April 24, 2024

HAITI Page 3

Port-au-Prince is completely blocked off by violent gangs - preventing food and aid from reaching the country says the UN CAPITAL BLOCKADED

AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES

WASHINGTON DC Page 4

Members of the US Congress call on the President to consider TPS for Haitians in this time of crisis PRESSURE BIDEN

PRESIDENT OF GUYANA DR. MOHAMED IRFAAN ALI RECEIVED THE LEGACY AWARD

HE PLEDGED SUPPORT & COLLABORATION WITH UWI, TO SHARE GUYANA’S WEALTH WITH THE REGION, TO SUPPORT HAITI AND PALESTINE IN THEIR STRUGGLE, ALL IN FOR REPARATORY JUSTICE

CaribNews

Reclaiming “Tree Hugger” by Ben Jealous - P 9

AFRICA

War in Sudan is ‘a crisis of epic proportions’ as atrocities abound

WORLD BRIEFS

Mass graves in Gaza show victims’ hands were tied, says UN rights office

Federal Government Providing Nearly $80 Million to Combat Violent Crime in U.S. by Stacy M. Brown - P 9

HEALTH

NYC Health + Hospitals’ NYC Care Program Releases Multilingual Video Series Focused on Membership Card - P 10

SPORTS

As Trophy Tour Makes Stop At Magical Pitons, Daren Sammy Takes Center Stage - P 19

HOW YOU CAN HELP HAITI

Haiti’s security issue is a US National Security problem.

Congressman Mike Johnson and Michael McCaul please vote to fund the international security mission to Haiti to avoid a genocide. National security is not a partisan issue. People are dying every day in Haiti, show your humanity!

Call to Action, please call, urgent action is needed now.

Hon. Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House (202) 225-2777

Hon. Mike McCaul, Chairman House Foreign Affairs Committee (202) 225-2401

The year-long ongoing war in Sudan is “a crisis of epic proportions”, and the world must rethink the way it supports the Sudanese people amid rampant atrocities against civilians and no end in sight, top UN and African Union officials warned the Security Council on Friday.

The Sudanese people have endured “unbearable suffering” since the conflict started just over a year ago when an outbreak of fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) “brutally interrupted the political transition”, Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said. “This is a crisis of epic proportions; it is also wholly manmade,” she told ambassadors, stressing that both parties have failed to protect civilians.

Over 14,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands wounded, half the country’s population – 25 million people – need lifesaving assistance and more than 8.6 million people have been forced to flee their homes, including 1.8 million refugees.

Widespread atrocities

“Allegations of atrocities abound,” she said, citing reports of widespread use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, of the recruitment of children by parties to the conflict and of extensive use of torture and prolonged arbitrary detention by both parties.

Airlines urged not to facilitate UK-Rwanda asylum transfers

Independent UN experts have expressed concern over the role airlines and aviation authorities could have in the unlawful removal of asylum seekers from the United Kingdom to Rwanda under an agreement between the two governments and the proposed “Safety of Rwanda” bill.

Two years ago, London announced the Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP), now referred to as the UK-Rwanda Asylum Partnership, which stated that asylum seekers in the UK would be sent to Rwanda before their cases could be heard.

The national Rwandan asylum system would then consider their need for international protection.

In November 2023, the UK Supreme Court said the policy was unlawful due to safety concerns in Rwanda. In response, the UK and Rwanda created the new bill, declaring Rwanda a safe country, among other stipulations.

Risk of refoulement

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is working on having the bill passed and recently said that the first flight transporting asylum seekers is set to leave in 10 to 12 weeks, around July, according to international media reports.

However, the UN Special Rapporteurs warned that removing asylum seekers to Rwanda, or anywhere else, could put airlines and aviation authorities at risk of refoulement – the forced return of refugees or asylum seekers to a country where they may face persecution...

Disturbing reports continue to emerge about mass graves in Gaza in which Palestinian victims were reportedly found stripped naked with their hands tied, prompting renewed concerns about possible war crimes amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday.

The development follows the recovery of hundreds of bodies “buried deep in the ground and covered with waste” over the weekend at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, central Gaza, and at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City in the north. A total of 283 bodies were recovered at Nasser Hospital, of which 42 were identified.

“Among the deceased were allegedly older people, women and wounded, while others were found tied with their hands…tied and stripped of their clothes,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Al-Shifa discovery

Citing the local health authorities in Gaza, Ms. Shamdasani added that more bodies had been found at Al-Shifa Hospital.

From Dominica to Vogue: Big dreams on a small island

Becoming a successful international fashion photographer is hard for anyone, but it’s particularly difficult if you grow up in Dominica, a small Caribbean country regularly hit by hurricanes. This hasn’t deterred Josiah Johnson, an aspiring photographer who is taking advantage of digital technology training to find new opportunities well beyond the borders of his home.

Small island developing States (SIDS) often benefit from good weather, sandy beaches and lush countryside, attracting large numbers of tourists, particularly from the United States and Europe, seeking to escape the gloomy winter months. But, growing up in these countries can be hard: opportunities are few and far between, and youth unemployment is high, with more than half of young people out of work in some countries, according to recent studies.

Robert Tonge, Digital Economy Coordinator for the Government of Dominica, said that life in the country has been tough in recent years.

“After COVID-19, many people lost their jobs, and they had no way to support their families,” he said. “The pandemic came off the back of Hurricane Maria just a few years before, during which a large proportion of the population lost their livelihoods, but the effects of COVID-19 lasted longer, especially from a business standpoint. A lot of companies closed, and many Dominicans decided to leave the country.”

Haitian Groups Want Billions in Reparations From France

A coalition of civil society organizations believes that France should reimburse billions of euros to Haiti for the debt that people who were once in slavery were

made to pay in exchange for the island’s recognition of independence.

Following a slave uprising, the Caribbean island became the first in the area to achieve freedom in 1804. However, France then enforced heavy reparations for lost income, a decision that many Haitians attribute to the country’s two decades of strife. This debt was finally entirely repaid in 1947.

A fresh impartial commission to supervise the repayment of the debt—which they call a ransom—is being sought after by the coalition of about twenty non-governmental groups presently in Geneva for the U.N. Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD). They argue that the funds need to be used for public works projects in Haiti, where armed

groups have been waging deadly warfare for a while. This month, a transition committee was appointed to restore security.

“What’s important is that it’s time that France recognizes this and we move forward,” Reporters were informed by Haitian civil society activist Monique Clesca about the actions being coordinated.

A request for comment from the French Foreign Ministry was not immediately answered. There’s a “moral debt” that France owes Haiti; its development agency has sent hundreds of millions of dollars there.

Historians differ on how much was paid to France, but the New York Times calculated that Haiti lost $21 billion. Supporters of the initiative claim the sum is far more.

“It’s $21 billion plus 200 years of interest that France has enjoyed so we’re talking more like $150 billion, $200 billion or more,” according to Jemima Pierre, a lecturer at the University of British Columbia who studies global race. The U.N. forum’s conclusions are due on April 19, 2024, and Clesca expressed her optimism that the suggestion and others will be included. The PFPAD recommended last year that a tribunal be established to deal with slavery reparations.

Reparations and other forms of atonement for slavery have long been campaigns, and they are becoming more and more popular all over the world.

US – Resumes Deportations To Haiti While Country in Crisis

The first deportation flight since highly armed gangs began a deadly insurgency that has paralyzed the city and removed the prime minister has transported more than 70 evicted Haitians back to their homeland.

Human rights groups referred to the aircraft as “inhumane” after it touched down early on April 18, 2024, in the port city of Cap-Haïtien. They cautioned that the criminal gangs who dominate much of the nation would probably target the deportees.

“This is reckless and cruel,” stated Nicole Phillips, the legal director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for refugees. “These people are being sent back to an impossible situation where there is no work, no healthcare, and no schools to send their children to. On top of that, there is also no real Haitian government to consent to the flight, and no one who can keep these people safe.”

Following the murder of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, Haiti has been in a state of constant crisis. However, in the last two months, gangs have united to unleash an

unparalleled wave of terrible violence, plunging the nation’s profound and overlapping issues to new depths.

According to State Department spokeswoman Matthew Miller, the US flew non-essential embassy staff and other residents from Haiti late last month: “The security situation in Haiti remains untenable due to the violence caused by gangs that claim to represent the Haitian people but thrive on violence and misery.”

A transitional council was established when interim prime minister Aaron Henry resigned, but the situation is still grave—deadly gunfights occur daily, 4 million people frequently go without food, and the public health system is in disarray.

Recently, heavily armed individuals reportedly carried out acts of terror around the nation, killing eight citizens in the Carrefour neighborhood at the western edge of the city and seizing a police station.

Diego Da Rin, an international crisis group analyst specializing in Haiti, said that the chaos would intensify even further when gangs react-

ed to the news that members of a transitional council had been named to select Henry’s replacement.

“The gangs have been increasingly occupying, looting, or burning down medical facilities, schools, shops, and houses,” Da Rin stated. “If they continue to blockade the ports and the capital’s airport, the lack of supplies and food could seriously worsen the humanitarian crisis in Port-au-Prince and the rest of the country.” Since the capital is logistically hard to access given the absence of law and order, the US most likely flew people to the country’s north, according to Phillips.

Even though Cap-Haïtien is distant from Portau-Prince’s violence, most deportees . are not from the country’s far north, thus to reach their homes and families, they will have to take the chance of passing through gang-controlled checkpoints and active combat zones, according to Phillips. She said that because of their alleged ties to the US, they are also easy prey for gangs who use extortion, kidnapping, and torture to get

money.

“Once gangs realize that deportation flights are coming into the north of the country, operations will be set up to take advantage of these people … The US is actively putting people in harm’s way.”

