Caribbean American Passport News Magazine - May 2019

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May/Jun 2019

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Haitian

Heritage Month

Noze Art Studio Grand Opening Friday, May 3rd marked the Grand Opening of the Noze Art studio. The community was welcomed to enjoy an exciting night of fun and creativity, as they painted their own masterpieces while being served food and wine.

Patrick Noze is a Haitian-American artist whose paintings capture an essence of history and heritage, and are somewhat impressionist at times and abstract in some cases. His execution of colors and themes are

Haitian Heritage Month is a nationally recognized month and an opportunity for individuals including Haitians and lovers of the the Haitian culture to celebrate the rich culture, distinctive art, delicious food and learn the traditions of Haiti and its people. The celebration is an expansion of Haitian Flag Day on May 18th, a major patriotic day celebration in Haiti and the Diaspora created to encourage patriotism.

This celebration was established to honor the contribution of Haiti internationally as well as its independence.

The United States Census reports that Florida is home to the largest Haitian population.

Cont'd on page 4

intriguing to see and reflect upon, and many of them uplifting in tone and feel.

The studio is additionally available for art classes, leisure workshops, or private events.

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L I F E S T Y L E Samuel J. Roberts, Publisher/Editor

Guenet Gittens-Roberts, Publisher/Editor

WHEN YOU LOVE WHAT YOU DO, JUST DO IT! E very one of us has something special to should not be so tied into anything that you do that failure offer in this world. The hope is that you

find it early in your life and include it into your life. The truth is that life is filled with everyday moments of living. Living, not marking time, but laughing and loving because life is precious and limited and a waste if you don't truly spend a part of it doing what you love.

Each year, around this time, I ask myself why, why are we spending this much time on Caribbean Community events. I have come to the realization that it is one of my passions in life and I do it because I love it. We have helped to shape and create a family, a community here in Orlando and when we see them at events, it is like a family reunion. From January to June, each month for us is filled with a hug and a kiss from members of the community. It is filled with fighting too, but the key is to know whose opinion you value and then focus on constructive criticism from them and not on the input from people whose motives or intentions are not clear to you. When you lead, you take on the risk of people trying to topple you from the perch that they feel that you are on. Part of leading is knowing that you will be attacked, so you have to careful as to why you are doing whatever you are doing and once you are doing it for you ...then no one else's opinion matters.

Leadership is about showing up and doing what others might still be dreaming about, but doing it your way...and getting it done. You will never please everyone but you have to be very comfortable with that...and it is easier if you are doing it because it is something you want to do and you love doing. It's about being vulnerable in front of the world because it is easier to talk about doing something or criticize the way something has been done than it is to show up, do the work and then let others see what you have done. Seen in it's most extreme forms...being safe could have you staying home, because of the risk of an accident if you drive your car. In it's extreme forms it is known as neurosis. Neurosis is a condition that arises when a person fears the downsides or risks of connecting with other people and when he or she begins to create a safer alternate reality to avoid possible tragedy.

or criticism derails you. Disappointment is a part of life and living and I would rather deal with it than with a fake safe conjured life. Life is messy and you can either live it fully with all it's wonderful imperfections or you can cultivate a perfect shell or bubble from which to peer out of while your worries turn into full blown neurosis about every risk that's out there not worth taking.

Carl Jung contended that neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering. Jung felt that we could only be really happy, fulfilled and socially productive when we have not only come to know but come to terms with our biggest challenge: ourselves.

It's hard work, but on the other side is a happy mentally healthy person who will be able to sit at the end of a lifetime filled with living and say that I did the things I wanted to do...I didn't waste this life, this body, this mind that I was given. I followed my dreams, my passions and lived.

There is one thing that we are reminded of every time this year...we love our life and we love what we do!

1969 Alafaya Trail • Orlando, FL 32828 Office: 407-427-1800 Fax: 407-386-7925 Toll Free: 877-220-8315 For Media Information email: Publisher: sroberts@caribbeanamericanpassport.com Info: .Info@caribbeanamericanpassport.com

Should you desire to review past copies of the publicationgo to http://caribbeanamericanpassport.com and click on the 'Print Archive'.

