Barbados TV ads

[nitnyleo]

All of a sudden, I've seen a "Visit Barbados" TV ad... a number of times.
(I can't wait to get there!)

If Mr. Barbados has seen the ad... is the scene with the huge rocks in the background and the surfers in the foreground Bathsheba?

The only problem I have with the ad is the idyllic way they portrayed cutting down the sugar cane. I'd like to see the footage after they've worked a full day (12 hours?)...that can't be an easy job, no matter what the ad folk choose to show. And to show a woman doing it is disturbing....okay, call me a sexist.

[barbados]

[quote name='nitnyleo']All of a sudden, I've seen a "Visit Barbados" TV ad... a number of times.
(I can't wait to get there!)

If Mr. Barbados has seen the ad... is the scene with the huge rocks in the background and the surfers in the foreground Bathsheba?

The only problem I have with the ad is the idyllic way they portrayed cutting down the sugar cane. I'd like to see the footage after they've worked a full day (12 hours?)...that can't be an easy job, no matter what the ad folk choose to show. And to show a woman doing it is disturbing....okay, call me a sexist.[/QUOTE]
I haven’t seen the finished spot, but I can tell you that it is in the Tent Bay area of Bathsheba as I shot part of it (on spec) last year for Noel Lynch, the Minister of Tourism.

I’m sorry that you find women working the cane unfair, but that is how many make their living. They are proud that they have a job and will gladly tell you all about it.

These wonderful Barbadian women (and men) are GRATEFUL for the chance to earn money to support their families. There is little else for them on the island.

Yes, it is hard work, but less so than their slave ancestors. Today, they are paid adequately and given rest periods.

[I]Some actually own part of the cane and realise a profit from every ton.[/I]

Even during the slave days, people were treated better on Barbados than some other islands, especially Bonaire. In Bonaire the men and women were separated by two miles and had to walk to see their mates every night. Six people slept in 4 x 6’ open concrete “shelters” with nothing else but a roof over their head and two windows that weren’t covered. Dawn-to-dusk was their workday. Complain? No food for the day.

Well, sorry to get off on the past, but things are really much better now. They’re free and can do as they wish.

And they APPRECIATE having a job. Believe me.

To be fair, women compromise less than 5% of the cane labour.

My best wishes for a wonderful time on the island and don’t fret about the women in the fields, it’s only seasonal and they are quite happy to have the job.

[nitnyleo]

I appreciate all the info.
I just think that they could've portrayed the importance of sugar cane in a completely different way. This is a "tourist" ad; not an "industrial development" ad.
I understand the importance of sugar cane to Barbados. And, I'm sure the cutters are happy to have a job. And, it's nice to know that some may actually own the cane they are cutting.
But, I tend to be "left-of-center" when it comes to the welfare of working people. So, it's not that I considered it unfair that the women were cutting the cane, but it was the way it was portrayed....
I live in an touristy agricultural community (PA Amish); the "tourist" ads show the Amish working the fields; but, at least, they show the horses doing all of the hard work of plowing, etc.

PS: We have pick your own apples, peaches, strawberries, etc; perhaps Barbados should have a field where tourists can cut their own cane.

PPS: Thanks for the info on Tent Bay...I didn't realize Bathsheba area was that big.

[luxlady]

Mr. Barbados, thanks for the mention of Bonaire. I have been there twice because of the great snorkeling. I can tell you it was very eery and unsettling to see the tiny slave huts on the beach that the workers were given while working in the salt mines. These were tiny, tiny boxes. Of course this island is still affiliated with The Netherlands - the Dutch were notorious for their terrible practices with regard to native labor. The book, "Krakatoa - The Day the World Exploded" by Simon Winchester is a fascinating story not only about the exploding volcano, but about the practices of the Dutch, who colonized Indonesia.

I am returning to Bonaire in December off the SilverSea Whisper, and will see those loathsome slave huts once again........what awful stories they would have to tell.......

Glenda

[barbados]

[quote name='luxlady']Mr. Barbados, thanks for the mention of Bonaire. I have been there twice because of the great snorkeling. I can tell you it was very eery and unsettling to see the tiny slave huts on the beach that the workers were given while working in the salt mines. These were tiny, tiny boxes. Of course this island is still affiliated with The Netherlands - the Dutch were notorious for their terrible practices with regard to native labor. The book, "Krakatoa - The Day the World Exploded" by Simon Winchester is a fascinating story not only about the exploding volcano, but about the practices of the Dutch, who colonized Indonesia.

I am returning to Bonaire in December off the SilverSea Whisper, and will see those loathsome slave huts once again........what awful stories they would have to tell.......

Glenda[/QUOTE]
Yes, Glenda, eerie is definitely the word that applies. No matter how many times that I see them, I still get a cold chill.

I’ve read the book by Winchester. A chilling account of the cruelties imposed upon men.

The only other one that I’ve seen that is worse is Devil’s Island, French Guyana. I’ve been there once and couldn’t bring myself to return.

If you ever get a chance to see it, or read the book [b]Papillon[/b] by Henri Charriere, I think you’ll put the French over the Dutch as far as inhumane treatment. I realise this was a penal colony and not officially a slave colony, but, in fact, it was a slave colony. A slave colony of the worse kind.

For you good folks that haven’t seen either, I leave you with two pictures. Two pictures that sadden me deeply.

[b]Slave huts, Bonaire, DWI[/b]
[img]http://home.internetcds.com/~barbados/slavehuts.jpg[/img]

[b]The back of the prison cells, Devil’s Island, French Guyana[/b]
[img]http://home.internetcds.com/~barbados/devilsisland.jpg[/img]

-b-

[quesang]

Thanks to all of you who are asking some great questions and especially those that have the answers about this beautiful island. It is so nice to know the history about places we will visit from an "untourist" perspective. It is invaluable and will make us so much more appreciative and our visit so much more rewarding.

Thank you again Mr. Barbados, and others, for all the information!

Serenade of the Seas ~ Jan. 29, 2005