“Colonialism in its various forms has prevented people from having access to decent housing. This may manifest itself one way in the Caribbean, another way in Latin America, and in a completely different way in Africa,” Byron-Cox Richard Anthony Beresford, advisor to the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, told journalists during the event titled “Injustices and the Housing Crisis Caused by Colonial Governance,” organized by the Baku Initiative Group (BIG) within the framework of WUF13, APA reports.
He said that the outcome is the same everywhere:
“People all over the world are suffering. For example, in the Caribbean, the best houses were reserved for the colonizers. As a result, many problems emerged that countries gaining independence later had to solve. One of these problems is housing. First of all, this requires resources — namely money. In addition, engineering knowledge, experience, and professional expertise are needed. Land is also necessary because houses are built on land. Usually, in colonial societies, especially in the society I come from, the land belonged to the colonizers. So the issue is not simply about constructing buildings to house people. It is much more complex.
That is exactly why this conference is important. Someone from Chad, Ethiopia, or another country may come and say, ‘This was our problem, and this is how we solved it.’ Then someone from the Caribbean may say, ‘We had the same problem, but we solved it differently.’ Later, for example, someone from Sudan may say, ‘We solved it using this method.’ What I mean is that there are different approaches to solving problems, and we can learn from one another. But for people to come together, someone must organize the process and bring people together.”
Byron-Cox Richard Anthony Beresford thanked Azerbaijan for organizing the event: “Azerbaijan has brought us together. In this regard, it is a very useful initiative. In addition, it is important to understand that the issue we are trying to solve concerns not the elderly, but the future of young people. Here, young and creative minds are coming together to try to solve this problem.
Some people say that at conferences people only talk. That is a major mistake — a very serious mistake. Because when there is a problem, there are two options: either you sit down and talk to try to solve it, or you fight. Which would you choose — dialogue or conflict? That is the first question we must answer.
The second question is this: do you think you or I alone know all the answers to these problems? I do not think so. That is why when we come together, you bring your ideas and I bring mine. Thirdly, when we are together, we learn how to build bridges and support one another. These are very important issues, and that is why this conference matters.”
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on X