Editor & Publisher................................................................................... Sam Roberts Publisher ............................................................................. Guenet Gittens-Roberts Graphic Design & Layout .....................................................................Aleia Roberts Contributing Writers: ................................................................................ Tony Dyal .......................................................................................................................Ryan Davis ...................................................................................................................Sandra Fatmi .......................................................................................................................Gail Seeram .................................................................................................................Sasha Watson ..................................................................................................................Aleia Roberts

But many of us don't make the connection to the fact that to Contributing Photographers ............ .......................................................Ted Hollins live our life fully and completely we have to surrender to the .....................................................................................................................Dilia Castillo risk involved in every single aspect of living.

This self .............................................. .............................................................Nancy-Joe Brown Central Florida Distribution........................................................Kadeem Roberts protective or avoidance of risk can derail our career, our South Florida Distribution .............................................................Norman Williams friendships our family and our lives. The fact is that everything NorthFlorida Distribution .....................................................................Theo Jack Jr. we do in life has risk. We could eat fish and choke on a bone, Tampa Distribution ..................................................................................Julian Pina Copyright (C) 2016 GGR Marketing & Public Relations. All rights reserved. we could cross the street and get hit, we could ask for a raise and not get it, we could take on a project and fail. But is it better to not eat fish because you can choke on a bone, not cross the street because of the risk of death, sell our selves short because we are afraid of rejection. No, your sense of worth www.caribbeanamericanpassport.com

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Haitian Heritage Month continued from pg 1 Led by former slave Toussaint L’Ouverture, the slaves killed their slave masters, torched the sugar houses and fields and by 1792 they controlled a third of the island.

France sent reinforcements but the area of the colony held by the rebels grew. At the end of the fight, thousands of blacks and the whites were killed.

Still, the blacks managed to turn away other French and British forces that arrived in 1793 to conquer them.

By 1798, the forces had withdrawn from the colony and by 1801 l’Overture expanded the revolution beyond Haiti, and conquered the neighbouring Spanish colony of Santo Domingo (now called the Dominican Republic).

He eradicated slavery in Santo Domingo and made himself governor-general for life over the entire island of Hispaniola.

Toussaint L’Ouverture

Long before the British abolished slave trade in 1833, the first slave trade came to an end due to political and other kinds of events, particularly the Haitian revolution in 1791.

It all happened on the night of August 22 and 23, in the then Saint-Domingue, where men and women sold into slavery revolted against the system to obtain their freedom and eventual independence for the country now known as Haiti.

Saint-Domingue was then a sugar island, and the French largely depended on it for economic growth. But on that fateful night, enslaved people rose against their French enslavers and they began the biggest and bloodiest slave revolt in history.

Napoleon Bonaparte, who was at the time the ruler of France, dispatched General Charles Leclerc, his brother-in-law, and over 40,000 French troops to capture L’Overture to enable him to restore both French rule and slavery.

L’Ouverture was taken to France where he died in prison in 1803.

But Jean-Jacques Dessalines, one of L’Ouverture’s generals and also a former slave, led a series of revolutionaries at the Battle of Vertieres on November 18, 1803, where the French forces were defeated.

On January 1, 1804, Dessalines declared the country independent and renamed it Haiti.

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Orlando Carnival Downtown Weekend - Events you don't want to miss!

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Indian Arrival Day Indian Arrival Day is a holiday celebrated on various days in the nations of the Caribbean and the island nation of Mauritius, usually commemorating the arrival of people from the Indian subcontinent to that nation as indentured laboor brought by European colonial authorities and their agents.

Grenada The 100th anniversary of the first arrival of Indians in Grenada was commemorated in 1957. This was the first ever commemoration of the day in Grenada. On 29 April 2009, the Government of Grenada declared that the 1st of May would officially be designated as Indian Arrival Day and observed annually alongside the existing Labour Day. The date was already a public holiday in Grenada, on account of Labour Day. The Government also announced that Boucherie Road, the road leading to the site of the arrival of the Maidstone, would be officially renamed Maidstone Road to honour the arrival of Indians in Grenada.

