the link between child maltreatment and brain development, digital safety, navigating peer pressure, rethinking harmful norms of masculinity, and improving mental health outcomes. Per SEA’s program outline, overarching goals include helping participants identify their personal emotional triggers, dismantle harmful stereotypes about manhood, resist negative peer and online influences, understand the long-term consequences of their choices, and build healthy habits for digital engagement. Ultimately, officials say the program seeks to empower adolescent boys to move beyond being passive followers of destructive social norms and grow into proactive, engaged young men who contribute positively to their families and communities across Barbados.