Caribbean American Passport News Magazine - January 2021

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Jan/Feb 2021

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The Biden Harris Administration and the region

By Wesley Kirton As the Biden/Harris team takes office at the helm of the world’s most powerful democracy, the new Administration’s foreign policy gives new hope to a turbulent world which over the past four years was confronted with American policy that was unpredictable, if not bizarre and which was often seemingly formulated and conducted by tweet and not tradition.

Perhaps nowhere is this new hope more pronounced at this time than in the Americas-the Caribbean and Latin America. Often neglected in the past by the United States unless a threat is posed to American interests especially by Russia and China, the Caribbean region looks forward to heightened and more meaningful engagement with the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Both are no strangers to the Caribbean region especially the integration arrangement known as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)-a string of nations from Suriname and Guyana which are geographically South American but culturally Caribbean through the islands of the Caribbean Sea that include Jamaica, Haiti and the Bahamas.

In fact, Vice President Harris will be a cultural icon in the new administration having the distinct honor of being the daughter of immigrant parents from Jamaica and India and the wife of a Jew. Continued on pg 4

"To overcome these challenges – to restore the soul and to secure the future of America – requires more than words. It requires that most elusive of things in a democracy: Unity. " Joseph R. Biden, 46thPresident of the United States.

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L I F E S T Y L E Samuel J. Roberts

Owner/Publisher/Editor

Guenet Gittens-Roberts Owner/Publisher/Editor

We could not put how we feel about this moment any better than poet Amanda Gorman

That young lady had me sitting on the edge of my seat. If this is the future we have to look forward to...then let me tell you it is brilliant, it is empathetic and it is ready. My daughter keeps telling me that the problem we have as an older generation is that we were thought to believe everything we read and hear. They don't. She thinks it's time for us to move out of the way. I keep telling her that I didn't know how relieved I would feel until I did feel that the folks in their 70's are still having their moment. My tangible relief that started once we saw the former Presidents generation needs to have ours. and other members of Congress take their seats.

Well folks, Amanda Gorman just told us that she's coming After that the entire inauguration ceremony lifted the dread. for the Presidency in 2036 and I cannot imagine her being Every single piece of it. The music, the speeches but most any wiser than she is now at 22 years old. importantly, the President's speech after being sworn in where he said, "WE HAVE SO MUCH TO DO IN THIS WINTER So many young people OF PERIL AND POSSIBILITY" and WE LEAD NOT BY stood up to their parents during this THE EXAMPLE OF OUR POWER BUT BY THE POWER OF election...we just may OUR EXAMPLE." have to yield the floor to them.

But then Amanda Gorman, stepped to the stage. And, when that young woman stepped to the stage, I soaked it all in...her They are more than youth, her poise, her yellow jacket, the beads in her hair, the red ready for leadership. bandeau and then she started speaking and oh my god...I hoped And the future, again, in that moment, I believed in America again, in one the future is bright. fell swoop.

After preparing an entire issue and simply waiting for photos from the Inauguration to go to print, we had to scrap the entire issue and start afresh. To be honest with you, the last few months after the election felt dark and scary to me. It only got worse after the failed riot at the Capitol. So that issue was dark like the moment.

She told CBS that she wanted her poem to “be a message of hope and unity” — reflecting the core theme of President Biden’s 2020 campaign and his inaugural address.

“I think that Wednesday for me really just underscored how much that was needed,” Gorman said, speaking of the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. “But to not turn a blind eye to the cracks that really need to be filled.”

Like Biden, Gorman overcame a speech impediment to become the successful public speaker that she is today. When she took center stage Wednesday at the inauguration, she earned widespread praise for her delivery and her message.

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

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Editor & Publisher................................................................................... Sam Roberts Publisher ............................................................................. Guenet Gittens-Roberts Graphic Design & Layout .....................................................................Aleia Roberts Contributing Writers: ................................................................................ Tony Dyal

She also referenced some lyrics from “Hamilton” in her poem; ..................................................................................................................Aleia Roberts Contributing Photographers ............ .......................................................Ted Hollins the famous Broadway musical from Lin-Manuel Miranda has .....................................................................................................................Dilia Castillo inspired her in more ways than one. In addition to drawing on it for the inaugural poem, Gorman told CBS that she would Central Florida Distribution........................................................Kadeem Roberts practice a song from the “Hamilton” soundtrack to help her with South Florida Distribution .............................................................Norman Williams NorthFlorida Distribution .....................................................................Theo Jack Jr. the letter “R,” which she had trouble pronouncing.