Guyana On May 5th 1838, the very year of final slave emancipation (Abolition of Slavery) in the British West Indies, a small batch of 396 Indian immigrants popularly known as the ‘Gladstone Coolies’ landed at Highbury, Berbice in British Guiana (Guyana) from Calcutta, India aboard the Whitby and Hesperus . This was the beginning of the indenture system which was abolised in 1917, by which time a total of some 240,000 indentured servants from India came to Guyana under a system whose essential features were very reminiscent of slavery. In recognition of their contribution to the overall development of Guyana, The Government declared May 5, Indian Arrival Day. This day is observed annually as a national holiday and across Guyana, the Indian Organisations and Communities host a range of activities to celebrate the rich history and culture of their foreparents. Their descendants today comprise 44 percent of Guyana's population of over 750,000.

Jamaica In 1995, the Government of Jamaica proclaimed May 10 Indian Heritage Day in recognition of the Indians’ contribution to the social and economic development of the country. The arrival of the Indians more than 170 years ago is commemorated in stamps.

Saint Lucia The Indian Diaspora of St. Lucia, an association promoting Indo-Saint Lucian heritage, organized the first Indian Arrival Day celebrations in Saint Lucia on 6 May 2013. The association is campaigning for the Saint Lucian government to officially declare the 6th of May as Indian Arrival Day.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines The Parliament of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines enacted an Act of Parliament on 26 March 2007 officially declaring the 1st of June as Indian Arrival Day. The first official commemoration of the event was held on 1 June that year.

The day is marked annually by a re-enactment of the landing of Indians at Indian Bay, Kingstown, followed by a procession to Heritage Square. Several Indian cultural events are also held to mark the occasion. The first International Indian Diaspora Conference was held for the first time on 1-3 June 2012. It was organized by the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Chapter of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin International (GOPIO-SVG), in partnership with the SVG Indian Heritage Foundation, and under the patronage of the SVG Ministry of Tourism and Culture. This was the first international conference for the Indian diaspora held in the country Suriname In Suriname, Indian Arrival Day is celebrated on June 5. This national holiday celebrates the arrival of East Indian immigrants in 1873. Celebration of Indian Arrival Day features many festivities, but the central event is laying wreath and flowers at the Baba and Mai statue. This monument symbolizes the first Indian man and woman who set foot on the land of Suriname.

Trinidad and Tobago In Trinidad and Tobago Indian Arrival Day is celebrated on May 30th. Trinidad and Tobago was the first country to start this holiday.

Indian Arrival Day was first celebrated in Skinner Park, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, as the East Indian Centenary on May 30, 1945 which marked the hundredth anniversary of the coming of Indians to Trinidad.

The Acting Governor representing the Government of the United Kingdom attended indicating the significance of the observance.

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CAFA Caribbean Fusion 2019

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Vincy Day in the Park

Photos courtesy: Paula Ollivierre

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Tributes Pour in For Co-Founder of the Barbados Nation Newspaper Following His Death One of the founders of Barbados’ Nation newspaper has died after a long illness, and Prime Minister Mia Mottley is among several people who have paid tribute to his contribution to the profession. Veteran journalist Harold Hoyte died at home on Sunday, May 12th at the age of 77. He had been ailing after suffering an aneurysm while on holiday in Florida at the end of 2017.

In a statement issued after his passing, Mottley said Barbados had lost one of its great patriots and she had lost a dear friend.

“The country has lost a prized son who has contributed more than his fair share to the development of post-Independence Barbados. It would be impossible to separate the name Harold Hoyte from the path of journalism in Barbados and the Caribbean over the past 60 years. Equally, it would be impossible to separate him for the story of success of the enterprise known as the Nation Newspaper,” she said.

“In my eyes, Harold Hoyte was more than worthy to hold any and all offices in this land. He volunteered his time and intellect in ways too numerous to count,” she added, noting that one of his seminal contributions was his service on the Commission on Law and Order, established during his tenure as Attorney General under a previous Barbados Labour Party administration.

In its tribute, the Barbados Broadcasting Authority said Hoyte’s name would forever be etched indelibly on the pages of media history in the country.

