Democracy at it's finest- Elections in Jamaica

We are going to take you on a bit of a historical journey as we tell you the results. The first elected woman as head of government in the Americas was Dame Eugenia Charles who was from the island of Dominica. She was the world longest continuously serving Prime Minister from 1980-1995. Now 16 years later Prime Minister elect Portia Simpson Miller, Jamaica's only female head of government  has led her party to a resounding victory which will place her in the history books forever.

2011 has seen women elected our appointed in major roles around the world and it was once noted that if we had more women in leadership roles they would be less wars and conflict. We believe that 2012 is the end of business as usual and changes are eminent and needed.

We extend congratulations to Prime Minister Elect Portia Simpson Miller of the PNP  and what a fitting way to close 2011 and usher in a New Year (2012).

Here is some other information that may interest you.

The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago also has a female Prime Minister at the helm and her name is  Kamla Persad-Bissessar. 

Liberia re-elected President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf who has been leader of this country from 2006.

Elections 2011

As Jamaica is about to celebrate its golden independence anniversary, the island nation is preparing for elections tomorrow ( December 29, 2011). We are looking forward to hearing the results and we wish all participating in the process the best of  luck. We would like to take this opportunity to remind the youth that it is a privileged to be able to exercise your right to vote. It's an even greater privilege to maintain and sustain democracy as respect to our elders...... So get out and vote it is your future!

Background

The two major parties for the electorate to choose from are the (PNP) People’s National Party led by Portia Simpson Miller and the (JLP) Jamaica Labour Party led by the current Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

New Appointment

Former Governor General Michaelle Jean has been appointed as University of Ottawa's new chancellor. This is not to take anything away from her current roll as UNESCO special envoy for Haiti. It is at times like this that we are reminded that the essence of the Caribbean Diaspora is all around us and these are just visual representations.

We will like to send our congratulations to Madame Jean and we are eagerly looking forward to seeing how she transforms this rolls as she has with everything that she has been blessed to touch.

Watch Our Diaspora Community!

Now in it's fourth week on the Canadian Foodnetwork Channel Recipe to Riches is proving to be a great success.  As we were looking at the list of contestants we noticed that the Caribbean Diaspora is being represented by cross-over Reggae/Hip-Hop artiste Wayne Reid of Jamaican heritage. We will be eagerly watching the show to track his progress in his quest to win this contest. This further solidify that the Caribbean culture through its food, music and artistry is thriving here in Canada. Please click here for further details on other episodes.

The End of An Era

2011 has seen the passing of many significant members of the global community who have spearheaded the road map for the current generation. Let us all take a moment to recognize the significant contribution these individuals have made to our lives and continue the work they have started.

Just Imagine for a moment that the term IPod was not even a part of our vocabulary until 2001 and Apple was considered as a fruit until 1976 but now it is synonymous with technology. These have all been revolutionary changes that may not be matched in our lifetime but do remind us that thinking outside the box and using ones imagination, and inherent talents are to be applauded.

To Steve Jobs, you will be missed but you have most certainly left this place allot different than you found it and the lesson in that for us all is do not give up- Dream Big because even if you fall short you can still revolutionize an industry, a person and the world.

 

Reflections

The following clip was posted on the Grand Jamaica Homecoming website and we thought that it would be remiss of us if we did not repost for our audience in the event that you have not seen it. So take a moment to learn a little more history so that we can take even greater pride in what it means to have Caribbean Heritage.

First Environmentalist....First Woman

"The planting of trees is the planting of ideas. By starting with the simple act of planting a tree, we give hope to ourselves and to future generations."–Wangari Maathai

If you do not know the name Dr. Wangari Maathai you should! On September 25, 2011, Dr. Maathai passed away from cancer but she has left the world a little better than she found it. Through the Green Belt Movement Dr. Maathai was able to bring together her two greatest loves that for the equality of women and good stewardship for the land.
In 2004, she was the first Environmentalist to be honoured with the Nobel Prize and to make it even more impressive she was the first Afrikan women. This seems only fitting if you are of the believe that Afrika is the land of present day civilization.
We would like to say thank you Dr. Maathai for your time and delegation. Even more importantly for leaving 'us' with a legacy that makes us want to be good stewards of the land.

Dr. Wangari Maathai

They are a few books written by Dr. Maathai do visit the website linked above for further information. 

Historial Facts with Present Day Repercussions

Over the years the Caribbean has stepped away from Agriculture being one of their major exports and instead have subscribed to a larger importing culture. This is the price that has been paid for globalization or one could say it has come full circle and gradually returning to the system of one-way trade. 
After stumbling across this video posted by Abeng News Magazine, it would be remiss of our organization as one that is a huge supporter of sustainability and self-sufficiency not to share this with our readers. I do believe that we all understand the concept of work smart not hard but we may have forgotten that although one may have to do manual labour it should not be regarded as hard-work.

Watch, Enjoy, Explore and Learn!

Marketing Your Image

In recent years public figures have been able to capitalize on their own image and for most of them this has given them a method to obtain greater wealth. This comes to mind as we were reading a story about Usain Bolt who has inked a deal with Puma to produce his own line of sports apparel.

