war
by Darcus Howe
New Statesman
March 15, 2004
HYPERLINK "BLOCKED::http://www.newstatesman.co.uk"http://www.newstatesman.co.uk
It is the war of the flying fish. The protagonists are the Barbadians (Bajans)
and Trinidadians (Trinis). Though I was born in Trinidad, I am neutral because
my great-grandfather migrated from Barbados.
Barbados (population: 270,000) has an army of perhaps 400 soldiers and hardly a
coast guardboat. Trinidad (population: 1.2 million) boasts an army of 800 or so,
with two coast guardboats. Not a tank between them, and no air force if you
discount a couple of helicopters. Just 200-odd cadets, a handful of Baden-Powell
Scouts, both sea and land, and a few hundred Brownies each.
They are eyeballmg each other over "flying fish", found largely in Barbadian
waters and noted for the leaps they make out of the sea, like jumping jacks. The
fish is a delicacy with many alleged attributes, most importantly its
aphrodisiac qualities. Over time, shoals of flying fish have migrated south and
they can now be found in the waters off Trinidad's sister island, Tobago. But
Bajan fishermen will follow the flying fish anywhere it goes. As did Joseph
Mason and Samuel Firebrace, who were caught by the Trinidad coastguard fishing
in Tobagoman waters. They were arrested and charged. Bajan manhood was under
challenge. The prime minister, Owen Arthur, slapped sanctions on imports from
Trinidad.
Neither side would flinch. "Blow dem out de water," was the popular slogan among
Trims. The Bajans replied: "We go fight, we go fight to the last flying fish."
Owen Arthur summoned his minister of national security to place Bajan forces on
the alert - or so the rumour went. A Trini wag tells me that Sea Scouts and Girl
Guides were scurrying everywhere mobilising scores of pirogues (dugout canoes)
for the war effort. Barbados sent a message of support to Britain when it went
to war against Hitler: "Go right ahead. Little England [as the island had come
to be known] is behind you." That is the sum total of its military tradition.
Trinidad has none that I know of. But both flexed their military muscles.
Prime ministers from the other Caribbean islands busied themselves seeking a
diplomatic solution. In the end, the fishermen were released when, on the
instructions of the Trimdadian PM, the police offered no evidence. Tempers have
cooled, the troops have returned to barracks, and Bajan women smile contentedly.
But for how long?
-------
*chuckle*
^_^
-Gel
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