“Perhaps our best tribute to this eminent journalist, who often shared his political analysis in the broadcast media during elections, is to raise the bar in the quality of our local journalism,” the Authority’s chairman Dr Allyson Leacock said.

“Harold was the type of leader, colleague and friend anyone would need to have if they desired success in the media and communications industry. He was a friend, mentor and support to many of us in the fraternity in the Caribbean. He had a brilliant journalistic mind which he used for the betterment of the region,” said CBU president Gary Allen.

“Through his leadership, mentorship and his kindness in the profession Harold touched many lives and accomplished a lot. His work exceeded the proficiency of leading the Nation Newspaper as a strong journalistic publication and successful business and guided the fight for press freedom regionally and beyond.”

Hoyte retired from the Nation in December 2006 and was Editor Emeritus up until he died.

Earlier this month, the home of the Nation Publishing Co. Ltd was renamed from Nation House to honour Hoyte and the late Sir Fred Gollop, one of the other founding members.

The building is now called the Harold Hoyte and Fred Gollop Media Complex.

Guyanese-American on American Idol Alyssa Raghu is a top 8 finalist on American Idol 2019.

Alyssa's father is Guyanese and her mother is of Mexican descent. Alyssa resides in Orlando Florida, and was seen on American Idol 2018, but made it through to perform in Hollywood, California in the 2019 season. Orlando, let's make sure we vote for Alyssa.

“Let us all place less emphasis on being a star and more on the substance of the story; less on fake news and more on facts; less on personality and more on principle.

Harold Hoyte was an exemplar for the media profession.

We honour his work and salute his legacy.”

The Barbados Association of Journalists and Media Workers (BARJAM) also spoke highly of the late Hoyte, who founded the Nation Newspaper in 1973 with several others and served as Editor-in-Chief for three decades.

It said his death has left a gaping hole in the media fraternity.

“He was a colossus in the news information profession as a founder of the Nation Publishing Company Ltd., and a mentor and coach to an array of journalists in this country….The name Harold Hoyte is synonymous with excellence and integrity in the field of journalism,” BARJAM said.

The Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) said he was an outstanding media owner, leader and journalist.

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Taste of Haiti

The third annual Taste of Haiti took place in Orlando on Saturday, May 4th. The event celebrated Haitian culture in the forms of food, music, and family fun with live

performances, a cook-off competition, and more! Plans are already being made for Taste of Haiti 2020 and we're looking forward to it!

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A Brief History of Jamaica's Jewish Pirates Fleeing persecution in Catholic Europe, 16th- and 17thcentury Jews fled first to South America with European explorers and then to the Caribbean. We give you the details on the history of these intriguing people.

Jamaica’s Jewish Pirates Having played a key role in establishing numerous successful trading posts in the new colonies of the Caribbean, Jewish privateers found common cause with the British. In 1655, Britain’s Royal Navy captured Jamaica from the Spanish and subsequently turned Port Royal into a naval base. Jewish buccaneers were among the fleet of officially sponsored pirates assembled by the British in Jamaica to take the fight to the Spanish. Leading some of the most successful raids against the Spanish, Jamaica’s Jewish pirates fought their way into the history books.

Catholic Persecution At the time that Columbus was stumbling upon the new world while searching for a route to the East Indies, Europe’s Jews were facing the horrors of the inquisition.

Many fled with the explorers to the Americas where they established small communities during the early 16th century. Notable Jewish communities were established in places such as Brazil, where they played a key role in trade.

The New World Columbus claimed Jamaica for for Spain during his second voyage to the Americas in 1503. Subsequently the island was granted to his family as a personal fiefdom. As the inquisition reached the Spanish and Portuguese colonies of the new world, many of the Jews who had settled in South America fled once again — this time to the Caribbean. The Jewish played a vital role in establishing sugar plantations and trading posts across the Caribbean. In Jamaica they were sheltered by the Columbus family, who held off the inquisitors.

in 1628, led the only successful capture of a Spanish treasure fleet, seizing today’s equivalent of US$1 billion.

Moses went on to be a trusted advisor to Morgan, who himself was eventually knighted and made Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica.

