Caribbean Times 02232017

Times 

Concern over 

Trump’s 

immigration 

policies grows 

GEORGE- 

TOWN, Guyana 

– Leaders 

of the 15-nation 

Caribbean 

Community 

expressed concern 

Friday 

that US President 

Donald 

Trump’s immigration 

policies 

could lead to a 

Grenada PM 

Keith Mitchell 

Times 

One People Under The Sun 

production@caribbeantimesnews.com | February 23-March 8, 2017 

Malnutrition killing 

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inmates in Haiti jails 

slowdown in travel to a region dependent 

on tourism. 

As Caribbean leaders wrapped up 

their mid-term summit in Guyana’s 

capital city Georgetown, incoming 

CARICOM Chairman Keith Mitchell 

— prime minister of Grenada 

— said the trade bloc has adopted a 

“wait-and-see attitude” with respect 

to America’s evolving migration policy 

and how it affects the region’s vital emaciated men with sunken cheeks and pro- 

Elsewhere, prisoners are crammed shoulmates 

on lockdown 22 hours a day are forced 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Dozens of tarp. 

tiary jostle for space on filthy floors where in- 

tourism industry. 

truding ribs lie silently in an infirmary at der-to-shoulder in cellblocks so overcrowded to defecate into plastic bags in the absence of 

“We must obviously be concerned Haiti’s largest prison, most too weak to stand. they have to sleep in makeshift hammocks suspended 

from the ceiling or squeeze four to a “Straight up: This is hell. Getting locked up 

latrines. 

with the recent issue related to immi- The corpse of an inmate who died miserably 

Continued on page 26 of malnutrition is shrouded beneath a plastic bunk. New arrivals at Haiti’s National Peniten- 

Continued on page 26

2 

Caribbean Times | February 23-March 8, 2017 

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news 

3 

School, books, 

and venereal disease 

Growing alarm as contraction of STDS 

among Trinidadian school children rises 

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad authorities are 

grappling with an alarming level of sexually 

transmitted diseases (STDs) among schoolchildren. 

Last year alone, five primary school students 

tested positive for the HIV virus and 

scores more have tested positive for other 

STDs, officials from the Ministry of Education 

and Health reported to a Joint Select 

Committee of Parliament examining the issue. 

Guidance officer in the Ministry of Education 

Darlene Smith said of the five children 

diagnosed with HIV, two are boys, ages 

8 and 11, and three girls are seven, nine and 

ten years old. Education Minister Anthony 

Garcia subsequently clarified that those five 

children did not contract the virus through 

sexual activity, but were born with the virus. 

Stressing that the ministry has a zero tolerance 

policy on discrimination, Smith said 

that the HIV infected children would “remain 

in the system unless their health factors 

should warrant that they should be removed.” 

Separate and distinct from these cases, 

specialist medical officer Dr Aruna Divakaruni 

said, the level of sexual activity among 

children was worrying. She said a substantial 

number of school-aged children had been 

seeking the services of the Queen’s Park 

Counselling Centre. 

“They have older partners. Most of the 

time they are abused by stepfathers or a 

brother or cousin or somebody like that,” she 

said, adding “others [are] engaged in sexual 

activity willingly”. 

Data measuring the prevalence of STDs 

among school children between 2012 and 

2015 show that over 300 children were infected 

with STDs, including HIV, gonorrrhoea 

and syphilis. 

Dr Divakaruni lamented that despite the 

fact children were engaging in sex, parents 

and some schools have been pushing back 

against the teaching of sexual education by 

qualified medical professionals in the classroom. 

Continued on page 26 

Left to right: President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley 

President Trump and 

T&T PM vow to deepen ties 

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad -- Prime 

minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr 

Keith Rowley, and US President Donald 

Trump on Sunday agreed that both administrations 

will continue to strengthen 

the relationship that exists between the 

two countries. 

In a press release, the Office of the 

Prime Minister said the pledge came after 

Rowley had a conversation with Trump 

around 4.40 pm on Sunday. 

The release said Rowley and Trump 

“spoke about a number of issues of mutual 

interest to Trinidad and Tobago and the 

United States”. 

It added, “The leaders agreed that both 

administrations would continue working 

together on matters including security 

and trade. It was acknowledged that 

both countries have had a close working 

relationship which will continue to be 

strengthened.” 


Caribbean nationals 

urged to take care 

when traveling 

MIAMI, – A Florida immigration attorney, 

Dahlia Walker-Huntington, is warning 

Caribbean nationals with green cards 

who have been charged with a crime in the 

United States to postpone overseas travel. 

In spite of a ruling from a federal court 

stopping the Trump Administration’s executive 

order banning travellers from seven 

predominately Muslim nations, Caribbean 

nationals living in the US are nervous. 

The attorney spoke at recent immigration 

forum at Holy Family Episcopal Church in 

Miami Gardens, Florida, and stated that 

non-US citizens are still exposed to the 

ban’s negative implications. 

Walker-Huntington stated that local 

law enforcement have been re-ordered 

to function as immigration agents by the 

Trump Administration; this stipulation 

was dropped during the Obama era. 

Caribbean nationals who may have 

committed minor offenses in the past and 

who now may want to travel or apply for 

citizenship are advised not to travel. 

“If you are a green card holder and you 

were arrested, even if you were not convicted 

or even if the case was dismissed, do not 

travel as you may be caught and be unable 

to return,” she said. 

Caribbean nationals who have green 

cards and who have been charged with 

crimes are more likely to be harassed than 

individuals coming to the US for the first 


4 


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commentary 

What goes around, comes around 

In lay man’s language, after the 

torments that visa-holders/arrivals 

to American airports had to 

go through after the announcement 

of the President’s Executive 

Order on Immigration on January 

27th;--we might term the legal 

encounters that Government 

representatives (themselves) had 

to endure as”what goes around 

comes around”...or as journalists, 

columnists, and (sophisticated) 

analysts and commentators label 

it”circular-firing”. 

Let us sort of examine what I 

am talking about--Immigration 

normally regulates ENTRIES(in) 

to and EXITS(out) of a country, 

and given the headaches and 

heartaches that entrants and potential 

entrants to the U.S. had/ 

are experiencing during the days 

immediately following January 

27 when the Immigration-Order 

was signed, ..several might now 

be overtly or covertly gloating, 

at seeing Government Officials 

(themselves) being dragged 

before the Courts, and being 

made to face their own trails and 

tribulations, as they seek to defend 

their writings and their actions. 

{what goes around comes 

around}. 

I believe that just as how the 

masses (both locally and overseas) 

were/are upset and frustrated 

over the contents and 

implementation(s) of that Order--similar 

bouts of anger and 

frustration might have invaded 

the White House over the 

protests and legal actions that 

are occurring as backlashes to 

that Order...{what goes around! 

to advertise your 

business, or event 

contact us at 

(718) 909-1841 

or email 

production@ 

caribbeantimesnews.com 

By Carlyle Harry 

comes around}. 

Perhaps, even more annoying 

for the Government Representatives, 

is that the Courts have been 

ruling against them...May be laying 

the ground work for further 

protracted legal combats....Especially 

now that the ninth Circuit 

has also ruled against the Executive-Order 

on 2.8.17. 

The ninth circuit’s ruling 

against the Order, forces the 

relevant Administrative Departments 

to figure out appropriate 

legal responses. 

THE RUSH--the old saying 

goes”Stricter the Government, 

WISER, the population”....So, 

what we are witnessing now, is 

various categories of visa-holders 

using the (interim) reversal 

of the Order, to rush into the 

U.S., while those already here 

are being warned not to leave the 

country. 

Recently, Florida Immigration 

Attorney--Dahlia Walker-Huntington 

in an address to an Immigration 

forum at Family Episcopal 

church in Miami Gardens, 

Florida, ‘warned Caribbean Nationals 

with Green cards who 

have been charged with a crime 

in the U.S., to postpone overseas 

travel’. 

REACTIONS/RESPONSES 

The Government(which has 

broad powers, and advantages) 

might end up winning this legal 

war, but at least the ordinary 

people and their legal Representatives 

can take pride and satisfaction 

that they have won some 

of the initial legal battles. 

{Again, because this might 

turn out to be a long drawn-out 

legal battle, spectators and commentators 

enjoy the competition}. 

President Trump in a tweet on 

a first ruling against the Order, 

by lifetime Judge James Robart, 

described the latter as a “socalled 

Judge” 

It has been reported that 

Mr.Trump’s Supreme-Court 

Nominee--Neil Gorsuch went on 

to describe the President’s characterization 

of Judge Robart as 

“disheartening” 

Journalist-Rich Lowry described 

that characterization of 

Judge Robart as”needlessly insulting 

and counter productive”’ 

The irony around the President’s 

criticism of Judge Robart, 

is that the latter was a nominee 

of President George W.Bush, and 

he was confirmed by the U.S. 

Senate. 

When President Trump 

signed that executive-order 

on Friday afternoon, January 

27th.,amidst flashing cameras, I 

along with millions others from 

around America and the Globe, 

never imagined that the contents 

of that order, would have borne 

such serious (immediate) and 

follow-up effects and repercussions 

to Green-Card and various 

visa holders. 

