HomeFeaturesDepartmentsOnline ExclusivesArchivesAbout PelicanContributors
Hawkbill Turtle

by PJ Patterson

(page 2 of 2)

From our ranks, several Premiers and innumerable Ministers have also emerged. In fact, six of my colleagues and I (as the incumbent Prime Minister of Jamaica at the time) were honoured at the 2002 Annual Awards Banquet staged by the American Foundation for The University of the West Indies under the patronage of Dr. the Hon. Harry Belafonte, among them: Dr. the Hon. Kenny Anthony, Prime Minister of St. Lucia, The Rt. Hon Owen Arthur, Prime Minister of Barbados, Dr. the Hon. Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of St. Kitts & Nevis, Dr. the Hon Ralph Gonzales, Prime Minister of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, The Hon. Patrick Manning, Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, Dr. the Hon. Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada.

The occasion provided an opportunity for us to renew the institution’s commitment to create a more just, stable and equitable community of nations. I entertain little doubt that the newest recruit to the “Club”, Hon. Bruce Golding, Prime Minister of Jamaica, will help to build on that.

Whenever we discussed tertiary education at meetings of Heads, its crucial importance, as asserted in the 1989 Grand ANSE, was readily appreciated. But I remember well, that when the debate pertained to any area of special importance to UWI, one who had graduated from elsewhere accused us of belonging to an “incestuous group”. For me, it was a badge of distinction, in that we were not merely reflecting the academic learning gained from our Campus days, but more so contributing to the capacity of UWI to adhere to its mission and keep alive the flame of a Caribbean, which is truly united to build a stronger economic unit, to be more collaborative in charting our own course within the hemisphere and the wider world.

As one of the two oldest and strongest symbols of West Indies integration—cricket being the other—the Mona Campus was deliberately chosen for signing the CSME Agreement.

To adapt the words of a distinguished honorary doctoral graduate, the Honorable Louise Bennett-Coverley, this University has shown that we can “dance a yard” and amply demonstrated, by our legion of graduates who have reached the upper echelons in scientific research, engineering, medicine, the humanities, academia on every continent that we “can also dance abroad”.

The late Angela King, first female President of the Guild, as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, was placed in charge of the international team that helped to bring the evil apartheid system to its grave.

Ambassador Patricia Durrant was the first Ombudsman in the United Nations. Dolliver Nelson presides over the settings of the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Tribunal, created to resolve disputes on maritime boundaries. Patrick Robinson is a Judge of the Criminal Tribunal in The Hague, where persons are indicted for crimes against humanity.

The illustrious Professors Franklyn Knight, H. Orlando Patterson, Rawle Hollingsworth, Franklyn Prendergast, Renn Holness are but a few other examples of UWI alumni whose erudition and brilliance are beyond question, as made evident by the prestigious positions they occupy.

The rising light (oriens lux) has never flickered throughout its existence, simply because UWI has always in its existence been in the vanguard of change and not content merely to be responsive.

The abolition of the plantation system and the syndrome of dependency demanded the repudiation of traditional doctrines which had been discarded by thorough historical research, profound social analyses, creative writing and even ridiculed by the Mighty Sparrow (Dr. Francisco Slinger), who is also an honorary graduate of UWI. This has generated an intellectual ferment, from which the Caribbean has benefited, even although several of the solutions presented have not been applied. We must now accelerate the steps of repatriating the symbols and institutions which define us as a people and which reflect our Caribbean civilization.

Moving well beyond the earliest Faculties of Medicine, Pure and Applied Science, Agriculture, the Arts and Social Studies, our University is fully engaged in spheres of peculiar relevance and interest to the Caribbean—the hospitality, trade, psychiatry, jurisprudence, chronic tropical diseases, sustainable development, the environment, mitigating natural disasters, nuclear science, cricket, journalism, steel pan music, advances in the world of technology, diplomacy, globalization.

Our Diamond celebratory year is a timely summons for commemorating and celebrating success, as well as to imbue in succeeding generations a respect for what has been so far accomplished by our own. It is an invitation for UWI to take the lead in becoming the repository of our collective memory. The University of the West Indies has endured because it has remained faithful to its mission.

