22
feature
www.caribbeantimesinternational.com | WEEK ENDING AUGUST 6, 2015
M
arcus Garvey is counted among the greatest men to have walked the earth. The Jamaican in his relatively short life was a proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-African movements and inspired the founders of the Nation of Islam as well as influenced the pioneers of Rastafarianism. Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League through which he advanced a Pan-African philosophy which inspired a global mass movement, known as Garveyism. This would become the core of many of the liberation movements around the world and in fact paved the way for political leaders in Africa and the Caribbean to dare seek independence from colonial rule. The Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago invited the son of Marcus Garvey, internationally respected vascular
J
Dr Julius Garvey stands next to the grapefruit tree planted by the late South African president, Nelson Mandela when he visited Trinidad in 2004. Garvey is the son of Marcus Mosiah Garvey and is in Trinidad for this year’s Emancipation celebrations. (Photo: AYANNA KINSALE)
surgeon, Julius Garvey, to attend this year’s Emancipation Day celebrations. He delivered a presentation at the Forum on the African Diaspora last week and participated in several other events that took place to mark the event. Although people’s initial attraction to and awe of Garvey was because of his father he
was able, with little effort, to get people to see him as an individual with his own identity, ideology and mission to assist African peoples to realise their self-worth and potential to thrive as a people separate and apart from everyone else, especially the Europeans and white America. “I have never really
felt Jamaican, American or even African for that matter. I consider myself a world person. Wherever you live you were being impacted by what is happening anywhere else in the world. If you are aware you can be proactive and take action to institute change. “My father encouraged people to create
their own future and not just sit and allow others to dictate where they should go and who they should become. He came up in a period of colonialism and part of being a colonised people is being dependent and marginalised. His genius was in finding a way out for Africans and to quietly upset the status quo of domination by the colonists,” Garvey said. While the world then saw Marcus Garvey as an agitator and today recognise him as having been a great mind, social activist, political messiah, entrepreneur and leader to Garvey (Julius) he was first, father and then much more than everything others saw him to be. “He is my hero. He is my first and only role model. My father was such a fantastic person with a great knowledge and understanding of the world, which he had because he was able to discover and nurture an intimate relationship with God within himself. “My father was well read in economics, history, religion, politics and
he opened up the whole world to me, encouraging me to investigate it on my own and in my own way. As busy as he kept himself working, teaching, helping people, he made sure there was quality time and time to teach us. He really died too young. But he moulded me and I believe he did very well,” Garvey said. Having established a successful practice in New York, Garvey who is 82-years-old employs revenue from his medical business to assist African peoples and others in the US, the Caribbean and Africa. Garvey does most of his philanthropic works very quietly, but there are things he has done that just can’t be hidden. He, for example has planted 500,000 trees in Northern Ghana and he has led missions to South Sudan, Haiti and Jamaica. He prefers to be out of the spotlight, but accepts that because of his heritage, that is out of the question. So he simply takes it all in stride. (TT Express)
Anju Blaxxx
amaican dancehall producer Anju Blaxxx was released on bail after spending close to six months in a North Dakota jail on lottery scamming-related charges. His release was confirmed by Tanya Thellwell, manager of UIM Records. "He was granted bail when he appeared in court yesterday (last Thursday). He also went to immigration court today (last Friday) and he was cleared, so hopefully he will be home soon," she told the Jamaica Observer. The lottery scam involves convincing elder-
ly American victims to send millions of dollars for 'lottery winnings'. Anju Blaxxx (given name Andrew Sayeed Myrie) was arrested in Florida on February 7 by American law enforcement officers on mail and wire fraud in connection with telemarketing fraud in North Dakota. He was granted bail when he appeared in court in Florida. The bail order was, however, overturned on the grounds that he was "a substantial flight risk". Blaxxx is the producer of Bugle's hit ‘Nuh Compatible’ and has hits with Purge, 300 Round and Klappaz riddims. (Jamaica Observer)
T
GWMO members pose with members of the diplomatic community
he Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO) last Thursday evening hosted a Trafficking In Persons (TIP) Edutainment Concert in commemoration of World Day Against Trafficking In Persons. The concert was held at the Theatre Guild and Allison Butters-Grant, who is a member of GWMO, was the hostess for the event. The event was at-
tended by the Russian Ambassador to Guyana, Nikolay Smirnov; Chargé d’ Affaires of the British High Commission; representatives from the United States Embassy; the Canadian High Commissioner Dr Nicole Giles; representatives from the European Union, and other members of the diplomatic community. The dignitaries were accompanied by Miss Guyana World 2015 Lisa Punch and representatives from
Caribbean World Mission (CWM) who are visiting Guyana for a Youth Forum on Trafficking In Persons. This year’s concert marks the second anniversary for World Day Against Trafficking In Persons and the GWMO plans to continue celebrating this specific day set out by the United Nations. The concert was organised by Odessa Primus, who was one of the actresses at the event
which featured performances by Kijana Lewis, Malika Edmonson, Keon Heywood, Mark Edwards, Melinda Harris and Colleen Humphrey. After the fun-filled concert, GWMO took time out to acknowledge its founder, Simona Broomes who started the organisation on January 25, 2012. The organisation issued a plaque to the Minister (in her absence) for her hard work and dedication throughout the years. (Guyana Times)