Response to Life and Debt/ A Small Place

            I read “A Small Place” before viewing “Life and Debt” in class. The book was dull in areas but I felt that it was because there were no specific characters or a story plot. It was just a description of life in Antigua. The author did a great job of helping me visualize the island since there were no real clear pictures to go along with the book. However, my only problem is that she spent so much time bashing the United States and Europe when she now currently resides in Vermont. Why live in a country that you so strongly dislike for “ruining” your home country? I find it to be a contradiction and hypocritical. As for the movie, it was full of images and personal interviews, but managed to be twice as dull as the book was. I could barely focus on the film and I saw others falling asleep as well. It just seemed to drag on and on. My problem with the film “Life and Debt” was the fact that it used “A Small Place” throughout it but they were written about two entirely different countries. Yes they have gone through similar things politically and culturally, but they are still not identical and therefore should not be described in the same ways.

            I understand that the United States and Europe have not made it easy for people in Jamaica or Antigua, but no policy or industry will ever be perfect. The United States could not remain powerful or survive as a country if we just gave away money and did not take control in various industrial or political aspects. These countries rely on outside support to survive so they now must deal with the downfalls of this outside assistance. I do not entirely agree with how we control their countries in numerous ways but I do understand that they have asked for our help. They have brought it on themselves by wanting our involvement and financial assistance. Every country has debt they have to pay off including the United States. We do not blame other countries for our misfortunes or problems in society, but yet this book and film do just that. They make very problem in their country look like it’s the Europeans’ and Americans’ faults. Yes they were once owned by Europeans but they were given freedom they never seemed to manage or to be able to care for themselves. Some business problems they face are due to us but not all their other numerous medical, social, and environmental conflicts.

Not once in the film or book did they mention anything good that the United States or Europe has done for them. Tourism brings them a good amount of their income but all they did was bash it. Why should the United States or Europe help at all if we can find other cheaper ways of producing goods and do not need their countries’ products? However, the United States and Europe still attempt to make something work such as creating factories for them all to work in. Yes the factories did not work out but at least it shows effort and it’s better than doing nothing at all.

I do not think it will ever be possible for Antigua and Jamaica to survive on their own and be self-sustaining. They have dropped to such terrible lows economically and industrially and they have fallen so much in debt that they may never get out of it. I do think the United States and Europe have helped them hit rock bottom but the governments of these poor countries need to get a handle on things to attempt to improve their overall livelihood as the countries that they “once” represented and were proud of. I think once countries reach out to other countries for help or assistance, the country asking for help will never be full self-reliant again. It’s a nasty cycle that most countries seem to have fallen into including the United States. The sharing of finances and political advice can sometimes do more damage than good.

            As for the idea of tourist versus a native, it gets to be a situation of “blurred lines.” So many people these days have dual citizenship or have links to multiple countries. Natives are people who were born in said country and have lived the original or set customs of that particular region or culture. Natives are aware of how things were originally in comparison to how they are now. The writer of A Small Place would be considered a native in a sense. She was born there and experienced a life there for many years. The only problem is, natives often stay in said country and she moved to the United States. Natives are the people born and raised in a country and currently live in said country. You can be born a native but then lose that title throughout life by changing your customs and lifestyle. Tourists are people who visit countries but do not really see what they truly are about. Tourists see the makeshift culture that they want to see in the world, not the real life culture that exists there. They cannot truly understand the place they are in unless they submerse themselves in it and stay for a long period of time.