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AUGUST 2014L COMMUNITY • CULTURE • CONNECTIONS

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Volume 7 Issue 7

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Food

CONNECTION

The Panama Canal 100th Anniversary: We Shall Never Forget - Page 10

CARIBBEAN

USVI Ganja Legalization Could Be on Its Way

Page 6

COMMUNITY

What Happened at J’ouvert 2014? A Talk

with HCF - Page 4

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Page 2 • ONE LOVE CARIBBEAN • AUGUST 2014

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Caribbean

The Publisher’s ThoughtsI have to confess. I am not much of a sport person, but last month, I watched the highlights of the FIFA World Cup. I had to! My day-to-day folks were all into the games. Therefore, to at least appear somewhat half intelligent on the game, I watched with a keen eye.

But, it was in the commotion when Costa Rica defeated Uruguay that my attention began to focus on the young Costa Rican star player named Joel Campbell. My interest grew not because of his sterling performances in the game, but the origin of his last name. The Scottish name of Campbell in Costa Rica! How ironic! I questioned myself! Reflecting, I know of many Caribbeaners with the last name of Campbell; many are from the island of Jamaica. How in the world did the name infuse itself in that country? I want to know.

Now, what was even more striking, Joel looked like someone that I know, someone from my yard. Putting all these attributes together, I could not help but wonder. Is he of Caribbean heritage?

Reality hits home. This is what many people from the Central American countries (Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, San Andros, and Panama) have been saying, re-peatedly. They are of Caribbean heri-tage, and are committed to celebrating the legacy, culture, and traditions of their Caribbean roots.

The truth is that they are welcomed in the Diaspora; one that is inclusive of all people of Caribbean heritage! If you have a different belief, then I want to educate you about our Central American relatives. How did they get to Central America? What were the driving forces behind their decisions? What were the roses and kasha (Cru-cian word for sharp thorns) trees, their forefathers had to step on for the sur-vival of their families and themselves.

Now hold on! “This is not easy! This piece is engulfed with much historical data. However, it is important that we understand our history. As Bob Mar-ley noted in his song, Buffalo Soldier:

If you know your historyThen you would know where you’re coming fromThen you wouldn’t have to ask meWho the heck do I think I am

The years after the supposed ending of slavery in the Caribbean, the econo-my had drastically declined and living conditions were poor. Despite, African Caribbeaners knew exactly what they wanted and what they did not. For one thing, going back to work on the plan-tation, especially for the low wages that were being offered, was a “no-no.” An old Virgin Islands Quelbe song put those years in a clear perspective; the action of boycotting Labega Carousel for paying low wages to his employees.

I rather walk and drink rum whole night Before me go ride for LaBega Carousel You no hear what LaBega say, “The people no worth more than fifteen cent a day” I am walking, I am looking, I am begging Before me go ride for LaBega Carousel.

Quite jarring! Right! Since working on the plantation was out, the blacks become “free agents.” They worked for the best deals. Sometimes it meant relocating to another island. So you guessed it; emigration throughout the Caribbean became widespread. In fact, where ever there was a labor demand, Caribbeaners were the first volunteers.

Whether it was migrating to London to rebuild the city after World War II or to New York City to work in the city’s infrastructure buildup, our people were there. Or, whether Lucians mov-ing to Cuba to cut sugar cane, Jamai-cans relocating to St. Croix to work in the alumina plants, Dominicans going to Antigua to work in the petroleum industry, Trinidadians traveling to Curacao to work in the gas plant, or Grenadians voyaging to Trinidad to work in the oil fields, migration repre-sented one of the few avenues for so-cial mobility. It was the thing to do. As a result, the practices embroidered a common thread among us as a region.

Caribbeaners migration to Central America was quite interesting. The first was the forced exile of the Garifu-na people from St. Vincent, Saint Lucia, and Dominica. They were the Black Caribs, descendants of the self-liber-ated Africans and the native Caribs. They were caught between the French and the British, who were fighting for a foothold in the islands. One should al-ways remember that for over four cen-turies, the Caribbean islands were the pearls in eyes of Europe.

The Garifuna people made treaties with the French, but when the British took control, they kicked it to the side. Now, you know our people. “If you mash mi corn, we gon fight you.” Fighting was a regular thing. Eventually, the British won and placed the remaining Gari-funa on boats sailing to anywhere but their home islands. The long and short story is that most landed in Central American countries. So, are the Garifu-na people of Caribbean roots?

The second wave of Caribbeaners, who were directly infused into Central America, came at the second half of the 19th century. American entrepre-neurs, who were building their agri-cultural estates of banana, recruited thousands of Jamaicans to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Hondu-ras. Because the Americans spoke English, they preferred the English speaking Jamaicans over the local Spanish speaking workers. (Williams, 2001) Most built their family and did not return to their homeland. Now, are the descendants of these Jamaicans who moved to Central America of Ca-ribbean heritage?

The third massive migration of Carib-beaners to Central America surrounds Panama. They were Jamaicans, who were recruited to build the Panama Railroad (1850-1855), and later the Panama Canal. The railroad allowed the movement of goods from the Atlan-tic Ocean across the Isthmus of Pana-ma to the Pacific Ocean. The Panama Canal, a forty-eight mile-long water-

way, ran parallel to the railroad and it allows ships to cross between the At-lantic and Pacific Ocean.

It first started with the French. Again, they recruited over 20,000 Caribbean-ers primarily Jamaicans and Marti-niquans to dig the canal. The French ran out of money and abandoned the project leaving the workers stranded in Panama. They had to be repatriated at their governments’ expense.

Ouch! As the old reggae song goes: John Jones, you son of a gun.

The Americans took the project. Hav-ing a headquarter in Barbados, they aggressively recruited and brought in workers from practically every Ca-ribbean island, primarily Bajans, Lu-cians, Martiniquans, Dominicans, and Guadeloupians. Having learned from their experience with the French, the Jamaican Government loathed to par-ticipate in the US recruitment. But as you know, thousands of Jamaicans found the means to travel to Panama, anyway; many came via Costa Rica. The government eventually gave up and allowed it citizens to migrate.

“For the most part, destinations were limited but in 1904 the Ameri-can-owned Isthmanian Canal Com-mission (ICC) re-opened the project to build the Panama Canal and be-gan to recruit actively in the British West Indies. Between 1904 and 1914 between 42,000 to 60,000 Barbadians migrated to the Panama region, along with 91,000 Jamaicans and unknown numbers of migrants from the Eastern Caribbean. Once the floodgates were opened other destinations came on line.” (Migration Citizenship Educa-tion, 2014, @ migrationeducation.de)

Today, the Caribbean Diaspora has emerged in Houston. So what are you going to do? Remember, we are all of Caribbean Heritage. Our differences are minute as compared to our exhaus-tive similarities: culture, music, food, thinking and tenacity. Whether you enter this community directly from the Caribbean, from Europe or Cen-tral America, we have one thing in common; our navels were cut from the same string. This month, on August 15, the Panama Canal celebrates its 100th birthday, and the Caribbean and it people are proud of the hands and feet who contributed to this world marvel. But mostly, the Diaspora under the leadership of the Houston Association of Panamanians will be celebrating the legacy, culture, and traditions of their Caribbean fore-fathers. (See ad on the opposite page) “Ah yu , com meet ah yu relative dem.”

So until then, One Love!Sylvanus Donaie, BA, BSEE, MTM, MPM, MBAPublisher

Listen to Joe Parris and the Hotshots - LaBega Carousel @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdnbULfZrCc

Williams, Kent C. (2001) The African Heritage of Central America. Download at http://www.bjmjr.net/afromestizo

The Making of the Diaspora in Houston

CARIBBEAN EVENTS

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Caribbean Catholics Supporting Their Parishes with Culture

Page 4 ONE LOVE CARIBBEAN AUGUST 2014

OLC: The Holy Family Cath-olic Church in Baytown is meaningful because it touch-es the lives of hundreds with a constant message of peace, love and charity. Moreover, to many Caribbean Catholics in the surrounding area of Mc-Nair, Highland, Mont Bellevue, and Baytown, Holy Family is their place of worship. Father Francis D. Asomkase, S.S.J. of Nigeria is the pastor.

Caribbean parishioners of the church brought their culture of food, music and dance to raise funds for their church. The spokesperson of the fund rais-ing committee, Francis Mitch-ell, said, “We want to show the world that as a church, we are all one. One Church! One People! And as a community, we can come together. This activity is being spearheaded by the Carib-bean contingent of the church.”

Mitchell explained that the church is severely in need of funds. “We come together to engage in all kind of activities that will help to improve the

parish; one of which is a fund raising drive. Today we have a community hall which cost of over one million dollars.”

Unlike other church event, the atmosphere was very festive. The music level was way up, but the wining dancing was very modest (For heaven’s sake, it was a church event). The Lucians controlled the food section with their native food of bouyon, float and ac-cra, red bean and dumpling, roti, pelau and stew chicken. The Dominicans and Trinidadi-ans showcased the cultural dis-plays of art and craft from their homeland. There were various game activities for all to enjoy.

The DJ Crucian and DJ Baby-charm along with the Jamai Band donated their time pro-viding the music.

Simply put, it was a fun-filled day. The genuine smiles and laughter from the attendees said it was truly a friend and family day at Holy Family with a sense of purpose.

By Sylvanus DonaieStaff Writer

Despite the sounds and glam-our of a proud and successful Parade of the Bands and the family fun day at Tom Bass Park in Houston on Sunday, July 6, 2014, the J’ouvert cele-bration was a disaster.

In the wee early morning Satur-day (July 5), J’ouvert came to a halt as gunshots were fired into the crowd of thousands, injur-ing attendees. The party was held at the San Miguel Arena at 1700 Almeda-Genoa.

