President of the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CACCI), Dr. Roy A. Hastick, for the second time recently, lamented the conditions of the Caribbean and suggested that Caribbean leadership is not looking in the right direction for investment resources; not cultivating the right networks, nor tapping into the high potential of the Caribbean diaspora. A couple of weeks ago at a CACCI meeting for the introduction of new members he shared that opinion. On Wednesday, Oct.24, he expanded that view in a meeting with Turkish Americans, who were seeking collaboration with CACCI to advance their plans for Haiti. Present were Ibrahim Sayar, Director, Centre of Interfaith Affairs of the Peace Islands Institute, Mehmet Kilic, Vice President, Turkish Cultural Centre New York, Fanell Alerte, MD, and Halm Quddus, President, Muslim American Chamber of Commerce.
He argued that New York City and New York State have greater than 160 billion dollars in pension funds which are invested throughout the world. The Caribbean does not access it but unnecessarily goes beyond the US’ environment for grants and loans which lack corresponding long term potential. He explained that the very fact that over 3 million Caribbean-emigrant employees contribute to that fund establishes a basis for exploring the opportunities for the Caribbean.
In addition, Hastick suggested that since many Caribbean people are strategically placed in America they could be leveraged for the development of science, technology, education, health, business etc. in the region. “The Caribbean is well placed in America”, he said, “we have come a far way” but the potential of the Caribbean American diaspora is underutilized for the Caribbean. “If the Caribbean listens we can help”, he said, noting that other states such as Florida and Georgia also have high concentration of Caribbean peoples whose pension funds can also be tapped into. “We are concerned about setting the foundation for the successive generations” he noted.
During the UN 67th General Assembly, here in New York, September last, the chamber arranged a meeting between the outgoing CARICOM Chairman, Grenada’s Prime Minister, Tillman Thomas, and City Comptroller, John Liu to discuss the issue. Hastick had reported then that, “We at the chamber had previously discussed the proposal with both Mr. Thompson (former City Comptroller) and Mr. Liu and we are convinced that if implemented it can be mutually beneficial to the City and to the Caribbean … We believe the Caribbean Development Bank could be used as a channel for the investment. The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has an investment grade rating from Wall Street."
Tied to this issue is concern for Haiti and America’s attitude to the Caribbean. Earlier in the day at the Borough Hall, at a meeting with small entrepreneurs, Hastick asked Dr. Winslow Sargeant, President Barrack Obama’s Chief Counsel for Advocacy, to inform President Obama that the French, English, Dutch and Spanish speaking Caribbean consist of 300 million people. This is a significant investment and market place that has been ignored.
Now, two years after the earthquake which cost around 316,000 lives, Haiti is considered good for investment according to CACCI. But Dr. Fanell Alerte, an Haitian physician, administrator and entrepreneur, observed that lots of people went into Haiti “on the emotion of the earthquake” but left nothing sustainable. For example, Haiti needs wells but the people are sold bottled water which contributes to environmental problems and perpetuates dependency. He noted too that the Dominican Republic built a US$40 university but at the end there were no students to sustain it. He added too, that hospitals are constructed but without systems for sustainability, while big buildings were built which the people are afraid to enter. This happens he contended, because the investments were not based on proper needs assessment, transitional planning and focus.
Dr. Alerte, like Dr. Hastick, pledged to support the plans of the Turkish Americans since their approach contains elements of sustainability. A number of teenage students from Pioneer Science Academy and Brooklyn Amity, in addition to a few Turkish businessmen were scheduled to arrive in Haiti on Friday 26th Oct. The students were involved in fund raising activities to help Haitians and appreciate the “power of giving”. They were expected to have first-hand experiences in transcultural education, empathy, waste prevention and management, while promoting awareness of Haiti’s conditions. The businessmen are expected to explore investments that would build Haitian capacity for development and self-sustainability.
By Lin-Jay Harry-Voglezon (USPRESSCORPS/AI News Correspondent)