Editorial
To be, or not to be... Caymanian
In a land area of less than 100 square miles,the Cayman Islands embrace a melting pot of cultures, as evidencedby well over a hundred nationalities represented here. The populationcomposition, in some respects, resembles that of another culturalmelting pot, that "land of immigrants", and bedrockof Western democracy, the United States of America.
Yet, Cayman openly manifests little of the cultural and racialtensions that run, like fault lines through the American and othermetropolitan societies. Divergent histories and socialisation,of course, partially account for the differences in the two countries.
Anyone who is a keen observer of the islands' cultural and socio-economicinteractions and practices, will not deny that there is some degreeof disharmony and intolerance among peoples here, as there willbe wherever human beings of different persuasions and backgroundscome together to form progressive communities.
Yet it must be a credit to the people who inhabit these islandsthat there continues to be relative tolerance of one another,and a commendable level of working together, as Caymanians andexpatriates alike, have built an economically prosperous societyover the past three decades.
There are signs and sounds that among us, are some who would seekto disrupt the harmonious relationships that have been forgedthrough a process of accommodation and subscription to a commongoal.
The motives of those persons with this agenda are not always clearbut the manifestations of their beliefs and actions are disturbing:a "bashing" of Caymanians on the one hand, and anti-expatsentiments on the other.
The recent elections have brought this to the fore. It has raisedquestions about the status of those who having immersed themselvesinto the life of the community for decades, nevertheless at suchtimes feel themselves left out of some of the fundamental processesthat underline the sense of belonging in the society. Their sentimentsshould not be ignored, and perhaps as the Cayman Islands growsand reinvents itself, it will for the sake of good order, exploreways of fully incorporating them into the society.
It must be understood that Cayman, like other societies, maintainsits right to define the processes by and the extent to which settlersto the country can become citizens, thus earning the right tovote, among others normally accorded to citizens.
Caymanians have welcomed and continue to embrace settlers, investorsand visitors to these islands and have, by their immigration andother regulations, sought to ensure that those who come will bepart of a process of active and positive contribution to theirsociety.
While welcoming others, they have pursued a parallel path of preservingtheir own cultural heritage and protecting the economic lifelineof the Caymanian people. The two things need not to be seen asconflicting. Doubtless there will be some Caymanians who arguethat they have not done enough in this regard; and there willbe those expats who bristle at what they perceive to be the strictnessof these efforts. It is a delicate balancing act for any peopleto contemplate and for a young and small society such as this,it is an enormous task.
While the efforts may not all be perfect, in some ways they work.Impatience and intolerance may be the catalyst for change. However,understanding will be far more effective for the greater goodin the long run.