According to Houston Police, one victim, 16, suffered a gun-shot wound to the head and was transported to Ben Taub Gener-al Hospital in critical condition. Three other victims were trans-ported to Ben Taub General and Memorial Hermann Hospitals.

Houston Police report stated that approximately 5,000 were attending the event. The attend-ees were on the dirt arena floor dancing and throwing pow-dered paint and water on each other as part of the festivities. A fight broke out on the floor among numerous people. At least one person then pulled a gun and began shooting, wounding four people. The shooting then created a panic on the crowded floor and peo-ple began to run out of the one floor entrance. Several persons were then injured in the rush to exit at the same time. All at-tendees then fled the scene.

On Saturday, August 2, 2014, I met with the CEO of the Hous-ton Caribbean Festival, Mr. Pat-rick Louis and the COO, Mr. Alan Lloyd, at their HCF Radio Studio to have a conversation on the J’ouvert 2014 and the future. Here are the excerpts of our conversation.

I began with this question. What happened at the J’ouvert Festivities?

Louis: Almost the whole city of Houston turned out for a Caribbean event. I have been living here for forty years and this [magnitude] has never hap-pen before. J’ouvert was go-ing great until one idiot came out there… and basically shot some people. They had some gang related stuff that been go-ing on for a while. One of the

guy posted on Facebook saying he is going to J’ouvert.”

So when you pick a fight with someone and announce where you will be, obviously there is some intent and an invitation to start some mess; especially when it is placed on social me-dia.

A couple of people got shot.

Lloyd: It was not a random shooting. It was reported that “they open fire.” It was a group who went for one guy.

Donaie: What happen to those folks?

Lloyd: We don’t know.

Louis: Well, we had paramed-ics on hand. Our paramedic jumped in and did what they do to save them [the wounded] from dying. Where we did well, we had paramedic and security.

Donaie: Let’s talk about securi-ty. I heard that you did not have enough security. So was security adequate for this massive crowd?

Louis: Everybody keep saying that we did not have enough se-curity. But how one can tell us, how much security we needed for the event when we are not even sure how big it is going to get. I have seen people who spent a lot of money to bring major shows in Houston and no-body attended. So just imagine, if they had way too much secu-rity, what would have happen to them? We know events that did.

Donaie: How long you been doing event in Houston

Louis: 12 years…

Donaie: What has been the his-tory of your past events in term of violence?

Louis: Nothing! Never a Prob-lem! We’ve done this for twelve

years with no incidents. We have always had security in all of our events. Last year and the year before, we had security, but this year, we bumped it up, thinking it was going to be big-ger. However, we didn’t know how big it was going to be.

Now remember, the security is $40 per hour per police. So start doing the math for 80 po-lice officers.

Donaie: I have heard com-plaints that at J’ouvert you are catering to an American au-dience rather than Caribbean. Instead of soca, you are now playing hip-hop.

Louis: I dare you to find me a promoter who do not likes to make money to do what they need to do. Everybody is say-ing, “Oh, we bringing the Amer-icans.” But without the Amer-icans’ money, we cannot even put on the carnival, because we only have one sponsor.

Ninety-five percent was soca music… but you have to throw corn to catch fowls.

Donaie: Are you saying we don’t have enough Caribbean people to support the carnival?

Louis: No, they are here. And you know the demographics. There should be at least 300 and something thousand. If the Ca-ribbean market is supporting us, then why do we only have an av-erage of about six to seven thou-sand in the park? Do the math!

Donaie: It sounds like you have a “beef” with the community.

Louis: I don’t have a “beef” with our community. I have a beef with the few of our people within the community talking and saying, “We are doing it for the money.”

I have been here [in Houston] Continue on Page 14

July 18, 2014

Dear Editor,I am very disappointed in the Houston Caribbean Festival (HCF). I am of Trinidadian and Barbadian parentage, and I love celebrating our heritage. I often go to Trinidad Carnival, Labor Day in Brooklyn and Toronto’s Carabana. However, I will not be returning to the Houston Ca-ribbean Festival.

It seems like the founders of the Houston Caribbean Festival are trying to make this heritage into just a “Big Party” and not reach-ing out to the Caribbean commu-nity. HCF advertised the J’ouvert on rap and hip-hop radio stations and called it a “big party.”

There was no mention of the sig-nificance of J’ouvert or the fact that its genesis began in Trinidad as a celebration by the enslaved. To make matters worse, at the J’ouvert, the DJ played more

“rap” and “hip-hop” music than “Soca and Calypso”. You never go to the Jazz fest and hear soca or the reggae fest and hear jazz. J’ouvert is the Soca fest.

There is no surprise that there was violence. The crowd did not come to celebrate the culture; they came to celebrate the “big out of control party.” I purchased my ticket ahead of time, but it was not even checked and most of those at the event appear to be just walking in.

It was a total mess. My advice to the founders of the HCF - no other music should be played except Soca and Calypso, with a little “Reggae” (to slow it down at times). Also improved the se-curity; check for guns and make sure every one ticket is checked. If this cannot be done, shut it down.

Kelly J Houston, TX

Letter to the EditorIt was a total mess

What Happened at J’ouvert 2014?A Talk with Houston Caribbean Festival

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CALL TODAY FOR A FREE PEST EVALUATION By Latania MenaAttorney at LawEach day, over a million people from around the globe seek to enter the U.S. through of its des-ignated ports of entry. In immi-gration lingo people who arrive at a U.S. port of entry must be “in-spected” and “admitted”, before being allowed to enter.

This requirement applies to every-one, including U.S. citizens. U.S. citizens make up approximately 40% of all arrivals and two types of travelers account for the re-maining 60%.

Immigrants, who are not citizens, but have permission to live perma-nently in the U.S., such as those persons with green cards; and non-immigrants, who are cleared for temporary stays in the country, such as students, tourist, officials from foreign governments, and persons with work visas.

The General Inspection Process When you arrive at a port of entry, you must encounter customs and border patrol (CBP) officers, in a process called “primary inspec-tion”. The officer will interview you to confirm your identity, check your documents, and run addition-al scans to ensure there are no past immigration violations, criminal issues, national security concerns and to determine the qualifications for the visas you have.

The entire process is very brief, and most travelers will never have to give a second thought to the process. But secondary inspec-tion is a reality and a different kind of interaction; CBP officers will make split-second decisions to determine if someone’s docu-ments are bogus, or if they believe there is a legal barrier to entry based on health, criminal and eco-nomic concerns.

If you find yourself in “secondary inspection”, be prepared to spend countless hours at the airport. A new set of officers with all the time and additional latitude will make a separate determination on whether you should enter the U.S. Here they re-inspect your docu-ments, rifle through your luggage, your electronic devices, place phone calls, intercept your loved ones at the airport to pick you up, and the list goes on. What many persons do not understand, is that CBP is given extensive powers by law to conduct these kinds of searches without a warrant, of per-sons and personal effects in their possession.

Persons subjected to secondary inspection are not allowed to be represented by attorneys, unless they become a target of a criminal investigation.

The Tourist Visa Dilemma

Only about 2% of travelers will find themselves in secondary inspection. Note however, that many Caribbean Nationals who end up in secondary inspection, find themselves there, because the CBP officer is convinced they are in the U.S. for another purpose other than the visa they have al-low. How many times have you heard of family members being placed on a return flight home, without ever setting foot outside the airport?

This is usually so, because the officer conducting primary in-spection is convinced that there is “pre-conceived and/or dual in-tent” behind that trip to the U.S. Persons who attempt to enter the U.S on tourist visas or the visa waiver program, with the intent to work, go to school, or get mar-ried and stay in the U.S., under the guise of seeing Disney World, run the risk of ending up in secondary inspection. There are also those folks who truly intend to visit as tourists, who end up in second-ary inspection because they are ill-prepared for their contact with CBP. Does your loved one know the real name, address, telephone number and legal status of the per-son they are planning to stay with in the U.S.?

Any kind of fumbling or nervous behavior at primary inspection, will almost guarantee a whole night or day in the airport. There are those persons who ignorantly violate the terms of their tourist visas, for instance staying for the entire six months on the last vis-it. Upon a subsequent trip to the U.S, CBP may conclude that the person is working in the U.S and refer him or her to secondary in-spection. What of travelers with family members filing for them to live in the U.S.?

To ensure a successful entry into the U.S. for a temporary visit, these persons should take extra steps to demonstrate they intend to wait outside the U.S. until the visa is ready. If you are in such a category and it is discovered that you arrived at the port of entry with a one-way ticket for instance,

be prepared for secondary inspec-tion and possibly placed on a re-turn flight home.

The average turnaround time in Continue on Page 14

IMMIGRATION NEWS AUGUST 2014 ONE LOVE CARIBBEAN Page 5

OLC: The Jamaica Foundation of Houston held its annual Gala and Silent Auction celebrating Jamaica’s 52th year of inde-pendence from Britain in grand style at the JW Marriot Hous-ton on Saturday, July 26, 2014. The Consul General of Jamai-ca to Florida and the Southern United States, Franz Hall, was the keynote speaker while Ja-maica’s No. 1 party band Fab 5 rocked the ballroom filled with over 400 Jamaicans and friends.

The Consul General told at-tendees that Jamaica has al-ways been poised for success in the global market place reflect-ing on the correlation from the Eric Donaldson’s song, Sweet Jamaica.

Sweet Jamaica is now on the moveHelp me with my song and let the peo-ple dem come sing alongTek up yu cutlass, yu shovel and yu hoeTek up yu boots dem, people let us goCall out the youth-man, rallo let us showSweet Jamaica we really want to grow

It must however overcome the

obstacles presently plaguing local entrepreneurs, and Jamai-cans must, as a people, be a part of the process for economic re-development. “We must find ways to support our local prod-ucts and at the same time not miss the opportunity to tap into global resources available to propel us forward,” Hall said.