Legacy of Jamaica’s Jewish Pirates The Jewish population of Jamaica thrived under British rule and at one point comprised 20% of the residents of Kingston. Today, Jamaica’s Jewish population is estimated to have dwindled to just 200. Marking their official establishment as the day the British took the island in 1655, the Jewish community is 362 years old.

It is possible today to see traces of the Jamaican Jewish pirate legacy if you look hard enough. Some notable places include: Hunt’s Bay Cemetery Dating from 1672, this contains the graves of Jewish pirates, marked vividly with the infamous skull and crossbones symbol. It is situated across the harbour from Port Royal, near what is now Kingston docks.

The Shaare Shalom Synagogue Although Jamaica’s original synagogues were long ago destroyed by natural disaster, the Shaare Shalom Synagogue in Kingston provides an intriguing insight into the time of the pirates — the white sand that covers the floor is a reminder that the Iberian Jews had to hide the sound of their feet as they worshipped in secret during the inquisition.

Fort Charles in the original pirate town of Port Royal The fort, built in 1655 soon after the British captured the island, had 36 guns by the time Henry Morgan and his Jewish pirate colleagues were using Port Royal as their base. A museum displays numerous artifacts.

Pirates of the Caribbean The British, who had long been at war with Catholic Europe, captured Jamaica from the Spanish in 1655. The British allowed the Jewish population to live openly and granted them British citizenship five years later in 1660.

Britain, in violent competition with Spain for territory and treasure, had hired buccaneers and privateers in a kind of state sponsored piracy with the express purpose of capturing Spanish possessions. They even established a base for this motley force at Port Royal, across the bay from what is now Kingston. A number of Jewish ships joined the British cause and took the fight to their Spanish persecutors.

The Wickedest Place on Earth Port Royal, infamously labeled the wickedest place on earth, was a hub of pirates, prostitutes and adventurers.

By 1667, the infamous Captain Henry Morgan had been given letters of marque and was leading a fleet out of Port Royal. A number of his trusted captains were Jewish. In fact, Jewish privateers had long established themselves in the Caribbean. The feared Moses Cohen Henriques had,

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Weldon Ryan - The Art of Carnival Born in The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, home of from the NYPD on December 1, 2004 and relocated Carnival and the Steel Drum; Weldon Ryan came to the with his family to Palm Coast, Florida.

United States at the age of six. He grew up in the Bronx where he spent most of his childhood. With his mother’s His art has found a home in Palm Coast at the SECCA encouragement he pursued an art education, attending The Studio where he has a studio and exhibits at the Hollingsworth Gallery. In 2010 he served as the president of High School of Art and Design in 1977, the State University the Flagler County Art League. In 2011 he earned the honor of New York at New Paltz, and then Fashion Institute of of the Gargiulo Art Foundation Flagler County Artist of the Technology in New York. He had a short stay at The Art Year.

Students League of New York as well. When paste-up and mechanical and marker comps jobs slowed in 1987 he Weldon Ryan’s art is an “interfuse” of many styles and worked as an Urban Park Ranger for the NYC Parks techniques. He uses texture, color, and realistic rendering of Department, where he created murals for the Pelham Bay the subject to create a unique interpretation of the world Environmental Nature Center. Two years later he joined around him. He has the ability to master any medium he the NYPD. The first African American to be appointed to chooses; be it oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastels, digital the New York City Police Department’s Composite Artist illustration, photography, or chavant clay. He uses the old Unit. masters’ techniques to create contemporary masterpieces.

At the same time he served as one of NYC finest, he painted vigorously in his studio in the D.U.M.B.O art district in Brooklyn. Several of his commercial illustrations graced the cover and pages of magazines. After 18 years of service and solving numerous crimes with his drawing skills he retired

To learn more, view images of paintings, order prints, or contact Weldon Ryan, visit his website: weldonryan.com

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The month of May recognizes Haitian Heritage.

Events in Miami By Jessica Modkins This month-long celebration allows Haitian Americans an opportunity to share their history, culture, traditions, music, crafts and cuisines. It is an expansion of Haitian Flag Day which takes place on May18th and was established to honor the contribution of Haiti internationally as well as its independence.