Tampa Distribution ..................................................................................Julian Pina "My favorite thing to practice was the song Aaron Burr, Sir, from "Hamilton" because it is jam-packed with R's. And I said, 'if I can keep up with Leslie [Odom Jr., who played Burr] in this track, then I am on my way to being able to say this R in a poem,'" Gorman said.

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The Biden Harris Administration and the Region

By Wesley Kirton Continued from page 1

Add to that the honor of being the first woman to hold the office of Vice President, not only the Caribbean but the world at large expects that with these attributes she would bring a better sense of understanding, caring and compassion to the realities of the people of the Third World. No longer will these countries be considered ‘shithole’ countries.

The new administration, according to a senior adviser to its transition team, will be placing tremendous emphasis on global health, democracy and human rights, climate change and emerging technology, all of which are key concerns for the Caribbean region and its economies.

“With the impending change in administration in the USA Guyana looks forward to improved political and economic relations with the USA in addition to that between the Caribbean, CARICOM and the USA. The entire region needs more predictable and mutually beneficial policies on the part of USA,” says Carl Greenidge, former Vice President and Foreign Affairs Minister of Guyana. He is also currently his nation’s co-agent in a case now before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) based on a spurious Venezuela claim that the international award which legally established the boundaries between the two countries back in 1899, is not valid.

A Biden administration comes to office having to immediately confront a number of unprecedented domestic and foreign policy challenges some of which have critical impact on the Caribbean.

"The COVID - 19 Pandemic has decimated the economy of the Caribbean which is based to a very large extent on tourism. More than any other sector, it is true to say that the travel, hospitality and tourism sectors have been the

most affected by the pandemic. This situation has helped to pin-point a structural weakness in the economic structure of the Caribbean, and must have policy makers and governments thinking about how the region's economy could be diversified,” says Komal Samaroo, executive chairman of Guyana’s top manufacturing company, Demerara Distillers Limited, blenders and bottlers of the internationally award winning El Dorado brand of rums.

Samaroo, who is also head of the Barbados based West Indies Rum and Spirit Producers Association (WIRSPA) argues that the ongoing Venezuela claim further aggravates the Caribbean situation since it threatens Guyana’s supply chain for agriculture and other food products to the region, and even further afield.

On January 7, a mere 10 days ago, there was the issuance of a decree by the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, with the support of Venezuela’s National Assembly, which seeks to reinforce Venezuela’s baseless claim to Guyana’s Essequibo Region and its attendant maritime space.

Continued on page 6

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HIGH HOPES OR ANOTHER FALSE HOPE? GREEN CARDS FOR UNDOCUMENTED “ESSENTIAL WORKERS” ON BIDEN’S AGENDA

By Anthony Advincula

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris weighed in publicly on the issue. Speaking last week with Spanish-language Univision, she said the incoming administration would automatically grant green cards not only to undocumented essential workers but also to DACA (Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals) recipients as well as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, and shorten by 5 years the time it takes to get U.S. citizenship.

“The incoming administration has a golden opportunity to set things right and offer immigrant essential workers and their families relief from this pandemic, relief from persecution because of their immigration status, and relief On a recent Monday, Maribel Lapuz got up at 4:30 a.m. The from invisibility,” said Angelica Salas, executive director of 46-year-old immigrant from the Philippines braved the sub- the Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights, on a press call zero weather and took the train from Jersey City, NJ to a organized by America’s Voice. nursing home in Brooklyn, NY, where she has worked six Pushback from Republicans has already started. Lora Ries, days a week as a caregiver since last February. former acting deputy chief of staff at the Department of A thousand miles away, Mario Ramirez drove from one Homeland Security, told The Los Angeles Times that the house to another starting at 5:00 a.m. doing construction legislation will create more problems. and plumbing work in Marietta, Georgia. Ramirez, a 52year-old Mexican immigrant, has never missed a working “Such rewards will attract more people to illegally enter the U.S. to await their eventual green card, undermining border day since the start of the pandemic. security,” Ries said.