Master of Ceremonies was lo-cal Fox News Anchor, José Griñan. As with every year, the foundation continues to recog-nize those who have gone above and beyond in committing their time, skills and energy to their community. This year, JHF rec-ognized John South, Amanda Head, Sylvanus Donaie, Ar-

nold Richards, Williams Plant, José Griñan, and Clinton Wang.

Once again, a job well done! Kudos to the JFH leadership: Arnold Richards (President), Beverly Ford (Vice President), Errol Anglin (Treasurer), and Barbara McIndoe (Secretary); the Directors includes Cedric Buchanan, Errol Eccles, Errol Wilks, Karlene Rose, and Stan Reid.

The Jamaica Foundation is a non-profit, educational and cultural 501-(C)(3) organiza-tion in Houston, dedicated to strengthening the cultural ties between Caribbean people and the Houston community.

Jamaicans Celebrate 52 Years of Independence

August 4, 2014 -- The petition to repeal the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) adopted by City Council in May has fallen short of the City Charter and Texas Election Code require-ments for a voter referendum. As a result, the ordinance will not be reconsidered by City Council or placed on the ballot.

According to the ordinance, the Houston City Council finds that discrimination in employment results in the unequal treatment of persons and a diminution of their dignity, respect and status contrary to the public policy of the City and the Constitutional principles on which the United States was founded.

In addition, the Council finds that it is necessary, appropriate, and the proper responsibility of government to make discrimi-nation in Private Employment unlawful in the City. The petitioners submitted a to-tal of 5,199 pages of signatures.

Based on application of City Charter and state law require-ments, only 2,449 pages qualify for consideration. As a result, the number of valid signatures totals 15,249, which is short of the 17,269 signatures required by the Charter. “The Charter requirements are in place to ensure a fair and le-gal process, absent of fraud,” said City Attorney David Feld-man. “In this instance, there are too many documents with irregularities and problems to overlook. The petition is sim-ply invalid. There is no other conclusion.” According to the Charter, a val-id petition must contain enough signatures of registered voters to at least equal 10 percent of the total votes cast in the last mayor-al election. Each signature must be accompanied by the printed name, address, voter registra-tion number or date of birth and the date signed. Anyone who collected signatures must also

have personally signed the peti-tion, and have appeared before a notary to acknowledge under oath that the signatures were made in their presence. Thou-sands of the signatures sub-mitted with the HERO petition failed to meet one or more of these requirements and had to be disregarded. The City utilized a similar pro-cess in 1996 when faced with a petition to repeal its Affirmative Action program. However, in the end, that petition still had enough valid signatures to qualify. “I fully expect the petitioners will want to fight this decision at the courthouse,” said Mayor Annise Parker. “I am confi-dent the courts will agree that the rules set out in our Charter and state law to protect the in-tegrity of the process should be followed and that the results of our review will be upheld. The judicial review will provide ad-ditional assurance to the voters that the process has been fair.”

HERO Repeal Petition Falls Short of Required Valid Signatures

Can You Pass Secondary Inspection – at a U.S Airport?

ARIBBEANARIBBEANBriefs


OLC: On July 28, the United State Virgin Island (VI) Legis-lature passed a bill to ask vot-ers whether medical marijuana should be legalize in the territo-ry. If Governor John deJongh Jr. signs the measure then a non-binding referendum will be place on the November 4, 2014 general election ballot.

On the ballot, Virgin Islanders are asked to answer the ques-tion, “Should the Legislature consider legislation that allows for the licensing and regula-tion of medicinal marijuana patients, care-givers, cultiva-tors and distribution centers?” Voters would check a simple “YES” or “NO” on the ballot.

The sponsor of the Bill, Sena-tor Terrence “Positive” Nelson said our law should make a dis-tinction between the medicinal and non-medicinal use of mar-ijuana; he is the first and only Rastafarian voted to the Virgin Islands Legislature. This is not his first try at this legislation. In 2012, he was unsuccessful; the Senate did not pass his medici-nal marijuana referendum.

He pointed out that the purpose of enacting the legislation is to protect patients with medicinal conditions, and their physicians and primary caregiver from lo-cal arrest, prosecution, criminal

and other penalties if such pa-tients or caregivers engage in the medicinal use of marijuana.

According to Senator Nelson, there shall be a referendum election to be held during the General Elections, in Novem-ber 2014 to determine the will of the qualified electors of the Virgin Islands with respect to the licensing of medicinal mar-ijuana

If the VI voting public ap-proves the measure, the legis-lature may have to act passing cannabis laws similar to those of many states. Presently, twenty three states and District of Columbia already permit the medicinal use and cultivation of marijuana under certain cir-cumstances, and twelve more states have pending legislation to legalize medical marijuana.

Well-known VI medical doctor, Cora L.E. Christian testified on behalf of the bill. In her testi-mony, she said that the benefits of medical marijuana for cancer patients are clear when it comes to increased appetite, reduction of pain, wasting, vomiting and nausea, as well as depression. She added that although its anticarcinogenic effects aren’t quite as clear, ongoing research further points to the possibility that medical marijuana may ac-

tually be what many claim it is. Dr. Christian concluded, “Let us now understand that we no longer can afford to call this a poison and must now label it as it is—a medicine.”

The day before the VI Senate acted on his bill, Nelson posted on his Facebook page, “More and more the Great Wall of prohibition is crumbling down. My proposal to legalize mar-ijuana/cannabis in the VI is in line with the view of economic forecasters, policy makers, law enforcement, justices… Now is the time. Let’s do it!”

IMMIGRATIONAttorney Latania Mena

[email protected]

Don’t tackle immigration issues alone. Get help from Attorney Latania Mena, a Caribbean native, who understands

Caribbean culture and issues.

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U.S. Virgin Islands Ganja Legalization Could Be on Its Way

Senator Terrence NelsonVI Legislature

The deep historical ties be-tween Barbados and Panama will be further explored when three Barbadian tour groups join Panamanians in celebrat-ing the 100th Anniversary cel-ebrations of the opening of the Panama Canal.

In 1904, the American-owned Isthmanian Canal Commission (ICC) re-opened the project to build the Panama Canal, and began to recruit actively in the British West Indies. Between 1904 and the opening of the Canal on August 15, 1914, ap-proximately 60,000 Barbadians migrated to Panama on a trek that promised economic ad-vancement.

The Panamanian experience is often credited with giving impetus to the emergence of a Barbadian middle class, and highlights the power of Barba-dians overseas in providing a platform for a “quantum leap in the development of Barbados”.

Radio Personality, Carol Rob-erts, will team up with the In-dar Weir Travel Centre, to bring live reports during her morning program, leading up to August 15. Students from the Comber-mere School, assisted by Value Vacations, and a group from the Barbados Museum and Histori-cal Society (BMHS), facilitated by Travel House, will tour var-

ious places of interest in Pan-ama.

Managing Director of Indar Weir Travel Centre, Indar Weir, said he had taken groups on tour to Panama in the past, but this trip was special since it co-incided with the centennial cel-ebrations.

“We have planned to all lengths to make sure that we get an op-portunity to participate in the celebrations there. But gener-ally, the tours are in line with what tour operators do when they go to Panama,” he added.

Meanwhile, Education Officer at the BMHS, Peggy McGeary, said the activities for the group included a trip into the forest to visit the Embera Indians. They also plan to tour Panama City, visit museums and take in other aspects of Panama’s culture.

The BMHS will also be mount-ing an exhibition entitled From Barbados to Panama, begin-ning August 8, at its Garrison headquarters.

Bajans to Tour Panama for Centennial Celebrations

THE life and legacy of Greg-ory Isaacs was celebrated at the Blue Essence in Constant Spring, St Andrew, Jamaica on Sunday night, July 27, 2014. The event, A Hat Affair, was to celebrate the Cool Ruler’s 63rd birthday.

The evening’s anthem was Isaacs’ big hit Love Is Over-due, which was performed first by rising female act Isha Bell. Other artists participated in the tribute to include Junior Sinclair, George Nooks, Carl Dawkins, Edi Fitzroy, Bongo Herman, the duo of QQ and Lukani, which did a number of well-known songs from Isaacs.

The three backing aggrega-tions were Warrior Love, Lloyd Parks And We the People, and Roots Radics.

Affectionately called The Cool

Ruler, Isaacs was born on July 15, 1951 in Kingston, Jamaica, and died in London, October 25, 2010. The concert staged by the Gregory Isaacs Founda-tion, in association with Afri-can Museum, Tads Internation-al Records and Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) was geared towards charities the artiste supported.

Source: Basil Walters, Jamaica Observer

Remembering Gregory Isaacs

One Love CaribbeanCall 281-769-2253

One Love CaribbeanCall 281-769 2253

Cops Can’t Search Cell Phone Without Warrant

FTC tells Mobile CarriersStop Cramming Charges

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AUGUST 2014 ONE LOVE CARIBBEAN Page 7

Will Young Associate Attorney Peterson Lawyers

Last month, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the police must acquire a warrant before searching a cell phone seized from someone they ar-rest. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing the opinion on behalf of the Court, acknowledged both the individual’s right to privacy and the State’s need to inves-tigate crime, but the decision came down strongly on the side of privacy rights.

Roberts pointed out “[I]t is no exaggeration to say that many of the more than 90% of Ameri-can adults who own a cellphone keep on their person a digital record of nearly every aspect of their lives – from the mundane to the intimate.”

