The Social and or Cultural Issues Ravaging Caribbean Region

People in many other countries in the Caribbean also speak either one or two or even three of these languages. Most of Caribbean population is of African descent and people of other ancestry include Hispanic, European and East and South Asians such as Indians in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago (Kazi 8) However, Caribbean countries irrespective of their colonial affiliation experience almost similar challenges except in a few instances. This has been true with countries like Jamaica, Haiti and Dominican Republic. The problems ravaging these countries include; poverty and inequality, unemployment, drug trafficking, crime and violence, illegal ownership of firearms, gender violence against women, corruption, and kidnapping. The countries have generally exhibited unstable political systems except for isolated cases like Jamaica which has been stable. The harms ravaging Caribbean countries include poverty and inequality which has led to increased crimes, violence and other social vices like drug addiction and prostitution.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Caribbean region with about 80% of the country’s population living in abject poverty. This level of poverty is directly caused by long periods of economic stagnation in addition to political instability, corruption, natural disasters like earthquakes and other socio-cultural and economic vices. Almost 70% of Haitians depend on small-scale subsistence farming which employs nearly 2/3 of the workforce and so income distribution among the people is highly uneven. Though from 1994 to 2000, Dominican Republic recorded some impressive growth rates averaging 6. and 16. respectively. However the rates have over doubled given in 2006 homicide rate in Jamaica had risen from 36 to 49 per 100,000 while in the Dominican Republic, the rate almost doubled in 2005 to 27 per 100,000 (United Nations Office and World Bank 8, 9, 58). Reportedly, crime and violence discourage investments and limits access to financing, thus curtailing improved productivity.

Crime and violence have also prompted the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada to deport many migrants from the Caribbean. Other countries are in South and Central America and include Brazil, Venezuela, and Mexico. These firearms have illegally been acquired by criminals in Caribbean countries including those in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Haiti. The garrison community emerged in Jamaica, in the 1960s and 1970s to described urban enclaves of violence like Trench Town in Jamaica and they were used to support competing political parties. In these countries, firearms have been illegally used on innocent populations to instill fear, settle disputes and demand sexual favors. For instance, in Jamaica, 16% of rapes within the first 10 months of 2005 were at gunpoint (United Nations Office and World Bank 136). Kidnapping in the Caribbean is mostly triggered by wealth disparities and ethnic divisions as kidnappers demand ransoms.

Haiti is among countries with high levels of kidnappings and in 2005 kidnapped individuals mostly in urban areas kept increasing as indicated by 56 in September and 63 in October. The figure then rose to 74 in November and finally 241 in December (United Nations Office and World Bank 22). Unfortunately, most kidnappings are unreported to police, since non-reporting is often a condition by kidnappers for the safe return of the victim. Socio-Political Organizational Differences The Jamaican political system is steady compared to the Dominican Republic while Haiti has remained unstable. The slaves eventually won the war and became independent in 1804 making it the 1st post-colonial black-ruled nation in the world. After independence, descendants of slaves, especially of Africans, form the largest population of Caribbean region and the same has also contributed to multiethnic diversity and cultures in the area.

Works Cited European Commission. The Caribbean and the European Union. European Commission. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Latin America and the Caribbean Region of the World Bank.