Barbuda: Small island, big challenges
by spencer Wakefield
december 21, 2017
For 300 years, the Carib- bean island of Barbuda has been inhabited- up until September 15th of this year, when Hurricane Irma rendered 95% of the island uninhabitable.
Animal corpses, water flies, and rubble coat the island.
For any country, this would be a problem. For Barbuda, it’s a much larger one than it needs to be, however.
In 2007, the Barbuda Land Act made the island a perfect commune, complete with direct democracy, self determination, common ownership of the property, and a directly elected council that cannot act without approval from a majority of the island’s 1,600 inhabitants.
However, this economic setup in a world fueled by capital is detrimental, as the island’s individual GDP is nearly negligible.
The country of Barbuda and Antigua’s whole GDP, between the two large is- lands and a handful of smaller ones, is only $1 billion. The damages are estimated to be upwards of $250 million.
This has reignited the struggle in Antigua, which controls a majority of the national government, to repeal the Barbudan Land Act.
The plan Prime Minister Gaston Brownes proposes follows his Paradise Found
Act in 2015, something which both internal observers and those inquired in the school, including World Civilizations teacher Mr. Ulrich, have noted as being connected to Brownes’ financial backer Robert de Niro.
“The de Niro thing made me lose a lot of respect for him,” Ulrich says. “It’s to set up a resort and it’s plain evil, taking away the land rights of these people, the former slaves, and this Prime Minister guy is doing it in the name of ‘progress.’ It’s sick.”
Should the Land Act be re- pealed, Barbudans will have to buy their land for $1 each and apply for mortgages, loans, and other things considered “modern” traits of ownership. Prime Minister Brownes claims this is to “create an ownership class in Barbuda,” but they have moved past having any kind of classes.
Hopefully, for the foresee- able future, Barbuda will belong to the Barbudan people, as a singular whole.
Animal corpses, water flies, and rubble coat the island.
For any country, this would be a problem. For Barbuda, it’s a much larger one than it needs to be, however.
In 2007, the Barbuda Land Act made the island a perfect commune, complete with direct democracy, self determination, common ownership of the property, and a directly elected council that cannot act without approval from a majority of the island’s 1,600 inhabitants.
However, this economic setup in a world fueled by capital is detrimental, as the island’s individual GDP is nearly negligible.
The country of Barbuda and Antigua’s whole GDP, between the two large is- lands and a handful of smaller ones, is only $1 billion. The damages are estimated to be upwards of $250 million.
This has reignited the struggle in Antigua, which controls a majority of the national government, to repeal the Barbudan Land Act.
The plan Prime Minister Gaston Brownes proposes follows his Paradise Found
Act in 2015, something which both internal observers and those inquired in the school, including World Civilizations teacher Mr. Ulrich, have noted as being connected to Brownes’ financial backer Robert de Niro.
“The de Niro thing made me lose a lot of respect for him,” Ulrich says. “It’s to set up a resort and it’s plain evil, taking away the land rights of these people, the former slaves, and this Prime Minister guy is doing it in the name of ‘progress.’ It’s sick.”
Should the Land Act be re- pealed, Barbudans will have to buy their land for $1 each and apply for mortgages, loans, and other things considered “modern” traits of ownership. Prime Minister Brownes claims this is to “create an ownership class in Barbuda,” but they have moved past having any kind of classes.
Hopefully, for the foresee- able future, Barbuda will belong to the Barbudan people, as a singular whole.
Donald's disastrous decision
by logan mullan
December 21, 2017
On December 6th, 2017, President Donald Trump made a landmark--and for- ever damaging--decision that will no doubt negatively affect the middle east and how America conducts its foreign policy strategy in the future.
His decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, despite its heavy significance to many countries, goes in the face of sixty plus years of American foreign policy of not putting that decision on the table.
The decision had led to heavy criticism from world leaders around the world, as well as from Muslim leaders and the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation), who have denounced his deci- sion.
They have stated that Trump’s decision has re- moved the US from the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and that any further mediation from the US is un- welcomed.
Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and activist organizations around the world have also spoken out against the move, saying that the move will lead to more conflict in the already war- torn Middle Eastern region.
Jerusalem is the focal point of the three major Abrahamic religions of the world: the Western Wall (Judaism), Dome of the Rock (Islam), and The Church Of Holy Sepulchre( Christianity).
All three of them represent- ing billions of people around the world.
So when Israel, the self- declared state of the Jewish people, declares that Jerusalem is their city alone with the backing of the United States.
Israel’s Muslim neighbors react accordingly, with anger and heated words.
President Trump’s decision and what will become of this new development in international politics is still shroud- ed in speculation.
It will, however, be very eventful.