Recently, I have been thinking a lot about my country Dominica. Where we have been, where we are, and where we are going. These thoughts occupy me on an almost daily basis as I contemplate my return to Dominica.
One of Dominica's many isolated beaches.
Like the majority of my country’s population, I have made the journey away from Dominica in search of better opportunities, desperately hoping and believing that the pastures of the United States are infinitely greener than my multi-green pastures of Dominica.
These are thoughts that I undoubtedly share with most of Dominica’s population who have made that journey. I often joke that there are only two types of Dominicans. Those who have migrated and those who want to.
Migration statistics for Dominica are staggering. In research I conducted on Dominica’s migration, the report notes that “over the past ten years, an estimated 35 percent of the mean population migrated resulting in a net reduction of the overall population, as the migration rate exceeded the rate of natural increase of the population.”
The report details a migration pattern dating back well into the late 1800s as Dominicans fled their shores. Today, the country has a dwindling population as more of its people flock overseas, sometimes to anywhere.
I will call this phenomena ABD (anywhere but Dominica), which brings me back to where I started; planning my return.
Is there any real justification for this mad rush out of the country? Consider this. In every survey on the quality of life, or happiness, or longevity I have seen, Dominica ranks among the top twenty-five percent in the world, very often first in the Caribbean.
It is a well known fact that a higher fraction of our population live into the nineties and up to a hundred than any other country in the world. One survey even listed Dominica as the fourth happiest place on earth.
Another such study, The Quality of Life Index conducted by International Living in which it ranks 194 countries with respect to the best places to live, ranks Dominica 52nd in its 2010 survey.
True, Dominica fell a few notches from the 2007 survey in which it was ranked 45th, but overall our position is good. In the English speaking Caribbean only St. Kitts is ranked higher at 50.
International Living puts it this way “This isn’t about best value, necessarily. It’s about the places in the world where the living is, simply put, great.”
The index scores each country on nine different categories with a maximum score of 100. Dominica scores are as follows: Cost of Living (65); Leisure/Culture (39); Economy (44);
Environment (90); Freedom (100); Health (68); Infrastructure (36); Risk and Safety (100); and Climate (57) with an overall score of 65.
Not surprisingly, Dominica scores worse on infrastructure, leisure/culture, and the economy. It does best on risk and safety, freedom and the environment.
Interestingly, in the areas where we do poorly, it is well within the country’s reach to improve. Where it does really well is simply priceless because if these were broken, it would be infinitely more difficult to fix.
The conclusions of the study are not surprising. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that while as Dominicans we scramble to leave, discerning visitors and others from foreign countries are just too happy to take our places.
The Caribbean’s best kept secret is certainly out in the open and the country is beginning to witness a steady inflow of persons from outside. By far the largest group is the Chinese, who, encouraged by their government’s deliberate policies, are quickly becoming the new and largest ‘merchant’ class in Dominica.
They are followed by the Americans many of whom relish the breath-taking beauty of the island, its tranquility and stress free living.
For the first time it also appears that migrants from Dominica are looking to return in growing numbers, and well before their retirement age.
That is a good sign and must be encouraged.
Undoubtedly they will return with the training, expertise and resources that will guarantee improvement in the economy, living standards and infrastructure, which can only improve the country’s fortune.
The quality of life after all does matter. For people like me that trumps living in places where the simple joys of walking alone on a desolate beach, or swimming in a river, or staring at a star-lit sky are too quickly becoming just a faint memory.
