Author: Ben Stubenberg (Page 3 of 3)

Ben Stubenberg is a writer and story teller based in the Turks & Caicos Islands. He has written numerous articles about historical and current events from the Caribbean region. Most recently he has written a book about the untold story of the original Jamaican bobsled team soon to be published.

A Separate Haiti?

March 16, 2024 / Ben Stubenberg / 0 Comments

Hiking path to the Citadelle fortress outside Cap-Haitien, long a symbol of resistance.

As international efforts are underway to establish a Transition Council in Haiti made up of various political factions to replace PM Ariel Henry and take control of the country until elections can be held, parts of Haiti have already begun to assert unprecedented autonomy. The violent gangs that have largely taken over Port-au-Prince and paralyzed the capital have also essentially evaporated the power of the central government to govern the country. That has left the door open for local governments to fill the void, particularly in the North. Indeed, an informal council in and around Cap-Haitien has been coordinating with local mayors and civic leaders to govern themselves. Working under-the-radar, they have been able to keep the gangs at bay while providing a measure of stability that has allowed daily commerce to proceed.

For most of Haiti’s history, highly centralized government has always undercut local power and ability to provide local services. Almost everything, even minor permits, had to be approved by authorities in the capital, which created an inflexible bureaucracy that constrained local initiatives. At the same time, almost all taxes collected were funneled to Port-au-Prince with very little flowing back to the towns and cities outside the capital. All of that is changing and will be hard to reverse.

Local power in the North will be further augmented if container ships begin to prefer Cap-Haitien as the primary port of entry for Haiti. Indeed, most ships have stopped calling on the port in Port-au-Prince because it is too dangerous. While Cap-Haitien’s port is much smaller than the port in the capital, it remains the only significant alternative. The same could be said for the Cap-Haitien Airport. Although flights stopped landing in Cap-Haitian for a few days, more out of precaution than any attacks (unlike the airport in Port-au-Prince), some flights into Cap-Haitien have since resumed and others are likely to follow. The runway is very long and can handle all types of aircraft, including large jets.

It is hard to see how any reconstituted central government is going to exert its will on the northern region to give up its newfound power. Indeed, the actual implementation of a Transitional Council at this point seems problematic unless they have some security force to back them up. Currently, the police and army are barely hanging on in Port-au-Prince against the gangs and thus won’t be of much help. The proposed Kenyan police force of 1000 (perhaps augmented with troops from other African countries) is unlikely to be much of a stabilizing factor to allow for Transitional Council governance–assuming it ever leaves Kenya. The deployment of the police is being held up due to Kenyan constitutional challenges.

But even if the Kenyan police force does enter Haiti, they will face battle hardened gangs armed with automatic weapons fighting on very familiar gang territory. Any Transitional Council will be consumed with trying to establish order in the capital and unlikely to exert energy and resources to bring local governments back into the fold. In short, the reach and authority of the Transition Council will be quite limited. Working with the emerging power players in the North, as well as other regions outside Port-au-Prince, may be the best hope for a Transition Council to unite Haiti. But the price will be far greater autonomy for the regions outside Port-au-Prince.

All of these developments suggest a major power shift away from the capital to Cap-Haitien that may well become the dominant player in Haiti’s future.

Fleeing Haiti: Challenging Assumptions

March 12, 2024 / Ben Stubenberg / 1 Comment

Boat ferry heading into village of Labadie in Northern Haiti. Photo by Ben Stubenberg

Just 130 miles (210 km) south of the economically booming high-end tourist destination of Turks & Caicos Islands lies a country on the opposite end of the spectrum: Haiti. That was the name given by the original Taino Indian people who lived there when Columbus made landfall in December 1492. In their language Haiti means land of high mountains. For more than two centuries, TCI and Haiti have been connected by refuge and trade. When Haiti won its freedom in 1803 following the biggest slave revolt in the world since Spartacus fought the Romans, dozens of enslaved people in the TCI would sail boats under the cover of darkness to Northern Haiti. On those shores they could find a welcome and a refuge from oppression, as well as a chance to start a new life in freedom. The escapes, particularly from Grand Turk, became so prevalent that slaveholders of the day had to organize their own private coast guard to try to intercept the sailboats leaving.

220 years later, it is Haitians who are fleeing north to TCI in small sloops to escape poverty, despair and gang violence. The irony of the reverse movement, of course, is not lost. These northward migrations have actually been going on since the 1980s when dictatorial governments imprisoned, tortured or killed people opposing the regimes. Launching under the cover of darkness from beaches in Northern Haiti, these sloops typically carry 100-200 people crammed together sometimes under sail, sometimes with a small outboard motor. Some never make it, capsizing midway and drowning everyone. Nobody has any idea how many. Some almost make it before crashing on the reefs where most of the passengers drown or are eaten by sharks . Some are intercepted by the marine police and repatriated back to Haiti. And some make it to a beach undetected and scramble into the bush before finding their way to hidden communities living off the land or in the back alleys of shanty towns.

