Saint Vincent and the Grenadines official: Colonialism blocked access to decent housing

Colonialism has prevented people from having decent housing in various forms, Byron-Cox Richard Anthony Beresford, advisor to the head of government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, told Report within the framework of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) held in Baku.

According to him, the tragedies brought by colonialism can manifest themselves in completely different forms in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa:

"But the result is the same, people are suffering all over the world. For example, in the Caribbean, the best houses were reserved for the colonizers. Therefore, many problems remained that countries which later gained independence had to solve. One of these problems is the housing issue. Resources, that is, money, are needed to solve this. At the same time, land is needed, because houses are built on land."

Byron-Cox Richard Anthony Beresford noted that the issue is not simply about building structures to house people:

"There are different approaches to solving the problems, and we can learn from each other. Someone must organize this process to bring people together, must gather people. Azerbaijan has done exactly that, bringing us together. In this regard, it is a very beneficial initiative. The issue we are trying to solve is not the future of elderly people, but that of young people. It is precisely in Baku that young and creative minds are coming together to try to solve this problem."