‘Regional integration must start at grassroots level’

Former long-standing Barbados Member of Parliament, Hamilton Lashley, believes that regional integration cannot be achieved through the efforts of politicians, but by ordinary Caribbean people.

He was speaking at a recent reception at the Divi Southwinds Resort for the visiting Clarke Road United Youth Development Unit from Trinidad and Tobago. The Hamilton Lashley Foundation organised the tour to Barbados and he noted that such relationships augur well for the regional integration movement.

Founder of the Hamilton Lashley Foundation, Hamilton Lashley
(second from left), receives a donation from Coach of the
FirstCaribbean Bank Clarke Road United Youth Development Unit,
Simboodath Beepat. Also in the photo is Gregory Small (left),
Assistant Technical Director of the Foundation and Rodney Simpson
(right), Technical Co-ordinator and Coach at the Foundation. 

“We are very much hoping that this could develop into a very lasting relationship and not a temporary one. Today when we talk about relationships, most relationships in these modern times tend to end in what we call a divorce. We are hoping that this marriage of both teams will augur well for the Caribbean integration movement,” said Lashley.

He made the point that there is the prevailing belief that the Caribbean will be united through the efforts of political parties and the politicians in the Caribbean.


“I tend to take a dissimilar view and my view is that the Caribbean will be united, most likely in our lifetime, but not through the political efforts, but more so through the grassroots interactions and through sports and culture.

The Members of the Clarke Road United Youth Development
Cricket Team with Coach Simboodath Beepat (far back left)
and Ravindra Ramnanan (far back right) . 

“In actual fact, the movement of the Caribbean people in the region clearly should have signalled to the politicians of the region over a period of time that a United States of the Caribbean is not a fleeting illusion and can be a distinct reality if we follow  the trend that has been started by ordinary persons in Barbados and throughout the region interacting with each other,” he pointed out.

The former Member of Parliament for St. Michael South East in Barbados made the point that it was the young people in the region who had a very important role to play in the process.

“The road will not be easy – it will be filled with criticism; the road will be full of ups and downs, but at some point, there will be a nexus, there will be a balance. Each and every one of you are future leaders, and you are the ones who will be given the awesome responsibility of making sure that we as Caribbean people are united as one,” said Lashley. (PG)