China Thinks We’re Lazy, Really…

A former Chinese ambassador to the Caribbean is of the view that we Caribbean nationals have a ‘two-party system’; party by day, party all night. How do you feel about that?

On this premise, he chose to state that we prefer to party than to work, and that is the reason for their (the Chinese) advancement in our region where construction projects and the like are concerned; that, and the fact that Caribbean governments pressure the Chinese officials to deliver projects quickly.

Lazy construction worker Photo by shine2010

Whereas that statement implies that Caribbean nationals are lazy workers, it makes sense to look into the situation. Or, is it that it works for us?

Problem is, though, when they come over to work on our shores, they are the primary beneficiaries. You see, although they develop things in the Caribbean territories, including toll roads, exceptional edifices and the like, our nations get a small portion of the profit. The rest goes back to the mainland. Genius, really. But what about us? Is it that we needed them to come and make better use of our natural resources for us to realize what we actually have available to us?

Maybe the Caribbean needs to revisit the tie between itself and China so as to remove any reasons for seeing the Caribbean people as lazy, and to also facilitate more growth and development in the region. Bottom line is, urgent work is required by Caribbean nations to change their fortunes and improve the public perception out there… and to take full advantage of the considerable resources available to us.