NATIONAL WEEKLY | THURSDAY, APR 27 – MAY 3, 2017 | VOL. 14 NO. 17
N E T W O R K T H E
M O S T
W I D E L Y
C I R C U L A T E D
C A R I B B E A N
A M E R I C A N
N E W S P A P E R
I N
Wall money? Remittances from 'Caribbeans' may fund Trump border by Karyl Walker
Twenty-five Caribbean countries are among 41 being earmarked by the United States Congress for taxed remittances as President Donald Trump's administration moves ahead with plans to build a wall on the Mexican border.
F L O R I D A
WATCH IT. READ IT. LOVE IT. WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED JAMAICA 55 DIASPORA CONFERENCE
A conference worth going by Howard Campbell
If body language is anything to go by, the upcoming Jamaica 55 Diaspora Conference will be a winner. There was much enthusiasm at Monday's official launch of the July 23-26 event at Miramar City Hall. Jamaica's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson-Smith, was keynote speaker. She told National Weekly that she expects robust discourse throughout the conference which takes place at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston. The conference program has not been finalized nor is registration for groups and persons who will attend. The attendance fee is the same as two years ago when the conference was held in Montego Bay --- US$145 for three days or US$75 “We pay a day. Over the years, attention to s o m e p e r s o n s structure…How attending Jamaica we establish the Diaspora meetings panels, how we have complained that they are mere talk establish the shops that accom- topics. We plish little. Others anticipate a believe Jamaicans great who live abroad are conference.” taken for granted. – Johnson-Smith Not so, JohnsonSmith assured. “They're highly-valued. That's why we have a new department dedicated to the Diaspora in the Diaspora Consular and Protocol Division. That's why we have a new Diaspora Engagement Task Force headed by Dr. David Panton, to harness the power of the Diaspora,” she said. Winston Barnes, Vice Mayor City of Miramar, said it is important Jamaicans living overseas get involved in Diaspora conferences. “There's potential for it to be a talk shop but there is a purpose and value. Two years
A bill imposing a fee for remittance transfers was introduced by the Congress this week. The Border Wall Funding Act of 2017 is intended to upgrade the Electronic Fund Transfer Act. The bill would have serious implications for the Caribbean, Latin America and South America, whose economies are bolstered by remittances, mainly from residents in the United States to relatives in those regions. The bill would affect the following countries: Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Haiti, Dominican Republic, The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Jamaica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Aruba, Curacao, The British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts & Nevis, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, A6 – Wall money
LAUDERHILL
Blaze of glory
Lauderhill Fire Dept. reaches out to homeless Jamaicans by Karyl Walker
Glenton Daley and his daughter Nicola Taylor are two of the happiest people in South Florida. Six weeks ago, the Jamaicans lost their Lauderhill home to fire. They lost every possession but the clothes on their backs. To add to their woes, Daley is pregnant and the supplies she had accumulated were also destroyed. The fire occurred on April 10 and left them homeless. Thanks to the Red Cross and friends, they were given temporary reprieve at a motel. Just when everything seemed hopeless, the Lauderhill Fire Department threw the family a lifeline. The firefighters who responded that fateful afternoon were so
A8 – Conference
A6 – Blaze of glory
WHAT’S INSIDE LOCAL
ENTERTAINMENT
CARIBBEAN
SPORTS
GIMINEZ IMPLICATED IN BAN ON TRUMP’S SANCTUARY CITY EXEC. ORDER A3
DIVERSE CAST for BEST OF THE BEST CONCERT B1
CARICOM TO OBSERVE CURACAO ELECTIONS A4
CHRISANN GORDON OPENS WITH PERSONAL BEST IN 400M C3