More CARICOM Cultural Conflict: Barbados Police Move To Ban Jamaican Passa-Passa Fetes

UPDATED: Russian Pravda News Carries This Story – Scroll Down

From The Nation Newspaper – Saturday Sun…

"We are moving to stamp ("passa passa" fetes) out, and we are going to nip it in the bud," said Acting Commissioner Bertie Hinds. The acting police chief said no liquor licences or licences for the playing of loud music would be issued to people or organisations wishing to stage "passa passa" fetes.

Noting that the new trend had its origin in neighbouring Jamaica and was first used to bring warring political factions together, Hinds said the fetes were bringing out the worst form of activity imagined.

We must congratulate the Royal Barbados Police Force for moving against this bit of Jamaican "culture" that is so at odds with acceptable Bajan behaviour and cultural celebrations. Anyone who has seen one of these fetes up close knows of the violence, illegal drugs, gang sex and general mahem associated with "Passa Passa".

As we said in an earlier post one of the big concerns with CARICOM is the violence that seems to be endemic to Jamaican society. As the economic and worker mobility barriers fall under CARICOM, Barbados must take care to protect itself from the influence of violent cultures in the Caribbean and elsewhere.

UPDATE: April 16, 2006 12:06am

It is a small world… not 20 minutes ago at 23:15 hours, the Russian news service PRAVDA picked up on the "Passa Passa" story in The Nation and posted it online at their website. We truly live in a time when it has become virtually impossible to kill a news story. Once it is on the net… that's it. The world has it instantly, and the story stays on line for years – still instantly available though search engines.

One has to wonder how history would have been changed if the same capabilities had been available to the ordinary citizen thirty or forty years ago.

Bhavik Gandhi Rowing From Spain to Antigua – Day 4

We just stumbled across this on the web this morning. A chap named Bhavik Gandhi is on Day 4 of an attempt to row solo across the Atlantic in what amounts to a homemade plywood and resin boat. "Homemade" is a bit of a misnomer as the craft is very specialized and well equipped with all the latest technical gadgets.

But alone is alone in the middle of the Atlantic. The journey from Spain to Antigua is expected to take 90 days or so and the Barbados Free Press will be following Mr. Gandhi's progress – if only to day dream for a bit about what it is like to not have to go to work every morning.

You can visit Mr. Gandhi's website here and even send him a message as he rows.

Good luck, Mr. Gandi – and row hard because hurricane season is fast approaching.