We did not realize that it was a 

‘calm before a storm’ in terms of 

resistance, interactions and 

reactions, as well as spontaneous 

National and Global protests. 

ADMISSION,-- I have to 

admit that the flood of Executive-Orders, 

and the interactions 

and reactions that follow them 

are disrupting my writing-schedules,as 

well as my anticipated sequence. 

They are also supplying constant 

flows of material to lots 

of media outlets; as well as topics 

for late night shows’ monologues, 

and of course renewed 

popularity for Saturday Night- 

Live. 

Finally, it is being reported 

that the President’s Executive-Orders 

have provided ample 

fund raising opportunities opportunities 

for the Democratic 

Party, its elected officials, and 

potential (2018) political candidates; 

as well Legal-Aid Entities. 

In other words, that Order infected 

the airport, it affected the 

courts, it slowed down the refugees, 

it is producing detainees, 

We have found that what goes 

around comes around.

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economic development 

CHARLOTTE, USA -- A dual Jamaican 

and US citizen charged in connection 

with the operation of a Jamaican-based 

fraudulent lottery scheme 

was sentenced on Friday in Charlotte, 

North Carolina. 

Felecia Roxanne Lindo, 33, was 

sentenced to serve 24 months in prison 

and three years’ supervised release. 

Lindo was also ordered to pay 

$292,900 in restitution. 

Lindo pleaded guilty on September 

28, 2016, to one count of conspiracy 

to commit wire fraud, in the Western 

District of North Carolina. As part of 

her guilty plea, Lindo acknowledged 

that from in or about 2011 through at 

least in or about September 2012, she 

was a member of a lottery fraud conspiracy 

that targeted victims in the 

United States. 

“Lottery scammers tied to Jamaica 

continue to prey on victims in the 

United States, promising large winnings 

in a lottery when in fact the victims 

are duped into sending the money 

to a member of the scheme,” said Acting 

Assistant Attorney General Chad 

Readler of the Justice Department’s 

Civil Division. “The Department of 

Justice is committed to prosecuting 

those who participate in international 

lottery schemes, which often target elderly 

Americans.” 

Lindo was charged on September 

20, 2016, with one count of conspiracy 

to commit wire fraud. As part of her 

guilty plea, Lindo acknowledged that 

victims of the scheme received a tele- 


news 

7 

CDB urges region to create 

environment for economic growth 

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados -- The Caribbean 

Development Bank (CDB) is projecting 

that the region will experience economic 

growth of approximately 1.7 percent in 2017. 

However, CDB director of economics, Dr 

Justin Ram, has warned that this will not be 

enough to stimulate employment, particularly 

among youth, and reduce high regional 

debt levels. He pointed to the need for a longterm 

action plan that will allow the region to 

participate in global supply chains, and drive 

sustainable economic growth. In a presentation 

at the bank’s annual news conference, 

Ram urged regional policymakers to create 

an environment which increases productivity 

and enhances competitiveness, including 

a more welcoming doing-business environment, 

access to financing for MSMEs and 

labour market reforms. 

“In this endeavour, it would be necessary to 

reform governance structures and institutions to 

support the new paradigm. Governments would 

have to be willing to stabilize their economies 

through fiscal and debt consolidation, implement 

structural reforms that enhance growth 

and develop strong, targeted social development 

programmes,” he said. 

Ram noted that fiscal reforms are necessary 

if the region is to break the cycle of high 

debt and low growth. These must include 

proper institutions and frameworks to manage 

and mitigate debt. 

Dr Justin Ram 

“Given the vulnerabilities to natural disasters 

and how this has contributed to debt 

accumulation, it is important for countries to 

use revenue windfalls to set up contingency 

funds or sovereign wealth funds, so as to reduce 

the debt burden and ensure greater economic 

and social resilience,” he added. 

With respect to specific policy actions, 

Ram said that some reforms can be implemented 

immediately, and will have an impact 

on inclusive growth. These include the 

reduction of trade barriers, the use of public-private 

partnerships to close infrastructure 

and service gaps, the promotion of green 

energy production, the divestment of state 

owned assets to enhance value and efficiency 

and strengthening of the banking sector. 

Ram also recommended that governments 

make efforts to engage the Caribbean’s vast 

regional diaspora. 

The director of economics noted that 

underpinning such reforms is the need for 

a good governance agenda. He pointed out 

that governments must strive for accountability, 

and fiscal discipline, with a focus on 

ensuring value for money. 

“Systems of government should be transparent, 

foster inclusion, security and growth. 

Moreover, government operations and resources 

should be managed in such a way to 

ensure good value for money,” Ram said. 

In his presentation, he noted that the action 

plan must drive sustainable prosperity 

and place greater focus on the private sector 

as an engine of economic growth, through 

targeted improvements in the doing-business 

environment. 

In support of this effort, Ram also recommended 

targeted assistance programmes for 

micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises 

(MSMEs), such as the stimulation of junior 

stock exchanges and other funding mechanisms, 

in sectors that have significant growth 

and employment potential. 

Caribbean Development Bank approves 

US $306 million in loans, grants in 2016 

CDB President, Dr William Warren Smith 

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados -- In 2016, the 

Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) approved 

US$306 million in loans and grants, 

the highest approval total during the past five 

years. And of the countries for which funding 

was approved, Belize, Saint Lucia and 

Suriname were the three largest beneficiaries 

of loans. 

Dr William Warren Smith, CDB president, 

made this announcement during the 

bank’s annual news conference on Friday in 

Barbados. 

Smith pointed out that, in addition to the 

grants approved in 2016, the Bank began implementing 

the United Kingdom Caribbean 

Infrastructure Partnership Fund (UK CIF). 

UK CIF is a £300 million grant programme 

for transformational infrastructure projects 

in eight Caribbean countries and one British 

overseas territory, which CDB administers. 

£16.4 million in grants was approved for 

projects and technical assistance in Antigua 

and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica and Grenada. 

“We reached noteworthy milestones in 

deepening our strategic partnerships and 

successfully mobilising financial resources 

that our BMCs can use to craft appropriate 

responses to their development challenges,” 

said Smith, noting that UK CIF was among 

the bank’s partnership highlights in 2016. 

Last year, the bank also signed a credit fa- 


Dual Jamaican-US 

Citizen sentenced 

in lottery fraud 

scheme based in 

Jamaica 

Caribbean Times | February 23-March 8, 2017

8 

letters to the editor 

poetry corner 


child murders 

Dear Editor, 

Given the decade long series of child murders 

that New York City’s Administration for 

Children’s Services has repeatedly failed to 

prevent--including Nixmary Brown, Elisa Izquierda, 

Myls Dobson, Zymere Perkins, Jaden 

Jordan, Mikey Guzman and Zamair Coombs, I 

feel compelled to unofficially rename ACS with 

the following :Asses Committing Serial-Killings. 

Sure, the physical murders were actually administered 

by these children’s monstrous mothers, 

fathers, and mothers’ boyfriends, but they 

were all enabled by a series of ACS commissioners 

and workers(not to mention mayors who 

also bear much bucks-stop-here responsibility). 

If anyone of these murders had in fact been 

committed by an actual serial killer, could we 

ever punish him enough, but none of the many 

ACS employees who played any role in any of 

these deaths have shared in the immense suffering 

of these young victims in the hours, 

days, weeks, months or years leading up to their 

deaths. 

Mayor de Blasio should be ashamed and angry 

enough to finally put an end to cases like 

these that do not have to continue happening. 

 

— Richard Siegelman. 

Torres demands larger 

capital commitment 

Dear Editor, 

City Council Public Housing Committee 

Chairman Ritchie Torres is right in his demand 

for a larger upfront capital commitment from 

the city for NYCHA developments. 

commentary 

There is a crisis brewing in Grenada's 

Parliamentary Elections Office, 

brought about by last week's 

firing of at least seven (7) of the 15 

Constituency Returning Officers 

and last Friday's resignation of the 

deputy Supervisor of Elections, 

Mrs. Ada Holder, in protest, to the 

firings. 

"This situation is unprecedented, 

particularly in an election year," 

reads a statement being circulated 

by the main opposition party in 

Grenada, the National Democratic 

Congress (NDC). 

The statement further indicates 

that, "The NDC sees this as a vulgar 

attempt to rig the election process 

and ultimately steal the election, 

With regards to Mayor de Blasio’s pledge to 

allocate $ 1 billion over 10 years to replace roofs 

at NYCHA, I wish to point out that NYCHA residents 

cannot wait another 10 years for roofs to 

be fixed. 

Leaky roofs lead to mold, exacerbate chronic 

illnesses such as asthma, and cause damage to 

building structures. 

The city needs to invest $1 billion upfront 

now, so that NYCHA can make the necessary 

repairs that it has been forced to defer for years. 

It is time for the city to protect the health and 

safety of its residents,--more than 600,000 New 

Yorkers. 

In our new reality, New York City cannot wait 

for federal dollars to make these major improvements, 

we must preserve this essential affordable 

housing now. 

 

— Lucy Newman 

Offshore wind farm 

Dear Editor, 

With our new President and Corporate Congress 

eager to build more polluting pipelines, I 

was heartened to hear that Gov. Cuomo and the 

Long Island Power Authority took a momentous 

step toward clean, renewable energy, by moving 

ahead with an offshore wind farm. 