“When the Trump administration sent the $1,200 stimulus checks to workers,” Lapuz said, “I didn’t get it; I was This week, more than 6,000 Honduran migrants and asylum seekers have reportedly been making their way north through ignored.” neighboring Guatemala and Mexico. This caravan could “Someone like me in this country is not eligible for represent a resurgence of such efforts as Biden has vowed to unemployment,” Ramirez said. “That means I can’t stop reform President Trump’s hard-line immigration policies. working in order to support my family, despite the risk of Some immigration advocates and scholars also question COVID-19.” whether the upcoming immigration plan is the right approach. If the Biden-Harris administration proposes to Their situations may soon change. extend legalization opportunities to 5 million undocumented Deemed “essential workers” by the federal government, essential workers, what about the other 8 million Lapuz and Ramirez are among the 5 million undocumented undocumented immigrants? immigrants who may be rewarded a path to citizenship— and it could happen during the first days of the Biden- “Millions of immigrant workers are on the frontlines, risking their lives to keep our country running. The depth of this Harris administration. crisis requires urgency,” said Mary Kay Henry, president of Indispensable to American life and economy, SEIU, on the press call with America’s Voice. “We can’t beat undocumented essential workers are now at the core of an the virus when millions of undocumented essential workers immigration plan currently being drafted by congressional are left out. Providing [a fast-track to citizenship] is the only Democrats and immigrant rights advocates, and way we’ll be able to tackle the pandemic.’ aggressively promoted by the incoming administration.

Alex Padilla, California’s Secretary of State who is set to The new immigration legislation—folded into the $1.9 replace Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in the U.S. trillion COVID relief bill that Biden unveiled last week— Senate, defended the immigration plan for undocumented will include granting undocumented essential workers a essential workers. green card and decreasing the wait time to obtain U.S. “It’s not that we are not going to deal with other citizenship. undocumented immigrants,” Padilla said on the call with “Essential workers, many of whom are undocumented reporters. “Because of the urgency of COVID relief, it’s better immigrants, are unsung American heroes—risking their to act sooner rather than later.” lives during this deadly pandemic to care for our communities and ensure food is on the table,” Rep. Joaquin Padilla invoked the immigration experience of his own Castro (D-Texas) said in a recent virtual press conference. parents, who came to California from Mexico in the 60s.

“I’m working on legislation to immediately protect essential They never had a formal education, he said, and never had a workers and their families from deportation and provide day off—his dad worked as a cook and his mom cleaned houses. them with a fast-track path to citizenship.”

Continued on page 8 www.caribbeanamericanpassport.com

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The Biden Harris Administration and the Region

By Wesley Kirton Continued from page 4

In addition to the decree, Capt. Gerry Gouveia, Guyana’s National Security Adviser to President Irfaan Ali recently reported the presence of Venezuelan warships in Guyana’s territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which he points out poses a serious threat to the peace and stability of the Caribbean. He has also reported the presence of members of the infamous Venezuelan Sindicata gang in Guyana’s border communities, committing crimes on Guyanese in these areas who are mainly the indigenous population.

Speaking at a recent virtual briefing for Caribbean community leaders in the diaspora as well as for diplomats and US Congressional staff, hosted by the Washington, DC based Institute of Caribbean Studies (ICS), Gouveia said Guyanese are depending on the support of the United States, Canada, Britain and its sister CARICOM countries, among others, to help ensure that Venezuela desists from its provocative actions and respects international agreements and the rule of law. CARICOM, the Commonwealth, the US and Canada have all issued public statements rejecting the recent Venezuelan decree.

“I could say that the proclamation of this new decree shows that Venezuela is up to its usual tricks. Whenever Venezuelan public interest wanes in the latter government’s struggle with the USA they pass another decree purporting to annex the territories of their neighbors, and Guyana in particular, in a bid to raise local enthusiasm. There have been four (4) such decrees since May 2015 and they have had the same effect, merely demonstrate vividly that the Government of Venezuela has no legitimate claim to Guyana’s territory, territory they did not inherit, they have never won nor have they ever governed,” Greenidge pointed out in an interview.

rights to the sea and maritime spaces below the surface which are outlawed under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Treaty of 1982 which entered into force in 1994. Venezuela neither signed nor ratified the Convention of 1982 nor the Agreement of 1994 but seeks to claim sovereignty and rights not permitted by the international community,” the Adviser on Borders explained.

The Biden Administration’s policy on Venezuela is not expected to change drastically, if at all. Several US sources have said that Biden’s approach will be different but that US objectives will remain the same. The Biden transition team has had at least one meeting with the Trump Administration’s point man on Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, who has told the media that he is confident the US will maintain its support for Interim President Juan Guaido.

However, many countries in the Caribbean hope that Biden’s policy could pave the way for a political solution to the crisis in Venezuela.

Guyana for its part, says Greenidge “calls on its allies to continue to condemn these illegal steps by Venezuela and the actions following from it. Our allies should always condemn the transparent attempt to bully Guyana into abandoning its case at the ICJ, continue to call on the Government of Venezuela to participate in the ICJ hearings and to accept and honor the decision of the Court. In the interim, Venezuela must respect Guyana’s sovereignty and desist from trying to seize Guyana’s territory and assets and that of its neighbors.”

