Guyana
Recognizing that senior citizens are an important part of the community, Caricom’s Secretary General Edwin Carrington and his staffers are planning to fete the country’s seniors at an event planned for Saturday July 24, 2004. He observed that as a group senior citizens are rarely recognized, commenting that Caricom Day is ideal to celebrate them. Recognition would be in the form of visits to homes and institutions by the SG and his staff. Different teams will travel to various locations interacting with the seniors while making donations of gifts which will be of benefit to residents in homes and institutions.

Trinidad
Trinidadians have been rallying recently behind a cause, spearheaded by one very vocal and seemingly socially conscious citizen, Harnarine, who has declared his movement, “terrorists against crime & unemployment.” He has mobilized citizens to speak out against what he calls the minority who control the economy, who refuse to share the wealth which belongs to the people. His objective he says is to bring the people; Indians and blacks together to fight crime, encouraging citizens to turn in guns and narcotics. He has warned, “If the Government and the police destabilise our action in going to rescue Trinidad and Tobago, to rehabilitate people, to bring new hope and vision to them, well then the police will have to lock up all of us patriots in defending our country.”

Jamaica
A team of fifteen fourth-year Howard University dental students with their professors will be visiting the parish of St. Elizabeth in Jamaica to provide valuable dental care to its residents. Arranged by one of St. Bess’s own Dr. Thelma Thompson, an alumnus of Howard and current president of the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore; Dr. Thompson has expressed her desire to give back to the community with the hope that it becomes a consistent effort.
Collaborating with the St Elizabeth Home-coming Foundation has made the effort easier as they have facilitated the clearing of instruments working closely with the Ministry of Health regarding issues related to customs. The team hopes to help more than three thousand residents over a two week period.

Barbados
While addressing a group of new doctors recently at the Accra Hotel, Professor Mickey Walrond commented that it seemed increasingly evident that some doctors were going back on their oath to give access to, and treat people regardless of their race, color and social standing. Instead he observed more of the poor are hastily excluded because they cannot pay their way.
Speaking on the topic, “Ethics In One’s Professional Life,” he encouraged the new doctors to honor their profession by doing what was good and right.

Haiti
September 15, 2004 is the deadline given to armed rebels and militants loyal to ousted President Jean-Bertand Aristide to lay down arms or face arrest. A recent open letter to rebel leaders and prominent Aristide supporters, which was signed by top government leaders including interim Prime Minister, Gerald Latortue, laid out clearly the government’s position. Following the three-week rebellion that led to Aristide’s toppling from office, there has been near anarchy and civil unrest across the country, with the police being ill-equipped to aggressively deal with the problem.

Compiled: Andrea Daley
Andre Brown (Intern)