The Prime Minister of St. Vincent, Ralph Gonsalves, commented on the Israel-Hamas conflict, noting that oil prices experienced an increase of approximately 5% from the onset of the conflict. He further emphasized that this development is expected to have repercussions for St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the foreseeable future.
On Friday, there was a further increase of 1% in costs, resulting in a cumulative rise of 6% since the initial escalation. The Brent crude oil market experienced a significant weekly increase, reaching its highest level since February. This surge can be attributed to investors factoring in the potential expansion of the Middle East conflict, following Israel’s initiation of ground assaults within the Gaza Strip.
“You haven’t seen that 5% yet reflected in our price, but it will be very shortly. Because there are other reflections in our prices, for instance, from the Ukraine war and the workings generally of global monopoly capitalism, particularly the oil industry and the energy industry, that affect us”.
“We cannot continue with the view that these things are not affecting us. We are an island unto ourselves. We are inside here, and what happened here is just us. Well, unfortunately, if our problems were only internally generated, life would be much easier”.
“For instance, on the climate change issue, we would not have to be spending something like 40 million dollars up at Sandy Bay to help save the village”.
Gonsalves argued that it is absurd to believe that despite living in a 150 square mile small country, events outside of the area will not have an impact on us.
“When there was a war, for instance, in Iraq and Afghanistan, Vincentians were in the army. In the US and in Britain, they were posted to those places, so it’s immediate for families. In addition, of course, to the wider impact of these things with fuel prices, shortages of commodities, and disruptions of supply chains, which all add to the scarcity of commodities”,
According to Gonsalves, there exists a prevailing inclination within not only St. Vincent in the Grenadines but also the wider Caribbean region to disregard the overall fabric of a matter and instead concentrate solely on its peripheral aspects, such as the hem of a garment.
”There’s a tendency in the Caribbean, and the metaphor I used is the focus on the hem of the garment but not the fabric. Is the hem loose? Is it too short? Is it too long? And a lot of trivia preoccupies our people, talk radios, social media, and so on, and the large questions of life, living, and production are not”.
Gonsalves said, regrettably, this phenomenon has managed to influence the perspectives of certain politicians, not just inside the Caribbean region but also on a global scale.