The United States is widely expected to continue to support Guyana’s position on the controversy with Venezuela. But former US Ambassador to Guyana Perry Holloway advised

“This most recent decree seeks to use the fig leaf of an imaginary economic construct called The Development of an Atlantic façade. This pretext is new, but the objective certainly is not. The new Decree No. 4415 of 7th January seeks like its predecessors to do what Venezuela cannot achieve legitimately.

Venezuela has not been able to persuade any appropriate legal forum that a treaty it entered into voluntarily, willingly signed and honored for 61 years could be unilaterally abandoned and by being repudiated would entitle them to an additional 130,000 sq km of territory.

“They have resorted to trying to use their military might to enforce domestic legislation. That domestic legislation, in addition to annexing the territory of smaller Caribbean neighbors, seeks to give Venezuela

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Continued on page 14

75 PERCENT OF COVID VACCINE IN U.S. SITTING IN FREEZERS, NOT IN PEOPLE’S ARMS

by Sunita Sohrabji Wachter noted the irony: earlier, the U.S. health care community thought it would be hampered by the inability to manufacture sufficient supplies of the vaccine.

But, in a twist, the supply is there without the means to effectively distribute it. His priority would be to get all people over the age of 55 immediately vaccinated, which could reduce up to 92 percent of COVID-related deaths.

From left to right: Dr. William Schaffner, Professor of Preventive Medicine in the Department of Health Policy and Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine; Robert M. Wachter, MD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco

The U.S. has obtained more than 31 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, but has administered only about 12 million vaccinations nationwide, according to Jan. 14 data from the Centers for Disease Control.

About 10.5 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccination — representing about 3 percent of the U.S. population. Only 1.6 million people have received the recommended two doses of the vaccine.

California, which is currently facing the highest number of new infections and an average of 584 deaths per day with 10,000 deaths overall over the past 30 days, has distributed less than 25 percent of the 3.4 million doses it has on hand.

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Jan. 12 that 1 million more vaccinations will be administered by Jan. 17; he also announced that anyone over the age of 65 can now get a vaccine.

“I don’t think we have treated this as the emergency that it is,” said Dr. Robert Wachter, professor and chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, at a Jan. 13 round-table briefing organized

by Ethnic Media Services. He compared the death rates from COVID as the equivalent of a daily 9/11 terrorist attack, with about 5,000 people dying from the virus each day in the U.S. “75 percent of the vaccines are sitting in refrigerators and freezers right now. And that’s scandalous.”

“We attacked the development of the vaccine as an emergency, but we’ve attacked the distribution of the vaccine as a relatively routine process that we will kind of stumble around until we figure out the right answer. That clearly is not working very well,” said Wachter.

The lack of a comprehensive national plan has greatly contributed to a bottleneck in administering the vaccine, said Wachter, noting that states have received little guidance from federal agencies and have had to create their own processes, resulting in a piecemeal approach across the country.

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Dr. William Schaffner, professor of Preventive Medicine in the Department of Health Policy as well as Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee, noted at the briefing that the Pfizer vaccine has to be shipped and stored at -70 degrees Celsius, which means that large medical centers who have staff trained to handle deep freeze material.

That issue has been somewhat ameliorated with the Moderna vaccine, which can be shipped and stored at -10 degrees Celsius, allowing community hospitals, local health departments, and long-term care facilities the ability to store and administer vaccinations.

“Quite frankly, some states thought this was going to be just another flu campaign and they didn’t prepare sufficiently. This vaccine is more elaborate to administer in a variety of different ways. That has kind of gummed up the works,” said Schaffner.

He noted that both the Moderna and the Pfizer vaccine are equally effective.

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HIGH HOPES OR ANOTHER FALSE HOPE? GREEN CARDS FOR UNDOCUMENTED “ESSENTIAL WORKERS” ON BIDEN’S AGENDA

By Anthony Advincula Continued from page 5

“But they told us that if we work hard and do well in school, we can do what we want to be. That’s the American Dream,” he added. “After four years of [Trump’s] constant attack on immigrant communities, the Biden-Harris administration will help us turn the tides. I hope the Congress and our nation will recognize that these [undocumented essential] immigrants stepped up when the U.S. needed the most and put themselves in danger during this deadly pandemic.”

“I’m very excited when I heard about this great news,” Lapuz said in Jersey City, NJ. “But I can’t help worrying that they are sending another false hope. I have been through this before.”