The United States Census reports that Florida is home to the largest Haitian population so it comes as no surprise that celebrations in Miami are like nowhere else in the country. We have street festivals, learning sessions, author panels, art exhibitions, films, musical concerts and Haitian cultural activities for all to enjoy.

Haitian Heritage Month kicks off on May 1, 2019, in the City of North Miami with their annual Mayor Smith Joseph’s Haitian Heritage Month Opening Reception, featuring cuisine from multiple regions of Haiti, live music and performances. This is a free event open to the public, but you must go to Eventbrite to RSVP. It starts at 6:00 p.m. and ends at 8:30 p.m. It will take place at MOCA Plaza. 770 NE 125th Street,North Miami.

On May 5, 2019, stop in to the Little Haiti Book Festival taking place at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex. This annual free book festival will showcase Haitian authors, literary panels, writer workshops, interactive kid activities, films, dance and more. Definitely keep this event on your “to do” list for Haitian Heritage Month. It is open to the public. 212 N.E. 59th Terrace.

The 21st Annual Haitian Compas Festival is not for the wiry. The weekend music festival starts on May 15, 2019 and runs through May 19, 2019. It all takes place at MANA Wynwood with performances by Harmonik, DJ AKOUT #1, Nu Look, T-Vice, Kai, Kreyol La, Vay B, Gabel, Enposib, Rutshelle, Cubano, and more. There is also a kickoff party at Cafe Iguana Pines on May 16th. 318 NW 23rd Street.

Sounds of Little Haiti will take place on May 17, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex. Last year this arts complex turned into an outdoor concert laced with an array of colorful art murals. International performing artist, Wyclef John, graced the stage for Haitian Heritage Month. This year's artist has yet to be announced. 212 NE 59th Terrace.

The City of North Miami will host NoMi NightsMusic festivals kick off with the 5th Annual Rolling Loud Festival. It is the largest hip-hop festival in the world and is set to go for three days in Miami Gardens. It runs May 10 – 12 with star artists like Cardi B, Rae Sremmurd, Rick Ross, YG, Juice World, Lil Yachty, Trippie Redd, Rich the Kid, Migos, Travis Scott, Lil Wayne, 21 Savage, Kodak Black, Young Thung, Kid Cudi, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Pump, and more. and Pre-Haitian Flag Day Celebration featuring “The Young Talents of North Miami” on May 17, 2019.

The night of live music will also have Haitian food vendors, and fun for the entire family. This event starts at 6:00 p.m. at MOCA Plaza. 770 NE 125th Street.

Miami’s Little Haiti Cultural Center offers Tap Tap tours of our Little Haiti neighborhood every Saturday at 10:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 3:00 p.m. The tour on Saturday, May 18 at 1:00 p.m. (Haitian Flag Day) will be free and sponsored by the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. The translation for the phrase “tap tap” is “quick quick,” and is a shared taxi in Haiti, often painted with religious imagery and vibrant murals. The mode of transportation for this tour is a mini-bus painted by two local Haitian artists, Serge Toussaint and Rodrigue Gilbert.

Sunday, May 26th will be the return of the 13th Annual Best of the Best Music Fest featuring reggae and dance hall music. It’s all going down in Miami this Memorial Day weekend at Bayfront Park. Come and check out the emperor himself Shabba Ranks, Super Cat, Alkaline, Jahmiel, Bushman, Skinny Fabulous, Noah Powa, General Degree, Round Head, General B, Frisco Kid, and more.

Gates open at 2:00 p.m.

Be sure to check out the Caribbean Market Days. With the charge to offer a magnetic atmosphere of culture and community liken to the glory days of the "Mache Ayisyen,” the Caribbean Market Days showcase original AfroCaribbean fashion and accessories, home goods, natural beauty products, books, music, arts, cuisine and more.

Caribbean Market Days are every Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex.

This festive celebration isn't just for Haitians — it is an opportunity for all to explore the Haitian culture, sample their cuisine and embrace their rich traditions.

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American Airlines flies directly to Guyana

Guyana Day 2019 Guyana Day, Inc. is a community-based organization which celebrates, preserves, and presents Guyanese and Caribbean arts and cuture, and strives to uplift and maintain quality of life in the community.

