The Caribbean region, like the rest of the world, is currently beset by economic woes.  In addition, our problems are compounded by what many describe as a “startling reality” – crime.  The impact of crime on the region’s security is occurring at a time when integration is a necessity, rather than simply a desire, since one can certainly not ignore the fact that the region has to form a united bloc to mitigate the effects of globalization. It is against this background that the following comments aim to address the issue of crime and security as a deterrent to regional integration.

The computer was a mere thought in 1933, the year Rex Nettleford was born in the parish of Trelawny on the edge of Jamaica's Cockpit Country. In those days, babies googled when they were fed and felt content – as, no doubt, did baby Nettleford whose mother lavished him with loving care.

Fast-forward to the end of the first decade of the 21st century. In the Information Age 'Google' is one of the technological wonders of the epoch; an Internet search engine that at the stroke of the keypad unearths in nanoseconds information on just about anything or anyone of note under the sun.

However, of the over six billion human beings on planet Earth, only those who do not know him would be surprised to discover that if you Google the name Nettleford, the first and dominant listing on the Internet is as follows "Rex Nettleford – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". And that is as it should be since the life work and works of Ralston Milton Nettleford – Rex – are not just noteworthy but are indeed encyclopedic.

BY GORDON ROHLEHR

ROSEAU TO MONTEGO BAY