“My family has been waiting for this moment. We risk our lives and help this country to survive the pandemic,” Ramirez said. “We should not be left in the dark anymore.

My children were all born here—this is our home.”

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Youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman's inaugural poem The Hill We Climb at Biden inauguration When day comes we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade?

The loss we carry, a sea we must wade We've braved the belly of the beast We've learned that quiet isn't always peace And the norms and notions of what just is Isn't always just-ice And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it Somehow we do it Somehow we've weathered and witnessed a nation that isn't broken but simply unfinished We the successors of a country and a time Where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president only to find herself reciting for one And yes we are far from polished far from pristine but that doesn't mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect We are striving to forge a union with purpose To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us but what stands before us We close the divide because we know, to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another We seek harm to none and harmony for all Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true: That even as we grieved, we grew That even as we hurt, we hoped That even as we tired, we tried That we'll forever be tied together, victorious Not because we will never again know defeat but because we will never again sow division Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree And no one shall make them afraid If we're to live up to our own time Then victory won't lie in the blade

But in all the bridges we've made That is the promise to glade The hill we climb If only we dare It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit,it's the past we step into and how we repair it We've seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy And this effort very nearly succeeded But while democracy can be periodically delayed it can never be permanently defeated In this truth in this faith we trust For while we have our eyes on the future history has its eyes on us This is the era of just redemption We feared at its inception We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour but within it we found the power to author a new chapter To offer hope and laughter to ourselves

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Continued on page 12

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75 PERCENT OF COVID VACCINE IN U.S. SITTING IN FREEZERS, NOT IN PEOPLE’S ARMS

by Sunita Sohrabji (Continued from Page 7)

May 30th 2021

The recommendations for both vaccines are two doses, with the second delivered about three weeks after the first. The incoming Biden administration — bolstered by a team of blue-chip health care providers on a new COVID-19 advisory board led by Dr. Vivek Murthy, who has been nominated as Surgeon General, reprising his role in the Obama administration — has announced announced plans to prioritize the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, getting as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible. As manufacturing ramps up, people would then get a second dose.

According to Pfizer data published in December 2020, the company’s vaccine is roughly 52% effective after the first dose. With the second dose, its efficacy rate soars to 94 percent.

Moderna’s vaccine is 80 percent effective after the first dose, according to documents the company submitted to the Food and Drug Administration. After the second dose, its efficacy is about 95 percent.

Wachter noted that no one is advocating for a single dose only, while Schaffner cautioned that people may not remember to get their second doses. Both physicians said that a vaccinated person is nonetheless capable of transmitting the virus; therefore safety protections, such as masks and social distancing, should be continued.

Vaccine hesitancy — people unwilling to be vaccinated — is prevalent, especially in ethnic and rural communities.

Schaffner noted that in his “big, red state” of Tennessee, there is a lot of skepticism about the virus and a real resistance to getting the shot. Unfortunately, he noted, these are also people who are not wearing masks.

Wachter said he was disheartened by Ohio Governor Mike Dewine’s recent announcement that 60 percent of workers in nursing homes have chosen not to get vaccinated. “It’s absolutely horrifying, because we know the vaccines are unbelievably effective, and we now know they are very, very safe,” he said.

Schaffner addressed vaccine hesitancy in the Black and Latinx population. “We need to extend the benefits of this vaccination to our entire population with its wonderful diversity in this country.

“We particularly have to reach the Black population, the LatinX population and other minority populations who have historical reasons to mistrust medical care. We need to not only provide them the information but a sense of reassurance and comfort that this is the right thing to do. It’s good for them. It’s good for their neighbors and their family,” he said.

Schaffner noted that advocacy is particularly effective when a member of the community — a clergyman or a sports figure — delivers the information, and added that the Biden administration is developing community-specific outreach plans.

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Congratulations to Monique Worrell, State Attorney Ninth Judicial Circuit serving Orange and Osceola Counties.

Monique H. Worrell is the State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court for the State of Florida.

She was elected in November of 2020 and serves as the chief prosecutor. Monique is the second African American elected as State Attorney, the second woman to be elected as State Attorney in the Ninth Circuit, and the first of Caribbean descent in the State of Florida!

Monique made Central Florida her home in 1996.

After receiving her law degree from the University of Florida in 1999, she began her career as a Public Defender in Orange County, Florida. She then went on to private practice where she continued to focus on Criminal Justice.

