Dear Sir,

Thank you for your article on Caricom headlined “Public plead for referendum on full membership of Caricom”.

I thought you might be interested in three things concerning the high risks attached to Bermuda becoming a full Member of Caricom. So I went online and found these terrifying statistics:

Crime

"Caricom member states face a severe violent crime crisis with 13 of the 15 member nations regularly exceeding the UN's homicide epidemic threshold of ten deaths per 100,000 citizens. Firearms are involved in roughly 86 per cent of regional homicides, fueled by illicit trafficking, gang activity and transitional drug networks."

Taken from the National Accounts Digest prepared by the Regional Statistics Programme of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat.

The highest level of homicides per 100,000 citizens is Jamaica at 52.9, St. Lucia at 42.3, St Vincent and the Grenadines at 40.3, and Trinidad & Tobago at 39.4. Bahamas is at 32 and Haiti is at 18.8.

External and domestic annual public debt

Barbados, Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Haiti have debt-to-GDP ratios above 100 per cent ie debt exceeds GDP, and Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica are not far behind.

The combined national debt of all Caricom countries is approximately US$137.5 billion. Debt to GDP ratio averages 55.5 per cent. This means that for every US dollar of GDP in the Caricom region, governments collectively owe about 56 cents in debt.

Most Bermudians will be appalled at these figures: why should we join such indebted, crime-ridden organisations? No wonder Bermudians demand a referendum, to decide this suicidal move. Do we really want more crime and more debt?

MICHAEL G MARSH

Smith’s