American Airlines (AA) is now offering direct, daily flights between Guyana and Miami. The ticket prices are competitive with what Caribbean Airlines has been offering, with ticket prices averaging $576- 850 roundtrip during peak season, and $500 in te off season.

The airline has plans for flights between Toronto to Georgetown and NewYork's JFK to Toronto. AA's website quotes flights between Toronto and Georgetown via New York at $750 during the Christmas season. AA has not set a date when they will begin flights.

Guyanese can now enjoy better priced flights to Europe and other destinations, because Guyanese can benefit from traveling on the AA network - so flights on British Airways, Iberia and Finnair are now more affordable.

Through AA's network, Guyanese can now reach 150 countries.

Return tickets between Guyana to Trinidad and Tobago now cost around $400 USD .

Unfortunately, customers will have to pay $30 USD for the first suitcase, and $40 USD for the second bag, each way. A 13th oil discovery was just made off the coast of Guyana, and those discoveries will bring significant revenue to the country. Increase in business travelers has more than tripled since the discoveries were announced.

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TPS Extended to 01/02/2020 for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and El Salvador

By Gail Seeram

USCIS published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the automatic extension of #TemporaryProtectedStatus (TPS) documentation for beneficiaries under the TPS designations for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and El Salvador until January 2, 2020, in order to ensure continued compliance with the preliminary injunction in #RamosvNielsen, which required the government to maintain #TPS for #immigrants from these countries.

Temporary protected status (also called “TPS“) is a temporary status given to eligible nationals of designated countries who are present in the United States. The status, afforded to nationals from some countries affected by armed conflict or natural disaster, allows persons to live and work in the United States for limited times. Currently, persons from ten countriesHaiti, ElSalvador, Syria, Nepal, Honduras, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Nicaragua; and South Sudan—have temporary protected status. About 320,000 people have TPS as of 2017, the majority from El Salvador (195,000), Honduras (57,000), and Haiti (46,000).

For more information on Immigration Court, text | whatsapp | call 407-292-7730 or email gail@gaillaw.com Copyright © 2019, Law Offices of Gail S. Seeram. All Rights Reserved.

Orange County launches a series of Community Listening Sessions Focused on Youth and Family Needs The Orange County Citizens’ Commission for Children (CCC) is hosting a series of Community Listening Sessions and a Non Profit Forum to discuss the needs of local youth and families. Topics will include children’s services for early childhood education, educational enrichment, juvenile justice, and mental and physical health. Residents are encouraged to participate in a needsassessment survey designed to obtain feedback from individuals, stakeholders and client advocates.

What: This is an initiative led by Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings through the Citizens’ Commission for Children’s to carry out his directive to protect and serve the children of Orange County.

The CCC provides funding and monitoring of local human-services programs that address the needs of children and families in Orange County. The CCC embraces its role as an innovator in the growth and

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transformation of the philosophies and outcome-based funding systems of services that touch the lives of countless residents in our community.

When and Where: May 9: Community Listening Session John Bridges Community Center, 445 West 13th Street Building A, Apopka, 32703 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m Nonprofit Forum designed to identify issues for May 13: early childhood education, educational enrichment, and juvenile justice, mental and physical health in partnership with area nonprofit organizations.

Barnett Park, Dolphin Room, 4801 W. Colonial Drive, Orlando 32808 Session 1 – 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Session 2 – 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

May 14: Community Listening Session Valencia Community College, East Campus, 701 North Econlockatchee Trail Building 3 Room 113, Orlando, 32825 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

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Buck Dodgers in the 21st Century It used to be a penny for your thoughts but now the price has gone up to a buck – not a Trinidad buck or even an American buck, which is worth almost eight Trinidad bucks these days, or a Jamaican buck, but a Guyanese one, which is about 209 bucks to one US. What is also different are the lengths some people went to in their effort to shut the buck up. Having grown up in Trinidad in the immediate aftermath of World War II, when electricity and even water were not available in the village homes until I was about nine years old, all of us, children and adults, were surrounded by spirits, not just the overproof rum, which was the popular choice of the workers in the sugar cane fields, like my father, uncles and aunts, but of the dead, the malicious, the wicked and the weird. In the nights before the radio came and my family could listen to the ‘Indian songs’ or I could tune in to ‘The Shadow’ and other stories, with one lamp or a candle flickering in the room, we heard about the ‘lagahoo’ or creature who dragged a chain around the village with a very loud noise that disturbed the dawn or ‘foe-day-morning’, even from a cow (and there were many of them) that had escaped from temporary bondage and was roaming the roadway catching its grass.

