Another established Caribbean tradition runs counter to the claim that racism there is unusual and of recent origin. This is the tendency to account for a person's character by identifying the racial identity of that individual's parents. West Indians, quite spontaneously, account for each other's personality traits with statements such as "Well, after all, his father was white," or "His father was quite dark you know. In Guyana and Trinidad, one hears frequently that East Indians are by nature "cheap". Elsewhere, Syrians and Jews are, reportedly, successful merchants because of their "clannishness". The Caribs of Dominica are described as Creoles as "lazy drunkards", and the Caribs accuse Creoles of being "mean" and "immoral". Throughout the islands, Creoles who are dark are said to be less motivated for success, and those who are lighter are accused of being snobbish and too sober for their own good. Since independence, racial discrimination has been systemically condemned, and with a good deal of success. But racism (at least in the form of the belief that "once we know a person's racial background, we then know much about that persons' abilities and character traits,") is very much ingrained in the thinking of many West Indians. This style of racism has met with no effective challenge comparable to the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's. In the absence of racial segregation or the North American type of racial polarization, and with what scholars call the Caribbean "myth of racial harmony," most leaders throughout the region seldom address this insidious racism.
"We shouldn't celebrate a scheme that brought women from the West Indies to Canada and kept many of them under domination and subordination by Canadian families," says Ms. [Antonia Sealy], a founding member of several community groups. "Personally, I regret making the decision to come on that scheme," she says. "I had a comfortable life in Barbados and a good job in the public service, but I was young and I wanted to travel and seek other opportunities. Had I known better I would have waited and sought out a commonwealth scholarship," she said. Ms. Sealy says that nothing she was told before leaving Barbados could have prepared her for the life of "subordination" at the homes of various families in Toronto.
Jamaica's other medal winners included Veronica Campbell and Michael Frater, who earned a silver in the women's and men's 100 meters, respectively. St. Kitts and Nevis's Kim Collins won a bronze in the men's event as well. The Bahamas finished second and Jamaica third in the men's 4x400 meters relay to earn silver and bronze, respectively. Jamaica's women won a silver medal in that event, while Trinidad and Tobago won its only medal of the meet, a silver in the 4x100 meters for men. Cuba's Osleidys Menendez set a new world record in the women's javelin on her way to the gold medal. Cuba also won gold in the 800 meters for women, and silver medals in the men's and women's triple jump, men's high jump and women's hammer throw.
Lauderdale Lakes City Commissioner Hazelle Rogers has been named the new president of the Broward League of Cities. She was nominated by her peers to head the organization, comprising representatives from all of Broward's municipalities. "We try to identify issues affecting municipal government in Broward. I wanted to be a part of the planning that will shape what Broward, and my city, will be in 15 years," Rogers told The Broward Times. "We are living in a global world now. Broward needs to create partnerships with Caribbean countries. I want to organize trade missions and impress upon people how important the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries are to us, as far as trade is concerned," said Rogers, a native of Jamaica.
Business Profile: This segment will feature some Presidential award winning companies owned and or operated by Caribbean nationals, and a look at major industries such as Petroleum, Citrus, and Coffee in some Caribbean nations. Producer/Director Joseph Dunn says, "The purpose of the series is to increase the public awareness and appreciation of the region, and its people". Dunn also adds, "it is our hope that through the broadcasting of these programs he viewer will learn more about the vast resources the Caribbean has to offer in the development of the Western Hemisphere and to change the stereotypical images some people have about the region and its people." Mr. Dunn has also produced two very successful series in the past also dealing with the Caribbean namely, "Jamaica in Focus" and "Caribbean Affair" along with numerous specials dealing with Pan-African and local issues for the Dade County Cable Television Access Project Cable TAP which is the cable division of WLRN-TV. One of these series has been nominated for a national cable programming award, The Home Town USA Video Festival in 1990.
[Teresa Heinz Kerry] shared the stage with two Haitian women, Aderadle Jules, 56, who had one family member to die in the floods and is missing seven, and Desita Fevrier, 52, who lost all eight of her family members in the Gonaives flood. Heinz Kerry first addressed the audience in French, which the predominately Creole speaking audience responded to favorably. Heinz Kerry said she did not know how the Haitian community was set up to handle disasters of the magnitude of Tropical Storm Jeanne. After acknowledging that she was not familiar with every Haitian issue, Heinz Kerry expressed concern about the United States' repatriation policy regarding Haitians. "I don't honestly know what the policy is for Haitians and Cubans when they come by boat to this country. What I don't understand is why do Haitians once they land have a different kind of treatment where they are held up for so long," Heinz Kerry pondered, as she drew applause from the audience.
As a little girl, [Annee] had become the favorite of a high voodoo priestess, who held considerable influence in King [Henry Christophe]'s court. Widowed and childless, she turned her attentions to Annee with trinkets and valuable gifts. Annee's parents encouraged the woman's interest because they felt her influence with the Kin could benefit them. It was this woman who taught Annee to believe in spirits, to regard the air as charged with the supernatural, over which she could gain control. She attended forbidden voodoo orgies, summoned by eerie drum beats in the dead of night. She saw the fear the people had of the high priestess and was carefully schooled by the latter in the ways of creating this fear...black magic and death. The priestess convinced Annee that she had the powers of a God. But the priestess died and Annee's parents also died leaving Annee very much alone in Haiti.
Haiti is a third world country with a population of over seven million and another few million scattered over the world. It represents per capita the poorest Western Hemisphere country but in reality it has been downtrodden by political instability and the insolvency of the Dictatorship stereotype. This dictatorship mentality has taken root with Duvalier regime (Papa Doc and Baby Doc) which for many years had an iron grip over this French-Creole island and resulted in the destruction of a truly unique island. Each leader since, Jean Claude Duvalier has monopolized and downtrodden the Haitian community for his own selfish reasons. The dictatorship tactics of Duvalier was emulated by each leader who succeeded him and the military in this place took the place of 'Baby Doc's' dreaded "Ton Ton Man Coute" death squads.
Allspice and Scotch bonnet peppers are important elements in jerk seasoning. Whole, dried allspice berries that look like big, brown peppercorns are also used. Their forceful flavor, somewhere between that of clove, nutmeg and cinnamon, is the heart of jerk seasoning. Scotch bonnet peppers, can be used as a substitute fresh or in a bottled sauce.
"It must be relevant because most of the Jamaican population is of African stock, and we have never been able to forge that link between the motherland and the Caribbean," he told IPS. "It's very important to decide on our next step (to develop) a South-South relationship because we've always been looking to the North." Pan-Africanism is in one sense a united movement of countries on the African continent, but in the wider sense, encompasses a collective consciousness of all peoples of African descent. "[Marcus Garvey], as the father of Pan-Africanism, always tried to forge that link - that's why he started the (shipping line) Black Star liner," said Mutabaruka. "Politicians, people don't see the necessity to deal with Africa because they say Africa is not a place of development." "There wasn't a single nation or country with people of African descent and Africans which did not celebrate Nelson Mandela becoming president (in South Africa), because there was such a strong sense of identification with that," [Zweledinga Pallo Jordan] notes. "(But) it wasn't just identification, it was based on the fact that everyone in the entire African community across the Atlantic had participated in one way or another, some in big ways, some in small ways, but everyone had made a contribution, that's why people felt it was their victory."