When Haiti was experiencing a crisis, US deportations were stopped, but Phillips said that Joe Biden was using Haitians as a political football to seem tough on immigration ahead of the 2017 elections.

“Once again Haitians are the pawns in this political game – and the consequences will be dire for them,” she said.

Co-chair of the House Haiti Caucus and Democratic representative Yvette D. Clarke stated that the decision to start deportations again was “unacceptable”.

“Haiti is experiencing extreme political instability, rampant violence, and insecurity beyond imagine,” Clarke tweeted on social media platform X. “We should be focusing on finding solutions to prevent suffering without putting people at risk.”

Blockaded Capital Prevents Reach of Food and Aid says UN

The head of the U.N. children’s organization said on April 22, 2024, that with gang violence escalating, aid to 58,000 children suffering from the most severe type of malnutrition is being prevented from reaching them because of blockades on the air, sea, and land that virtually cut off the capital of Haiti.

Two-thirds of Haiti’s children require help, according to UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, and between 30 and 50 percent of armed organizations include minors in their ranks. Additionally, females are the targets of “extreme levels” of sexual and gender-based violence.

Russell revealed to the UN Security Council, “The situation in Haiti is catastrophic, and it grows worse by the day.” She added, “Portau-Prince is now almost completely sealed off because of air, sea and land blockades.”

Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who announced his resignation on March 11 while trapped

abroad and under pressure from the US, is set to be replaced by a nine-member council that Haiti is going to elect.

After Henry declared that his siege of the city was an attempt to remove him, Haiti’s gangs many of which have united under the coalition known as “Viv Ansanm” (Living Together)— have not abated their attacks.

Local media said that on Monday, gangs from Viv Ansanm were engaged in combat with authorities near the National Palace. Although the exact date has not yet been determined, the transitional council is expected to be installed at the palace.

Maria Isabel Salvador, the UN special envoy for Haiti, informed the Security Council, “Since March 8, close to 100,000 Haitians have left Port-au-Prince for the regions, escaping gang violence in search of security.”

“Food insecurity also remains rampant across the country, with half of the population

suffering from severe food insecurity,” Salvador indicated that just 8% of a $674 million U.N. request for 2024 had been financed.

According to a source with knowledge of the situation, armed men confiscated vehicles and requested that the port be closed, halting operations at Haiti’s primary petroleum import facility.

In October 2021, armed gangs shut down the Varreux terminal for about a month. A year later, the closure lasted for almost a month, putting a stop to most commercial activity and forcing the government to request international help.

In a recent interview, Carl Skau, the deputy executive director of the World Food Programme, informed reporters that the citizens of Haiti are “running out of food.” This was an observation he noted in his recent weekend visit to the impoverished country. He added, “There’s a ship coming. If that can dock and unload then they are safe, but we are talking about days until they run out.”

Due to the majority of companies’ inability to continue operating without their diesel generators, hospitals were forced to close during the prior blockades, radio stations ceased airing, mobile antennas ran out of fuel, and transportation came to a complete stop.

Washington DC – Members of Congress Pressure Biden On TPS For Haitians

In a recent interview, Clarke characterizes the state of affairs in Haiti as “very chaotic.” She continued by saying that because of the turmoil in their nation, some Haitians are “not receiving humanitarian aid” and are in danger of famine.

Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., is pleading with the Biden-Harris administration to support Haitians and provide them with further protections when they escape the Caribbean country

and enter the United States.

In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, and President Joe Biden, Clarke requests that the administration authorize Haitians Temporary Protected Status (TPS), stop all deportations from the United States to Haiti, and grant humanitarian parole to any Haitians who are ICE detained.

According to Clarke, granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitians escaping gang violence and poverty in the Caribbean nation would provide them with much-needed “stability.”

The lawmaker claimed that it also gives them a way to make money to take home to their loved ones and relatives.

Along with U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., many members of Congress signed the letter.

“Haiti deserves our attention and alliance,” Kamlager-Dove, a member of the House Sub-

committee on the Western Hemisphere, said in an interview with a media house. The United States “needs to step up.”

According to the California legislature, Haiti has seen “constant turmoil” as a result of political unrest, poverty, and instability. She continued, “They have never been allowed to have the kind of economic support that other countries have been allowed to have.”

The US Congress must exert pressure on Biden, according to Omar-Harris Management “to make sure policies are being implemented to help and support Haiti.”

Armed gangs have been terrorizing the country of Haiti since late February, increasing fatalities, kidnappings, and acts of violence. Gang members have assaulted Haiti’s major port, police stations, airports, and prisons in recent months, disrupting many Haitians’ lives and stopping the flow of goods.

Gang members allege that their anger over the delayed elections has led them to commit targeted attacks around the country.

In the correspondence, participants conveyed that detractors held Prime Minister Ariel Hen-

ry largely responsible for the unrest due to his “unconstitutional clinging to power” and his inability to call elections after President Jovenel Moïse’s murder in 2021.

The prime minister declared he would quit once a transitional administration was in place in response to repeated calls for Henry’s resignation.

The United States expressed its approval of the formation of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council on April 19, 2024, with the expectation that it would reduce bloodshed and bring stability back to the nation.

According to Clarke’s interview, she intends to deliver the letter to the Biden-Harris administration the following week and is still holding out hope that Biden would reply favorably.

According to Clarke, President Biden “understands how imperative it is” to help Haitians because of his work as a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and his experience working in the Western Hemisphere as vice president.

US Vetoes Resolution For Palestine UN Membership

On April 18, 2024, the United States overrode a resolution that was overwhelmingly supported by the UN and would have allowed the state of Palestine to become a full member.

The United States voted against it, two members of the 15-member Security Council abstained, and 12 members supported it. It was suggested by the resolution that Palestine be admitted as the 194th member of the United Nations if the 193-member General Assembly approved it without veto power. Palestine’s admittance would have been accepted because it has already been acknowledged by almost 140 nations.

This is the second bid by the Palestinians to join the UN as a full member, and it comes at a time when the almost 75-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict has gained prominence due to the ongoing war in Gaza, which is currently in its seventh month.

US Deputy State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel stated before the vote that the US

Cuba – Seeks

has “been very clear consistently that premature actions in New York — even with the best intentions — will not achieve statehood for the Palestinian people.”

Membership of Palestinians “needs to be the outcome of the negotiation between Israel and the Palestinians,” According to US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood. He stated this “is something that would flow from the result of those negotiations.”

Anything that gets in the way “makes it more difficult to have those negotiations” as well as hinders the two-state solution that “we all want,” in which Israel and Palestine coexist peacefully, Wood told reporters.

2011 saw the initial delivery of the Palestinian Authority’s application for UN membership by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to then-Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The original attempt was unsuccessful as the Palestinians were unable to secure the necessary minimum backing from nine out of the fifteen

members of the Security Council.

The Palestinians then addressed the General Assembly, where they were successful in November 2012 in moving up from UN observer status to non-member observer state by a majority of more than two-thirds.

The Palestinian territories might now join the UN and other international institutions, such as the International Criminal Court, as a result of this.

With the support of the 140 nations that have acknowledged Palestine as an independent state, the Palestinians relaunched their application to join the UN in early April.

The president of the Palestinian Authority, Ziad Abu Amr, stated that the people of Palestine would have hope if the resolution was passed,” for a decent life within an independent state.”

She remarked, “Hope has dissipated over the past years because of the intransigence of the Israeli government that has rejected this solution publicly and blatantly, especially following

the destructive war against the Gaza Strip.” He made it clear to the Security Council that there would be no substitute, “for serious negotiations that are time-bound to implement the two-state solution” as well as UN resolutions, to settle outstanding disputes between Israelis and Palestinians.

Amr questioned how, given that the US and other nations had previously acknowledged Israel and granted its UN membership, their opposition to it could undermine chances for peace or jeopardize global peace and security. “To grant the state of Palestine full membership will be an important pillar to achieve peace in our region, because the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and its different dimensions now go beyond the borders of Palestine and Israel and impact other regions in the Middle East and around the world,” The representative for Palestine stated.

Years have passed with little progress in Israeli-Palestinian discussions, and hardliners who

Ease of US Sanction Before Immigration Talks

Cuba is experiencing a severe economic crisis that is typified by blackouts, runaway inflation, and shortages of essential products.

The declared goal of the negotiations is to encourage orderly, safe, and legal movement between the two nations. The deputy head of Cuba’s foreign ministry’s U.S. relations, Johana Tablada de la Torre, expressed disappointment that the objectives were not met but said that the discussions were still crucial since they were one of the only avenues of communication under President Joe

Biden’s leadership.

At a Havana press conference, Tablada stated, “The blockade (sanctions) … is what most weighs in on the bilateral migration situation.”

Cuba’s Communist leadership has long maintained that the island’s economy was stifled by American sanctions and that the island’s youth were encouraged to leave the country by the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, which gave Cubans preferential entrance privileges and support upon arrival.

The primary destination for Cuban

migrants is the United States, which responds that Cuba’s residents are forced to flee due to a state-dominated economy and a shortage of civil freedoms and human rights.

The Biden administration has expanded Cubans’ legal avenues of movement, such as family reunions, humanitarian parole, and visa access in Havana, to reduce unauthorized immigration.

According to Tablada, the actions would not be sufficient to resolve the issue as long as the penalties persisted.

Jamaica – Minister Bartlett in New York Urges Diaspora To Become Country Ambassadors

The Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism, Jamaica, is urging the island’s Diaspora to be proud and champion the record growth being experienced in tourism and the country overall. The Jamaican diaspora is scattered across the globe with thousands who make up a vibrant and critical group that contributes to the development of the country.

Speaking at the 30th anniversary of the popular Team Jamaica Bickle fundraising event in New York, Minister Barlett highlighted the significant growth and development that the country was experiencing which he says the Diaspora should be proud to champion.

