Bermuda should join Caricom, but most white people would probably not understand the most important reason why, according to senior statesman Quinton Edness.

The former United Bermuda Party Cabinet Minister said the benefits will far outweigh the costs and urged his party to reconsider its opposition to Government's plans to join the regional grouping which he said would help reverse the damage done by colonialism.

For Mr. Edness, opposition to Caricom membership is, in part at least, a struggle to maintain the dominance of white culture in Bermuda.

But he said the move would be a great cultural "equaliser", with profound positive consequences for all of Bermuda.

And he described as "red herrings" and a "lot of hogwash" some of the arguments put forward by former Premier Sir John Swan and other Caricom detractors.

"I would hope my young colleagues in the UBP would think seriously about the position they take in this debate, and the positive effect that a Caricom relationship can have for Bermuda before they vote," said Mr. Edness.

He cited a number of tangible benefits of strengthening and formalising the Island's relationship with the Caribbean, but said the most important reason was something that many white folks may not be able to appreciate.

Black Bermudians, for the most part, have ancestral links with the Caribbean which become more important with age, he said.

But because of colonialism, "most black Bermudians of West Indian heritage do not know their heritage or their culture beyond their grandparents", while many in the minority white community know their history and their culture.

"As you get older you start to feel the void in your life as to who you are and where you come from and the culture that determines the way you think," said Mr. Edness, who is himself of Caribbean descent.

"I believe Caricom will go a long way to fill that gap."

He said he believed he was speaking for most if not all Bermudians of Caribbean descent.

"The cultural, psychological, historical and ancestral relationship development that being a part of Caricom will bring will be of the utmost importance to hundreds if not thousands of Bermudians."

He said black Bermudians had been denied the development of the relationship with the Caribbean by colonialism which subjected them to Anglo Saxon culture.

"I can understand why Bermudians of white Anglo Saxon heritage would want to deny a stronger link," he continued.

"It's because of the systemic influence we've been subjected to as a colony. Anglo Saxon culture has always been the dominant culture."

He said it was understandable that white Bermudians would want the Anglo Saxon culture to remain the dominant influence in Bermudian society.

"But I know it would be better for our society if there was an equaliser which allows black Bermudians to become more familiar with their heritage."

Mr. Edness, a former heavyweight in UBP governments, quit politics after losing his Warwick West seat in the 1998 general elections which brought the Progressive Labour Party to power.

Much of his career in Government was spent as Minister of Health and it is in that area that Mr. Edness has seen the benefits of Caribbean links firsthand.

He said Bermuda had been able to wield considerable influence in talks on health issues affecting the region.

"We were thought of and respected and called upon to discuss not only health matters but other matters in the region," he said.

But without a formal relationship with the Caribbean, Bermuda could not benefit from any of the financial assistance provided to the region by Britain and other countries.

And he said attendance at Caricom's Health Minister's conferences helped to develop Bermuda's current policy on AIDS.

Mr. Edness also at one point was invited by Caricom to attend a conference on population issues in Cairo, Egypt.

He was also invited to join the British Government's team and ended up being a liaison person between the region and Britain to ensure positions were not in conflict.

He said Bermuda's participation in that conference won kudos internationally and was a good example of how the Island can play a part in global politics.

Many detractors of the Caricom bid have said that it will end up being too costly. Mr. Edness said that with the need to travel for meetings and costs of a Ministerial level office to handle Caricom issues, the link could cost Bermuda $300,000 to $400,000 a year, far in excess of the approximately $90,000 membership fee that has been cited.

"But I believe it's worth it," he said.

He agreed with a suggestion put to him that Bermuda, which has a far greater per capita income than any of the Caribbean countries, may be too obsessed with money.

"We do get obsessed and that affects our judgment on some of our policies. Our obsession with money prevents us from having the kind of policies we should have in the development and caring of our children in this community.

"There is just one facility for children to recreate - that's an indictment. Just look at community education and you will know we need to spend a lot more money on human development."

Besides health, Mr. Edness said that education and the fight against crime and drugs are other areas that could bring benefits to Bermuda.

And he said additional benefits could accrue because the Caribbean countries, while poorer, are much wealthier in terms of an intellectual community which actively engages in and influences public policy.

"We don't have an intellectual community in this country which gets involved in public discussion... And we could gain from them in just these kinds of discussions."

Earlier this year, he said a conference between the Caricom and the British Government ended with commitments by Britain to provide aid, including patrol boats and training, to fight the drug trade.

"We need all the help we can get in fighting drugs, the number one problem we have," he said.

Sir John Swan, one of the leading opponents to Caricom membership has said that the move would send the wrong signals to the United States and affect the Island's relationship with the Americans.

"That is a lot of hogwash," Mr. Edness said. "Why would anybody in Washington, from the President on down, resent us? How is it going to affect the United States? The United States itself has a relationship with the Caribbean which it finds very useful."

There has been a wide range of reaction to Premier Jennifer Smith's announcement that her Government was seeking to have Bermuda become an associate member of Caricom.

While some have praised the initiative as visionary, others fear that the organisation's plans for economic union would be detrimental to Bermuda, even though members are not required to sign on to such a union, and see no additional benefits that Bermuda does not already enjoy.

"I am particularly pleased that Government has ensured that this is not going to affect our immigration or labour policies," Mr. Edness said.

And the House of Assembly is slated to debate the issue soon after Government produces a position paper.