Monique later became a clinical law professor at the University of Florida College of Law, where she trained law students who aspired to practice criminal law. Because of her passion for keeping youth out of the criminal justice system, Monique developed and implemented the Your Future, Your Choice program to teach youth their rights and responsibilities as citizens.

Monique became a founding director of the University’s Criminal Justice Center and developed a rigorous program that has produced many criminal law practitioners across the state of Florida.

Monique left the University of Florida to become the founding director of the Conviction Integrity Unit in the State Attorney’s Office in Orange County, Florida, where she led the investigation of claims for wrongful conviction. It was that experience that made her realize that change in the criminal legal system was critical and must come from within.

Monique is an accomplished criminal justice attorney, with experience as a leader, advocate, educator, and administrator. Prior to being elected as State Attorney, she served as Chief Legal Officer at a non-profit organization focused on criminal justice reform.

Monique was elected to bring reform to a criminal legal system that is fundamentally flawed, in order to achieve equity and to move our system towards justice. She’s eager to work with each of you as we change the culture of prosecution and bring a fresh perspective on justice to our communities.

Monica May, Monique Worrell and Aramis Ayala State Attorney Monique Worrell with Attorney Alisia Adamson Profit A true honor attending the inauguration ceremony of State Attorney Monique Worrell!!! I’d like to highlight a statement she quoted from Attorney Bryan Stevenson as she described her vision “We are all implicated when we allow other people to be mistreated. An absence of compassion can corrupt the decency of a community, a state, a nation. Fear and anger can make us vindictive and abusive, unjust and unfair, until we all suffer from the absence of mercy and we condemn ourselves as much as we victimize others. The closer we get to mass incarceration and extreme levels of punishment, the more I believe it's necessary to recognize that we all need mercy, we all need justice, andperhaps-we all need some measure of unmerited grace.” www.caribbeanamericanpassport.com

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The world watches America as it strives to defend our democracy

BY LIZ SCHRAYER, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — on both feet.” As Colin Powell said, “The world cannot believe we have done it to ourselves” and called the chaos a gift to Vladimir Putin. The taunts from Turkey said the United States should “overcome this domestic political crisis with maturity.”

The truth is that such terrible violence is what America condemns around the world and works to prevent, not just as the reflection of our values but also because it is in our best interests. When Ronald Reagan first launched the National Endowment for Democracy, he said, “Our freedom and that of our allies could never be secure in a world where freedom was threatened everywhere else.” Several groups, supported by the State Department and Agency for International Development, work to advance these efforts with training, election observation, and advocacy for the rule of law.

Our founders always imagined America as the shining city on a hill. Near the end of his life, James Madison, one of our earliest diplomats, stated, “Our country, if it does justice to itself, will be the workshop of liberty to the civilized world.”

As the horrific scenes at the Capitol unfolded, I was heartbroken as the world watched an attack on this noble vision.

Madeleine Albright has testified to Congress, “Our future depends, to a great extent, on whether democracy succeeds The reactions from across the globe were swift and or fails. We must realize the stakes of failure mean a world overwhelming. Even before the lawless riots finished, the that is more insecure, unstable, and unhealthy.” Dan confidence of our allies was shaken with calls for calm in our Sullivan, a senator and chairman with the International shores. I was glad, however, to see many stand by this country Republican Institute, has also warned that, “The last time they know and love. The prime minister for New Zealand authoritarian governments were on the march, the result tweeted, “I have no doubt democracy will prevail.” Further, was World War Two.”

the leader of Spain told the world, “I believe in the strength It is our bipartisan commitment to back fragile democracies of democracy.” that makes the chaos last week all the more heartbreaking.

Yet despite the darkness of the day, within hours, Unsurprisingly, our adversaries like Russia tried to take democracy prevailed as lawmakers returned to work in the advantage of our wound, claiming democracy was “limping Continued on page 12

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The world watches America as it strives to defend our democracy

BY LIZ SCHRAYER, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR (Continued from page 11)

same chambers that had been attacked. We will grapple with the magnitude of what happened, bring the perpetrators to justice, and our leaders will ensure the peaceful transfer of power. But this must not lead us to turn inward or lose sight as the world watches us. What we do matters to the health and safety of our 330 million citizens.

We cannot afford to hand an inch of ground to our adversaries after 2020 marked another year of decline in global freedom for more than a decade. Our allies call for us to show up at the international table.

Indeed, the new administration has articulated a clear vision to engage with the world and bolster the bipartisan coalition that supports democracy. It is not just our strength but also our credibility as a global leader and a partner which is needed to confront the global threats that affect our daily lives, from the coronavirus to climate change and cybersecurity to disinformation.