“The Jamaican Diaspora can be proud of the growth that their country has experienced since COVID. The island can be compared favorably with countries that show the highest level of recovery since the pandemic in terms of economic, social and human capital development,” said Minister Bartlett.

He continued, “There is no question that Jamaica’s eleven consecutive quarters of economic growth; its reduction in debt

from around 113% to 74%; and the country’s reduction in unemployment from 13% to 4.2% is enviable.”

Team Jamaica Bickle is a sports organization that provides support services for Caribbean athletes, particularly Jamaicans who compete at the annual Penn Relays Carnival, which is held at the University of Pennsylvania, (UPENN) in Philadelphia. The event brings the Jamaican Diaspora in the Northeast United States together to support Jamaican athletes through advocacy and fundraising activities.

In closing his presentation to the group, Minister Barlett said, “Jamaica’s tourism has been at the heart of this consecutive growth as the island continues to outperform projections. Last year, we welcomed over 4 million visitors and earned USD $4.2 billion, and already for January and February of this year, we welcomed 1 million visitors and earned USD $1 billion. These positive strides being made by our little island should be heralded by the Diaspora so we can unite and take Jamaica to another level during this post-COVID period.”

Dominica – Court Strikes Down Buggery Laws Among Consenting Adults

High Court judge, Justice Kimberly Cenac-Phulgence Monday ruled that sections of the Sexual Offenses Act contravene the Dominica Constitution as she ruled in favor of a “gay man” who challenged legislation that criminalizes buggery and other sexual activity between consenting partners, including and in particular, partners of the same sex.

In a 40-page ruling, the judge said that

Guyana - Using Drones to Fight Crime

The Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force have launched a joint operation aimed at fighting crime and tackling the reckless use of the country’s roadways through the use of drones.

The drones are manned by the Guyana Defence Force to keep surveillance over a number of areas across Georgetown.

The operation titled “Eyes in the Sky” is expected to last for one month, and according to the police, it will involve the use of low flying drones, so citizens should not be alarmed when

they see the drones.

The police said the operation will also see an increase in police presence across the city, with additional roadblocks, stop and search, traffic enforcement, roving patrols, and raids. Additionally, there will be motorcycle and bicycle campaigns, roadblock operations, cordons and searches, and the execution of warrants. Members of the public have been asked to give their full support and cooperation to the joint services. (CMC)

sections 14 and 16 of the Sexual Offenses Act contravene Sections 1 and 10 of the Dominica Constitution and their rights to liberty as enshrined in the Constitution.

The unnamed “gay man” had brought the lawsuit, claiming that the law violates “numerous rights guaranteed in the Constitution of Dominica” with his lawyers making particular reference to sections 14 and section 16 of the Sexual Offenses Act.

Section 14 is a sweeping law criminalising gross indecency which is defined as any act (other than penile-vaginal sex) by anyone “involving the use of the genital organs, breast or anus to arouse or gratifying sexual desire”.

The maximum penalty is 12 years in prison if the act is committed with a person aged 16 or older, while section 16 of the Act criminalizes buggery, which the Act defines as anal sex between two men or between a man and a woman.

The maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment plus the possibility of forced psychiatric confinement. (CMC)

T&T – August 1, Renamed African Emancipation Day

As the first country in the world to honor the abolition of African enslavement, Trinidad and Tobago celebrated Emancipation Day on August 1, 1985, when the government of the day designated it a national holiday.

Beginning this year, African Emancipation Day will be the name of the official holiday.

On April 18, 2024, Whitehall hosted a Post Cabinet Media Briefing, where Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley made the news to the group.

He stated, “The time has come for us to make it quite clear what Emancipation means, and who’s being emancipated and from what.”

The prime minister explained why particu-

larity was required, citing his observations “at the international level that other people are attempting to climb onto the Emancipation bandwagon and are attempting to add appendages to it.”

PM Rowley further mentioned, “We in Trinidad and Tobago who led on this matter will have none of it and we make it quite clear that Emancipation in Trinidad and Tobago is as a result of the emancipation of slaves; and there’s no comparison between slavery and any other form of human indignation.”

“We, the descendants of slaves, we have a duty to preserve our history, our legacy, and make our claim without apologies to anyone.”

August 1st is Emancipation Day, observed by several Caribbean countries including Barbados, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, Guyana, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, The Bahamas, and The British Virgin Islands.

Several government agencies and interested parties in Trinidad and Tobago organize many events and activities in the weeks preceding the Emancipation holiday. One of the centerpieces of the celebrations is the Emancipation Village, which has African-inspired crafts, music, clothes, and other items. Another is Kamboule.

Barbados – Ambassador Calls For Global Slavery Tribunal For Action On Reparations

A new international special tribunal must be established, according to a high-ranking Caribbean diplomat, to pursue reparations for transatlantic slavery and its effects on contemporary society.

Support for the establishment of a tribunal dedicated to atrocities stemming from transatlantic slavery was reported by popular news media earlier this month. For almost four centuries, at least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped, made to travel hundreds of kilometers, and sold into slavery, mostly by European traders and ships.

Reparations supporter David Comissiong, the ambassador of Barbados to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), stated that a tribunal was required since no international court was adequately prepared to handle claims for reparations this size and complexity.

The Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD) had its third session in Geneva, where the Commissioner was addressing. The tribunal’s creation was first recommended by the PFPAD last year.

According to him, the tribunal would need a “positive decision” from the United Nations General Assembly, which is the organization’s principal policy-making body.

“Let us resolve to put in the international advocacy work to successfully deliver the creation of this critical institution at the U.N. General Assembly,” he stated. “Let us all rally around the forum and make this happen.”

Other country delegates, including those from Guyana and Venezuela, supported Commissionerg’s request during the discussion.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reaffirmed in a video statement at the start of the PFPAD on a recent session which noted that racism was founded on centuries of colonialism and slavery. He stated that measures to address it should include restitution.

Although it is still hotly debated, the concept of making additional corrections, such as paying reparations, for transatlantic slavery has been gaining traction globally.

Even advocates for the tribunal acknowledge that its establishment will not be simple. Getting the support of the countries that participated in transatlantic slavery as well as the legal difficulties of identifying the guilty parties and figuring out remedies are obstacles.

NYC – Council Pushes Back on Ban to Limit Migrant Shelter Stay

Reducing the shelter limitations for asylum seekers is being advocated by a politician in New York City, which would undermine Mayor Eric Adams’ attempts to manage the influx of migrants that is overwhelming the Big Apple.

On April 18, 2024, Manhattan Democrat Gale Brewer introduced a resolution asking the municipal Council to support a state law that would eliminate shelter stay limitations and let asylum seekers stay in a municipal shelter for as long as necessary. “These are working families. They’re not interested in handouts. They’re interested in working,” Brewer stated in a recent interview with reporters.

As per the present policy of the mayor, families are allowed to stay for 60 days, however, single migrants are removed from their site every 30 days. They are free to reapply for a bed after

their allotted period has passed, but placement at the same location is not guaranteed.

Sponsored by Queens Assemblymember Catalina Cruz and Manhattan state Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, the proposed state legislation would prohibit any constraints of this kind from being placed on government entities, including local governments like New York City.

The caps have been dubbed “cruel” and “counterproductive” by the MPs. However, the Adams administration has hailed the program as a huge success in handling the over 190,000 migrants who have poured into New York City since the spring of 2022.

According to City Hall, the timeframe gives families and employees of the city a deadline to move their loved ones out of

the city’s custody as quickly as possible. In March, about half of the migrant families who had been in the city’s shelter system were said to have left because of the constraints.

The resolution’s sponsor, Brewer, said that staying will benefit the Big Apple in the long term by allowing them to contribute to the economy after they are permitted to work.

“In many cases, these families will be helpful to the city of New York as soon as they get their working papers,” she remarked. “Instead of moving them around, I would love to see them get some support, get their working papers, help them get apartments, and get on their feet. Because I think that’s what is most helpful to them and to us.”

U.S. Department of State Announces Increase In Some Categories of Visa Fees

The Department of State is committed to facilitating legitimate travel to the United States for both immigrant and non-immigrant travelers.

On March 28, 2023, the Department of State published in the Federal Register a final rule regarding increases to certain nonimmigrant visa application (NIV) processing fees and the Border Crossing Card (BCC) for Mexican citizens age 15 and over. The fee increases take effect on June 17, 2023. The fee for visitor visas for business or tourism (B1/B2s and BCCs), and other non-petition based NIVs such as student and exchange visitor visas, will increase from US$160 to US$185. The fee for certain petition-based non-immigrant visas for temporary workers (H, L, O, P, Q, and R categories) will increase from US$190 to US$205. The fee for a treaty trader, treaty investor, and treaty applicants in a specialty occupation (E category) will increase from US$205 to US$315. NIV fees are set based on the actual cost of providing NIV services and are determined after conducting a study of the cost of these services. The Department of State uses an activity-based costing methodology to calculate, annually, the cost of providing consular services, including visa services. The fees for most non-petition based NIVs were last updated in 2012, and

certain other NIV fees were last updated in 2014.

Other consular fees are not affected by this rule, including the waiver of the two-year residency required fee for certain exchange visitors.

All fee payments for visa interviews made on or after October 1, 2022 are valid for 365 days from the date a receipt is issued for payment of the fee. Applicants must schedule an interview appointment or submit an interview waiver application within 365 days of paying the fee. There is no requirement for the interview to occur during the 365-day period.

Receipts for fees paid prior to October 1, 2022 will continue to be valid until September 30, 2023. These applicants must schedule an interview or submit an interview waiver application before September 30, 2023. The interview need not occur before that date.

Visas for work and tourism are essential to President Biden’s foreign policy, and the U.S. Embassy recognizes the critical role international travel plays in the U.S. economy.