LA DIABLESSE: Then there was the La Diablesse or female creature, known by its cloven hooves, that sought to bewitch men but, fortunately for my father, uncle, neighbour or family friend, who all told different versions of the basic story, inevitably failed. There they were, riding from the rum shop at midnight along the dark and deserted village road on their Raleigh men’s bike, the most popular vehicle of the time, which differed from the female bike because of the suggestive, Freudian, characteristic iron-bar, running from front to back, which made it easy to ‘tow’ or carry a passenger, side-saddle, so to speak.

The creature, in the guise of an extremely beautiful woman whose dress reached the ground in order to hide her ‘cowfoot’, claimed to be stranded and begged for a ride to her home near the Catholic Church (which had a cemetery) where she lived. The man, feeling sorry, and a little more horny than the cow with the chains or the La Diablesse herself, would let her mount his handlebar and lean on him as he rode on Cloud Nine.

Inevitably, however, just before being taken for a ride to God knows where, the rider would ‘ketch’ himself, see the cloven hooves, and escape the ghostly clutches. As he ditched her and fled, he always heard her screeching, cackling laughter and the loudly voiced opinion, “You get away this time but I will ketch you again!”

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by Tony Deyal

SHADOWY SPIRIT: There was also the ‘Soucouyant’, a witch who left her skin at home, generally in a mortar, while the female pest flew through the night, sucking the blood of anyone in the village whose ‘blood took her’ or to whom she was positively attracted. Women would wake up with swollen, blue marks on their bodies, demonstrating that the vampire had invaded their house, their privacy, and sometimes their privates, for a meal.

This is also where the buck started. However, in this particular case, the buck (according to a local newspaper) was a three-foot tall, short fat man with a fat face, big hair and big ears, who, despite this, was a shadowy spirit creature which supposedly lived inside the home of a family in the town of Gasparillo and had terrorized them for many months.

It had eaten valuable racing pigeons, sausages and meat, poisoned their goats, and stolen an expensive vase, a picture of Jesus Christ, a Bible, a tablecloth and money.

Home appliances, including a television set, stereo, fridge and stove, which were levitating off the shelves, had to be firmly anchored, using pieces of wire to keep them from disappearing into the unknown.

JAMAICAN BUCK. TRINI ACCENT: The newspaper explained, “The term ‘buck’ has ties with both Guyanese and African folklore. It is believed to have originated in West Africa where the short races (pygmies) were believed to have magical powers. They were referred to as ‘Baku’, which in many West African languages means ‘little brother’ or ‘short man’. “There are also stories of rich Trinidadians who came upon their wealth, not through hard work, but rather through a trip to the forests of Guyana to capture one of these little wish granters. The bucks usually live in dark places like attics and usually demand blood and milk.”

However, this buck claimed to be Jamaican but with a Trinidad accent. If that was not gruesome enough, the story grew some more in the claim that even after several local exorcists had sought to cleanse the family and their household of this walking, talking, thieving, thoroughly reprehensible apparition, obviously a Buckaroo Banzai from the eighth dimension, the buck returned and sucked the toe of the son of the house.

BUCK STOPS HERE: According to the boy’s father, “The boy woke up and said he got bite on his foot. It sucked him about four places in his foot and right now it is blue black.

That thing is so brave. It is still in the house. We have to get it out somehow.” And they did. An American exorcist exorcised the demon and rid the exhausted family of the excrescence so that they now live happily ever. In other words, folks, the buck stops here.

Tony Deyal was last seen saying that even if his children are performing badly, he would never tell them to “buck up”.

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