Our strength abroad will come from our strength here at home.

There is much to reckon with, not least of which is the shameful contrast between how the racial justice protests last summer and the insurrection last week were handled. Natalie Brown, ambassador to Uganda, spoke of why we must get it right. She said, “We are mindful of the work still to be done in our experiment with democracy, while our history has taught us that democracy must be defended if it is to endure.� I am very confident that we will live up to be a beacon for democracy that our allies still call for. Not only do I believe in my fellow citizens, but the effects of a frayed America on the world stage are the reasons for us to get it right Liz Schrayer serves as the president and the chief executive officer of the United States Global Leadership Coalition, an alliance of businesses and organizations which advocate for American diplomacy around the world.

Youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman's inaugural poem The Hill We Climb at Biden inauguration Continued from page 8

So while once we asked, how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?

Now we assert How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?

We will not march back to what was but move to what shall be A country that is bruised but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free

From left, Doug Emhoff, U.S. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Jill Biden and President-elect Joe Biden wave as they arrive on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol for the inauguration on Jan. 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. During today's inauguration ceremony Joe Biden becomes the 46th president of the United States.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation Our blunders become their burdens But one thing is certain: If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and change our children's birthright So let us leave behind a country better than the one we were left with Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest, we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west, we will rise from the windswept northeast where our forefathers first realized revolution We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states, we will rise from the sunbaked south We will rebuild, reconcile and recover and every known nook of our nation and every corner called our country, our people diverse and beautiful will emerge, battered and beautiful When day comes we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid The new dawn blooms as we free it For there is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it If only we're brave enough to be it

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The Biden Harris Administration and the Region

By Wesley Kirton Continued from page 6

during the recent ICS virtual briefing that “Guyana should start preparing a template for engaging the United States should Venezuela get a government in the future that is friendly to the US.” From the Caribbean private sector perspective, Samaroo is advocating for continued US support for Guyana regarding the baseless Venezuela claim and its actions, coupled with a more realistic economic agenda towards the region.

“Many of the major US corporations have been outsourcing production of a wide range consumer products to China and other Asian countries taking advantage of lower employment costs. However, in today’s world production systems are driven by digital, robotic and information technology. I am making a case for the Biden/Harris Administration to establish a new Initiative, very much like that the Reagan Administration did with the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) in the early 1980's, to assist the region with a program to embark on a massive retraining of the people of the Caribbean, at both the technician and professional levels. In addition, the US corporations should be encouraged to invest in new manufacturing capacity in the region and re-orient part of their supply chain to the Caribbean, Samaroo urged.

“Apart for providing reduced shipping lead time resulting in a much smaller carbon footprint, this will also provide the US corporations greater protection of their intellectual properties, the abuse of which is presently a source of much controversy. At the same time, the people of the Caribbean region will enjoy a better quality of life with greater employment opportunities while the region's economy is diversified. Such a situation enhances the national security in the US as its third border becomes more economically stable.

A relatively small portion of US outsourced business channeled to the Caribbean will phenomenally transform the region’s economy and enhance the quality of life of the region's people while at the same time bringing the region fully into the digital age," Samaroo argues.

Indeed, the Caribbean is brimful of new hope as the Biden Administration takes office with an enlightened approach to the relations with the countries of its Third Border.

Wesley Kirton is a journalist, business executive and former Guyanese diplomat resident in Miami Florida. He is currently President of the Guyanese American Chamber of Commerce (GACC) and Chair of the Private Sector Council at the Washington, DC based Institute of Caribbean Studies (ICS).

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Tony Deyal | A WING AND A PRAYER One night in the Bahamas, staying in a hotel with a casino, I learnt a major lesson about my relationship with God. I fancied myself a poker player in those days and, with nothing to do and temptation a short elevator drop away, I indulged. I learnt then that if you’re betting within your means or within your financial capacity, you’re not really gambling. It is when you’re betting more than you can afford that you’re really gambling. I found that out the hard way. I also learnt the difference between prayer in church and prayer in a casino. In a casino, you really mean it. In other words, for many of us it is only when you get to your wit’s end, you find out that God lives there.