Jovia Radix Seaborough

Congratulations to Jovia Radix-Seaborough!

We are delighted to extend congratulations to Jovia Radix-Seaborough on the occasion of the recognition by Crane’s New York publication as one of the Women of Influence in New York for 2024.

Jovia Radix-Seaborough is a young woman who has demonstrated the kind of leadership role that leaves us with confidence in the  incoming generation of leader because of her ability to organize and to lead and her dedication to community development. Jovia RadixSeaborough has in her career demonstrated the kinds of skills that we can all be proud of - Consistency of purpose, dedication to community, and excellence in her endeavors and assignment. We have had the opportunity at Carib News to work with Jovia since she was a student, and saw those qualities, and so we are not at all surprised that she is moving up the ladder in leadership in New York and has been recognized for it by Crain’s New York. Jovia did not come to this by accident

- she is a young woman who applied herself; she is from a family of excellence in the community and she has worked with community organizations through her own family charity through the years, in mentoring and supporting community work and continues to do that.

We applauded her when she was elected to the Chair of the Brooklyn Women’s Law Association and we are delighted that she has also taken up leadership in the young Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club as Vice President.  The future augurs well for a community when it can produce leaders of the caliber of Jovia Radix-Seaborough, and we are just delighted that is being recognized;  Recognized as leadership in community transformation, in leadership of supporting positive policy changes, and in leadership in making sure that the underrepresented are not forgotten and that indeed is a position of influence -- we are delighted to salute her as a Woman of Influence 2024, New York. Congratulations to you Jovia Radix- Seaborough!.

Dominica High Court Strikes Down Buggery Act

Every day people in the Caribbean fear for their lives because of their sexual orientation. As a result, many remain in secret and are subject to abuse, living in fear because the laws of many of

the Caribbean countries, an outgrowth of the colonial buggery laws and gross indecency, has plagued the region for many years, these laws are still on the books and being enforced in many countries, making participation in same-sex conduct between consulting adults to be illegal and in many instances punishable by years in jail.  These laws are vague and broadly worded to serve and in fact legitimize discrimination and hostility towards LGBT people in the region.  These laws then give permission to be violent to LGBT people  and to in fact abuse them in many ways.

In fact, one of the strains in the Caribbean region by people- is the notion of killing them, meaning LGBT persons, before they reproduce, and this fear is a fear that forced these people into hid-

ing. But there is now some progress as the High Court Judge Justice Kimberly Cenac-Phulgence ruled that the sections of the sexual orientation law contravenes the Dominica Constitution and ruled in favor of an unnamed gay man who challenged the legislation and the criminalization of buggery.  The unnamed gay man brought a suit claiming that the law violates numerous rights guaranteed in the Constitution of Dominica and the court agreed with him.  Activists and civil society organizations have been at the forefront of the effort to advance the rights of LGBT persons in the region.  These laws inhibit people from reporting abuse and in fact strengthens the hands of the abusers.

Dominica now joins a growing number of Caribbean countries  who have

declared these laws unconstitutional, including Antigua, Barbados, St.Kitts/ Nevis.  Unfortunately, there are still many Caribbean countries with these laws on the book and they are refusing to change them either for political expediency or religious pressure and as a result has created a problem in the society for a segment of the population that is real and is in fear and pain over their sexual orientation.

It is the hope that these Caribbean countries not respecting the human rights of the LGBT community would see the light of getting rid of this colonial legacy and provide true protection for their citizens.  It is good to see Dominica taking these very bold steps and they should be commended for it.

Reclaiming “Tree Hugger”

by Ben Jealous

Most people think of “tree hugger” as a casual insult for a certain kind of environmentalist. The term actually has a proud history. It is time to take it back.

In 1730, 363 members of Bishnois branch of Hinduism in India clung to – or “hugged” – the trees in their village to stop them from being cut down to build a palace. The protesters were killed for their cause. But the incident led to a royal decree that outlawed any more trees being cut down in Bishnoi villages. More than 200 years later, a group of peasant women inspired by the Bishnoi “hugged” trees to stop them from being cut down in Uttar Pradesh, India. That action led to the Chipko movement, which saved countless trees in the Himalayan region from reckless deforestation. Chipko means “to cling” and that evolved into “tree hugging.”

Dr. Daniela Shebitz, an ecologist and ethnobotanist at Kean University says, “you get a sense of connection with nature through that physical contact but it also helps emotional wellbeing … even just taking a few seconds, whether it’s smelling flowers or hugging trees. Just finding a moment to connect with nature as you go about your daily routine is so helpful, especially in places where you know that tree is connecting to other organisms like other trees, animals like birds and insects, or the moss and lichen that could be growing on it.”

The mental health benefits and the connec-

tions people can form with nature through just being around trees – and, yes, even hugging them – are very real. The act of literally hugging a tree has been shown to cause an increase in the hormone oxytocin, which reduces stress and improves one’s mood.

And why not hug a tree? Trees do so much for us.

“You can make so many observations and become a scientist just by looking at a tree outside your window,” says Dr. Shebitz.

“We can learn so much about nature and environmental interaction just by seeing what comes to the tree to get nectar from the flowers, build nests, or collect nuts. And what it provides in food and habitat is just what we can see. We know that tree is also providing health benefits like making the air cleaner by pulling out carbon and particulate matter, and producing oxygen. That’s part of the reason that asthma rates go up in areas without trees.”

Trees also absorb and slow runoff to protect against flooding during storms. From 1970 to 2012, 38 percent of the natural disasters in the world were caused by floods. Among natural disasters, floods have generated the worst economic losses. And flood threats are increasing with climate change.

Trees even reduce crime. They are like superheroes. A review of 45 papers by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that the presence of green

spaces, including parks and trees, reduces crime in urban areas. Some studies have shown a 10% increase in tree canopy can lead to a 12% decrease in crime. A 2001 study of public housing projects in Chicago by researchers at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign compared buildings that had trees close by with those surrounded only by pavement. It found the buildings surrounded by trees and vegetation had 52 percent fewer total crimes and 56 percent fewer violent crimes. This phenomenon is due in part to more residents coming outside to enjoy the shade and cooler temperatures provided by the trees – adding more “eyes on the street.”

Dr. Shebitz says her students at New Jersey’s Kean University are mostly from underserved, urban communities and do not come to her classes with an existing connection to nature. “Many of them don’t realize why New Jersey’s called the Garden State. So a big part of my work is reconnecting people to their natural environment, even if it’s just right outside of their house or apartment.”

That sense of connection can’t be overstated. In the civil rights movement – as in every movement for social change – it is no secret that building connections is the way to build movements. But it is not just connections to other human beings that are important. We understand the importance of protecting our neighbors and communities by building

connections with them and we understand the importance of protecting nature through connections as well.

Part of why trees provide such a good way to connect with nature is they have their own kind of “heartbeat,” as Dr. Shebitz points out. Their circulation system for the water, food, and nutrients pumping through their bodies mirrors our own in some ways.

With Arbor Day coming up, it is a good time to reclaim “tree hugger.” Trees deserve a hug. And you deserve the benefits you will get from that hug.

Ben

Federal Government Providing Nearly $80 Million to Combat Violent Crime in U.S.

by Stacy M. Brown

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has announced a multifaceted strategy to bolster law enforcement and community-based initiatives to combat violent crime in America. Speaking at a conference for federal grantees in Chicago, Garland highlighted the need to double down on recent progress and stem the tide of violence gripping many American cities. Garland noted the recent significant drop in homicides, hailing it as the largest one-year drop in half a century. He pointed to Chicago’s 13% decrease in violent crime as a tangible example of the positive impact of targeted interventions. The Attorney General credited much of the progress to the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which empowered federal prosecutors to crack down on gun trafficking and straw purchasing while allocating $250 million in grants for community-based violence prevention initiatives.

Of the funding, Garland announced the immediate availability of $78 million to be distributed to organizations actively engaged in reducing violent crime and fostering community trust. He emphasized that these funds would directly support grassroots efforts to address the root causes of violence and promote safer neighborhoods nationwide.

In November, the DOJ announced nearly $217 million in funding to hire 1,730 entry-level officers at 394 agencies in 48 states through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services hiring program. Meanwhile, officials said violent crime decreased across some of the nation’s biggest

cities last year. According to federal numbers, Philadelphia, and Baltimore each saw 20% reductions in homicides between 2022 and 2023. In his recent State of the Union address, President Joe Biden highlighted that the nation reported historically low murder rates in 2023, with violent crime dropping to one of the lowest levels in 50 years.

According to a Forbes magazine study, South Carolina ranks eighth among the most dangerous states in America, with a crime rate of 4.91 violent crimes per 1,000 residents. However, an annual report by the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division found that overall violent crime dropped by 2.6% from 2021 to 2022, including a 12% decrease in homicides. Crime in New York City’s transit system has increased by roughly 7% in 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. The rise includes a series of recent violent attacks and shootings, leading New York Governor Kathy Hochul to deploy the National Guard to the subway system this month.

For Black Americans nationwide, particularly young men, the risk of becoming victims of violent crime remains disproportionately high. While Blacks make up 14% of the U.S. population, they account for 60% of those killed by firearm homicides annually, according to an analysis published by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Hate crimes are also on the rise across the country, according to a report from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. The

report, titled “Faith Under Fire” and published in January, found that hate crimes increased by 11% in 2023 from 2022, with antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes soaring following the Israel-Hamas war.

The FBI’s quarterly uniform crime report indicates a widespread decrease in violent crime during 2023 compared to the previous year, as well as a 13% decline in homicides relative to 2022. The Major Cities Police Association’s Violent Crime Survey found double-digit declines in homicides across nearly 70 of America’s largest cities in 2023 compared to 2022. However, while cities like New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia saw homicides decline by 12% to 21%, others experienced sharp increases in slayings in 2023. Homicides rose by 24% in Memphis, 27% in Washington, D.C., 15% in Dallas, and 14% in Kansas City.