This is a fact that many people don’t consider until it is too late. Think about all the infor-mation someone would have access to if they were to search through your cellphone. Your email? Pictures? Calendar? Text-messages? This is infor-mation that can be found on a device in nearly every pocket in the United States. Roberts went so far as to acknowledge how even the term “cellphone” is itself misleading; “many of these devices are in fact mini-computers…[t]hey could just as easily be called cameras,

video players, Rolodexes, cal-endars, tape recorders, librar-ies, diaries, albums, televisions, maps, or newspapers.” In addition to broad range of in-formation stored on your cell-phone, the Court also took into account the information that can be accessed from a cell but is stored in “the cloud.” Search-ing this data is “like finding a key in a suspect’s pocket and arguing that it allowed law en-forcement to unlock and search a house,” wrote Roberts.

While this decision may de-fend against an unwanted po-lice search of your cellphone, the real lesson of today’s ruling is password lock your phone. While technology gives us easy access to vast amounts of per-sonal and public information, these devices are too easily lost, stolen, or searched for you Continue on Page 13

OLC: The Federal Trade Com-mission staff recommends steps that mobile carriers and other companies, such as T-Mobile and Amazon, should take to prevent consumers from being stuck with unauthorized charges on their mobile phone bills, an unlawful practice known as mobile cramming.

The report focuses on the multi-billion dollar business known as carrier billing, which refers to the placement of charges for goods and services of third-party merchants on a mobile phone bill.

“Mobile cramming is an issue that has affected millions of consumers, sticking them with charges they did not authorize, and the FTC has worked hard to combat it,” said Jessica Rich, the Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The best practices recommended in

our report build on the FTC’s active enforcement in this area and would give consumers needed protections to rein in the problems we have seen.”

The FTC wants carriers to give consumers the right to block third-party charges on their mobile bills altogether, and to inform consumers clearly and prominently of that right. Car-riers should inform consumers of this right not only when con-sumers create their account, but also on an ongoing basis.

Mobile Carriers must ensure advertising, marketing, and opt-in processes for third-party mobile account charges should be clear about how much and how often a consumer will be charged. Moveover, consum-ers’ express, informed consent must be obtained before plac-ing charges on their mobile Continue on Page 13

THE NATION

St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister, Dr. Denzil L. Doug-las, said that his ruling St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SK-NLP) will not be “hurried into any election” and that voters will be given the opportunity to elect a new government in keeping with the constitutional requirements.

CMC reported that Dr. Doug-las, who is seeking an unprece-dented fifth consecutive term in office, told the privately-owned WINN FM that contrary to re-ports, the SKNLP has not let up on its campaign to win the next poll.

“No I don’t think so. As you know I have said recently, po-litical campaigning is ongoing. Of course, there might be dif-ferent levels of intensity, but we have been in a prolonged campaign in St. Kitts and Nev-is, which started somewhat prematurely some 18 months ago. And since then, the coun-try has been in a state of elec-tioneering, and so we too are in that state. There are several

matters of government that we are pursuing, and as we do that, the party, however, continues to prepare itself for the upcoming election.”

The Prime Minister feels that the Party has been quite active in recent weeks. “We have not had any public rallies, but we have been engaged in several activities both internally and also expressly seen by the pub-lic. We’ve had the opportunity to celebrate our 19th anniver-sary in government. We’ve had our Labor Day March, our La-bor weekend activities since in May …and there’s been quite a bit of internal preparation that’s been made. Maybe not seen to the public eye, but it is continu-ing,” Dr. Douglas said.

WINN FM asked the Prime Minister if the party was mov-ing to complete its full term rather than calling an early election.

“I think the full term has already been achieved,” Dr. Douglas said. “We’re now down into a

few months so I think one can safely say that we’ve had the full term as a government, and of course, there are a number of other things that we have to do.”

He was cautious about say-ing specifically if the plan was to go to the end of the term, which is constitutionally due in March, five years after the first sitting of Parliament following the 2010 General Election.

“The plan is to have the elec-tion, when the country is ready for the election, and as I said, there are certain other things that we have to do, and it has been given nearly five years ago to do a number of things and we continue to work on that mandate. We will not be hurried into any election, I must tell you.” The Prime Minister said he could not say categor-ically whether any rallies were planned in the near future, as he has been out of state.

“I must speak with the organizers. Continue on Page 14

St. Kitts and Nevis Gearing up for General ElectionPM Douglas said “They are not in hurried for any election”


PHOTOS THE MONTHLIEELIFE

CARIBBEAN

Veronica Parkin of Love Bird Restaurant and Sylvanus Donaie of OLC Houston - July 26, 2014

Phillip Patrick and Collette Julie ChristmasWedding Day – July 26, 2014

Houston Caribbean CarnivalJuly 6, 2014


PHOTOSPHOTOSHouston Caribbean

ow’s only child Bradley, who is half white with racist ten-dencies takes a strong dislike to Denver and will stop at noth-ing to do his half-brother out of his inheritance.

The play explores how Denver navigates the harsh hand that he has been dealt: how he copes in his world of abuse, hate, cru-elty, anger, and how it affects his attitude.

Dawkins’ ability to use comedy and drama in equal parts to tell compelling stories continues to win over world audiences.

Gloria Campbell promotes the production. “I enjoy the theatre because I like how drama brings us close together regardless of our situation in life. Whether it is fear, ignorance, sex, or ha-tred, it’s an opportunity to look deep into our soul. Basil Daw-kins writes for the thinkers and those who just love to laugh. He deals with relationships, whether it was brought togeth-er by greed, loneliness, and emotion. He leads your thought process into interesting direc-tions,” Campbell explained.

The show will be held the Staf-ford Civic Center at 1415 Con-stitution Avenue in Stafford.

At the TheaterMy God Don’t Wear Pajamas

The Errols

OLC: Next month, September 7, 2014, the Houston Caribbe-an Communities are in accord to experience the work of one of Jamaica’s most prolific play-wrights and theatre producers, Basil Dawkins. Dawkins has written a total of 24 plays in the past two decades, of which all but one have been produced. On stage, the play My God Don’t Wear Pajamas, will be performed.

My God Don’t Wear Pajamas is the story of a God fearing, struggling Jamaican young man, Denver, in the throes of a publicly humiliating marital separation when his American based father who he does not know, dies, leaving a substan-tial estate to be divided evenly between himself and his fa-ther’s widow.

But, in order for the estate to be distributed, Denver, must sign legal documents in the USA - he however, is unable to secure a visa, much to the increasing annoyance of his step mother for whom time and money are running out fast. His step moth-er befriends him, pays for his divorce, compensates his ex-wife, marries Denver, and takes him to America - but there is an added complication, the wid-


The Spiritual Baptists

By Sylvanus DonaieStaff Writer

Houston is experiencing the “rise” of the Spiritual Baptist Church, an Afro-Centric Ca-ribbean church. This Spiritual Baptist Church is known for rhythmic singing with drums, colorful garb, and the head adornment.

Today, Trinidad and Tobago prides herself to say that Spir-itual Baptist Churches are not affiliated to any foreign reli-gious organization. The origins of the Church are totally indige-nous to the islands.

I was invited to a visit by Moth-er Kathleen Joseph of the Mount Bethel House of Prayer in Hous-ton, and it was quite shocking to learn and understand the rich his-tory, the long suffering, and the jubilation of the Spiritual Baptist Church.

Spiritual Baptists believe that their religion comes from John the Baptist and name the act of immersing worshippers in wa-ter as a means of baptizing them into the faith. John the Baptist came to bear witness concerning Jesus. Therefore, the term “Spir-itual” indicates that the Holy Spirit is actively involved in the lives of the believers and in their religious services.

Rituals include ringing bells, mourning, shouting and visits from the Holy Spirit. Pictures with engravings and flags may contain symbols representing justice, deliverance, and victory over death and the Holy Spirit.

The bell, sword, shepherd’s rod, candles, and flags play import-ant parts in many of the rituals. The color of the candle is signif-icant: a white candle symbolizes purity, truth and righteousness.

History points to the origin and early development of the church which is widely be-lieved to have begun in Trini-dad and Tobago. However, the origin of the founding people is debatable.

One theory gives claim to the

Black Carib, who were exiled from St. Vincent and found ref-uge in Trinidad. During a peri-od in the Caribbean from about 1790 to approximately 1820, the British were in a frenzy col-onizing the islands and setting up plantations. As a result, they were killing the native Caribs and robbing them of their land.

The Caribs took the Englishmen head-on. During the Carib War, Black Caribs, offspring of the Af-ricans and Caribs, revolted and attacked British ships and raided their plantations to free enslaved Africans. They eventually surren-dered to the British. Thereafter, they were introduced to the Bible and Christianity, which developed into an Afro-centric religion. Un-able to control the Black Caribs, the British exiled most to Central America (today called Garifunas); others were moved to Jamaica and Trinidad.

Another theory gives credit di-rectly to the enslaved Africans who were introduced to the Bi-ble and Christianity including Zionists, Revivalists, Rastafari-ans, and Nyabinghi. Could this have been the foundation of the Spiritual Baptist Church?

Perhaps the most popular theo-ry gives credit to freed Ameri-can slaves who were relocated to the Caribbean, in particular Trinidad. African American slaves called the Merikins (pro-nounced “Ah-merican”) fought beside the British against the Americans in the War of Inde-pendence and the War of 1812. In exchange for their service, they were granted their free-dom and grants of land in South Trinidad bringing with them a hybrid between the African beliefs in Orisha spirits and the Baptist practice that the slaves had picked up in America.

Regardless of name and iden-tity of the founding people, we can say that the Spiritual Baptist Church is indigenous to Trinidad and Tobago. The religion is com-prised of a mix of doctrines and rituals with Christian and Afri-can roots.