This is a win-win, the project will provide 

good-paying local jobs. 

Wind is a free resource that does not run out, 

and wind energy does not come with toxic spills, 

leaks and explosions.The sooner those turbines 

start turning, the better. 

 

By Gerry Hopkin, JD 

bearing in mind NNP's defeat in 

the Referendum and the results of 

— Lisa Harrison 

the recently conducted Polls which 

showed that the NNP party is loosing 

grounds rapidly." 

In response to this unprecedented, 

blatant act, which re-configurates 

the staffing of the Parliamentary 

Elections Office and 

possibly allows for the engineering 

and suppression of operations and 

results of the upcoming election, 

the NDC has organised a march to 

picket the Parliamentary Elections 

office at Tanteen, St . George’s, on 

Wednesday, February, 22 nd. The 

march will begin at 11:30 AM from 

Kirani James Boulevard near to the 

Alleyne Francique Roundabout. 

This is "one of the measures to 

push back against the NNP and 

pipeline dream or 

nightmare 

Dear Editor, 

After the Alaska pipeline was built, despite, 

promises that it would never leak, various leaking 

accidents have been documented and hidden. 

We are going the same route with the Keystone 

XL, and Dakota pipelines. 

My suggestion for the safety of the water supply 

and land for the Indians and us:-severely fine 

the pipe manufacturer, the energy producer, and 

the layers of the pipes for every single accident. 

 

— Rose Lancaster 

the right to assemble & 

petition the gov’t 

Dear Editor, 

Please allow me some space in your newspaper 

to write about what protest accomplishes. 

Look back to the civil rights movement. 

Three million people peacefully protested on 

January 21st., why should that upset anyone... 

we were protesting reproductive rights, gender 

pay inequality, racism, homophobia, affordable 

healthcare and misogyny. 

The people have every right to let this new 

administration know that we are going to call 

them out and hold them accountable whenever 

we can. To assume that the three million people 

who marched on the 21st. were all unemployed 

or receiving some kind of government benefits 

is asinine, and very indicative of how a person 

like Donald Trump can weasel his way into the 

White House. 

 

— Daisy Vega 

CRISIS IN GRENADA’S PARLIAMENTARY 

ELECTIONS OFFICE OVER SUSPICIOUS FIRINGS 

draw public attention to the situation," 

states the same NDC release 

referenced above. "We need every 

patriotic Grenadian to come out 

in support of the march and show 

their support for an independent 

elections office, free of political interference," 

the statement further 

reads. 

The statemement concludes 

with the words, "For love of Country, 

share this as far and wide as 

possible and stand in defense of 

democracy. RESIST NOW." 

It is the view of some political 

pundits that this NDC-planned 

demonstation, set for today, is a 

necessary move, while others are 

saying that much more must be 


INDOMITABLE 

Unlicensed is the word 

I am a Muslim unafraid of executive orders 

I came from South America, origin Africa 

Reading and writing better than most 

I am a Muslim unmoved by tweets 

Alternative truths are hidden in robes 

The ghostly lonely sentinel gaze on Martin 

Coretta March 13, 1986 voice unsilenced 

I am a Muslim in crimson and dark golden 

hue Black History is World History 

Captured, tortured and labeled 3/5th 

I am a Muslim, Indomitable unshakable! 

 

— By Noel Moses 

VALENTINE FLOWER 

This bouquet of flowers, I send to you 

Speaks the language of love so true 

It brings with it laughter; 

It’s treasury, my heart 

It speaks so much louder 

Than words can impart. 

This beautiful bouquet sentimentally 

chosen 

Has a flower for each trait around me 

woven 

There’s the flower for communicating, 

One for understanding 

A flower for friendship, one for 

companionship 

A flower for caring, and that for sharing 

This flower is for your trust in me, 

And for your honesty. 

Because I believe in your love, 

This flower to you I send 

A flower for forgiving, a heartache did 

mend. 

And this flower tells of your lovely smile. 

Here’s one for the kiss that lasted a mile 

Of all the flowers in this lovely bouquet 

With colors so beautifully arranged 

There’s one that gives its brightest hue 

It lends in the air its sweet perfume 

It’s the one that says; “I Love You” 

 

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10 

news 


Jamaican scientists close to 

creating affordable Hepatitis C 

drug from cannabis 

KINGSTON, Jamaica, – Research scientists 

say they have discovered properties in 

Cannabidiol (CBD), one of the major bioactive 

compounds in the cannabis plant, that 

have the potential to provide affordable treatment 

as nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals 

for hepatitis C. 

Information on the new discovery can be 

found in the latest issue (January – March 

2017) of Pharmacognosy Research, a publication 

of Pharmacognosy Network Worldwide, 

making it subject to peer review. 

“We report here for the first time in vitro 

studies to demonstrate the antiviral activity 

of CBD against HCV,” Dr Henry Lowe, and 

his research team – Jamaican Wayne Mc- 

Laughlin and Cameroonian Dr Ngeh Toyang 

– state in their published study, adding 

that Cannabidiol was shown to have activity 

against HCV in vitro but not against hepatitis 

B virus (HBV). 

Last Friday, Lowe, who is known worldwide 

for his anti-cancer and ganja research, 

as well as the production of a range of nutraceuticals 

using Jamaican plants, told the Jamaica 

Observer that the discovery is a major 

development. 

“This is a new discovery which has fantas- 


community mobilization 

11 


Attempt to form 

umbrella 


A cross-section of Representatives from 

a number of Guyanese Organizations met 

last week Friday afternoon to examine the 

prospects of launching an effective Umbrella-Outfit. 

The meeting was held at the Hill’s Lounge 

on Church avenue. 

Convenor of the meeting was Attorney-at-Law, 

Colin Moore. 

At the commencement of the meeting, 

Mr. Moore informed the gathering about the 

principal reasons the he felt had warranted 

the need to organize and launch such a Body. 

Mr. Moore pointed out that with scores 

of Guyanese-based Groups operating in the 

Boroughs of New York City, there was definite 

urgency to establish greater coordination 

and more effective communications among 

those entities, in order to reduce occurrences 

of unnecessary competition and duplication. 

Most of the representatives present at the 

meeting, agreed with the Convener’s sentiments, 

and proposed that going forward, 

increased efforts should be made to hold cooperative 

ventures such as fund-raisers and 

educational fora. 

It was also suggested that since most of the 

Guyanese organizations had already planned 

their individual programs for this year, the 

Umbrella-Group should concentrate on mobilizing 

support for those activities; while 

seeking to promote jointly-sponsored and 

cooperative events from next year. 

Another important item that was discussed 

at Friday’s meeting was ways and 

means of administering the Umbrella-Organization 

via membership-recruitment, the 

establishment of a qualitative secretariat, and 

funding-arteries. 

The (proposed)Umbrella-Organization in 

association with a number of Brooklyn Politicians 

and Religious Institutions, is holding 

a symposium on President Trump’s Immigration 

plans. 

The symposium is going to be held on Saturday 

at the St.Stephens church on east 29th 

street. 

Prior to the conclusion of the meeting, 

College-Professor, Dr.Lear Matthews shared 

insights around research work that he was 

doing into Guyanese-based organizations 

that were operating in Boroughs of New York 

City. 

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12 

health 


Do social ties affect our health? 

Exploring the biology of your relationships 

Cuddles, kisses, and caring conversations. 

These are key ingredients of our close relationships. 

Scientists are finding that our 

links to others can have powerful effects on 

our health. Whether with romantic partners, 

family, friends, neighbors, or others, social 

connections can influence our biology and 

well-being. 

Wide-ranging research suggests that 

strong social ties are linked to a longer life. 

In contrast, loneliness and social isolation 

are linked to poorer health, depression, and 

increased risk of early death. 

Studies have found that having a variety 

of social relationships may help reduce stress 

and heart-related risks. Such connections 

might improve your ability to fight off germs 

or give you a more positive outlook on life. 

Physical contact—from hand-holding to 

sex—can trigger release of hormones and 

brain chemicals that not only make us feel 

great but also have other biological benefits. 

Marriage is one of the most-studied social 

bonds. “For many people, marriage 

is their most important relationship. And 

the evidence is very strong that marriage is 

CDB grant 

Continued from page 7 

cility agreement with Agence Française de 

Développement. It included a US$33 million 

loan to support sustainable infrastructure 

projects and a EUR3 million grant to 

fund feasibility studies for projects eligible 

for financing under the credit facility. 

Also in 2016, CDB entered an arrangement 

with the government of Canada for 

the establishment and administration of a 

CA$5 million fund to build capacity in the 

energy sector, the Canadian Support to the 

Energy Sector in the Caribbean Fund. 

These recent partnerships are part of the 

bank’s drive to raise appropriately-priced 

resources mainly for financing projects 

with a strong focus on climate adaptation, 

renewable energy and energy efficiency. 

During his statement, Smith highlighted 

that the bank became an accredited 

partner institution of both the Adaptation 

Fund and the Green Climate Fund in 2016. 

generally good for health,” says Dr. Janice 

Kiecolt-Glaser, an expert on health and relationships 

at Ohio State University. “But if 

a relationship isn’t going well, it could have 

significant health-related consequences.” 