According to NYPD crime statistics, violent crime in New York City is continuing to fall in 2024. Through March 17, data show homicides are down by 19% from the same period in 2023. Meanwhile, according to NYPD data, violent crime in New York City housing developments fell by 3.2% in 2023 from the previous year.

In addition to the investments, Garland unveiled plans to deploy federal resources and prosecutors to cities disproportionately affected by violent crime, including St. Louis, Missouri; Jackson, Mississippi; and Hartford, Connecticut. He said the targeted deployments aim to support local law enforcement agencies

and enhance collaboration in tackling crime hotspots.

The announcement follows similar interventions in cities like Houston, Memphis, and Washington, D.C., where a surge in violent crime, particularly carjackings and armed robberies, has sparked concern from Mayor Muriel Bowser, city leaders, and citizens. Garland reiterated that while progress has been made, there is no room for complacency, as he stressed the need for sustained focus and vigilance in the fight against violent crime.

“The Justice Department is committed to continuing to make historic investments in community violence intervention,” Garland declared. “Violent crime isolates people and their communities. It deepens the fractures in our public life. When it is not addressed, it can undermine people’s trust in government and in each other.”

Jealous is the Executive Director of the Sierra Club and a Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Non-Profit Fostering Sustainable Development and Community Empowerment in Underserved Regions

Sowing Seeds Initiatives is a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering sustainable development and community empowerment in underserved regions. Through collaborative efforts with local communities, government agencies, and other stakeholders, Sowing Seeds Initiatives implements a wide range of programs focused on education, healthcare, environmental conservation, and economic empowerment.

With a mission to sow the seeds of positive change, the organization prioritizes initiatives that address the root causes of poverty and inequality while promoting resilience and selfreliance among community members. By leveraging partnerships and mobilizing resources, Sowing Seeds Initiatives strives to create lasting impact and promote inclusive growth in the areas it serves.

Key focus areas of Sowing Seeds Initiatives include:

Holistic Approach: We believe in a holistic approach to community development, integrating agriculture and energy initiatives to create self-sustaining ecosystems.

Environmental Impact: By harnessing the power of the sun and promoting sustainable agriculture, we contribute to environmental conservation, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promote ecological balance.

Community Empowerment: Our projects are designed to empower communities economically and socially. By providing the tools for self-sufficiency, we aim to elevate the quality of life for all residents.

Long-Term Sustainability: Sowing Seeds Initiatives is committed to the long-term sustainability of our projects. We work closely with local communities to ensure the continued success and growth of our initiatives.

Through its multifaceted approach and commitment to grassroots engagement, Sowing Seeds Initiatives aims to sow the seeds of hope, opportunity, and prosperity in communities

around the world.

Through the strategic combination of seed distribution and solar power initiatives, we aim to foster resilience, environmental stewardship, and prosperity in the region.

Sowing Seeds Initiatives is committed to the long-term sustainability of our projects. We work closely with local communities to ensure the continued success and growth of our initiatives.

The founder of this amazing organization is Zethea Bushelle-Thompson, originally from St. Philip, Barbados West Indies, began her journey in education and community service

Jovia Radix-Seaborough Named Woman of Influence by Crain’s NY Business

Crain’s New York Business has named Jovia Radix-Seaborough, President of the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association and SVP of corporate and legislative at Kasirer, one of the Women of Influence for 2024. Her leadership and effective advocacy campaigns to promote marginalized communities in New York City are highlighted by this distinction.

After spending five years at the best lobbying company in New York City, RadixSeaborough’s perseverance and leadership have helped to bring about good change

for the clients she represents, the women she mentors, and the city as a whole. She was instrumental in the recent e-cigarette ban in the city, demonstrating her capacity to sway significant policy choices. She strives to raise the standard of living for those living in southern Brooklyn as vice president of the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club Young Democrats. She received the Thomas Jefferson Woman of the Year award last year.

Radix-Seaborough’s mother presided over the Women’s Bar Association as its first black president. She took on the same position and obligation to address the lack of diversity in the legal industry, following in her mother’s footsteps.

The business-minded woman is dedicated to making sure that opportunities for women of color to seek leadership roles are available for the next generations, as she serves as president of the Women’s Bar Association.

Radix-Seaborough intensifies her efforts to support female professionals in her sector while they continue to be under-represented in the legal profession nationally.

early on. After graduating from Princess Margaret High School and Christ Church High School, she worked as a teacher and later joined the National Conservation Commission in Barbados. In 1990, Zethea immigrated to the United States and pursued her education at Monroe College, where she earned a degree in Word Processing and Office Technology. She then received a scholarship to Pace University, where she completed her BS in Office Information Systems. Continuing her academic journey, she earned an MS in Human Resource Management with Distinction from Long Island University, followed by a PhD in Pastoral Counseling and Leadership, along with an Honorary Doctorate of Ministry.

Throughout her academic pursuits, Zethea remained committed to community service, volunteering her time to tutor students and support various community initiatives. She founded the Social Service Department at New Hope Family Worship Center and volunteered extensively with children, immigrants, and individuals facing housing and mental health challenges.

Even while attending Pace University and Long Island University, Zethea continued her passion for volunteering, working with children in the East NY community and assisting families at the Queens One Stop Center. She later volunteered at the Bond Street Center, helping incarcerated individuals re-enter the workforce and providing resume writing skills.

Zethea’s dedication to community empowerment extends internationally, as she works with countries to revitalize agriculture through her company, Sowing Seeds Initiatives, founded in 2024.

Her ultimate vision is to strengthen the bond between the church and the community while revitalizing and empowering neighborhoods both locally and globally.

Biden’s Earth Day Message - $7 Billion for Rooftop Solar

On Earth Day, President Joe Biden made a significant announcement, unveiling $7 billion in grants designated for residential solar projects aimed at empowering nearly a million low-income households. This initiative, part of the administration’s broader climate change agenda, marks a pivotal step towards a cleaner, more sustainable future.

The announcement was made during a speech at Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, Virginia, where President Biden also introduced the American Climate Corps program. This initiative seeks to equip young people with the skills and opportunities needed to pursue careers in climate-related industries, reinforcing the administration’s commitment to addressing climate change while creating job opportunities for the youth.

Recognizing the urgency of climate action, President Biden emphasized the importance of initiatives like Solar for All in reducing energy costs for low-income families. By providing financial support for solar projects and reducing energy bills by an estimated $400 annually, the

program aims to alleviate financial burdens while promoting renewable energy adoption.

The Solar for All grant competition, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency, will support a diverse

array of organizations working to expand solar access in underserved communities. Among the recipients are state and local agencies, as well as non-profits, with plans to deploy solar solutions in Native American households across multiple states.

Residential solar has historically been out of reach for many low-income Americans due to cost barriers and housing limitations. However, initiatives like Solar for All are poised to change that narrative by democratizing access to renewable energy and advancing environmental justice. In addition to the Solar for All program, President Biden’s American Climate Corps aims to cultivate a new generation of climate leaders through hands-on training and job opportunities. With a focus on clean energy, climate resilience, and environmental conservation, this initiative promises to engage thousands of young people in meaningful work that contributes to a more sustainable future.

As the nation celebrates Earth Day, President Biden’s ambitious climate agenda underscores the importance of collective action in combating climate change and safeguarding the planet for future generations. Through strategic investments, innovative initiatives, and inclusive policies, the administration is charting a path towards a greener, more equitable future for all.

Con Edison Researchers Earn Coveted Awards For Findings to Advance Clean Heat and Help Stymie Climate Change

NEW YORK – Three Con Edison employees have won prestigious awards from the energy industry’s top research organization for a study into options for heating buildings with electricity and moving them off of fossil fuels.

The research fits perfectly with Con Edison’s Clean Energy Commitment to help achieve New York State’s climate and renewable energy goals. Heating buildings with electricity, as opposed to fuels like oil, natural gas or propane, is essential to creating a low-carbon future equitably and efficiently with every New Yorker sharing in the benefits.

The members of the team that worked on the clean heat project

are among 10 Con Edison employees who won Technology Transfer Awards from the Electric Power Research Institute, or EPRI.

The group that studied building electrification included: Shuchita Prakash, a director in the company’s Strategic Planning group; Sarah Murphy, an analyst in Strategic Planning; and Terrell Skipper, strategy manager in Customer Clean Energy Programs. “Our great workers apply their expertise and curiosity every day to come up with new strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ensure a safe, sustainable region and planet for generations to come,” said Matthew Ketschke, the president of Con Edison. “We are proud to see their contributions earn recognition from EPRI, the pre-eminent organization when it comes to energy research.”

The study, “Assessment of Building Electrification Technologies for New York State,” published in May 2023, examined the effectiveness of the technologies landlords and owners can use to heat their buildings with electricity. The study looked at each technology’s effectiveness when it comes to reducing emissions, the economics of the technologies and their impact on the state’s electricity needs.

Con Edison offers customers incentives for switching to geothermal and air-source heat pumps for their space heating. Geothermal heat pumps rely on the constant underground temperatures to heat and cool a building. The systems transfer heat inside during cold winter months and then remove heat during summer.

Air-source heat pumps move heat from inside a building to the outside like an air conditioner. In winter, they pull heat from outside and bring it into a building.

The other Con Edison Technology Transfer Award winners are: - Jade Wong, project manager in Research and Development. She was part of a team whose research will help ensure that utilities get the greatest benefit from transmission lines without affecting reliability or safety and while complying with new federal regulations.

Transmission lines carry power long distances and feed it into utilities’ local distribution systems like Con Edison’s in New York City and Westchester County.