Continue on Page 14

The Crossing of Faiths of Africa, America, and the Caribbean

On August 15, 2014, citizens and friends of the Republic of Panama will celebrate 100 years of completion and un-interrupted operation of the Panama Canal. Known as the greatest engineering accom-plishment of the 20th century, the completion of the Canal became symbolic of the Unit-ed States rising to super pow-er status in world affairs. The significance of U.S. possession and control of this inter-oceanic pathway created immeasurable advantages for American dom-inance in world trade, military might, geo-political influence, and global financial control, in a way like never before in the history of the world.

The history of the construction of the Panama Canal is well doc-umented in books and journals; including names of key person-nel involved in its development, dating back to President Ted-dy Roosevelt in 1904. Despite having adequate manuscripts about historical accounts of the Panama Canal, available liter-ature about those virile young men and phenomenally strong young women of Afro-Caribbe-an lineage; who left their homes, families, and familiar surround-ings, first, to develop their own sustainability; and secondly, to improve the conditions of need in families left behind. Some were fortunate to return to their homelands, following their tour of commitment. Others were not as lucky. Tens of thousands died. Many others remained in the country by sensible choice; while others stayed by dictates of their circumstances.

Something that became clear-er with the progression of time was an unintended outcome of their courageous participation in the construction of the Panama Canal was the factual legacy of generations of off-springs who evolved to become a legitimate and authentic sub-culture in a developing national fabric of Panamanian citizens. I am proud among many others, who today are the children, and grandchil-dren, and great grand children,

and great, great, grandchildren of the Afro-Caribbean men and women who migrated to Panama to participate in the construction and maintenance of the monu-mental Panama Canal, dating back 100 years ago or more.

And as we celebrate the first Centennial Anniversary of the Panama Canal, we publicly call our ancestral lineage into hon-orable remembrance. Collec-tively and individually, we give them thanks for their sacrifices of spilled blood, untiring labor, and the endurance of suffer-ings beyond our own compre-hension in contributing to this monumental task.

In calling them by names or col-lective memories, before any-thing else, we publicly express gratefulness for those life sus-taining decisions and choices they made for our own benefits and for the comforts of our world cultures today. In fact, we further promise to cherish those remem-brances; and to use our skills or talents to tell those historical sto-ries of their significance through-out generations to come. The world today, and for many years to come, has evolved to become a natural beneficiary of the physical, mental, and emo-tional investments made by our ancestors; and we acknowledge every physical pain or mental anguish endured for our bene-fit. The world is clearly a better place because of what they did; and we believe that this is more than pleasing to our Creator.

And to every man or woman who made that journey for the pur-pose of the construction and op-eration of the Panama Canal, we offer this pledge in saying, “We

shall never forget!” It was fun-damentally cruel that they were regarded and treated in ways that we, today define as crimes against humanity. We promise not to ignore; nor deny; neither to obliterate those cherished memories of your sacrifices.

Panama gained sovereignty and full control of the Canal in De-cember 1999 by an earlier trea-ty, signed by then leaders, U.S. President Jimmy Carter and General Omar Torrijos, Presi-dent of the Republic of Panama (September 1977).

Today, unlike the hellish jun-gles with life threatening condi-tions and predatory animals en-countered by the early migrant Caribbean workers; Panama has evolved to become an in-dustrialized metropolitan cen-ter in Latin America. It would probably be unrecognizable to most of the men and wom-en who first arrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries of Canal construction period from virtually every Island Nation of the Caribbean Region.

But today, it becomes our task as descendants of Canal Con-struction Workers to continue ringing those celebratory bells of fait accompli for the Panama Canal; being vanguards of their deserving honor and of their un-ending remembrance. We look toward a hopeful future when the books of history will be unquestionably clear about the invaluable contributions made by our endeared Canal Con-struction Workers for a world of peaceful co-inhabitants. The land was divided, so the world would be united. They did their part exceedingly well!

ONNECTIONSONNECTIONS

By Terrance LayneOLC Staff Writer

The Panama Canal Centennial Anniversary

We Shall Never Forget

Mother Kathleen Joseph and members of the Mount Bethel House in Houston


Charmaine BaileyStaff [email protected]

The taxi driver introduced himself to his passengers and helped them settle in his cab. Upon learning his nationality, the lady asked about the situation in his country. He proudly announced that he and his family were doing well and that life was “good” there. He went on to describe his farm and all that he had and how successful his family was.

“But, what about the poor people liv-ing in the camps?” “Oh well, you know that we people usual-ly walk through the door without leaving it open for those behind us.”

“Oh? So, who is going to change that ste-reotype and start leaving the door open”? “My family and I are fine.”

“But what are locals like you doing to help?” Becoming annoyed at her questions, he re-torted, “One can only do so much. I housed a couple relatives at my house…” It was futile to pursue the matter any further.

This disturbing conversation summarizes a problem that exists in our society and the world - the idea that it is acceptable for one to not look back and to forget those

who are coming behind us; not making a way for others to enter in and enjoy some of the benefits with which one has been blessed. Maybe leaving the door open is too much to ask; but what about “cotch-ing” it slightly? In Jamaican terminology to “cotch” a door is to place a wedge to keep it open so others are not locked out.

So, in what ways can one “cotch” open the door with respect to helping others? Most OLC readers are members of the Caribbe-an Diaspora for whom a door was opened by someone else to allow entry to the United States. It may have been a parent, a child, a sibling or an employer or school. Each one needed someone else to open the door by providing immigration sponsor-ship. Coming to the “promised land” was not easy and learning and assimilation of the new culture was necessary.

Family, friends and new acquaintances, co-workers, employers, churches and other community resources all played a part in the process of adapting and grow-ing in the new environment, thus open-ing the door a little wider. Financial help is not the only thing that one can offer nor does it have to be complicated.

It may be as simple as lending a listening ear, encouraging or mentoring - especial-ly the children and youth; being a friend, helping with a ride, a word of advice, di-recting someone to available resources, an invitation to dinner (especially during the holidays), doing all this out of a per-sonal understanding. Another way of helping might be joining a cultural group that offers community help, thus part-nering with them. Luke 12:48 “…When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required”. Galatians 6:9 “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” NLT

Charmaine Bailey is a speaker and a Chris-tian Education Teacher. She studied Chris-tian Education at Jamaica Theological Sem-inary and hold a BA Linguistics from the University of the West Indies.

“Cotch” Open The Door AN INSPIRATIONAL MOMENT

Encouragement from the Word of God BIRTHDAYS IN THE DIASPORA

Marlon HaynesTrinidad

Pastor Troy J. WilsonUSD

Fatta CareyJamaica

Marline DecasterAruba

Wycliffe BaileyJamaica

Sylvia SamuelsGuyana

Shaliza AliTrinidad

Rodgricia CooperBarbados

Charmaine BaileyJamaica

Daintee Glover JoneTexas

Cheryl PaigeVirgin Islands

Keith V. HarrisJamaica

Cheryl Dyer-MooreTrinidad

Kiemani SamuelSt. Lucia/Baytown

Kiemesha SamuelSt. Lucia/Baytown

Andrea BrowneSt. Kitts/Nevis

Melvina Chapman-AudainSt. Kitts/Nevis

Catherine Flowers Honduras

ATLANTA, GA -- July 18, 2014 - The National Society of High School Schol-ars (NSHSS) today announced Cy-press-Woods High School student Oliv-ia Johnson from Cypress, TX, has been selected to become a member of the esteemed organization. The Society rec-ognizes top scholars who have demon-strated outstanding leadership, scholar-ship, and community commitment.

that Olivia has demonstrated to achieve this exceptional level of academic ex-cellence,” said Chairman Claes Nobel. “Olivia is now a member of a unique community of scholars - a community that represents our very best hope for the future.”

Olivia Johnson was born on the island of Jamaica, land of wood and water where the motto is “out on many one people.” Currently, at seventeen years

OLIVIA JOHNSON RECEIVES NATIONAL HONOR

old, she is a dual credit student at Lone Star Community College pursuing an Associate Degree in Nursing. At the end of her academic journey, she intends to become an infectious disease specialist in pediatrics and a successful Medical Doctor in Jamaica.



On July 26, 2014, the Jamaica Foundation of Houston (JFH) held its annual gala at the JW Marriott Houston. And as part of the event, the President of JFH, Arnold Richards, spoke to the attendees and to his fellow Jamaicans in Houston.

Here is a transcript of his speech:

Ladies and Gentlemen:Once again, welcome to the Ja-maica Foundation of Houston Annual Gala and Fundraising Dance. Let me take this oppor-tunity, on behalf of the Board of Directors, to extend our thanks to all of you for being in attendance to help celebrate Jamaica’s 52 years of Indepen-dence. We, as Jamaicans in the Diaspora, are very proud to be able to be associated with this celebration.

AcknowledgementsAt this point, I would like to recognize the winner of the first Houston Caribbean Queen Pageant, Ms. Rheisha Shol of Belize and her chaperone Ms. Shamah Lloyd.

But first, I would like to thank the corporate sponsors: Mr. William Plant, Drs. Richard and Juanita Francis, Mr. Clinton Wong, and Mr. Eric Johnson of Randall’s Food Stores. This event would not have been possible without them. Second, our Entertain-ment Committee Chair, Mrs. Beverly Ford, along with our Gala Chair, Ms. Karlene Rose, they have worked tirelessly to make this event possible. Last, but certainly not least, let me ex-tend my thanks and appreciation to the many people who have sold tickets to their family and friends, year after year, to attend this special event.

ScholarshipIn the last two years, the Ja-maica Foundation of Houston embarked on an aggressive agenda to increase our effort to award more scholarships to stu-dents. Last year and this year, we awarded 15 scholarships to deserving students. I am forev-er grateful to everyone who has supported the Jamaica Foun-dation of Houston Scholarship Fund with their generous con-tributions throughout the years.