Married couples tend to live longer and 

“The Adaptation Fund and the Green 

Climate Fund have opened new gateways 

to much-needed grant and or low-cost financing 

to address climate change vulnerabilities 

in all of our BMCs,” Smith told the 

media. 

The president also confirmed that, in 

2016, CDB completed negotiations for the 

replenishment of the Special Development 

Fund (SDF), the bank’s largest pool of concessionary 

funds. Contributors agreed to 

an overall programme of US$355 million 

for the period 2017-2020, and lowered the 

SDF interest rate from a range of 2 to 2.5 

percent to 1 percent. The programme approved 

includes US$45 million for Haiti 

and US$40 million for the Basic Needs 

have better heart health than unmarried 

couples. Studies have found that when one 

spouse improves his or her health behaviors—such 

as by exercising, drinking or 

smoking less, or getting a flu shot—the other 

spouse is likely to do so, too. 

Trust Fund. This marked the ninth replenishment 

of the SDF, which helps meet the 

Caribbean region’s high-priority development 

needs. 

In his statement, Smith also reaffirmed 

the bank’s commitment to drive sustained 

“At the core of our operations is the desire to better 

the lives of Caribbean people. That is the context 

within which we help to design, appraise and evaluate 

every project we finance.” — Dr. William Warren Smith 

and inclusive income growth, complemented 

by improvements in living standards 

in its BMCs. This, he said, was critical, 

as economic growth across the region 

remains uneven, with fragile recovery expected 

to continue into 2017. 

“At the core of our operations is the desire 

to better the lives of Caribbean people. 

That is the context within which we help to 

design, appraise and evaluate every project 

we finance,” Smith said. 

When marriages are full of conflict, 

though, such health benefits may shrink. In 

NIH-funded studies, Kiecolt-Glaser and her 

colleagues found that how couples behave 

during conflict can affect wound healing and 

blood levels of stress hormones. In a study of 

more than 40 married couples, the researchers 

measured changes to body chemistry 

over a 24-hour period both before and after 

spouses discussed a conflict. The troublesome 

topics included money, in-laws, and communication. 

“We found that the quality of the discussion 

really mattered,” Kiecolt-Glaser says. 

Couples who were more hostile to each other 

showed much larger negative changes, including 

big spikes in stress hormones and inflammation-related 

molecules. “In the more 

well-functioning marriages, couples might 

acknowledge that they disagree, or find humor 

in the situation, but they don’t get sarcastic 

or roll their eyes when the other is talking,” 

Kiecolt-Glaser says. In a related study, blister 

wounds healed substantially more slowly in 

couples who were nastier to each other than 

in those who were kinder and gentler during 

difficult discussions. 

Couples with the “double-whammy” of 

hostile marriages and depression may also 

be at risk for weight problems. After eating a 

high-fat meal and discussing a difficult topic, 

these troubled couples tended to burn 

fewer calories than less hostile counterparts. 

“The metabolism in these couples was slower 

in ways that could account for weight gain 

across time,” Kiecolt-Glaser says. Compared 

to the kinder couples, the distressed spouses 

had signs of more fat storage and other risks 

for heart disease. 

The quality of a marriage—whether supportive 

or hostile—may be especially important 

to the health of older couples. Dr. Hui Liu 

at Michigan State University studied data on 

the health and sexuality of more than 2,200 

older people, ages 57 to 85. Good marriage 

quality, she found, is linked to reduced risk of 

developing cardiovascular disease, while bad 

marriage quality is tied to increased risk, particularly 

in women. “The association between 

marriage quality and heart health becomes 

increasingly strong at older ages,” Liu says. 

Liu and colleagues are also looking at the 

links between late-life sexuality and health, 

including whether sex among the very old 

is beneficial or risky to heart health. “Some 

people assume that sex isn’t important in older 

ages, so those ages are often overlooked in 

research studies related to sex,” Liu says. “But 

our studies suggest that for many older peo- 


13 

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organizational profile 

17 

Women Of Mission International Inc. 


Women Of Mission International Inc. 

(WOMI) was founded in August 2010, with 

the aim of making a difference in the lives of 

women through education, counseling, support 

services, scholarships, mentorship and empowerment 

forums. 

The primary goal of WOMI is to encourage 

women to take ownership of their lives’ directions. 

WOMI’s primary objective is to empower 

women and girls through social, cultural, economic 

and educational programs, while engaging 

them in wide-ranging discussions and 

consultations on issues that prevent them from 

deriving solutions to challenges and issues confronting 

them. 

WOMI envisions a world where no woman 

is abused, poor, untrained or marginalized....A 

world Where women have full and equal participation 

in the processes that involve their health, 

education and economic independence; and a 

world where everyone has the freedom to define 

the scope of their lives, and their futures. 

The present executive-members of WOMI 

are:-- 

Linda Felix-Johnson – President 

Guliana Jacobs-Moses - Vice President 

Sandy Campbell – Executive Secretary 

Denise Nurse-Roland – Treasurer 

Denise Coppin-Alexander – Director 

Berneita Primo – Director 

Wanda Hutson – Director 

Dianne Dixon - Director 

The executive board members and general 

membership consist of persons from several Caribbean 

countries including Guyana, Jamaica, 

Trinidad and Tobago, and St.Vincent. 

The Organization boasts of being open to all 

women regardless of their income, race, creed, 

age or nationality. 

Women Of Mission International Inc. is a notfor-profit 

charitable organization that was registered 

in the state of New York during 2010. It is 

a membership-based international organization, 

open to all women. An elected eight member 

Board manages the activities of the organization, 

and a four member Committee manages its daily 

activities.Funds are raised primarily through 

membership contributions, fundraising events, 

and donations from individuals, foundations 

and international organizations. 

WOMI’s annual tax-deductible membership 

fee is US$50. 

PROJECTS/ACTIVITIES 

The Major projects that WOMI has already 

undertaken, include scholarships to 

deserving students; literacy-programs, donations 

of school-supplies-- including coloring 

activity books, pencils, erasers, rulers and 

back-packs. 

In addition, hundreds of persons have 

benefitted from WOMI’s annual collaborations 

with The Overseas Medical Assistance 

Team (OMAT) to provide surgeries and medical 

treatment, free of cost to several communities, 

health fairs educate the environments 

on diabetic and high blood pressure management, 

the importance of early cancer testing, 

good nutrition, and HIV testing. 

One scholarship recipient who at one 

point in time contemplated suicide, and is 

now attending College, called on WOMI’s 

executive-members to “help others as she 

was helped”. 

For, the future, while continuing its present 

program of activities, WOMI is planning 

to expand its 

• Literacy Program (via a Go Fund Me 

Link, enter ‘Support WOMI Literacy Program’) 

• Mentorship Program 

• Sponsor A Child program 

• Sponsor A School project 

• School-supplies’ undertakings 

FUND-RAISING 

WOMI’s principal fund-raising events for 

the first half of 2017 will include:-- 

• Republic Cultural Session – February 

22, – Venue: 1074 Rogers Avenue, Brooklyn 

NY 11226 ! from 7:00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M .... 

The session will feature Folk Dancing, Poetry-Reading, 

Drumming & Percussion Extravaganza, 

Lip-syncing, and Karaoke. 

• March – Oldies and Karaoke promotion. 

• Annual Honors Gala – April 21, 2017 - 

Venue: Crystal Manor, Brooklyn NY 

• International Women’s Conference – 

April 22,. 

• Conversations & Fashions – April 22 . 

• Millennials Conference - April 23 . 

• Every 3rd. Wednesday monthly beginning 

May 17, 2017 Oldness & Newness Ting 

- Venue: 1074 Rogers Avenue, Brooklyn NY 

11226 Time: 8:00 PM – 11:00 PM 

WOMI meets bi-monthly, with an annual 

General meeting that is held in September. It’s 

current functional Committees are Fundraising, 

Projects, and Membership. 


UN Peacekeepers Could Leave 

Haiti After Nearly 13 Years 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, –There’s 

talk of United Nations (UN) peacekeepers 

finally leaving Haiti. 

They’ve been there for 13 years since a 

2004 coup that overthrew former President 

Jean-Bertrand Aristide. 

This isn’t the first time discussions have 

been brought up about the peacekeepers 

leaving. Some soldiers have been tied to 

sexual abuse allegations and a cholera epidemic 

that killed nearly 10,000 Haitians, 

this when the country was already reeling 

from the 2010 earthquake. 

Haitian leaders say that they are ready 

to do the job on their own. 

Yellow fever alert 

PARAMARIBO, Suriname – The 

Ministry of Health has given notice 

that it will conduct intensified 

checks on yellow fever immunization 

for travel from yellow fever risk 

regions. 

These regions include Trinidad 

and Tobago, Guyana and Venezuela. 

Meantime, the Trinidad-based 

carrier, Caribbean Airlines is advising 

people intending to travel to 

make certain that their vaccinations 

are up to date. 

“Persons are advised to carry their 

International Immunization Card 

with proof of valid Yellow Fever and 

other vaccinations when travelling 

to Suriname,” the airline said in a 

statement. 

It said customers are responsible 

for meeting all documentation and 

proof of citizenship requirements for 

travel and failure to comply could result 

in inconvenience and additional 

expenses to be borne by the traveller.