- Brenda Hill, project specialist in Research and Development; Prakash Kothari, a department manager in Environment and Sustainability; and Steve Labudzinski, also a project specialist in Research and Development.

They were part of a team that developed and tested a battery-operated tool utility workers can use to remove manhole covers. EPRI said the tool could “have a dramatic impact in reducing ergonomic risk” for workers who remove covers, which can weigh up to 300 pounds.

- Richard Alcalde, technical specialist in Corporate Security; Serena Lee, project manager in Research and Development; and Piotr Lisowski, senior specialist in Corporate Security. The team developed and tested technology that collects in-depth forensic data about certain utility equipment that the utility can use after a cyberattack to determine whether the equipment was compromised.

Con Edison’s showing in this year’s awards continues the company’s long-standing success in earning recognition from EPRI. The company and its employees regularly win multiple Technology Transfer Awards.

Miami – US Customs in Partnership With Caribbean in Multi-Million Drug Bust

The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency says it has disrupted the smuggling of 2.8 tonnes of cocaine, denying transnational criminal organizations approximately US$73,892,000. The CBP said the operation involved its Air and Marine Operations (AMO) and partners in the Eastern Caribbean. “Partnerships are key to stopping drugs from reaching our borders. We will continue to leverage unique capabilities to stop illicit smuggling on the seas,” said Creigh-

ton Skeen, director of Air and Marine Operations, Caribbean Air and Marine Branch.

CBP said that, on April 8, a National Air Security Operations aircrew worked with multiple partners in the Eastern Caribbean to maintain continuous observation of a suspicious vessel with nine people on board.

The next day, CBP said the Air and Marine Operations aircrew coordinated with Joint Interagency Task Force-South...

T&T – Progress Made in Police Vetting Units

The Caricom crime conference that Trinidad and Tobago sponsored in April of last year, according to the prime minister, was beneficial to the country. Advancements toward the creation of police units with specialized training to combat organized crime are among those advantages.

On April 19, Dr. Rowley responded to a question in the House of Representatives from Chaguanas West

MP Dinesh Rambally. The treatment of crime as a public health concern was the main topic of that conference.

Afterward, Rowley stated, “We have been receiving much better cooperation from our international partners which include tracking and preventing the illegal importation of firearms, making it more difficult for persons to engage in that activity.”

Dominica - No Bail for American on Murder Charge

High Court judge, Colin Williams, on Thursday denied bail to United States national Jonathan Lehrer, one of two American nationals charged with the murders of famed Canadian animator Daniel Langlois, 66, and his longtime partner Dominique Marchand, 58. Lehrer had sought bail in order to travel

overseas for medical treatment. However, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Sherma Dalrymple, speaking to reporters following the “in camera” hearing, said Justice Williams had denied the request for the accused to travel to Texas in the United States to obtain medical care.

She said that the application had been heavily opposed by the DPP and the state’s team that included Trinidad-based attorney Keith Scotland, the special prosecutor.

“Today Justice Colin Williams ruled after hearing arguments on Monday, April 8, that there was no just cause to grant the applicant bail and also the requirement

of the Bail Act had not been met for the granting of bail”.

The DPP said that she is of the view that Justice Williams’ ruling “focused heavily on the public interest, which was considered …under section 4 of the Bail Act, (and) so the requirements which were not met”.

Saudi Development Fund Agrees to $50m Loan Deal with St. Vincent and the Grenadines

The Saudi Fund for Development signed a $50 million loan agreement with St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Friday to assist communities affected by natural disasters, Saudi Press Agency reported. The deal was signed by SFD CEO Sultan Abdulrahman Al-Marshad and Camillo Gonsalves, finance minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, during the 2024 spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington.

According to the World Bank, the southern Caribbean nation faces a host of natural threats, including floods, hurricanes, droughts, landslides, and volcanic eruptions.

The agreement will fund a project to rebuild and repair buildings and facilities damaged by natural disasters in the island nation.

This initiative includes the restoration and construction of essential infrastructure, such as housing, healthcare, educational, and sports facilities, aimed at boosting their durability and resilience against future disasters and climate change impacts. The project will also include establishing four healthcare centers, building primary and secondary schools, renovating government buildings, and restoring homes damaged by volcanic activity.

St. Kitts-Nevis - Geothermal Energy Project MOU

St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. Terrance Drew travelled to the Middle East, Abu Dhabi to meet with investors and discuss major geothermal investment projects set to take place in the Federation.

Drew met with the Director General of the International Renewable Energy Agency Fransesco La Camera and also with Dr Tajeddine Seif, Chairman of the K and K Group, a United Arab Emirates investment firm.

He continued his efforts to lobby for funding that would help to bring the long-discussed geothermal energy transition to fruition.

According to communication from St. Kitts and Nevis Information Service, K and K group representatives “are resolute in leading the development, installation and management of the renewable energy infrastructure and delivery via subsea Cable.”

American Foundation for the University of the West Indies Gala 2024

by Basil Roman

The American Foundation for the University of the West Indies held its 27th Annual Gala on Thursday evening April 18, 2024 in New York City. The event was organized to provide support for the University of the West Indies and was well attended by the stakeholders in the Caribbean diaspora and the business community; the event was clearly a success. There were testimonials from recipients of AFUWI Scholarships that came at critical times to help them in achieving their goal and they attested to the value of the effort of AFUWI in their career.

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Legacy Award to the President of Guyana. Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, he himself an alumni of UWI. The presentation was made to President Ali by award-winning actress of Guyanese descent, CCH Pounder, Vice-Chancellor of the University Sir Hilary Beckles and Dr. Chase. In his acceptance speech the President made a strong commitment for collaboration with UWI in establishing a medical college, free tertiary education for the use of Guyana with full collaboration with UWI. Dr. Ali pledged Guyana’s

newfound wealth in oil would benefit the regional community. He said- “I want to assure every member of our regional community that the prosperity of Guyana must and will lead to the prosperity of the region.”

President Ali addressed the plight of the people of Gaza and the crisis of the people of Haiti with an appeal for action and points to the charitable effort of Guyana and the people of Guyana in these two areas. President Ali commended Sir Hilary on the fight for reparations and expressed his full support for full reparatory justice. Guyana, he said will be a full partner in this matter.

Also honored at the Gala were: Don Christian, Partner Price Waterhouse Cooper LLP., with the Caribbean Luminary Award, known for his professional and philanthropic achievement in many areas;

Michele Chow Tai, Managing Director Business Development, Fairview Capital Partners, with the Vice Chancellor Achievement Award - very active in professional and philanthropic activities in the community.

Caribbean-American Heritage

Through the years, the Caribbean-American community has been a part of the movement for change and empowerment in the United States, and they have made an impact For over 42 years, it has been the mission of CARIB NEWS to highlight these accomplishments, todevelop connections with our American brothers and sisters and the larger community in a "Partnership for Progress and Power "

Once again, CARIB NEWS is proud to celebrate Caribbean-American Heritage this June to recognize the outstanding contributions and achievements of this community We look forward to coming together to build stronger communities

The 11th Annual Caribbean-American Power 100 designation will be the feature of this celebration the highly anticipated feature of outstanding Caribbean Americans and their contributions

This year s program will be a hybrid of virtual and live The virtual program will be the fullblown vision of all the Power 100 designees, with messages of many, entertainment from around the Caribbean region, and recognition of outstanding achievements A live reception will be held in New York City with community diplomatic elected leaders and a select group of Power 100 Designees

The program will premiere on many of the digital platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, CARIB NEWS Website, and will be shared with audiences around the world

We are inviting your company to participate in this year ' s exciting and expanding celebration of the outstanding Caribbean Americans, by placing a print ad in the June 22 issue of the Special Supplement or being a sponsor of the Virtual celebration of the Power 100, It is the kind of program that you can identify with because it represents the best in our communities

We have developed attractive sponsorship opportunities to encourage your participation and a way to join us in this grand celebration in recognition of the contribution of Caribbean Americans

We have developed attractive sponsorship opportunities to encourage your participation and a way to join us in this grand celebration in recognition of the contribution of Caribbean Americans

Karl & Faye Rodney President and CEO

Darren Skinner Esq. partner Arnold & Porter, with the Pinnacle Award; Rev. Patrick G. Perrin with the Pelican Award, and Mark Hart, Capital Award for Business Excellence.

Miss Ann-Marie Grant, Executive Director of AFUWI, and Dr. Cyrus McCalla Chairman of the Board expressed their appreciation to all those attending.

NYC Health + Hospitals’ NYC Care Program Releases Multilingual Video Series Focused on Membership Card

NEW YORK, NY – NYC Health + Hospitals’ NYC Care program today announced the release of a video series focused on the NYC Care card and how to take advantage of ones’ membership benefits. The videos feature NYC Care Executive Director Jonathan Jiménez, MD, MPH, alongside colorful animations, as a voiceover highlights the different components of the membership card. With the card, NYC Care members can know when to renew their membership, their primary care provider, and the fees they can expect to pay for services. By de-mystifying the process of using the NYC Care card, the videos are intended to encourage both NYC Care-eligible New Yorkers and existing members alike to utilize the benefits, starting with primary care. The videos are dubbed and subtitled in the following languages: Albanian, Arabic, Bengali, Cantonese, English, French, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Russian,

Spanish, and Urdu. Alongside the release of the videos, NYC Care encourages all New

Yorkers to share this social media toolkit to connect more New Yorkers to the program. With the launch of our new video series, we want NYC Care members to know that one of the most powerful health care tools they have is in their pocket. Members can understand when to renew their card, how much they can expect to pay for services, and what number to call,” said Jonathan Jiménez, MD, MPH, Executive Director of NYC Care from NYC Health + Hospitals. “This commitment to transparency and to removing barriers to health care is at the core of NYC Care. New Yorkers who may be eligible can visit nyccare.nyc to learn more about the program or call our 24/7 hotline at 646-692-2273 or 646-NYC-CARE.”