Yet, it is a mission which has no end; for the light must forever be the beacon which guides our Caribbean people along the pathway of social and economic upliftment; one which illumines our quest for cultural and intellectual fulfillment and remains the spotlight for realizing our worth as Caribbean people in the single world which the entire human race is compelled to inhabit.

Early warning. The Indian Ocean catastrophe demonstrates that tsunami education and early warning are essential if the Caribbean is to reduce our risk of disaster. In light of this, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), through the Intergovernmental Co-ordinating Group for the Caribbean and Adjacent (ICG-CARIBE EWS), is coordinating the establishment of a Tsunami Early Warning System for the Caribbean as well as countries in Central and South America. The system comprises four main steps: 1) detecting possible sources of tsunamis e.g. earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, 2) detecting whether ocean waves were generated by monitoring water levels, 3) communicating this information to 24-hour “focal points” on each island, such as meteorological offices or police stations and, 4) sending out warnings from the focal points to vulnerable communities via sirens, phones and media broadcasts.


Initially, one Regional Warning Centre will be established to coordinate the system. The University of Puerto Rico and the Venezuelan Foundation for Seismology (FUNVISIS) are each bidding to host this centre. In the interim, the IOC has set up four working groups to ensure that the Warning System gets up and running. The groups are responsible for Tsunami Monitoring, Disaster-Preparedness, Hazard-Mapping and Vulnerability, Warning Guidance and Communication.

The Guardians. “You all putting in cable?” was a question posed to the staff of UWI’s Seismic Research Unit by curious observers during the installation of a satellite dish on their headquarters in St. Augustine, Trinidad. The dish is in fact a Very Small Aperture Satellite (VSAT) terminal that will facilitate real time transmission of data from five seismic stations.
The SRU is playing a leading role in establishing this System as part of the ICG-CARIBE EWS team. The Unit is one of several regional agencies that will be responsible for the first leg of the system that is, monitoring the seismic activity that could generate tsunamis and communicating this information to the relevant groups. With a network of sixty seismic stations in the Eastern Caribbean, the SRU is well-placed to fulfill this responsibility.


Accurately identifying the large earthquakes that can cause tsunamis, while transmitting and processing the data fast enough to provide early warning, required a technology upgrade for the Unit. This was made possible through the generous support of the USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. The US$249,680 grant enhanced the monitoring stations on St. Kitts, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad and Tobago. The SRU also worked with the US Geological Survey (USGS) to install three similar stations in Barbados, Grenada and Barbuda. When the entire project is completed over the next two years, each seismic station will be able to detect and report potential tsunami-generating earthquakes in about three minutes.

Education and empowerment. In June, the SRU trained representatives from the 24-hour focal points who will alert vulnerable communities of approaching tsunamis. This is one of a series of workshops for participants in the Tsunami Warning System. The Unit is also working closely with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA), which received funding from the USAID to coordinate public education on tsunamis. Mrs. Stacey Edwards, Education and Outreach Officer at the SRU, outlined their strategies for sharing information with the wider community. These include public lectures and school visits, a new website with a section focused on tsunamis, information material, exhibitions and educator kits. In addition to expanding their crowded physical facilities, Dr. Robertson reveals the Unit’s hopes to develop a Learning Resource area for visitors, with multimedia presentations on earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis.

Saving our lives. “Everything that we do impacts on people’s lives.” For this reason, Dr. Robertson encourages The University, private sector, NGO’s and governments to make more use of the SRU’s resources and expertise. Support for the Unit’s educational outreach, as well as funding for staff, research and technology, can go a long way toward mitigating disasters in the region. This is a goal that is personally important to members of the SRU’s diverse team, many of whom hail from the islands.
For all of us connected to the Caribbean, the danger is close to home. A lot still needs to be done by the IOCARIBE coordinators, but we all have work to do. After all, these are our lives. So it is up to us to ensure that we learn the lessons, listen to the warnings and above all, get prepared.

1 | 2   Previous page