18 


The Alliance of Guyanese- 

Canadian Organizations hosts a 

funadraiser 

The Alliance of Guyanese-Canadian Organizations 

is holding a fund-raising venture 

on Sunday, February 26 at the Elite Banquet 

Hall, 1850, Albion road, Rexdale-Toronto, 

Canada. For information, call Gordon Winter 

at 416-894-3675. 

Alan Maisel to launch 

re-election campaign 

Representative-Alan Maisel is launching 

his re-election campaign on Sunday, February 

26th, with a fund-raising brunch. 

The brunch will begin from 10.00 a.m., at 

the Hudson River Yacht club--2101, Bergen 

avenue....For information, call 917-716-6283. 

FREE Tax preparation classes 

Brooklyn Borough President-Eric Adams 

in partnership with Grow Brooklyn is offering 

a number of free tax-preparation classes 

for eligible residents. 

For information about the classes, call 

347-682-5606. 

FREE legal services for veterans 

The Brooklyn Borough President’s Office 

Producer George A Brash 

Events Such As: 

• Vending 

• Workshops 

• Party Promotions 

• Fundraisers 

• Small Businesses, etc. 

Our rates are affordable 

• 1 minute spots 

• 30 second spots 

• Live interviews spots, etc. 

what’s happening 

with Carlyle harry 

is also offering free legal services to Veterans 

every Tuesday. 

Seniors urged to apply for FREE 

meals through senior centers 

The Administration of MEALS on 

WHEELS in response to complaints, is encouraging 

eligible persons to apply for their 

free meals, through senior centers in their 

respective neighborhoods. 

DOT conducts workshops to 

gather recommendations for 

transit plan 

The New York City Department of Transportation 

(DOT) is conducting a series of 

public workshops during the months of February 

and March in order to gather recommendations 

for a new city-wide transit plan. 

In order to find out when the workshops 

will be held in your neighborhood, call 212- 

839-4850. 

DOT conducts workshops to 

gather recommendations for 

transit plan 

The Brooklyn Chapter of the PNC/R is 

holding a Mashramani Rama on Saturday, 

February 25th., from 7.00 p.m. at 530, Rockaway 

Parkway. For information, call Jenny at- 

-917-607-6995. 

Caribbean Development Bank 

gives $500,000 grant to 

CARICOM Secretariat 

(i)..The Caribbean Development Bank has 

provided the CARICOM Secretariat with a 

U.S.$500,000 grant towards the development 

and implementation of a gender sensitive(results) 

based Caribbean Community-based 

management system. 

CARICOM signs memorandum 

with U.N. to support Gender 

Equality 

(ii)..The CARICOM Secretariat has recently 

signed a Memorandum of Understanding 

with the U.N. Women’s Group to 

support the Community’s work on gender 

equality and empowerment. 

St.Vincent and the Grenadines 

PM decides not to sell economic 

citizenship 

St.Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister-Ralph 

Gonsalves has disagreed with the 

decision of some Organization of Eastern 

Caribbean States’ countries to sell economic 

Bank Group. 

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Guyana launches National Drug 

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P.O. Box 230173 • Jamaica, NY 11423 

citizenship. 

Dr.Gonsalves noted that the highest office 

in a land is that of a citizen, and thus should 

not be for sale. 

Trudy Jeans named as NY Consul-General 

for Jamaican gov’t 

The Jamaica Government has named Trudy 

Deans as its New York Consul-General. 

Ms.Deans had previously served as the Consulate’s 

Community Relations Officer. 

Barbados dollar in danger of 

being devalued 

The Governor of Barbados’ Central Bank- 

-Delisle Worrell has announced that unless 

Barbados stops the bleeding of foreign exchange, 

and retains a balance between inflows 

and outflows of internationally tradable currencies, 

the Barbados’ dollar would be devalued. 

Suriname’s agricultural, medical 

and industrial sectors to receive 

monetary support 

Suriname recently signed a U.S.$30 million(non-interest) 

bearing) trade/finance 

agreement with the Islamic Development 

The Agreement which was signed in Saudi 

Arabia, will support Suriname’s agricultural, 

The Guyana Government has recently 

launched a National Drug Strategy Master 

plan in order to combat illicit drug use and 

trafficking. 

The plan which will run until 2020, and it 

is intended to reduce the availability of illicit 

drugs in Guyanese communities. 

Haiti reports increase in cholera 

since Hurricane Matthew 

Haiti’s Health Ministry has announced

P 

tourism 

19 

Grenadian by Rex Resorts 

receives TripAdvisor 2016 

Certificate of Excellence Award 

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada -- The Grenadian 

by Rex Resorts has received a 2016 Certificate 

of Excellence from TripAdvisor – the world’s 

largest travel site – which honours accommodations, 

restaurants and attractions that consistently 

receive great traveller reviews on TripAdvisor. 

com. 

In a letter to the hotel, TripAdvisor expressed 

that its award for Excellence in Hospitality signifies 

that the Grenadian “has been recognized for 

consistently delivering great service, as defined 

by the reviews of the travellers.” 

This recognition distinguishes the hotel from 

competitors – and gives customers more reason 

to choose the Grenadian by Rex Resorts when 

booking their travel to Grenada. This marks the 

second time in recent years that the Grenadian 

by Rex Resorts has received TripAdvisor’s Certificate 

of Excellence. 

Arlene Marsh, general manager of the Grenadian 

by Rex Resorts said, “It is a great honour for 

us to receive this prestigious award. At the same 

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news 


CARICOM leaders meet in Guyana to 

discuss solutions to the region’s challenges 

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Caribbean 

Community (CARICOM) leaders begin 

their two-day inter-sessional summit here on 

Thursday with crime and security, economic 

development and international relations 

high on their agenda. 

CARICOM Secretary General Irwin La- 

Rocque, speaking ahead of the summit, said 

that crime continues to pose a threat to the 

15-member regional grouping and is no longer 

just a national issue. 

“It’s a regional one and hence it demands 

a regional solution,” LaRocque said, noting 

that trans-border crime is “something one 

needs to address,” given the need to reduce 

the “level of criminality” within the Caribbean. 

But he noted that the regional leaders will 

not be in a position to sign onto the arrest 

warrant treaty and recovery of assets treaty 

that would have resulted in increased cooperation 

among member states and which are 

part of the crime and security strategy adopted 

by leaders at their 24th inter-sessional 

held in Haiti three years ago. 

“At this point and time we are not yet in a 

position to say that we are going to adopt this 

instrument at the sitting…our hope was to 

have done that but I have to admit that some 

of the legal instruments require very careful 

examination. 

“Both of those instruments are being renegotiated 

simultaneously and both are in 

an advance stage of deliberations,” LaRocque 

added. 

Guyana is expected to present the draft 

CARICOM Arrest Warrant Treaty for ratification 

at the summit. 

The regional leaders will seek to further 

develop the CARICOM Single Market and 

Economy (CSME) initiative that allows for 

the free movement of goods, skills, services 

and labour across the region. 

Guyana will also be recommending 

the signing of a draft 

agreement to establish the Caribbean 

Centre for Renewable 

Energy Efficiency (CCREE). 

The regional leaders will also discuss the 

Single Information and Communication 

Technologies (ICT) Space with LaRocque 

describing the ICT as a sector in its own right 

as well as an enabler of development. 

Guyana will also be recommending the 

signing of a draft agreement to establish the 

Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy Efficiency 

(CCREE). 

The CCREE has been established with the 

assistance from several agencies including 

the United Nations Industrial Development 

Organisation (UNIDO), Small Islands Developing 

States Sustainable Energy and Climate 

Resilience Initiative and the Government 

of Austria. 

Additionally, Guyana will be submitting 

the draft Rules of Procedures for consideration 

by the leaders. 

The CARICOM Secretariat was mandated 

at the 36th Meeting of the Heads of Government, 

held in July 2015, to prepare the draft 

rules of procedure for meetings of CAR- 

ICOM leaders.

lack History 

21 

Black history and the Caribbean 

An Essay By Michael Roberts 

Special To The Caribbean Times 

The term “Caribbean -- American” is today 

synonymous with hard work, a growing 

population of highly literate and skilled people, 

a landed immigrant community taking 

hold of and fashioning with a true exotic 

“Caribbean flavor” all those areas of American 

infrastructure -- from government to 

religion. 

Modern day success stories like Golden 

Krust and Royal Caribbean Foods Delight inspire 

a new generation of Caribbean-American 

business leaders and entrepreneurs. Their 

successes and example of humble start-ups 

now doing big things resonate and personify 

the Caribbean-American pioneering spirit 

and approach to business and economic independence. 

Lowell Hawthorne, the president 

and CEO of Golden Krust, and Vincent 

“Vinny” HoSang, the president and CEO of 

Royal Caribbean Foods Delight, are two Jamaican 

pioneers in the art of taking indigenous 

foods and packaging and marketing 

them to the wider community. Their products 

are now found on the shelves of major 

national business chains like Costco and BJs. 

And there is no doubt that Caribbean-Americans 

have been involved and at the 

forefront of every major struggle in the liberation 

of Black America. From the American 

War of Independence to the New Deal to the 

Civil Rights Era, the Caribbean-American 

record is one that generations yet unborn can 

be very proud. Starting with Crispus Attucks, 

the Barbadian man who was the first casualty 

of the War of Independence, to modern 

day leaders all over the country, Caribbean-Americans 

have excelled. 