NYC Care recently celebrated the milestone of enrolling over 125,000 members into the health care access program, surpassing the program’s enrollment goal of 100,000 members. As the program continues to grow,

the NYC Care team remains committed to connecting its members to primary care and delivering positive health outcomes for its members. Last year, the program released findings from a study demonstrating the program’s success in connecting new members to primary and specialty care. Overall, 76.9% of new NYC Care members returned to primary care for an additional visit in their first year, 80.7% received a referral outside of primary care, and 75.4% visited specialty care. Additionally, members continue to experience positive health outcomes once enrolled in the program. 53% of members with diabetes enrolled in the program for at least 6 months have seen an improvement in their hemoglobin A1C readings. Similarly, 72% of members with hypertension who have been enrolled in the program for at least 6 months have seen an improvement in their blood pressure.

Maimonides Medical Center First in Brooklyn, One of Five in New York State to Receive Designation as a Care Partner Hospital

Brooklyn, New York (April 15, 2024) –Maimonides Medical Center (MMC) is proud to announce its designation as a Care Partner Hospital by the Eastern US Quality Improvement Collaborative (EQIC). As the only hospital in Brooklyn to receive this prestigious accreditation, this marks a significant achievement in healthcare quality and patient satisfaction, safety, and improved adherence to treatment plans.

As a Care Partner Hospital, MMC aligns with the New York State CARE Act’s mandate for hospitals to allow patients to designate a caregiver who serves as a compassionate companion for our patients. In 2020, the Care Partner Program was adopted by EQIC to further advance the quality and safety of the healthcare provided in hospitals across the region. To achieve Care Partner Hospital designation, MMC completed the EQIC’s care partner program requirements by adopting its delivery model. As a Care Partner Hospital, MMC staff helps patients designate an appropriate person, such as a family member, friend, neighbor, or paid assistant, to support the patient during and after their hospital stay. These partners become an integral member of the healthcare team, creating a more inclusive and supportive healthcare environment by working with the patient to ensure they receive their desired care, and helping ensure a smooth transition out of the hospital, either at home or to post-hospital care.

“We’re very proud to be recognized for successfully implementing the Care Partner Hospital program at Maimonides, which demonstrates our deep commitment to the patient-centered approach and community-minded care that sets us apart,” said Ken Gibbs, President and CEO of Maimonides Health. “I congratulate our Quality Management team and thank EQIC for working with us on this critical

initiative.”

“We are deeply honored to receive this distinction from EQIC, reflecting Maimonides’ commitment to healthcare excellence and patient-centered care,” said Sameh Samy, Chief Quality Officer at Maimonides Medical Center. “This achievement is a testament to the dedication of our staff who have embraced the care partner model, witnessing first-hand the positive impact in patient satisfaction, health outcomes, and the overall care experience.”

The benefits of the care partner model are multifaceted, leading to a significant improvement in patient care and satisfaction. These benefits include: a decrease in hospital readmissions, improvement in patient health and wellness, safer care environments, a reduction in time responding to patient’s requests, and an improvement in pain management. Care Partners enhance effective communication and collaboration between the patient and the care team, which positively influences healthcare outcomes by ensuring better adherence to treatment plans and medication regimens.

“We are proud to work with our participating hospitals to integrate the care partner delivery model,” said EQIC’s director, Cathleen Wright, DNS, RN. “Members of your community can feel reassured that your local hospital puts patients first and makes the extra effort to work with care partners to ensure a smooth transition from the hospital.”

MMC’s recognition as a Care Partner Hospital not only sets a benchmark for healthcare excellence in Brooklyn, but also reinforces the hospital’s position as a pioneering provider in New York’s healthcare landscape. With this designation, MMC stands alongside institutions including Bon Secours and Good Samaritan as one of only five hospitals to date in the state to be recognized by EQIC.

Faith Ringgold, Renowned Black Artist, Dies

At her Englewood, New Jersey, home, Faith Ringgold, a multimedia creator whose pictorial quilts portraying the African American experience paved the way for a second noteworthy career as a children’s book writer and illustrator, passed away on April 13, 2024, at the age of ninety-three-year-old. Her daughter Barbara Wallace had confirmed the sad passing of Ringgold.

Ms. Ringgold investigated issues of race, gender, class, family, and community for over fifty years using a wide range of mediums, including performance art, painting, sculpture, doll and mask making, textiles, and dollmaking. She has also long supported adding Black and female artists’ works to the holdings of significant American institutions.

The artwork of Ms. Ringgold, which frequently drew inspiration from her own experiences, has been shown at galleries and museums all throughout the world in addition to the White House. The items in question may be found in the permanent collections of many prestigious institutions, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Philadelphia Museum of

Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the American Craft Museum, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York.

For Ms. Ringgold, art and activism were a cohesive, if occasionally patchworked, whole, as her work and numerous interviews demonstrated. With a background in classical painting and sculpture, she started creating politically charged works in the 1960s and 1970s that addressed the contentious issues of Black and White relations as well as relationships between men and women in the country.

2014 saw Roberta Smith, an art critic for the New York Times, evaluate an exhibition of Smith’s work at Manhattan’s ACA Galleries, “Few artists have kept as many balls in the air as long as Faith Ringgold.” Adding, “She has spent more than five decades juggling message and form, high and low, art and craft, inspirational narrative and quiet or not so quiet fury about racial and sexual inequality.”

The combination of fine art supplies like paint and canvas with craft materials like fabric, beads, and thread, vivid, saturated colors, a flattened perspective that purposefully referenced

the work of impressionistic painters, and an astute, frequently compassionate focus on regular Black people and the visual details of their everyday lives were among the characteristics that defined Ms. Ringgold’s style.

From the start, Ms. Ringgold’s work was commended by critics. However, she did not achieve widespread recognition until her middle years, despite being included in some of the nation’s most esteemed institutions. She frequently attributed this to her race, her sexual orientation, and her unwavering commitment to using art as a tool for social justice.

In 1992, she told The Orlando Sentinel, “In a world where having the power to express oneself or to do something is limited to a very few, art appeared to me to be an area where anyone could do that.”

“Of course, I didn’t realize at the time that you could do it and not have anyone know you were doing it.”

In the end, Ms. Ringgold gained most notoriety for her “story quilts,” which were enormous panels of unstretched canvas painted with vivid acrylic depictions of narrative situations,

surrounded by more typical pieced-fabric borders, and frequently included textual elements. Designed to be hung on the wall instead of placed on a bed, the quilts celebrate the ability of people to rise above their circumstances via the creative process of dreaming, while also sharing the pleasures and hardships of Black life, especially those of Black women.

Continued on website at nycaribnews.com

Hip-Hop With Its Caribbean Roots Celebrating 50 Years

2023 marks the year that the Hip-Hop genre celebrates its 50th birthday. The Vice President’s residence is one of the many odd locations where the celebrations of the highly recognized genre have spread its essence reminding others throughout the world of the many marks it has made and its impact on many lives. This year offers us a special chance to reflect on the past fifty years of growth and to pause and evaluate the influence of Black Caribbean musicians who helped to shape the global phenomenon known as hip-hop culture, democratized broadcast, and combined old and new genres to create new ones.

Initially, on August 11, 1973, Clive Campbell, a Jamaican-born DJ better known as Kool Herc, led a back-to-school jam in a West Bronx apartment building. Kool Herc invented a method of extending breaks between beats using two turntables and a mic mixer “merrygo-round.” The man who oversaw the legendary rec-room party, his sister Cindy, went on to become the pioneering promoter of hip-hop. One of the biggest cultural forces of the contemporary age was essentially born out of this party, which has since become legendary. When hip-hop first started, it had no labels. It was the result of DJs looping disco, funk, and soul music; it was a novel approach to employing percussion-heavy R&B songs for entertainment at a period of profound societal upheaval. DJ Kool Herc provided uptown neighborhoods in New York with a type of people’s choice entertainment by combining break-heavy hits

from James Brown to the Incredible Bongo Band, all backed by his massive sound system and collection of funk and soul records.

Soon after, Herc became known as a trailblazer in the hip-hop scene in New York City. Hiphop was still mostly an underground phenomenon in 1977, but this behemoth of sound finally faced combat in an epic clash at the Executive Playhouse. In 1970s New York, Herc and his West Bronx group finally became the hub for young people of color, accompanied by other adventurous DJs serving up looping breaks and party vibes. A few of the new pioneers were Herc’s fellow Caribbean-born friends, Kool DJ Red Alert, Grandmaster Flash, and Afrika Bambaataa.

Since it explains the competitive energy, doit-yourself creativity, and public spectacle of mobile jockey culture, the Caribbean link is essential to understanding this history. Some people, the MCs, were the ones that these DJs, the stars of their local party scenes, depended on to get people excited and brag about the artist’s incredible turntable talents. The Jamaican “toasting” custom and the “sound clash” culture that accompanied it were the sources of that DJ-MC interaction.

Sound clashing was a common sight in Kingston, Jamaica’s inner cities even before hip-hop made its debut in the Bronx in 1973. By the middle of the 1950s, rival local DJ teams were starting to emerge, like “sound systems,” usually had a sound technician, MC, and record selection running a rig of turntables, amplifiers, speakers, and microphones. In the heat of the moment, neighborhood youth acted as the system operators’ foot soldiers of hyperbole and hyperbole.

A portion of these young individuals were the outcome of Jamaica’s recent land seizures and extractive industries, which accelerated the gradual uprooting of residents from rural hillsides and drove migrants toward the nation’s capital in pursuit of employment and prospects. In the West Kingston region, close to downtown markets, many, including Herc’s family and many of the first generation of reggae musicians, moved into brand-new,

Grenada PM Wants More Inclusion in Caribbean Tourism Industry

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada (CMC) — Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell Monday called for more inclusion of stakeholders within the region’s tourism industry, warning that failure to do so could seriously hamper the development of the industry.

