Web Posted - Thu Oct 10 2002

THE sponsoring organisation for the recently concluded racism conference will be turning to the local white community to pay off its $200 000 debt.

President of that organisation, the Congress Against Racism (Barbados) (CARB), Reverend Aaron “Buddy” Larrier, contending that the amount is pocket change for any of the large local companies, indicated yesterday that white-owned businesses have an obligation to assist those in the black community because it is on those persons they depend for the survival of their businesses.

According to Larrier, who said that CARB was forced to reduce the initial budget of the African and African Descendants World Conference Against Racism from US$1 million to BDS$450 000, this is an opportunity for the white community to contribute towards the eradication of racism in Barbados.

“We have employed staff of CARB, but have not been able to pay them. We have contracted some people to do work for us, but we have not been able to pay them and we have to find that money to honour our contract and to make sure that no one is left wanting based on their giving up their time...for some of them, their jobs have been at risk to support us,” he said yesterday.

“The white-owned businesses in Barbados need the support of black people. They depend on us for their businesses and I’m saying this conference (was) to help the black people of Barbados out of their ignorance and poverty and if white people don’t see it fit to contribute towards that, then I will be asking black people to look very carefully at how they spend their money with white people...I’m going to give white people the opportunity to help black people directly in the way that the United Nations has said – that we must find news ways of tackling racism,” he continued. “If the Government of Barbados has been in power for all these years and has not been able to deal with the issue of racism, then we, who are introducing new ways, should be given full support by the Government of Barbados and by white people here in Barbados.”

Larrier, who made the comments after a Press conference at the Commission for Pan-African Affairs, indicated that his offer to sell his family estate to erase the deficit still stands.

-- Anonymous, October 12, 2002