On this journey they have drawn on the 

achievements of many who traced their roots 

to the Caribbean region: Vincentian Hulan 

Jack, the legendary trade unionist Raymond 

Jones, “The Fox of Harlem,” and one of the 

first Caribbean-American members of New 

York’s City Council, the king-maker Fred 

Samuels. On the shoulders of these pioneering 

Caribbean-American leaders now stand 

a modern generation of new leaders in all areas 

of American life. 

For example, the entertainment industry 

is littered with the names and achievements 

of Caribbean-American actors like Cecily 

Tyson, whose portrayal of Harriet Tubman, 

the legendary Black freedom fighter is considered 

a classic, Harry Belafonte, singer, 

actor, activist, and ambassador of goodwill, 

and Sydney Poitier, exquisite actor of film 

and television. 

Today’s crop of actors who trace their 

roots to the Caribbean are no less impressive: 

Sheryl Ralph and Delroy Lindo from 

Jamaica. Former Congresswoman Shirley 

Chisholm, the first elected Black woman to 

the United States Congress, and Trinidadian 

Congressman Mervyn Dymally, were indefatigable 

fighters for Black causes. Both have 

made their marks on national and international 

politics. As did the deceased former 

Black Nationalist Leader Stokely Carmichael, 

now Kwame Toure, who was born in Trinidad 

and Tobago, and who excelled during 

the Civil Rights/Black Power era in the United 

States. Of course, the work and dedication 

of the late Cleveland Robinson, a Jamaican, 

who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King,- 

Jr., and who helped him plot the course of the 

Civil Rights struggle, also stands out, as well 

as his lifelong commitment to workers’ rights 

in the trade union movement. 

Retired General Colin Powell, the youngest 

Chief Of Staff of the United States Armed 

Forces and former United States Secretary 

of State, was blessed by having a Jamaican 

mother and father. Minister Louis Farrakhan, 

leader of the powerful and influential 

Nation of Islam, traces his roots to the tiny 

Caribbean island of St. Kitts. And the legendary 

Malcolm X’s mother came from the revolutionary 

island of Grenada, while his father 

was a Jamaican. 

This natural dynamic has spawned the 

likes of Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, Assemblyman 

Nick Perry, Former City Councilwoman 

Una Clarke (Jamaica), former 

Councilman Dr. Kendall B. Stewart (St. Vincent 

& the Grenadines), deceased Assemblywoman 

Pauline Rhodd Cummings (Jamaica), 

former City Councilman Rev. Lloyd 

Henry (Belize) and former New York State 

Senator John Sampson (Guyana) in the political 

arena. They have been joined in recent 

times by the star-potential City Councilman 

Jumaanie Williams, who traces his roots to 

the Caribbean island of Grenada and Haitian-American 

Matheiu Eugene. 

Social and educational interaction has 

produced Nobel Prize winner, the St. Lucian 

playwright Derek Walcott, the acclaimed 

novelists, Paulie Marshall (Barbados) and 

Jamaica Kincaid (Antigua), actor extraordinaire 

Sydney Poitier, and former basketball 

stars, Patrick Ewing and Tim Duncan. 

The Caribbean -- American contribution to 

Black and American history is a chronicled 

saga of struggle, dedication and commitment 

to success. 


Chronixx to make second 

Tonight Show stop 

Reggae singer Chronixx is set to appear 

on American network NBC ’s The Tonight 

Show on Friday, February 24. 

This would mark the second time 

the 25-year-old, who is widely regarded 

as the forerunner of the reggae revival 

movement, would be appearing on the 

late night talk show with the host Jimmy 

Fallon. In 2014, while promoting his EP 

Dread and Terrible, Chronixx performed 

the title track along with his Zinc Fence 

Redemption band and created quite a 

buzz on social media. 

He is currently promoting his upcoming 

album Chronology, set to be released 

in a few weeks. Earlier this month he released 

the lead single Likes. This self-produced 

track sees the artiste speaking his 

mind on today’s dancehall climate and 

social media hype. He is set to commence 

a promotional tour of North America in 

March and will be accompanied by fellow 

‘revivalists’ Jah9, Jesse Royal, Kelissa and 

Max Glazer (Federation Sound). 

The 44-stop tour, slated to start March 

2 and runs through to June 17, begins in 

New Haven, Connecticut, and makes its 

way across the length of breadth of the 

United States and a few Canadian provinces, 

before ending in Booneville, California 

at the Sierra Nevada Music Festival. 

Among the cities listed for stops are: 

Detroit, Michigan; Louisville, Kentucky; 

Columbus, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; Seattle, 

Washington; Portland, Oregon; Sacramento 

and San Francisco in California; 

Reno, Nevada; Albuquerque, New Mexico; 

Houston and Dallas, in Texas; New 

Orleans, and Louisiana. Over in Canada, 

Chronixx will perform in Vancouver, 

Montreal and Ontario. 

Chronixx is known for tracks such as 

Behind Curtain, Smile Jamaica, Somewhere, 

Ain’t No Giving In, Capture Land, 

They Don’t Know, and Clean like a Whistle. 

commentary 


done. "This and other similar demonstrations 

are necessary. Parliamentary proceedings should 

also be boycott," proposed one activist. 

"I am proposing that a protest letter requesting 

the intervention of the Head of our State, Queen 

Elizabeth, should also be done. Let the Queen 

know that the integrity of the parliamentary system 

in Grenada, and the structures to ensure free 

and fair elections are being very likely abrogated 

and undermined by the latest blatant acts of possible 

interference by the Prime Minister through 

the Governor General (the Queen's Representative)," 

says the activist. 

Under the existing Constitution of Grenada, 

the Governor General, who is appointed on the 

advise of the Prime Minister, may in his or her 

own deliberate judgment appoint and terminate 

appointments, here, Returning Officers in the 

Parliamentary Elections Office. The letters which 

terminated these employees, were each reportedly 

signed by the Governor General, Her Excellency 

Dame Cecile La Grenade. 

The attached flyer, is one circulated by the 

NDC in Grenada, regarding the planned protest.

22 

travel 


CARIBBEAN AIRLINES KICKS OFF 

“CARIBBEAN CARNIVAL WELCOME” 

Sealy likens LIAT to State- 

Run Transport Board 

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Feb 22 2017 – 

As regional airline LIAT prepares to embark 

on its latest cost cutting exercise in another 

week, Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy has 

suggested that there can be no running away 

from the planned financial restructuring. 

In fact, while comparing the operations of 

the Antigua-based regional carrier to those 

of the state-run Transport Board, Sealy told 

industry officials and members of the media 

here on Monday that the promised cuts were 

inevitable. 

At the same time, he suggested that it 

A fun welcome from Caribbean Airlines. 

Piarco, Trinidad and Tobago, 

W.I., February 17, 2017 — For 

Trinidad and Tobago Carnival 

2017, Caribbean Airlines will 

operate over 250 International 

and regional flights, bringing 

approximately 30,000 passengers 

into Port of Spain. 

As part of its annual Carnival 

Customer Appreciation, 

Caribbean Airlines kicked off 

its “Welcome to the Warmth of 

the Islands” event on February 

17th. All passengers travelling on 

Caribbean Airlines flights into 

Port of Spain, from New York, 

Toronto, Grenada, Barbados and 

Georgetown were treated to an 

extra special welcome on arrival 

at the Piarco International Airport 

terminal. 

Caribbean Airlines Senior 

Marketing Manager, Alicia 

Cabrera, who was on hand to 

welcome visitors stated “Caribbean 

Airlines’ focus is on an 

enhanced travel experience for 

our valued customers and the 

‘Carnival welcome’ is one of the 

key events on our Customer Appreciation 

calendar.” Mrs Cabrera 

continued, “We recognise that 

Carnival is an event which draws 

thousands of visitors to Trinidad 

and Tobago, and we want to ensure 

that they are greeted with 

warmth and hospitality on arrival 

to the home of Carnival.” 

Arriving Passengers were welcomed 

by Caribbean Airlines’ 

Invaders Steel Orchestra, host 

Patrick ‘Hypeman’ Alexis along 

with a live DJ, and old time Carnival 

Characters including the 

Dame Lorraine and Moko Jumbie. 

The treats continued with 

complimentary doubles and the 

traditional “Red” soft drink, as 

well as Carnival Care packages, 

which included ‘Carnival Safety 

Tips’ provided by the Trinidad 

and Tobago Police Service. Lucky 

passengers also won airline tickets 

and passes to Carnival parties 

and events. The Tourism Development 

Company of Trinidad 

and Tobago (TDC) was on hand 

to promote its new Tourism app 

– “Go Trinbago.” 

Caribbean Airlines specially 

thanks the following sponsors: 

Bryden PI; Angostura; Carib 

Brewery; RBC and the Trinidad 

and Tobago Police Service. 

was going to be hard for LIAT to ever turn a 

profit, given its social responsibility to provide 

air transportation to the region. 