Addressing the opening of the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s (CTO) Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Conference (STC 2024), hosted by the CTO in partnership with the Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA), Mitchell told delegates that any discussion on sustainable tourism needs to take into consideration the partnerships with the various stakeholders. “We cannot sustain ourselves,” said Mitchell, informing the conference that while he had prepared a speech for the event, he would not be delivering it.

“So it means that when we have our conversations, you probably have to be a little more inclusive and invite the farmers, the fishermen etc etc, the supply chain people to help sustain this tourism industry. which is our crown jewel in the Caribbean.”

Mitchell warned that failure to do so would result in a couple of things including “these people are not going to defend the tourism sector and it also makes it easier for the politician not to defend, the tourism sector”. He told the conference having worked for a number of hotels in the past, he shared a view of the sector “that was pampered, treated quite well and to a large extent sort of treated our people by rewarding them with low paying unskilled jobs”.

“And there is some element of that, and so in Grenada’s case. Once upon a time there was a very deliberate public education campaign that tourism was every body’s business and the question is why did we have to do that?

“People did not believe that tourism is every

body’s business. They did not believe that tourism was good for them and good for the country. I think we have come a long way from that and that the average Grenadian, the average Caribbean person accepts, understand the importance of tourism.”

Mitchell said however that the tourism industry itself “needs to do a better job of making sure that it integrates, connects with, supports, encourages other sectors of society that needs to grow as quickly as tourism has grown to ensure that tourism remains sustainable.”

He said in Grenada for example, the government is under “severe pressure” to relax the rules as well as the concessions for the duties we pay for getting the food needed by the hotels into the island.

“Many of our hoteliers will tell you it is difficult to get the type of food in quantities and quality that they need to sustain and to remain competitive. But if the only solution is to import all of the food, I am guaranteeing you that the tourism will not be sustained and I think we know that and therefore we owe it to ourselves, our farmers, our fishermen, our agro-processors…to ensure to help them to be part of the solution that we need to make our food more sustainable, make our food healthier…”

“So if we are talking partnerships let us go beyond having a room where we are talking to ourselves and that we speak to the persons who could assist us with that partnership,” he said, making reference to the fact that there is also need for unity in dealing with other issues in the sector, including the provision of adequate supply of water and dealing with the problems associated with mosquitoes.

He said in the Caribbean, most of the water now comes from desalination plants “but the reality is…we have not planned for the growth in tourism by ensuring that we invest in water

conservation and the smart use of water, in recycling the use of water etc etc etc”.

Centred around the theme of the 5 Ps – People, Planet, Prosperity, Purpose and Partnership, the CTO said that STC 2024 aims to address pressing issues facing the Caribbean tourism industry and foster collaboration among stakeholders to promote sustainable development.

“The conference is poised to deliver impactful discussions and initiatives that will drive positive change within the region’s tourism sector.”

In his address to the opening ceremony, the executive chairman of the Sandals Resorts International, Adam Stewart, acknowledged that the main problem facing the tourism industry in the region is understanding visitors who are representing a different generation than in the past.

“There are multitudes of generations at any given time in any segment of tourism…and the magic is to figure out how to get them to come here continuously and on an ongoing basis and to widen that net of inclusivity,” said Stewart, who is also the ATL Group and Sandals Foundation president.

“Customers don’t owe us anything…they do not have the loyalty of the former explorers, they have the internet to guide them without ever leaving their rooms,” Stewart said, noting that the most powerful of the theme of the conference is that of partnership.

“The most powerful part of the five Ps is part-

nership, the public sector has a role, the private sector has a role to the degree to which those two things come together to determines your gains and your future,” he told the opening ceremony, adding that there has been more changes and advancements in tourism globally in the last decade than there have been in the last 50 years.

“Our job through my eyes in the short time I get to talk is unity, it’s for all of us to come together, it’s to stand together, to take head on the challenges that we face and to find a way to include everybody,” he said, recalling the problems faced by the industry due to the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

“We as business leaders, we as policy makers in government have to dig deeper, we have to stop being reliable or stop saying this is government business or the private sector business. The sooner we come together with the collective to say that this is our own, that is Caribbean business, is the sooner we will get advancement,” Stewart said.

Focusing on the need for training for workers in the tourism industry, he said there are minimum standards that customers will not accept. “So, we have to prepare, even if it is mother nature, for the arrival of the visitor that has the choice to go anywhere in the world but choose to come here in the region,” he said. Dozens of speakers are scheduled to address the conference.

As Trophy Tour Makes Stop At Magical Pitons, Daren Sammy Takes Center Stage

Daren Sammy stood triumphantly in front of the majestic Pitons Mountains. Dressed in a vibrant shade of pink jersey, which reflected in the blazing sunshine, he held aloft the shining silver ICC Men’s T20 Trophy.

Sammy was in his element – as he recalled with great emotion and sentiment – the magic moments when he held the cherished prize in the air with millions around the world as his adoring audience – not once but twice!

Due to his heroics and warm personality

Sammy is the pride of Saint Lucia – he is the nation’s favorite son and was the center of attention as the island held the third stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 trophy tour. Everywhere he went they were adoring fans to greet him and wish him all the very best. The charismatic 40-year-old is the Head Coach

of the West Indies going into the June 1 to 29 global mega-event. If he triumphs on home soil, he will become the only man to win as both captain and coach.

Sammy said:

“What a lovely day to be out here in the ocean as we stand at the feet of the Pitons. Feels great to be here at home taking the trophy around so that everyone can be part of this ICC Men’s T20 World Cup trophy tour. It’s wonderful to see … our fans are excited and ready for the tournament when it comes to Saint Lucia at the Daren Sammy Cricket Stadium.”

From the Pitons the caravan headed to Vieux Fort on the southern side of the island, fans assembled to take photos with the trophy and interact with their hero.

Crista St. Jour, who described herself as a

cricket fan said: “It’s a great feeling to see the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Trophy and Daren Sammy in Vieux-Fort. I am backing him to win the trophy.”

Another said:

“I am very excited. Saint Lucia is a cricket nation and the matches which will be held here will help boost the tourist industry. It will be a great opportunity to showcase our hospitality.” “I am hoping we will win the World Cup,” he added.

Corona Austin said:

“I feel great taking a photo with Daren Sammy. It is the first time I have gotten so close to him. I really want the West Indies to win the World Cup this year. We have very good cricketers,” she said.

Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority Launches

‘BE

HERE’ Campaign - Ready For a Summer of Cricket

St. John’s, Antigua – Grab your conch shells, horns and whistles, excitement is building for major cricketing events set to take place in the twin-island paradise of Antigua and Barbuda this summer.

In its latest innovative marketing campaign, ‘Be’, the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority is wooing cricket fans and inviting them to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the game in Antigua and Barbuda. CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, Colin C. James, says “Our ‘Be’ campaign is about being present in the moment, allowing one’s senses to awaken to the variety of experiences Antigua and Barbuda has to offer. From exploring our heritage and vibrant culture to indulging in the thrill of sailing and yachting, finding solace in our wellness havens, or being romanced in our intimate settings, the campaign beckons visitors to be present and embrace every aspect of our unique destination.”

The campaign rolls-out this month, with a “Be” video tailored specifically for cricket fans, as Antigua and Barbuda known for its rich cricketing culture readies for a summer of fantastic cricket.

“You’ve got to Be Here!”, exclaims noted batsman Sir Richie Richardson, a West Indies cricketing legend and one of the country’s cricketing knights, during the “Be” campaign video as he extends a warm invitation to all to experience, the cricketing action, soak up the ‘cricket carnival’ atmosphere Antigua and Barbuda is famed for and “be a part of the

game in his homeland.

Antigua and Barbuda astronaut Keisha Schahaff, the first person in the world to go to space with her daughter, also makes an appearance in the video that plays on elements of the “Out of this World” ICC T20 Men’s Cricket World Cup Campaign. The ICC T20 Men’s Cricket World Cup comes to Antigua this June. In the video, a cricket ball is sighted in space, only to make a dramatic appearance on a stunning beach in Antigua, to the delight of young children. From Shirley Heights to Nelson’s Dockyard, then spotted at a quaint fruit stall, a busy restaurant, tranquil spa, and beyond, with the sounding of the conch shell as its rallying call, the cricket ball’s journey incites excitement and anticipation amongst everyone it comes into contact with, setting the stage for an unforgettable cricketing experience.

The Be Here cricket campaign will be released across key source markets for Antigua and Barbuda, targeting potential travellers interested in cricket. It will appear in digital, print, social media and radio advertising for the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority.

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup isn’t the only prestigious cricket tournament coming to Antigua and Barbuda this year. The FairBreak T2O Challenge will celebrate Women’s Cricket in July. Then, from August 28 – October 6 the 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL24) will take place across the Caribbean, with key matches in Antigua, the birthplace of ‘party cricket’. In November, England’s Men’s Cricket will once again tour the West Indies for

a white ball series, with fixtures and matches across Antigua and the Caribbean.

View the ‘Be’ campaign’s cricket video here.

The video was shot on location in Antigua and Barbuda by creative agency The Visual Echo.

The full schedule of the upcoming ICC T20 Fixtures taking place in Antigua are:

9th June, 2024 - Oman vs Scotland

11th June, 2024 - Australia vs Namibia

13th June, 2024 - England vs Oman

15th June, 2024 - Namibia vs England

19th June, 2024 – A2 vs D1

20th June, 2024 – B2 vs D2

22nd June, 2024 – A1 vs D2

23rd June, 2024 - C2 vs D1