Final Thoughts Issue 6: The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

by Dr. Kristina Hinds

The COVID-19 pandemic is a thick and ominous cloud that has cast a wide shadow that covers the entire planet. Almost every person has been affected. We have seen lives lost, freedoms have been restricted, and we have had to remain at home and at distance. Our ways of working, learning, interacting and simply of being human have been turned upside down.

These changes have caused significant discomfort and pain for many of us. Racialized injustices have become more acutely intolerable, elections around the world have become more critical and coloured with increased concern for public health. Here in the Caribbean, student disquiet has risen to the surface in the face of difficulties that accompanied a COVID-19 riddled Caribbean Examinations Council assessment cycle. To make matters even worse, every carnival or festival scheduled after March 2020 was cancelled including Trinidad and Tobago’s 2021 carnival. 

It seems we cannot see the sun, but still it shines.

In Barbados we see the difficulties of over-reliance on tourism and the under-development of self-sufficient agricultural sectors. We realize the precarious nature of our cultural industries and sports sectors which can rely heavily on proximity and gatherings. The digital divide further widens when we are asked to shop online without online shopping and payment platforms. W[KH1] e are required to interact with government agencies remotely when all processes are set up to be done face to face. Those fortunate enough to have kept their jobs must juggle educating children in a stay-at-home online environment and to work remotely without sacrificing productivity in the absence of appropriate resources.

Our homes have become the new site of production, education, and national safety. Sadly, not all homes can be assumed to be places of safety – they can be over-crowded, the sheltered site of violence and abuse or simply lack care and support. Curfews and lockdowns created to address national public health imperatives may amplify physical and psychological stresses and dangers.

How is it that the sun shines?

On the bright side, all of these fractures have revealed opportunities for us to do better and be better, to be more attuned to the human element of Barbados and, indeed of the world, and to rethink and re-envision life in paradise. We are reminded of our ability to call on our community when in crisis and that community in Barbados continues to be a useful, though imperfect, source of support for us all.

There is hope. We have seen and continue to see innovations and creative strategies emerge so that we can live full lives, be entertained and entertain, work, and interact differently. As the light shines through and exposes the cracks, we can begin to seriously address the social problems and flaws in our societies that make us uncertain, unsafe, and cause distress. We can tackle social and economic inequalities that create obstacles to adopting a more digital economy and e-society. There are no guarantees that all these matters will be adequately addressed as political forces and counter-interests can thwart progress while elections and economic imperatives do not always accommodate a human focus.

Yet, there is hope.

Happily, in Barbados, sunshine is not only metaphorical. We can see and feel the sun on our skin most days while others abroad may be facing different perils. The chilly temperatures of Fall and Winter creep up in tandem with COVID-19 cases. It is unclear how a small island can weather the global forces that accompany this pandemic, as our smallness is both beautiful and fraught with vulnerabilities.

But still, the actual sun shines.

COVID-19 remains under relative control in Barbados thanks to the work of many dedicated professionals and the cooperation of most of the public. Now, it is left to us all to find ways to contribute. It is our collective responsibility to help clear away the cloudiness so the metaphorical sun shines and compliments that which makes for postcard perfect photographs and warms our brows and on a typical Bajan day.