I want to acknowledge some key personnel for our scholar-ship venture: The Bent Family on behalf of Mrs. Beverly Bent, Mr. & Mrs. Rudolph Reid, Dr. & Mrs. Dindsdale Ford, Dr. Grace Jennings, and Mr. Rudy Jennings. Your continual com-

mitment to academic excel-lence continues to impact the lives of many students.

In addition, this year the schol-arship committee held their first walk-a-thon to support the scholarship fund.

The JA-GA FestivalLast year, we held our second JA-GA festival in Galveston, where we introduced Tessanne Chin (winner of NBC 2013 “The Voice”), Freddy Mc Gre-gor and Leroy Sibbles to Hous-ton. It was surely a grand and successful affair.

Again, in April, we hosted our third JA-GA Festival in Gal-veston. However, it rained on the second day; it hampered the event, but it did not dampen the spirit of the few revelers that were there. We hope that you will continue to support the event making it an awesome event next year.

Annual PicnicLast year, we collaborated with “The Flavor Friday Group” (a group of younger Jamaicans) to celebrate our largest ever La-bor Day Picnic in the park. Our next Labor day picnic August 31, 2014 at Pavilion #6 in Bear Creek Park.

Project to JamaicaTwo weeks ago, we donat-ed and shipped 100 units of changing room lockers to St. Andrew Technical High School in Kingston; it was a gift from the US postal Services.

Our Commitments In our path going forward, we are committed to attracting new younger members and volunteers while striving to ful-fill our dreams and reflecting on who and what we have be-come in our adopted homeland. Our Jamaican identity shines brightly in the sea of many, al-ways demonstrating that we are “little but we Tallawah.”

We thank those who dedicated significant use of their time to volunteerism and community leadership, all to ensure a better community for Jamaican in the Diaspora. We will always main-tain a sense of responsibility to our Jamaica and countrymen as we give through remittance, donations and our various ser-vice activities.

In this spirit of celebrating Ja-maica’s fifty-second year of in-dependence, let us honor it by recommitting ourselves to the dream that brought us to our

adopted homeland: actualize our greatest selves, provide the best for our families, engage in our civic responsibilities, and contribute to the development of Jamaica.

This recommitment is to our national pledge that “Before God and all mankind, I (we) pledge the love and loyalty of our heart, the wisdom and cour-age of our mind, the strength and vigor of our body in the service of my fellow citizens, we promise to stand up for justice, brotherhood and peace, to work diligent and creative-ly, to think generously and honestly, so that Jamaica may, under God, increase in beauty, fellowship and prosperity, and play her part in the advance-ment of the whole human race. For Jamaicans in the Diaspora, this truly represents the best of what it means to be Jamaican.”

Houston Caribbean DiasporaAs we come together as a coun-try, we have a responsibility to move forward so that our presence in Houston can be re-spected and appreciated. Going forward, I encourage each Ca-ribbean Islander in Houston to join forces together so that we can support each other. “Unit-ed we stand - Divided we fall.” Until we are united, we are on the path to be defeated.

ConclusionIn closing, I would like to thank the founding members of the Jamaica Foundation of Houston whose vision paved our path to excellence. Their commitment and hard work is truly appreciated. To the pres-ent board, I would like to say thanks for your commitment and dedication; your contribu-tions are beyond quantifying. Let us continue to work togeth-er and move our organization to above par excellence.

May God bless you; bless Ja-maica and bless the United States of America.

OPEN EDITORIALPresident of JFH Speech at 2014 Annual Gala

I would like to commend “One Love Caribbean” newspaper for highlighting the need for a robust and comprehensive community development and growth plan to the growing Houston Caribbean-American and immigrant community …especially in the Houston area, where business is growing.

Though not mentioned in the piece, community development and building is not achieved based on the number parties (fetes, boat rides). Part of our community’s previous invisi-bility at the table is due to the emphasis “feteing” (partying).

On the other side, however, steps are being taken to ensure the community’s visibility and its history of progress to be part of an overall citywide building and development. In accordance to the thoughts of One Love, the Office of West Indian and Ca-ribbean Affairs for the state of Texas is nearing its completion. This is to follow to the efforts done in states like Maryland - a space dedicated to address and advance issues of the Caribbe-an-American and Immigrant population of Texas. A similar effort is currently within the city.

Also, in 2014, partnerships have been established with city and state agencies, which were not aware of the economic and cultural importance of the lo-

cal community. These have partnered to the upcoming Bob Marley Houston Memorial. And as One Love suggested, the idea of a Caribbean Zone, which in order to accomplish, a new local Caribbean Chamber of Commerce has been developed to work with Caribbean busi-nesses, entrepreneurs and sup-porters. Early this year, I joined executives from the Asian, His-panic and African American Chambers of Commerce at Cap-itol Hill and agreed to develop a Houston plan not only to in-clude but assist Houston busi-nesses. In September, the His-panic Chamber of Commerce will host its convention in Salt Lake City Utah.

These are some of the ad-vancements and exciting ef-forts coming up in honor of the 10th Anniversary of National Caribbean-American Heritage Month in 2015. And yes, im-migration reform is at the heart of it. There are several men and women, who will create businesses, that will further our community once congress passes a bill.

Thanks once again One Love for highlighting that emerging need for the community, and yes, there are efforts to work on some those matters.

Sincerely, Jerry Castro-Cayetano

FEEDBACK …on July 2014, Publisher’s Thoughts: We do it with a flag, carni-val style.

From Jerry Castro-Cayetano

From Abigail Monah Seven years ago, I moved to Baytown, Texas, and during that time, I have seen the One Love Caribbean newspaper at various locations. Every so of-ten I would take one and read through the various articles, which usually has some very good information about the Caribbean Community here in Houston and even abroad.

Recently, I became a team member of Houston Texas HCF RADIO Station. I am a host on the SOS (Scandalous on Satur-day) show which is aired every Saturday, and we usually have a guest speaker. Yes, I thought to myself; the publisher of the Caribbean newspaper would be a great guest on the show. Like me, there are a crowd of peo-ple reading the paper for years.

Now we would have the oppor-tunity to meet the person that makes it all possible, Sylvanus Donaie.

But what touch me, was the July Publisher Thoughts, We do it with a flag, carnival style. As expected, some of his past arti-cles have touched some nerves in the Caribbean Communi-ty; even mines. It makes you question yourself. For instance, where are we going as a Carib-bean people? Or do we even want to get there? Or are just going to keep fighting down each other?

The One Love Caribbean newspaper is really appreciated in the Caribbean Community. Hopefully one day, it can be-come a daily paper.

President of JFH, Arnold Richards



Health & Wellness

The current Ebola outbreak is centered on three countries in West Africa: Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, although there is the potential for further spread to neighboring African coun-tries. Ebola does not pose a sig-nificant risk to the U.S. public. The CDC is surging resources by sending 50 more workers to the area to help bring the out-break under control.

Ebola virus is the cause of a vi-ral hemorrhagic fever disease. Symptoms include: fever, head-ache, joint and muscle aches, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, lack of appetite, and abnormal bleeding. Symp-toms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after expo-sure to ebolavirus though 8-10 days is most common.

Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected symptomatic person or though exposure to objects (such as needles) that have been contam-inated with infected secretions.

Ebola cannot be transmitted through the air. Ebola is not a respiratory disease like the flu, so it is not transmitted through the air. it is not a food-borne ill-ness nor a water-borne illness.

Individuals who are not symp-tomatic are not contagious. In

order for the virus to be trans-mitted, an individual would have to have direct contact with an individual who is experienc-ing symptoms.

There are no cases of individ-uals with Ebola in the United States. So what is the US doing to prevent ill passengers in West Africa from getting on a plane? CDC is assisting with active screening and education efforts on the ground in West Africa to prevent sick travelers from get-ting on planes. In addition, air-ports in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea are screening all outbound passengers for Ebola symptoms, including fever, and passengers are required to re-spond to a healthcare question-naire. CDC is also surging sup-port in the region by deploying 50 additional workers to help build capacity on the ground.

On the remote possibility that an ill passenger enters the U.S., CDC has protocols in place to protect against further spread of disease. These include notifica-tion to CDC of ill passengers on a plane before arrival, investiga-tion of ill travelers, and, if nec-essary, isolation. CDC has also provided guidance to airlines for managing ill passengers and crew and for disinfecting air-craft. CDC has issued a Health Alert Notice reminding U.S. healthcare workers of the impor-

tance of taking steps to prevent the spread of this virus, how to test and isolate suspected pa-tients and how they can protect themselves from infection.

For Americans with Ebola who are being brought to the U.S. for treatment, CDC has very well-established protocols in place to ensure the safe trans-port and care of patients with infectious diseases back to the United States. These proce-dures cover the entire process -- from patients leaving their bedside in a foreign country to their transport to an airport and boarding a non-commercial air-plane equipped with a special transport isolation unit, to their arrival at a medical facility in the United States that is appro-priately equipped and staffed to handle such cases. CDC’s role is to ensure that travel and hospitalization is done to mini-mize risk of spread of infection and to ensure that the American public is protected. Patients were evacuated in similar ways during SARS.

On July 31, the CDC elevated their warning to U.S. citizens encouraging them to defer un-necessary travel to Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone over concerns that travelers may not have access to health care facil-ities and personnel should they need them in country.

Ebola outbreak: The disease is killing people, but should Americans Panick?