Me, My Teacher And God Unfortunately, I am straying into a territory for which I don’t have a Visa or even an American Express, Green, Blue or Magnet. God is everywhere and experts on what He means, intends, wishes and demands are even more ubiquitous than he is. Even though God is invisible, the overwhelming majority of the people who know exactly what God wants from you in terms of behaviour, payment for services rendered, or for just being there for you, are not only very visible but as Christ would say “legion.” I made the mistake, after being told countless times by my teacher to stop doing something because, “God don’t like you to do that”, by asking her, “How you know that? He talked to you and tell you to tell me so?” He then told her to hit me ten lashes with the “leather” and put me to sit facing the wall for an entire day. It is why I think Americans are mistaken in stopping prayers in their education system. As long as there are teachers and tests, whether the Government likes it or not, there will be prayers in schools.

A View From Heaven Confusing as it is, there are two different ways of managing this particular predicament. One point of view is that all religions and perspectives on God are like rivers that lead to the same sea. Another is the way the folks in Heaven manage the issues that bother us and their exemplary ability to retain their sense of humour while doing so. According to the Arlington Catholic Herald, a devout Protestant dies and is met

by St Peter and is taken on a tour of heaven. As the tour goes on, St Peter points out all the different denominations – Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Hindus, Muslims and others who also believe in one God. As they come to a certain group way off in the distance and totally isolated, St Peter draws the man closer and whispers “Now for this next group, we need to be really quiet. They are the Catholics and they think they’re the only ones here.”

Best Of All Worlds Fortunately for me, I grew up in a generally Hindu home but went to an Anglican elementary school, lived close a Baptist Church, got one of those “medals” from a US organisation called “The Voice of Prophecy” which was a big deal in those days, had cousins who were Muslim, was baptised Catholic by my mother and later went to a Catholic High School while living near a Pentecostal Church. In other words, and despite what the religious fanatics say, I had the best of all worlds.

What I found confusing though was the inconsistencies and even the contradictions which exist not just in the Bible but in the many, sometimes varying, views of God, what He means, what He is up to and what He wants from you.

There is the story that I heard in a Management class about a young Catholic kid who kept praying for a bike because he was the only kid in the neighborhood who didn’t have one.

When he realised that in this world it is easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission, he stole one and then went to confession. Trump And His No-Win Situation I suppose that at this point I owe all of you a confession. The truth is that what prompted today’s topic is the present crisis in the USA. Donald Trump has created a no-win situation by not asking either for permission or forgiveness. As one writer quipped about him, “Trump in his first speech after recovery from the coronavirus said, ‘I wanna thank all of you for your prayers’. Makes me wonder why. They obviously weren’t answered.” Another said, “In these trying times we all need to put our differences aside and make a special prayer for President Donald Trump. I suggest Psalm 109:8, ‘Let his days be few; and let another take his office.’” Unfortunately, his resounding loss of office makes things worse instead of better.

Out Of Despair, Hope Springs Eternal Sometimes out of the greatest disasters emerges a wonder of wonders, something that makes life better or easier to understand and live with. At the end of the attack on the US Congress on January 6 which interrupted the confirmation process, despite chaos, deaths and personal suffering, the representatives of the people met again to do what they were there for. They confirmed Joseph Biden as President and Kamala D. Harris as Vice President. It was then that I had my own road, not so much to Damascus as to prayer and its power when it comes from the heart. If America is now limping along to its own salvation on a wing and a prayer, it got the prayer it requires.

A Prayer With Wings Given a minute to end the long and troubled session with a prayer, Senate Chaplain Barry C. Black, a Seventh-day Adventist minister and former Navy Rear Admiral, who has been the Senate’s official clergyman for nearly two decades, had me spellbound: “Lord of our lives and sovereign of our beloved nation. We deplore the desecration of the United States Capitol building, the shedding of innocent blood, the loss of life and the quagmire of dysfunction that threatened our democracy. These tragedies have reminded us that words matter and that the power of life and death is in the tongue.

We have been warned that eternal vigilance continues to be freedom’s price. Lord you have helped us remember that we need to see in each other a common humanity that reflects your image. You have strengthened our resolve to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, domestic as well as foreign…Use us to bring healing and unity to our hurting and divided nation and world.” He ended by acknowledging God’s role in inspiring the lawmakers to rise above the fear and anger to do what was right. He said simply, “Thank you for what you have blessed our lawmakers to accomplish in spite of threats to liberty.”

For example, in the Bible you are warned, though not exactly in these words, to be careful what you ask God for. You might just get it. It is said that if you want to hear God laugh, just tell Him your plans. It seems to be well known that we should be careful what we pray for because when we pray for rain, especially in Trinidad, we have to deal with mud as well as *Tony Deyal was last seen repeating Mother Theresa’s words, “I know God will not give me anything I can't flood. handle; I just wish that He didn't trust me so much." www.caribbeanamericanpassport.com

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