For those that make it to TCI, the hope, naturally, is to find work, preferably in construction, but anything that pays hard cash dollars and allows them survive, gain a toehold on the island, and send money back to Haiti. Indeed, for those that make it to TCI, relatives back in Haiti expect and pressure them to send regular wire transfers.

Boat from Haiti abandoned on Provo beach. Photo by Ben Stubenberg

Amidst the increasing chaos, violence and breakdown of order in Port-au-Prince, there is an assumption that more people will flee Haiti in boats and threaten to overwhelm the capacity to stop them as they approach the coast. That perception has been exacerbated by gang led attacks on two main prisons in and near Port-au-Prince that enabled thousands of prisoners to break out. As a result, TCI has put its police and border control on high alert, as have the Bahamas and the US. On the surface, it seems logical that more displaced and desperate people will clamor on to boats to get out. The term “Armada” has even been invoked to suggest TCI will be overwhelmed with boat people fleeing en mass from Haiti. But I challenge this assumption and doubt that will happen.

Here’s why: First, there aren’t that many boats available to simply sail or motor away packed with migrants. Second, ruthless human traffickers demand money, anywhere between $1500 and $2000 to squeeze on board–a hefty amount of cash in Haiti. These traffickers control the business of fleeing Haiti and are not about to offer discounts to escaped prisoners or anyone else who can’t pay. In fact, many of those clamoring for a chance to leave Haiti receive money through remittances wired in from relatives in the US, Canada, or Europe. Anyone who gets that kind of funding and wants to leave doesn’t wait around. Third, TCI has been increasingly effective in detecting boats approaching the coast through radar and drones. While that has not stopped efforts to evade them, there is at least an awareness that the chances of reaching shore without being intercepted are getting smaller. And fourth, the situation outside of Port-au-Prince, particularly in the north, is not nearly as dire. In fact, local authorities have taken it upon themselves to keep their towns relatively peaceful, even with the meager resources they have. People will still continue to pay to take the huge risk of sailing across the sea to TCI. And there may even be a bump in boat launches. But don’t expect an Armada.

Update: With the resignation of Haitian PM Ariel Henry to make way for a transitional council, the situation has calmed somewhat in Port-au-Prince. But the continued lack of security in Port-au-Prince is unlikely to ameliorate the situation for long and could flare up at anytime.

Next Blog: “A Separate Haiti.” Could Haiti’s second largest city, Cap-Haitien and Northern Haiti be the new center of power?

Which Direction?

January 8, 2024 / Ben Stubenberg / 2 Comments

For the past 30 years, Provo has stood out among other Caribbean island tourist destinations as a uniquely compelling luxury experience. Mesmerizing turquoise water, miles of stunning white sand beaches, and a low-key vibe all invited unhurried tranquility and relaxation with breathtaking splendor. But the approved construction of several new resorts, including another 12 story high-rise overlooking Grace Bay, will inevitably put extreme pressure on the infrastructure. And that in turn could change Provo special appeal.

As a longtime student of the Caribbean over the last 50 years, I have witnessed development at its attractive best and disappointingly mundane. I have seen island destinations that dazzle and engage the senses, like Turks & Caicos, and those that were lured into the fateful decision to embrace mass tourism with the hopeful promise of economic gain with all its attendant costs.

Not surprisingly, most of the destinations that have managed to hold on to their high-end magic are also the ones without big airports and thus harder to bring in big jet loads of visitors. These include the British Virgin Islands, Bequia (St. Vincent & The Grenadines), and St. Barth’s. They have continued to do extremely well. But even a few with jet airports with flights from Miami have managed to avoid unbridled development. These would include, so far, San Salvador (Bahamas) and Anguilla. Where is Provo in this mix?

The irony is that for decades Provo uniquely managed to attract high-end tourists from the US, Canada, and now the UK with direct flights while still managing to preserve that low-key, uncrowded vibe along with the splendor. So, it really didn’t have much competition. But that specialness may be sorely tested if Provo continues to lean in the direction of mass tourist destinations like St. Maarten, Aruba, Nassau, St. Thomas, and Cayman–all of which also have beautiful ocean and splendid beaches–even as they became crowded and congested.

Does Provo really want to become like those islands that process many times more visitors and have essentially turned tourism into a commodity? Or does this island remain a destination that nurtures the soul like no other while still drawing in healthy tourist dollars? If yes to the latter, the time to change course is now.

Time to hit pause on tourism development?