This shows that by using ones raw ability and talents you can achieve personal success along with financial wealth. It does make him a role model for many!

Another Caribbean Success Story

Last week in "News Americas Now" the story of the appointment of Dennis M. Walcott to the positing of School Chancellor of New York City should make people of Caribbean descent extremely proud. These are the stories that usually do not receive wide coverage throughout the diaspora communities. Considering all the negatives that we are constantly bombarded with it is good to see the accomplishments of the these individuals as it reminds us all, that their no replacement for good values and hard work.

Congratulations to Mr. Walcott and we hope that in a few years you will be able to bring some of these lessons  back to the Caribbean region.

Caribbean Brain Drain

The Caribbean region has been suffering from brain drain for many years due to many of its citizens from various islands leaving in the 50s and relocating to North America and Europe. Therefore,  in 2011 to read a story referring to teachers in the USA having not received their green cards after 10 years is shocking and  raises many questions.


For many of us who are products of the large scale immigration, we often wonder if the sacrifice on the part of our fore parents-to emigrate to these area of the world for quantity rather than quality was worth it.
Late last year a group in the Ottawa region recognized the domestic pioneers who came to the area specifically from the Caribbean but what I do believe they missed in that recognition was the basic fact that most of these women left their own families behind but still had the ability to care for families that became their own. Quite frankly if the truth be told they ARE the back-bone of some of what this country has become.(Apparently on the world stage we have not been doing too bad).

Once again we need to take a step-back and analyze whether we are really progressing as a human race or just repeating some of the same old deplorable actions. 

 

"The worst thing to do in life is to live in fear."

The Jamaican Diaspora community has lost another one of its civil rights activist(voices). He passed away on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at the age of  76. The landscape of the black and Caribbean community in   Toronto, Ontario were blessed to have had a person such as Mr. Laws who as the title of this blog states believed that, "The worst thing to do in life is to live in fear." He further went on to say in a 2000 interview with the National Post,  "I have no fear at all. If one becomes afraid, you can’t do your work. You’ll be looking over your shoulders and be afraid to say what you want to say."

Whether you agreed with his approach or not it is a fact that Mr. Laws had no fear of speaking out against things that were unjust and too some extent against the constitutional rights and freedoms of Canadians. He has been able to leave this part of  the world better than he found it.

So to you we say thank you and hopefully more of the black/Caribbean Diaspora will analysis the actions of Mr. Laws and recognize that due to his efforts we all do not have to look over our shoulders as much. 
 

Varing Persepectives on Democratic Rights

This weekend will see voting in Egypt for constitutional changes which has been sometime in coming and recent events solidify the appetite for change amongst the people of the country. The following statement was reported in one of the news articles, "My vote today will make a difference. It's as simple as that," this statement to me as a observer summarizes the situation. 

Haiti will also be having their Presidential run-off on Sunday and it has been reported that Aristide is on his way back from 7 years of exile to the island nation.

The above points are noted to bring your attention to some basic concepts that have been lost here in our Western cultural the right to vote and express ones democratic opinion is taken for granted, although we see what has been happening all around us on a daily basis. Let us be that much more cognisant of this right and exercise it so as to assist in creating the universal harmony the world needs.

For me there is some irony in the locations where voting is taking place this weekend, that is Haiti was  the first independent country in the 'New World' and Egypt is one of the oldest civilizations in the world.

Recent World Events

The catostrophic events in Japan over the past few days should give us all a reason to pause. Mother Nature has a mind of her own and does what comes naturally, but in doing so it can set off a chain reaction.

It is self-evident that this chain reaction has left us all questioning how such sophiticated systems could fail and what are the lasting affects. But these events should also make us recognize that we need to harness the strength and power of Mother Nature to create better solution for suppling energy.

Maybe this is the wake-up call to us all to be more respective of our planet and seek solutions for our energy consumption that work in tandem with the planet.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this difficult and uncertain time.

A Little Canadiana

Dr. Olive Dickason  (March 6, 1920 – March 12, 2011)

Dr. Dickason was one of Canada's unsung heroes in the wider community but she was a women whom most women could become. She returned to the University of Ottawa at age 50 and received an MA in Canadian History and subsequently her PhD. Her passion for early Canadian history and her pride and interest in her Metis heritage are reflected in her work.

Dr. Dickason authored may books but the one that stands out of us is her 1992 book called, Canada's First Nations: A History of Founding Peoples From Earliest Times, she noted, she has tried to "reverse the perspective of the standard history." This in our mind and the minds of many make her a key figure in making Aboriginal History serious study in Canada's academic world. Coincidentally this book is still in use today.

Dr. Dickason passed away this week our thoughts and prayers are with her family. One of the lessons that we believe she has left with us is to challenge the status quo and look deeper for a greater perspective.

Welcome!

The objective of our post are to make you think about the world around you just a little differently!

We will endeavour to keep you up to date on the news that affects us all...
and then the newz that affects us directly.

Stay tuned and enjoy the ride it's sure to be amazing!