Breast cancer is the most com-mon cancer among African American women. It is also the second leading cause of cancer death. An estimated 19,540 new cases will occur in 2010 among African American wom-en, of which 6,020 deaths are expected to occur. Although breast cancer incidence is low-er among African American women, they have a 38% high-er breast cancer death rate than Caucasian women. Some of the possible reasons for this are:

• Biologic and genetic differ-ences in the tumors• Not doing monthly breast self exams (BSE) and not getting clinical breast exam by a medi-cal professional or mammogra-phy screening.• Barriers to health care access such as no insurance or too poor to get insurance.• Lifestyle behaviors.• Later stage of disease diagnosis.

Male Breast CancerLess than one percent of all new breast cancer cases occur in men. About 1,970 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in men in 2010. It is most common in older men, although male breast can-

cer can occur at any age. Many men delay seeing their doctors if they notice unusual signs or symptoms such as a breast lump because of their unfamil-iarity with breast cancer. For this reason, many male breast cancers are diagnosed when the disease is well advanced.

What are the risk factors?nherited genes increase can-cer risks; 5-10% of breasts cancer is inherited. They are linked to gene mutation passed through generations of a fami-ly. A number of inherited de-fective genes that can increase the likelihood of breast cancer have been identified. The most common are breast cancer gene 1 (BRAC1) and breast cancer gene 2 (BRAC2). If you have both genes when tested, this in-creases the risk of getting both breast and ovarian cancer.

Family historyIf you have a mother, sister or daughter with breast cancer, you have a greater chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer. However, the majority of peo-ple diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of the dis-ease. It is important to note that a family history can in part due to unhealthy behaviors that have been passed down through gen-erations. Engaging in healthy lifestyle can help women avoid breast cancer, even when there is family predisposition.

Other risk factors for getting breast cancer includes: Obe-sity, over consumption of alco-hol, eating fat saturated foods, taking hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms, radia-tion Continue on Page 14

Marcelline ChitolieStaff Writer

BREAST CANCER IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY

From Page 5 Spititual Baptist...In the early 1900s, the British colonial government of Trin-idad and Tobago had an ax to grind with the church. The British were in constant battle regarding the Church’s wor-ship practices. Their spirited and evangelical calling became a public nuisance to colonial authorities. As a result, they passed laws to effectively out-law Spiritual Baptist worship.

In 1917, Parliament passed a prohibition to take aim at The Spiritual Baptists. Parliament passed The Shouter Prohibition ordinance. The ordinance was directly targeted to The Spiri-tual Baptists or “Shouters” as they were commonly called.

The act was a repressive at-tempt to legislate the Church out of existence, but was later repealed by Parliament in 1951.

The Trinidad legislation of 1917 called the Shouters Prohibition Ordinance banned the practice of the Spiritual Baptist faith. The government’s reason for

passing this ordinance was that the Shouters made “too much noise.” Furthermore, the public complained that their loud sing-ing and constant ringing of bells disturbed the peace.

The Spiritual Baptists fought long and hard to restore the right to practice their faith. Eventu-ally, in 1951, the government ended the ban to religious free-dom and lifted the ordinance. Moreover, on January 26, 1996, the then Prime Minister Bas-deo Panday declared March 30 as Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day, which is currently cele-brated as a public holiday.

Houston welcomes the Spiritual Baptists. Caribbean people and people with similar interests are encouraged to visit Mother Kathleen Joseph and her con-gregation at the Mount Bethel House of Prayer at 6818 Cullen Boulevard, Houston, TX 77021.

From Page 7 Cops cannot...not to protect yourself.

Now what do you suppose would happen if the police seized your phone and then could not break your pass-word? Would there be any way for that information to be retrieved? Is your password information held anywhere be-sides your phone?

From Page 7 Mobile Phonephone bill, and reliable records of that consent should be kept.

Carriers should closely monitor refund rates, consumer com-plaints and other signs of pos-sible cramming and take action where necessary.

Mobile bills should clearly and conspicuously show third-party charges. Carriers should consider steps to make third-party charges more prominent, such as sepa-rate billing lines for third-party charges that make it clear to con-sumers which charges are direct-ly from a carrier and which are from a third party.

Finally, mobile carriers should put in place an effective dispute resolution process that gives clear information to consum-ers about how to dispute suspi-cious charges and seek refunds for unauthorized charges.

And just what will it take to get a warrant to search the phone those officers grabbed when you were arrested? Will a ge-neric “based on my training and experience I know that infor-mation relating to the commis-sion of crimes is often found on cellphones” type affidavit from a cop be enough?Source: www.idahocriminalde-fenselaw.com

The photo below shows the man 1 day after his mastectomy and sentinel node biopsy.



Mount Bethel House of Prayer in Houston6818 Cullen Boulevard Houston, TX 77021‎

Spiritual Baptist Church

Mother Kathleen Joseph(713) 842-2990

COMMUNITY MARKETPLACE

From Page 13exposure, increasing age, a personal history of breast can-cer, beginning menopause at an older age and having your first child at an older age.

Warning signs of Breast Can-cerSigns and symptoms of breast cancer may include:• A breast lump or thickening that feels different from the sur-rounding tissue.• Bloody discharge from the breasts.• Change in the size and shape of the breasts.• Changes to the skin over the breasts such as dimpling.• Inverted nipple.• Peeling or flaking of the nip-ple skin.• Redness or pitting to the skin over your breasts, like the skin of an orange.• New pain in one spot that does not go away.

Breast cancer screeningBreasts cancer is more easily treated if it detected early. Ear-ly detection involves breast self exams (BSE), clinical breast exam by a medical professional and mammography screening.

Most experts recommend that women age 20 and older should examine their breasts once a month, during the week fol-

lowing the menstrual period. Women ages 20-39 should have a doctor examine their breasts at least once every 3 years. After age 40 and older women should have a mammogram ev-ery 1-2 years depending on their risk factors. They should have a complete breast exam by a health care provider every year.

Mammography is the most ef-fective way of detecting breast cancer early. Certain women at high risk for breast cancer may have a MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) along with their yearly mammogram.

Healthy Lifestyle ChoicesThere is no sure way to prevent breast cancer. Everyone should try to:• Be physically active and learn stress management techniques.• Maintain a healthy diet.• Limit alcohol consumption.• Eat a diet full of fruits and vegetables.• Reduce your toxin exposure.• Get gene tested if you have a family history of breast cancer.

Marcelline Chitolie, since 1990 has been the owner of Simply Natural Health Shop in Castries, St. Lucia. She is currently study-ing for her Masters of Science in Natural Health. She is the holder of an MBA from the University of Leicester in the UK

From Page 5secondary inspection is a few hours. However if you are being sent back to your home country on a return flight, it depends on the next available flight. If the flight only runs twice per week, prepare yourself to be detained in a correc-tional facility until the next avail-able flight.

Other SituationsSometimes the trigger for second-ary inspection is a name in the passport not matching the name on the visa; or an individual not real-izing his or her green card expired abroad; or a permanent legal res-ident returning with a baby born abroad. According to CBP, over 90 per cent of the persons forward-ed to secondary inspection are per-mitted eventually to enter the U.S., after CBP has asked a number of follow up questions.

A word of caution about criminal convictions: many legal perma-nent residents with a criminally colorful past believe that once the offenses occurred many moons ago they are forever forgotten or forgiven, and their lives cannot be interrupted at the port of entry on account of these convictions.

The records of older criminal con-victions have now been computer-ized and available to CBP officers.

This includes criminal convictions in all 50 states, as well as many countries which have made their criminal records available to the Department of Homeland Securi-ty. This means, if you are a legal permanent resident, who was con-victed of a crime in the distant past, your past ability to travel in and out of the U.S. was not because the government had forgotten or the records were expunged forever, it was because CBP didn’t previous-ly know about the conviction.

Note also, if you are a U.S. citizen with an outstanding warrant, you can be placed in secondary inspec-tion. If you have travel plans and had a past conviction, you should see an experienced immigration at-torney to examine the consequenc-es of leaving the U.S., before you make the decision to travel.

What will Secondary Inspection Mean for You?To be placed in secondary inspec-tion is not per se an indication of an immigration violation. Howev-er, understanding the nature and limitations of your visa will be the key to avoiding extensive interro-gation, being asked to withdraw your admission to the U.S. or pos-sibly facing expedited removal from the U.S.

Secondary inspection is in many

instances, avoidable. The best way to steer clear of the secondary in-spection room, possible restraints and the inability to connect with loved ones is to steer clear of the following actions: misrepresen-tation about your identity; using a passport that does not belong to you; if you are a dual citizen, not using your U.S. passport; us-ing fraudulent travel documents; using a visa that is fraudulent; traveling when you have an out-standing warrant for your arrest; leaving the U.S. if you are a le-gal permanent resident and you were convicted of certain criminal offenses; making travel arrange-ments when you are a legal per-manent resident who may have indicia of abandoning his or her permanent resident status.

In any of these instances, you should consult with an experi-enced immigration attorney be-fore you seek to enter or re-enter the U.S. Doing so may help you avoid the drama and strain in the immigration inspection process. Until next time, walk good!

The analysis and suggestions offered in this article do not create a lawyer-client relation-ship, is for information only, and are not a sub-stitute for personalized representation that is essential to every case. Latania Mena is an Immigration Attorney and a Caribbean Nation-al based in the Southwest Houston, Texas.

From Page 4for 40 years, and this is the best the Caribbean community has ever been. We use to be the bottom feeders, which we were “a nobody” in Houston. Now, today, 97.9 and 102 are playing soca music. This has never hap-pened before us. Think about it!

I produced rap before, and couldn’t get a radio deal. And now the radio is giving us a deal for Caribbean music, and our people are still fighting us down saying, “We do nothing.”

Other than Soca Passion, who else is doing what we do or even as close to what we doing for our community? At the end of the day, how many Amer-icans walking away knowing what is Caribbean now?

Donaie: Okay, give us a few examples of your community work.

