EDITORIAL

Defining the new Caymanian

Monday,  June 27, 2005

Most people now accept that immigration is an essential factor in our economic success. The Cayman Islands could not do what it does, or be what it is without the numerous immigrant workers from across the world.
We are fortunate that there are those who are attracted to the many beautiful things we have here, such as the relatively low crime, the good career prospect and the overall affluence of the standard of living.

Yet many who come here to work from less affluent parts of the world, because of the lack of security of tenure, have something akin to a smash and grab view to being here.

In other words because they constantly believe their time here will be limited as holders of work which may be denied or revoked at anytime, they focus on sending back as much of their earnings as they can to the country from where they came and put very little back into the local economy.

They seek ways of finding the cheapest way to live, which in some circumstances means several people living in one room or as recently reported, squatting in any available premises, regardless of the living conditions.

The emergence of shacks, tents and over-crowded living conditions has become apparent as a result of the shortage of affordable housing in the wake of Hurricane Ivan. Before the storm stripped Grand Cayman of so much of its housing stock, accommodation here was not necessarily affordable but now it is increasingly more and more expensive.

For those that are here merely to earn as much as they can before they are asked to leave, the accommodation issue is driving essential workers into more and more unsuitable living situations and this country is in danger of finding ghettos emerging in and around the capital of George Town.

While more affordable housing is essential for Caymanians as well as immigrant workers, perhaps a more suitable resolution to this problem would be to re-evaluate how the award of status is granted and how we define the modern Caymanian.

Perhaps like the European principality of Monaco we could look at stages of residential right or status. We could look at the idea of offering an alternative stage between ‘residents on a work permit’ who we all know live in the state of fear over losing the right to be here, to those who are given complete security with status.

The controversy over those awarded status under the previous administration’s infamous grants, split the country, not least because being Caymanian is of value and giving away such a sought after privilege to people who had been here for very short periods was considered disrespectful towards the importance of Caymanian status. 

At the start of a new administration it seems therefore opportune to take a complete fresh look at how people become Caymanian and who those people are.

Moreover we need to seek ways of encouraging those that come to live here to contribute to the local economy more and not send every cent they earn to another jurisdiction.

It is naïve to imagine that we could ever stop those from lesser-developed nations forwarding some of the wealth they accumulate here to family back home. 

However we could encourage more of a commitment to those who want to be here by offering more security of residency and the right to work.

Whether it is choice or circumstance that is creating potential ghettos, because of the lack of affordable housing there are ways of addressing both.

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