August 26, 2025
So, the Mia Mottley government in Barbados took one for the culture by buying the Banyan Archive from NGC in Trinidad. Good luck to them with that.
But does anyone care that there is such an entity called Banyan? To be honest, we didn’t even know it existed let alone be an authority on Caribbean history.
So, we have questions, if it is an authority and a depository of Caribbean data, then why does one government get to hold it and craft its design and control the inputs and the outputs?
So, you don’t have to care about Banyan, but people who want to leave behind a good legacy should care about Banyan.
We also ask why the archive couldn’t have been donated to the University of the West indies, which seems to be the best fit for it. Or, even let it be jointly owned by all Caribbean governments and create a special board to ensure its curation?
Well, barring anything miraculous, we wish the Barbadian government good luck with holding on to the Banyan archive. We hope it continues to grow and add to the value of the Caribbean experience.