“They are asked to service a lot of routes 

that are just not profitable. It is really the 

aviation version of the Transport Board in 

many respects and it is not an easy challenge 

when, as can happen, one of your aircraft is 

down for routine maintenance or some unanticipated 

reason,” he said, while highlighting 

problems with the airline’s fleet. 

The minister of tourism also said he had 

“a lot of sympathy” for LIAT’s staff and management, 

but he emphasized that cutting, 

though difficult, was necessary for the carrier, 

in which Barbados is the major shareholder, 

to move forward. 

“I think that what the team is attempting 

to do, by looking at routes that make more 

sense, by trying not to abandon the social 

element but recognizing that we still need to 

be as viable as we possibly can be. 

green cards 


time. 

Additionally, those holding green cards and 

spend more time outside the US than inside 

the country may also face a higher chance of 

losing their green cards. Walker-Huntington 

that if they are unable to live in the US, they 

can apply for an entry level permit that allows 

them to stay out of the country for a period of 

two years; they must continue to pay US taxes 

during this time, however. Non-criminal undocumented 

individuals are now viewed as 

threats to US national security and are to be 

repatriated quickly. 

The new US government is hiring some 

10,000 more agents for Homeland Security, 

and they will be looking for visa “overstayers” 

as well. Walker-Huntington noted the new 

US attorney general Jeff Sessions has said that 

such individuals will no longer be subject to 

prosecutorial discretion, under which they 

would be released until their cases are heard; 

instead they will be forcible detained for as 

long as two years. 

lottery 


phone call stating that they had won money 

in a sweepstakes or lottery. Victims were instructed 

to send money for fees or other expenses 

in order to release their purported lottery 

winnings. The victims of the scheme sent 

hundreds of thousands of dollars to Lindo, 

who then forwarded a portion of the money 

to Jamaica. Lindo acknowledged there was no 

lottery, that there were no winnings, and that 

she kept some the victims’ money for her own 

benefit. 

“The prison sentence demonstrates the serious 

consequences of engaging in fraud designed 

to steal from Americans,” said US Attorney 

Jill Westmoreland Rose of the Western 

District of North Carolina. 

This prosecution is part of the Department 

of Justice’s effort to work with federal and 

local law enforcement to combat fraudulent 

lottery schemes in Jamaica that prey on US 

citizens. 



contact us at 

(718) 909-1841 or email 

production@ 

caribbeantimesnews.com

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ple, sex quality and sex life are important to 

overall quality of life.” 

In one recent analysis, Liu and co-workers 

found that older women who reported having 

a satisfying sex life were at reduced risk 

for high blood pressure 5 years later. But the 

researchers also found that some older men, 

ages 57 to 85, were at increased risk for certain 

heart-related problems after 5 years if 

they reported having frequent (at least once 

a week) or extremely enjoyable sex. The reasons 

for these increased risks aren’t clear and 

are still under study. Experts suggest that 

older men and women talk with their doctors 

about concerns related to sexual issues or potential 

health risks. Learn more about sexuality 

in later life at www.nia.nih.gov/health/ 

publication/sexuality-later-life. 

Other types of relationships are important, 

too. These can include friends, family, 

neighbors, co-workers, clubs, and religious 

groups. Studies have found that people who 

have larger and more diverse types of social 

ties tend to live longer. They also tend to 

have better physical and mental health than 

people with fewer such relationships. Social 

support may be especially protective during 

difficult times. 

Dr. Sheldon Cohen, a psychologist at Carnegie 

Mellon University in Pittsburgh, has 

been exploring the links between relationships 

and health for more than 3 decades. In 

one study, his team exposed more than 200 

healthy volunteers to the common cold virus 

cannabis 


tic potential for the future, especially for people 

in developing countries, because there is 

a drug which was developed for hepatitis C 

treatment, but it’s over US$85,000 per treatment 

and very few people in the developing 

world can afford this,” he said. “So it is very 

important that we find less expensive means 

of treatment, and that is why this discovery 

and its potential to manage this disease is so 

important. 

“Most of the incidences [of Hepatitis C] 

are in the developing world, so this means 

this could make a big difference if it’s taken 

to finality,” Lowe argued. 

“This journal publication is not current, 

insofar as the research is concerned, because 

we have to protect intellectual property. We 

have gone far beyond this in terms of research 

and development to the point where 

we’re hoping that by next year, with the data 

we have, we should be able to go to clinical 

trials. So it’s a major, major new development,” 

he said. 

He further stated that a nutraceutical 

product is currently being developed which 

and observed them for a week in a controlled 

setting. “We found that the more diverse people’s 

social networks—the more types of connections 

they had—the less likely they were 

to develop a cold after exposure to the virus,” 

Cohen says. He and his team have since 

found evidence that people with more types 

of connections also tend to have better health 

behaviors (such as not smoking or drinking) 

and more positive emotions. 

The scientists have also been exploring 

whether simply believing you have strong 

social support may help protect against the 

harms of stress. “Long-term conflicts with 

others are a potent stressor that can affect 

health. But we’ve found that its effects are 

buffered by perceived social support,” Cohen 

says. “People who have high levels of 

conflict and low levels of social support are 

much more likely to get sick when exposed 

to a virus. But those with high conflict and 

high levels of social support seem protected.” 

In addition, hugging seemed to shield against 

stress. People who reported having more frequent 

hugs were less likely to develop an infection 

after viral exposure. 

Social ties can have mixed effects on our 

health. But overall, research suggests that 

the benefits of interactions with others can 

outweigh any risks. “It’s generally healthy for 

people to try to belong to different groups, to 

volunteer in different ways, and be involved 

with a church or involved in their neighborhood,” 

Cohen says. “Involvement with other 

people across diverse situations clearly can 

have a very potent, very positive effect on 

health.” 

should be ready for the market by year end. 

Talks, he added, have started with the South 

African Government on the cannabis research 

and development which, he believes, 

could open the way to the products to the developing 

world. 

“Most of the incidences [of 

Hepatitis C] are in the developing 

world, so this means this 

could make a big difference if 

it’s taken to finality.” 

In their study, the scientists point out that 

viral hepatitis is caused by a group of viruses 

divided into five types – A, B, C, D, and E 

– and they are primarily known to attach to 

the liver. 

“Hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus are 

the most dangerous and prevalent of the five 

virus types,” they state. 

The latest World Health Organization 

(WHO) data state that 130 million to 150 

million people globally have chronic hepatitis 

C infection. (Jamaica Observer) 

news 

Trinidad to ban school 

soft-drink sales in April 

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad – Health 

Minister Terrence Deyalsingh has announced 

that the sale of soft drinks in 

schools will be banned come April. 

Deyalsingh said this plan of action was 

a way to bring a healthy lifestyle to the 

nation’s children. 

Deyalsingh said his vision when he 

became Minister of Health was to address 

two issues. 

These were the problem of maternal 

deaths, which he said have since decreased, 

and the banning of the sale of 

soft drinks in schools. 

“On becoming Minister of Health, 

Trinidad and Tobago was faced with a 

very bad problem with maternal deaths, 

so I had a vision to decrease maternal 

deaths and we have been successful… 

and (as) the Minister of Health, and I 

take full responsibility for this, whether 

good or bad, is to ban the sale of soft 

drinks in schools from April,” he said. 

Deyalsingh said he intends to roll out 

“serious policies” for children to have a 

healthier lifestyle. 

He called on parents to support this 

initiative and asked that they stop giving 

sugary drinks and unhealthy foods to 

their children. 

He said he was surprised to see children 

as young as 15 at dialysis centres. 

He said it costs the State $130,000 for 

one person per year for dialysis treatment. 

(Trinidad Express) 

JAMAICA: Almost 40 killed in 

road accidents since January 

Statistics from the Road Safety Unit 

in the Ministry of Transport show that 

38 people have been killed on Jamaica’s 

roads since the start of this year. 

The statistics show that fatal crashes 

have decreased by 23 per cent when compared 

with the same period in 2016. 

The Road Safety Unit says a total of 12 

motorcyclists have been killed since the 

start of the year compared with 26 for the 

same period last year. 

The unit says it is pleased with the 

decrease in fatalities but is encouraging 

motorcyclists and pillion passengers to 

wear appropriate helmets. 

Meanwhile, pedestrians account for 29 

per cent of the road users killed since the 

start of the year. 

Clarendon, Westmoreland and St 

Catherine account for 45 per cent of the 

overall fatalities. 

25 


26 


malnutrition 


in Haiti will drive you crazy if it doesn’t kill 

you first,” said Vangeliste Bazile, a homicide 

suspect who is among the about 80 percent 

of those incarcerated who have not been convicted 

of a crime but are held in prolonged 

pretrial detention waiting for their chance to 

see a judge. 

Overcrowding, malnutrition and infectious 

diseases that flourish in jammed quarters 

have led to a surge of inmate deaths, 

including 21 at the Port-au-Prince penitentiary 

just last month. Those who monitor 

the country’s lockups are sounding an alarm 

about collapsing conditions. 

“This is the worst rate of preventable 

deaths that I have encountered anywhere in 

the world,” said Dr. John May, a Florida physician 

who co-founded the nonprofit group 

Health Through Walls to improve health 

conditions in the Caribbean and several African 

nations. 