Louis: We give scholarships to various Caribbean Associa-

tions. Every year, we give away bike in Mac Nair when we do blockos (block party). We buy the bicycles out of our pocket and give away to kids.

Since we don’t do anything for the community, every year, we pay 80 to 100 police officers, we rent all these buildings, we pay $15,000.00 for Tom Bass Park, pay DJs and these Carib-bean artists. And we keep the cost of event ticket low - $20.

As you can see, hotel bills alone for artist were about $13,000; this excludes airline fee and per diem. This does not include the gas… being on the road for month promoting this event. The arena, we rent to do J’ouvert, it cost $28,000. And to do the glow, the building rental cost $9000. Let’s start doing the math.

If they say it’s about money, then let somebody step in and pay the cost for me. I will ask anybody to come, take the chance, and try what we are doing. And we will

promote it …with their money.

Donaie: Any final words, Patrick?

Louis: This shooting thing was unfortunate and my heart goes out to the people that got hurt. That should never have hap-pened, and I am personally re-lieved that no one got killed. Un-fortunately we can’t control all the elements that come out to an event such as J’ouvert. We want to show our Caribbean culture and share it with all, including them Americans. We do not want the bad vibes and the violence.

Going forward, what we will do is review our security and develop strategies to avoid any problems. Because at the end of the day, we want is to make sure people come out, have a good time and then go home safely.

Let me say this! Sunday, a day after the shooting, Congress-woman Shirley Jackson came a give us a “Recognition from Congress.”

From Page 7As you know I’m abroad, I’m just coming out from Mel-bourne in Australia attending the HIV conference. I know that my party’s been over the last week, has been doing quite a bit of planning, retreats and so forth have been taking place. So when I get home tonight I

will be briefed, maybe a rally might be next week, I don’t know, but I am certain that I will be guided by the organiz-ers of the party. Remember there are organizers of the party who do that kind of work.”

One Love CaribbeanCall 281-769 2253

JOKES, SATIRE AND POEMSULTUREULTURE

Kathleen’s KitchenFor de best Trini food in Houston

Rice White

Peas & RiceVeggie Rice

MeatCurry Goat

Oxtail

Trini TingsRoti

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13114 South Post Oak RoadHouston Texas

Sit and dine to the comfort sounds ofCaribbean Music and enjoy Trini delicacies

Chicken / Fish Curry StewJerkFry 713-728-1113

ISLAND RECIPESTHE ART OF CARIBBEAN COOKING

Cooking Goat Meat

ISLAND STYLEE AUGUST 2014 ONE LOVE CARIBBEAN Page 15

Nevis Goat Water

Ingredients

10 lbs. goat meat | 2 lbs. green potato 2 lbs. cassava | 1/4 lb. flour1 lb. onions | 2 tbsp. gravy browning20 whole cloves | 1 lb. tomatoes6 tbsp. tomato ketchup2 scotch bonnet Bouquet garni (thyme, bay leaves)Cooking oil | WaterSalt & black pepper to taste

Preparation Wash meat, cut into cube and season with salt and pepper. Set aside for ½ hour. Lightly brown meat in cooking oil. Put into large pot, add water to cover meat, and allow to simmer for 2 hours. Dice potatoes, cassava, and onions and add to mixture. Continue cooking on medium heat. Add bou-quet and whole cloves, ketchup, and gravy browning. Add whole scotch bonnet pepper. Mix 3 tbsp. of flour with water to make a smooth paste. Add to stew and mix well.

Mix flour with water and make small dumplings. Add to the stew. Continue simmering until meat is tender. Re-move bouquet garni and scotch bon-net. Serve hot with bread rolls.

Stewed Goat

Ingredients5 Ibs of goat | 1 cup lime juice2 med onion, chopped | 3 cup water1 med onion ring | 1 ½ tbsp. oregano3 whole pimento | 1 tbsp. browning2 tbsp. garlic, chopped½ tsp. fresh thyme | ½ tsp. salt6 whole cloves | 1-2 tsp black pepper¼ cup olive oil | 1 tbsp. of sugar2 scotch bonnet pepper

½ cup cilantro, chopped2 tbsp. tomato sauce

PreparationWash the goat meat under running water. Discard all the water. Pour ½ cup lime juice to meat and mix well. Allow to settle for five minute and rinse with water. Allow the meat to drain completely.

Add seasoning to goat meat with ½ cup lime juice, chopped onion, cloves, oregano, pimento, crushed garlic, thyme, salt, and black pepper. Cover the container, and allow mixture to marinate for about 2 hours. (Prefera-ble overnight)

Add meat in a heavy skillet. Add wa-ter to cover meat. Add sugar, garlic, browning, ring onion, cilantro, and scotch bonnet pepper. Cover and place on medium heat. Allow meat to cook. Monitor the meat cooking to see if water is needed. Add water as needed. Cook meat for 2 hours or un-til meat is tender.

Before removing from heat, add toma-

toes (or chopped tomatoes) sauce to meat. Mix well. Adjust taste with salt and black pepper. Enjoy.

Heat oil in a pot at high heat. Add the Sofrito. Allow to brow for about 1 min-ute. Add the olives, the tomato paste, and all spices to include sazon. Blend well. Add the water, peas, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then stir in rice. Reduce heat. Cover pot and allow to cook for about 30 - 40 minutes on a low heat setting. Stir occasionally (ev-ery 10 minutes) until the rice is tender.

Island Style Roast Goat

Ingredients1 leg of goat 2 cups onion, finely chopped 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 1 tbsp. fresh thyme 2 tsp. Adobo 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 1 tbsp. rosemary1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 cup of water 1 scotch bonnet pepper, chopped

PreparationMix together the onions, garlic, soy sauce, thyme, black pepper, cinna-mon, rosemary, and adobo.

Pierce the leg of goat and rub the mixture over the meat. Place in a bak-ing pan and cover. Allow to marinade overnight in refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Loosely cover meat with foil and allow it to bake for two hours of until the inter-nal temperature reaches 150 to 160 F.

Remove meat from oven. Grate nut-meg over the meat and allow it to cool. Enjoy.

The diversity of cultures in the Caribbean has influenced how cooking goat became an all-time comfort food. Whether it’s curried, stewed, or roasted, or making soups, the

unique Caribbean flavoring has made enjoying goat cuisines a real touch of class.

Speaking Virgin Island

Wah you sayin! – What’s up!Hail up – Hi, helloYou safe – Are you okayWah pa’ you deh? – Where are you?Me’en know – I don’t knowIt deh deh – It is hereHe ain deh deh – He is not hereAh gone to come back – I am going and returning shortlyI deh ya – I am here Come ya – come hereGeh from ya – go away

I geh ah nex one - I have an-other oneVex – upset Tief – to stealJook/Chook – to stab or pokeSchupid – stupidBus’ off – to leaveBun weed – to smoking mar-ijuanaWuk up – to dance Breeding – the state of being pregnantBreed – to impregnate

Dealin – When a couple is not yet officially dating, but just talk with intent.Mahgah/Meeguh – meager, extremely skinnyCheese and bread – a remark of surpriseEh eh – a remark of surpriseMehson – literally “my son.” It is commonly used at the begin-ning or ends of sentences, akin

to the American English slang use of “oh, man!”

Yuh chek? – asked at the end of a sentence, akin to saying “you know?”Chek yuh latah – see you later.Uh huh pampa leh-leh – a re-mark made by school children when another student has got-ten in trouble.Rample – to mess up, as in “Don’ rample up de bed I mek up, mehson!”Quelbe – official music of the Virgin Islands

Quadrille – native dance of the Virgin Islands.Bahn ya – literally “born here,” a commonly used referring to native Virgin Islander.Alien – a person from the other Caribbean islands who resides in the VI.Continental – a white person from the US mainland.Yankee – a black person from the US mainland.Bokrah man - white land owner.Santo - someone from the Do-minican RepublicBam! – said after someone has made a stupid joke. Blam! – see Bam!Lyah – liar.

Foh true? – You serious?You sick de man? – Are you crazy?Chek yah – come here.Watch yah! – look at this. Ignohrant – one who gets “vex” quick.Gohn een/para – someone who is crazy; lost their mind.Lime/Limin – location of a par-ty or hangout; hanging out.Pickin whelks – wearing pants with legs that are obviously too short.Bun rice – to pick one’s under-wear out from between one’s buttocks

Gongolo – millipede.Pussman – a male player.Babylon - the United States, the police, or the government.Lahlah – idle gossip.Melee – malicious gossip.Licks – spanking. Donkey years – many years.Hass – horse. Cyar – car.Barnah – a person’s behind.Ah good! – serves you right.

Jumbie – an evil spirit.Pardna – a friend, companion or close associate.A Quat – a quarter (25 cent).Bubbla – water fountain.Tambrahn – tamarind.Jam – a party.Grave yard – the cemetery.

Nager ManBokrah manlashing whip ‘pon back.Nager manlashing whip ‘pon backwhen slaverydone gone long time.

Colonialism,independence,cultural identitynager man lashing whip ‘pon back.

PovertyDe sun come idlin’over de hills,removin’ de shadowsfrom de tree limbs,revealin’ de pickinagersplayin’ in mudan’ eatin’ dirtlike tis dukanah an’ saltfish,an’ dey wishin’de dirt stainswus grease stains.

*Pickinagers: children*Dukanah: a dish made of plantain or sweet potato and boiled in fig leaf.

Credit: ROMEO-MARK, ALTHEA – Nager Man and Poverty – published in Palaver – Downtown Poet’s Co-op, New York, 1978

7433 Bissonnet St. Houston, TX 77074 Tel: (713) 772 8225 | Fax: (713) 774-7428

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Aug2014