If you ever spend time with us, you’ll know that Caribbean people are competitive as hell. Competitive in our light, lively, energetic way, but competitive, nonetheless. We’re a region made up of small islands, but our sense of pride is a hundred times our size, so it’s no surprise you’ll find Caribbean people glued to their screens when it comes to sporting events global.
The World Cup, the Olympics, the FIFA World Cup – we love them all. And this year’s Commonwealth Games has been no different. We were excited to see our national colors on display and to witness the amazing athletic prowess from competitors from around the world. Basically, for the last week, we’ve been tuned in.
Admittedly, the atmosphere surrounding the quadrennial games feels a little different this year. Last November, my country, Barbados, made the decision to join Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Dominica in becoming the fourth Caribbean nation to officially remove the British Queen as head of state. Since then, Jamaica has signaled its intention to do the same, and other islands are now rethinking their relationship with the UK monarchy.
Around the Caribbean, we are beginning to truly come to terms with the scandalous and far-reaching legacy of colonialism, including the ways we continue to feel its impact after independence. Sentimentality about the “mother country” has completely dried up and is being replaced by increasingly vocal calls for accountability for its role in the slave trade, and more importantly, reparations.
“Across the Caribbean, we are beginning to truly come to terms with the scandalous and far-reaching legacy of colonialism, including the ways we continue to feel its impact after independence.”
Prince William and Kate Middleton’s tour of the Caribbean in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee served only as a stark reminder of how Britain built its empire on the backs of slave labor and large-scale exploitation. The protests the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge faced upon arriving in the Caribbean should have surprised no one, least of all the Royal Family – if they were paying attention to the Commonwealth of Nations over which the Queen presides.
Founded in the wake of a crumbling British empire, the Commonwealth of Nations (known colloquially as the Commonwealth) is a voluntary association of 54 member states, almost all of them former colonies. Its objectives are similar to other typical intergovernmental organizations, including “economic development, building democracy, promoting free trade, reducing poverty, health care programs, and cultural exchange.” In a 1953 Christmas speech, Her Majesty the Queen asserted, “so formed, the Commonwealth bears no resemblance to the Empires of the past. It is a completely new concept, built on the highest qualities of the human spirit: friendship, loyalty and the desire for freedom and peace. To the new concept of an equal partnership of nations and races, I will give myself heart and soul every day of my life.”
Which, of course, sounds great in theory. But critics have long questioned the utility of the Commonwealth. Phillip Murphy, director of the Institute for Commonwealth Studies at the University of London, has described the Commonwealth as an “insignificant institution mired in imperial amnesia” and further questioned whether it will ever “escape from the shadow of the British Empire for to become an organization based on shared values, rather than a shared history.”
Given the British government’s treatment of the Windrush generation, Boris Johnson’s attempt to influence the position of Commonwealth Secretary-General and the Royal Family’s refusal to apologize for the vile human rights abuses in the slave trade, this seems like a particularly apt description.
The Commonwealth as a political entity of “imperial amnesia” serves no other purpose than to continue a legacy of an empire from which many of its nations are desperately trying to move on. As a political bloc, it lacks the organizational mechanisms and infrastructure to really influence the behavior of its members. In fact, it has been accused of ignoring human rights violations in some of its member countries.
Furthermore, according to a recent trade report, the United Kingdom recorded a trade surplus of £1.7 billion in 2019 within the Commonwealth and has recorded a surplus every year since 2010. Furthermore, the Commonwealth accounted for 9.1% of the total trade of UK in 2019, which is almost the same as the UK’s total trade with Germany. Five Commonwealth countries – Australia, Canada, India, Singapore and South Africa – accounted for almost three-quarters of this Commonwealth trade. As such, trade relations within the Commonwealth are, unsurprisingly, heavily skewed in favor of the former colonial master, with most member states not benefiting at all.
“Trade relations within the Commonwealth, surprisingly, are heavily skewed in favor of the former colonial master, with most member states not benefiting at all.”
This does not mean that multilateralism has no value. The Commonwealth Games are a beautiful example of how organizations like the Commonwealth foster community building. After all, there is always a difference between what happens at a government level versus at the grassroots.
That is why, despite this political landscape, I continue to see the Commonwealth Games as a positive and unifying space, even as I watched the 2022 Games from Barbados, a new republic. Considering how the athletes rave about their experience at the Athletes’ Village, it seems the camaraderie and community atmosphere alone make the Games worthwhile.
And when I think about the games, or any international sporting event, my favorite moments are always the little ones – like how athletes from different nations hug each other after a particularly grueling race, or hearing the unique ways countries have composed their respective national team. hymns. I love seeing the kaleidoscope of national colors and listening to symphonies of accents. It is in these seemingly ordinary moments that we begin to build bridges across borders.
“My favorite moments are always the little ones – like the way athletes from different nations hug each other after a particularly grueling race, or hearing the unique ways countries have composed their national anthems.”
In 2012, the Commonwealth Charter was adopted, boldly expressing “the commitment of member states to the development of free and democratic societies and the promotion of peace and prosperity to improve the lives of everything the people of the Commonwealth”. In the decade since its inception, it must be questioned whether the Commonwealth, as an organizing body, has made significant strides towards this ideal. There is also the question of whether the Commonwealth Charter’s ideal of peace and prosperity for all its members is even possible when so little has been done to dismantle the colonial foundations on which the organization was built. If our goal is truly a global community, then perhaps it is time to focus on the power of people, rather than institutions.
But in the meantime, I’ll be cheering on my Bajan and Caribbean athletes from behind my TV screen, just like I always have.
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