Prisoners at the crumbling Port-au-Prince 

penitentiary flocked around a team of Associated 

Press journalists on a recent morning, 

eager to discuss their cases and complain of 

being all but forgotten at the foul-smelling 

furnace. Some 40 percent of the country’s 

11,000 inmates are housed there in appalling 

squalor, a block away from government 

headquarters, and many are tormented by 

immigration 


gration, and the impact it will have on our 

citizens and… on tourism,” Mitchell told a 

news conference at the close of the two-day 

summit, the first since President Trump took 

office. 

Millions of Caribbean nationals live in the 

United State as permanent residents, naturalized 

citizens or illegal aliens. 

Many travel regularly to their home countries, 

while others send remittances totalling 

hundreds of millions of dollars each year to 

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the prospect of indefinite detention. 

“I’m really scared I won’t get to see a judge 

until I’m an old man,” said Paul Stenlove, a 

21-year-old murder suspect who was put in 

the prison 11 months ago. 

Prisons are crowded, dismal places in any 

number of countries. But Haiti’s penal system 

is by far the globe’s most congested, with 

a staggering 454 percent occupancy level, 

according to the most recent ranking by the 

University of London’s Institute for Criminal 

Policy Research. The Philippines comes second 

with 316 percent occupancy. 

Inmates, some waiting up to eight years to 

see a judge, try to keep their sanity by maintaining 

a daily routine of push-ups and lifting 

jugs filled with dirty water. Others play 

checkers or dominoes. Sentenced convicts 

and the far greater numbers of untried suspects 

pool together what little money they 

can scare up to buy small TVs and radios for 

their shared cells. 

But with widespread malnutrition and 

rats scampering through cells made for 20 

men but now crammed with 80 to 100 it’s 

hard to focus on anything but basic survival. 

“Only the strong can make it in here,” 

said Ronel Michel, a prisoner in one of the 

crumbling cellblocks where exterior walls 

are stained with dried feces because the men 

have to drop their excrement out of barred 

windows. 

Not all the inmates are weakened by hunger. 

Some are provided meals by visiting 

relatives and others are permitted by guards 

relatives who remain in the Caribbean. 

Mitchell said he understands the reluctance 

of some Caribbean residents in the US 

not to leave the country. 

Trump’s attempted crackdown on refugees 

and immigrants from some majority Muslim 

countries has raised concerns that he may try 

to impose harsher travel restrictions on them 

as well. 

“The uncertainty is there so clearly that 

has to be settled,” said the Grenadian leader, 

who once lived in the US for 14 years. 

Mitchell said he hoped that the US Congress 

would temper Trump’s executive actions 

on immigration. 

to meet with contacts to bring in food, cigarettes 

and other things. AP reporters saw one 

inmate with a wad of cash standing near the 

main gate ordering spaghetti and fried plantains 

from a vendor outside. 

But the large majority of prisoners are dependent 

on authorities to feed them twice a 

day and get little more than rationed supplies 

of rice, oats or cornmeal. Even clean 

drinking water is often in short supply. 

Prison authorities say they try their best 

to meet inmates’ needs, but repeatedly receive 

insufficient funds from the state to buy 

food and cooking fuel, leading to deadly cases 

of malnutrition-related ailments such as 

beriberi and anemia. 

“Whenever the money is late it’s the prisoners 

who pay,” said National Penitentiary 

Director Ysarac Synal. 

Haiti’s penal system is so overcrowded 

that suspects are held indefinitely in other 

fetid, cramped pens, including cells at four 

police stations, where malnutrition is common. 

Three inmates recently died of malnutrition 

ailments at a prison in the southern 

city of Les Cayes. 

Life was supposed to be getting a little 

better for prisoners here. In 2008, the Inter-American 

Court of Human Rights ordered 

Haiti to bring its “inhuman” prisons in 

line with minimum international standards. 

After a devastating earthquake in 2010, donor 

nations and humanitarian organizations 

launched projects aimed at building new infrastructure 

and improving deplorable con- 

“You can’t ignore the voices of the people 

of the United States, so I expect that 

this thing has to settle — the uncertainty 

cannot continue,” Mitchell said. 

“I believe when the dust is settled, things 

must improve, because our borders are too 

close to the United States for them to risk 

uncertainty or problems in our direction,” 

he said. 

Trump said on Thursday he will announce 

a new executive order on immigration 

next week, after his original, 

much-criticized travel ban was blocked by 

US courts. 

The January 27 order was widely criticized 

as amounting to a ban on Muslims, 

and also for being rolled out sloppily — 

with virtually no warning to the public or 

preparation of the agencies tasked with 

enforcing it. 



contact us at 

(718) 909-1841 

or email production@ 


ditions. 

One of these improvements was the “Titanic” 

cellblock at the National Penitentiary, 

built with $260,000 from the International 

Committee of the Red Cross. Its cement tower 

was intended to ease overcrowding. But 

a few years after opening, it is possibly the 

most crowded block in the prison. 

“It’s a permanent struggle just to keep 

them (Haitian prisoners) alive,” said Thomas 

Ess, chief of delegation for Haiti’s Red Cross 

office. 

Severe overcrowding is partly due to rampant 

corruption, as judges, prosecutors and 

lawyers join in creating a market for bribes, 

said Brian Concannon, director of the nonprofit 

Institute for Justice and Democracy in 

Haiti. 

“If nine in 10 prisoners is in pretrial detention, 

and a person has no prospect of getting 

a fair trial for years, his family will find some 

way of raising the funds to bribe him out, regardless 

of guilt,” Concannon said. 

Some foreign officials who have seen the 

system up close are exasperated by a lack of 

political will to solve problems of corruption, 

sluggish justice and prison conditions. 

“It is unconscionable that despite hundreds 

of millions of dollars in international 

aid the situation is even worse today, with 

inmates suffering from severe malnutrition 

and dying of preventable diseases,” U.S. Sen. 

Patrick Leahy, who toured the National Penitentiary 

in 2012, said in an email. 

As men continue to die unnecessarily at 

the National Penitentiary, Port-au-Prince 

chief prosecutor Danton Leger has been 

holding mass burials for prisoners, purchasing 

caskets and floral arrangements. Dead inmates, 

regardless of whether they were convicted 

or not, were previously dumped in a 

potter’s field. 

“The men in there are forced to live like 

animals. They can at least be buried like people,” 

Leger told AP. 

STDs 


She said that many parents complained 

that students were being educated “too much” 

about sex, which they believe would encourage 

them to engage in sexual activity. 

“We sent our trained doctors to schools 

to teach children, even to teach teachers and 

other staff members about STDs. I, myself, attended 

quite a few schools to teach them and 

to educate them to include awareness of STDs 

in children, but we faced a lot of resistance 

from the schools and teachers and even from 

parents of the children.” 

Chief Education Officer Harrilal Seecharan 

said efforts are underway to address the 

problem, revealing that consultations have 

been ongoing with stakeholders, including 

the National Parent-Teacher Association and 

the various denominational boards.

SPIRITUAL READER & ADVISOR 

SISTER DOBONG 

1752 FLATBUSH AVENUE, BROOKLYN 

kingandqueenradio.com & brooklynstation.com 

GUARANTEES TO RESTORE YOUR LOST NATURE 

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH 

27 


I lost my nature and my loved 

one left me. But Thank God 

after one visit I’ve regained 

my nature and we are back 

together and very happy. 

I was flat on my back 

suffering from an incurable 

disease there was no hope 

until I met this gifted healer. 

Thank God for her I am well. 

We were unsuccessful in 

marriage and separated for 

years. After one visit we are 

back together again and very 

happy. 

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH 

Friends, we urge you to see this religious holy person who heals the sick and ailing and removes all 

suffering & bad luck from your body. She tells you who to keep away from. She shows you with your own 

eyes how she removes sorrow, sickness, pain & bad luck. What your eyes see your heart will believe & 

then your heart will be convinced that she is the holy religious woman you’ve been looking for. The touch 

of her hand will heal you. She has God given power to heal by prayer. Everyone is welcome at her home. 

Are you suffering? Sick? Do you need help? Do you have bad luck? Bring your problems to her today and 

be rid of them tomorrow. In this area for the first time, she reunites the separated & solemnly swears to 

heal the sick & help all who come to her & remove all evil spells. 

WVIP 93.5FM, kingandqueenradio.com, brooklynstation.com, Tuesdays 1AM-5AM, Thursdays, 1AM-2AM 

APPOINTMENT NECESSARY 718-253-7273 

DJs, Musicians, Promoters, 

Business Owners, you should 

have your own radio show! 

Come and educate the public about your products, 

services and events! 

Call Gina Bevel @ 718-253-7273 

Carle Moore @ 347-659-7062

28 


SPECIAL FOR CARIBBEAN TIMES 

NEWSPAPER READERS: 

$90 FOR PROGRESSIVE LENS 

$45.00 ANTI-REFLECTIVE COATING 

$79.00 EXTRA FOR TRANSITIONS LENS 

*** UP TO +6.00/-6.00SPH, -2.00 CYL. ADD UP TO +3.00 

We speak French and Creole 

1536 Flatbush Ave. 


bet. Nostrand Ave. 

& Glenwood Rd. 

718.434.2222 

1704 Church Avenue 


bet. E.17th & E18th St. 

718.684.5000

Caribbean Times 02232017

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