January 4, 2024 / Ben Stubenberg / 0 Comments

In my article, “Who Gets A Piece Of Paradise” published in the winter issue of Times of the Islands, I ask if TCI should hit pause on tourism development. Implied in the question is another question: Who do we want to be as a destination and ultimately as a society?

With six or seven new resort developments going up on Provo and projections for 1.1 million stay-over tourists by 2032 (more than double the current number of 490,000), the question takes on new urgency. In my view, the island seems to be racing toward mass tourism and losing the special magic that draws in the luxury tourists that sustained TCI.

Sure, the resorts going up are luxury in nature, but the congestion they will bring is anything but luxurious. Indeed, for the past 30 years, Provo has been without peer or competition in the Caribbean when taking into account direct flights from the US and Canada (and now UK), spectacular beaches, gorgeous turquoise water, and, above all, a sense of serenity without crowds. That’s what distinguished us.

If we keep going down the path of unbridled tourism development, we risk losing that uniqueness–some say we already have. When that happens, we become just another tourism commodity that, ironically, puts Provo in direct competition with other Caribbean Region countries that have gone down this path. In other words, we are trading in the specialness that distinguished us from everyone else to carve out a market share that, until now, was irrelevant.

I fully understand the need to generate wealth to benefit the local people and wholeheartedly support that through luxury tourism. However, if that luxury that set us apart disappears, none of us will benefit except for investors/developers who built and sold early enough. Why would anyone seeking a luxury vacation and having the means to afford it come to a place that is congested with resorts, never mind the airport and highways. In short, the benefits of sprawling development will be short-lived and lead to stagnation, as per tourism development trajectories addressed in earlier blogs and the article “Who Gets A Piece of Paradise.”

I just hope the momentum is not too great to slow down and remember who we are and what we stand for.

The Life Cycle of Tourism

December 2, 2023 / Ben Stubenberg / 1 Comment

The trajectory of tourism development has been well established over the last four decades. In 1980 Professor Richard Butler at the University of Western Ontario published a study of the life cycle of tourist destinations. Referred to as the Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC), the model identifies six or seven predictable stages that a resort destination goes through regardless of location. It is worth examining the elements of TALC, which has held up remarkably well over the decades, to see where the Turks & Caicos Islands currently fits into the cycle and what to anticipate.

Who Gets A Piece of Paradise (Continued)

November 26, 2023 / Ben Stubenberg / 0 Comments

With experiences like this, the lure of moving to TCI is undeniable. But the privilege needs to come with a commitment to give back to the islands.

Most North Americans or Europeans or Caribbean islanders who come to live on Provo don’t want to go back. Same with many visitors to Provo who want to stay longer and often opt to buy a place. Everyone, it seems, wants their piece of this paradise. With today’s modern infrastructure, paradise can indeed be home, full-time or part-time. In the past, it was usually the adventurous with a high tolerance for lack of amenities. Like pirates and, later, eccentric malcontents with an aversion for social rules in their homeland who made their way to a tropical island. But the islands are no longer for malcontents (though a few of them can be spotted). Settling comfortably in paradise has become a much more viable option. As new people move in, however, new issues arise. Who are these people?

Who Gets A Piece Of Paradise?

November 24, 2023 / Ben Stubenberg / 0 Comments

A piece of paradise called Mudjin Harbour on Middle Caicos.

During the Golden Age of Piracy, legend has it that the notorious female pirates, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, hid out in the sheltered coves of the Turks & Caicos Islands after raids on passing merchant vessels. The long protective barrier reef provided a tranquil refuge after a stressful day of sword fights and pistols blazing. And turquoise waters gently lapping the long sandy beaches surely helped them to unwind while dividing up the loot. As night fell, we can imagine Anne and Mary and their fellow pirates drinking, dancing, carousing, and no doubt procreating under a billion stars strewn across a black Caribbean sky. This piece of paradise was their escape and, for a while, their home.

What’s This Blog All About?

November 20, 2023 / Ben Stubenberg / 2 Comments

Christopher Columbus likely made his first landfall on Grand Turk in October 12, 1492 where he was greeted by Taino Indians.

Let me state upfront: I am new to blogging. In fact, this is the first blog post I have ever written. So why now? Two reasons. First, to explore and comment the changing nature of Caribbean islands and the Turks & Caicos and nearby Haiti in particular. Here you’ll read about tourism, overdevelopment, wealth, inequality, migration, disenfranchisement, and the heroes determined to empower their countries and communities. Second, to tell the world about my upcoming book The Jamaican Bobsled Captain. In many ways, the original Jamaican bobsled team, and particularly its captain, Dudley “Tal” Stokes, reflect the Caribbean grit to keep pushing past failure and doubt to succeed against the odds.