Go Lean…Caribbean

Go Lean Commentary

What is Jamerican?

In a previous blog-commentary, the term was defined as the Jamaican – American sub-culture that now thrives in many American urban communities; think Brooklyn’s Flatbush in New York City, or Kingston Hill in the Broward County (Florida) community of Lauderhill. These communities feature a thriving Jamaican Diaspora with empowered business leaders, elected politicians and cultural expressions. That previous blog even introduced the musical artists-duo ‘Born Jamericans’; (see them here at http://youtu.be/t4iRnETnmtw). It concluded with the analogy of a “genie leaving a bottle”, that there is no returning. Now we see the ‘Jamericans’ doubling-down on this legacy, even trying to influence US federal elections for more liberal immigration policies – to bring in more Jamaicans and grow the Jamerican population even more.

This commentary from the movement behind the book Go Lean … Caribbean differs in strategies, tactics and implementation from the Jamerican movement. We want to build up Jamaica – in conjunction with the other Caribbean member-states – not some American population group.

Our motives are simple: we think the Caribbean is the greatest address on the planet!

We recognize and accept that there are many defects in the region – in the economic, security and governing engines – but assert that it is easier to remediate Caribbean defects than trying to fix America. Therefore, the Go Lean book posits that Jamaicans in particular, and Caribbean people in general, need to engage the democratic process to appoint leaders that will be more benevolent towards the Caribbean.

This commentary is 2 of 3 of a series from the Go Lean movement, in consideration of Courting the Caribbean Votes for the American federal elections – President (Donald Trump -vs- Hillary Clinton), Vice-President and Congress (Senate & US House of Representatives). This and the other commentaries detail different ethnic communities within the Caribbean Diaspora and their voting trends; the series is as follows:

1.      Courting the Caribbean Votes – Puerto Ricans
2.      Courting the Caribbean Votes – ‘Jamericans’
3.      Courting the Caribbean Votes – Cuban-Americans

All of these commentaries relate to governance, the election of the leaders of the American federal government. The Go Lean movement (book and blog-commentaries) asserts that Caribbean stakeholders need to take their own lead for the Caribbean destiny, but it does acknowledge that we have a dependency to the economic, security and governing eco-systems of the American SuperPower. So the quest to elevate the Caribbean’s societal economics, governance and governing engines must consider the strategies of voting, and courting votes.

Most of the Jamaican Diaspora in the US – 61 percent – are American citizens; their tactic has always been to “naturalize” as soon as possible so that they can sponsor other family members. The number of the Jamaican Diaspora was estimated at 706,000 – an amazing statistic considering that the population in the Jamaican homeland is just 2.8 million (in 2010).

So many members of the Caribbean Diaspora living in the US are eligible to vote on November 8, 2016.

• Who will they vote for? Who should they vote for?
• What if the criterion for the vote is benevolence to Caribbean causes?

Hands-down, without a doubt, the Jamerican population – and other Caribbean groups (587K Haitians, 879K Dominicans & 500K Other*) – lean towards the Democratic Party – “they are with her: Hillary Clinton”. In fact, as prominent Jamerican personalities emerged in support of the opposing candidate, Donald Trump, they have received scorn and ridicule. See this drama here in these 2 VIDEO’s:

VIDEO # 1 – Etana Tells Anthony Miller – Yes, I am a Trump Supporter – https://youtu.be/I-413phYSjo

Published on Sep 24, 2016 – Reggae artist Etana is interviewed by Jamaican Media Personality Anthony Miller.

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VIDEO # 2 – Dr Sexy-Ann talks about Etana – https://youtu.be/OlGKFMC7t9o

Published on Sep 24, 2016 – Reggae artist Etana says she will vote for Donald Trump, had some criticisms for Jamaican life and other things… Dr Sexy-Ann – Sex Educator and Media Personality Shelly-Ann Weeks – gives her thoughts on her comments.

These foregoing stories depict a consistent disposition for Jamaica; there are economic, security and governing defects there that are so acute that it is understandable if Jamaicans want to flee. Reference is made to Jamaica’s minimum wage of J$5000 per week; at today’s exchange rate of J$127.44 to US$1, that is less than US$40 a week; ($39.23 exactly). This menial amount is impossible to sustain life in the US, and not much better in Jamaica. Reference is also made to the lack of mitigations for crime and inadequate governing response. No wonder that many Jamaicans view a migration to the US as a measurement of success in their life – America is a refuge. These describe the “push and pull” factors contributing to Caribbean abandonment.

Fears of changes to the American “refuge” status are troubling. There have been times during this American election season when the polls showed some surging by Donald Trump, the Republican Anti-Immigration Candidate. The Jamerican community became nervous. See here in this editorial submission in a newspaper that appeals to the Jamaican Diaspora in South Florida:

Editorial Title: Fear of the unknown
Concern continues to mount in the Caribbean American community about the stance being taken on immigration  by the Republican Party’s presidential nominee, Donald Trump.

Weston Immigration attorney, Caroly Pedersen believes Trump, is causing alarm within the Caribbean-American community.

“I’ve had a growing number of calls daily from immigrants in distress, scrambling to find any path to legal immigration status before a possible Trump Presidency,” she told the National Weekly.

Pedersen, who has a large Caribbean-American clientele, has urged

“those still on the fence” about voting in this presidential election to consider Trump’s words as a foreshadowing of what may occur in his administration.

“He speaks of an ideological test for admission to the U.S., admission of only those who love our country and our people and  (the) extreme vetting of immigrants. These could virtually halt most legal immigration, for starters. Those of us who see the danger must vote to keep our country safe –by keeping Trump out of the Oval Office.”

Pedersen believes the Republican nominee is actually targeting innocent immigrants for political purposes by  “fanning the flames of nativist ignorance and fear to turn against America’s immigrant communities.”

“His inflammatory comments go directly against American values and straight to the heart of what makes our country great –immigrants, diversity, new ideas, innovation and inspiration,” she said.

Pedersen’s sentiments have been endorsed by Florida Immigration Coalition advocate Norma Downer, who says Trump, unlike his rival Hilary Clinton, “continues to stoke fear in the Caribbean-American community”.

“Hillary Clinton has consistently assured Caribbean-American and other immigrant communities of efforts towards immigration reform if elected, she has been consistent in her support for a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants living in the US, citing,” said Downer via a posting on twitter.

He added that Clinton favors the “humane, targeted and effective” application of the nation laws against illegal immigration, but states that those who commit crimes while living in American illegally should be deported.

Throughout his presidential campaign Trump has adapted a strong anti-immigration stand especially against Mexicans and Muslims.

Clinton sees any proposals to ban Muslim immigration as offensive and counterproductive.

Clinton has been quoted as saying that “America is strongest when we all believe we have a stake in our country and our future,” adding that engaging in “inflammatory, anti-Muslim rhetoric” against immigrants made America less safe.

Since Trumps rise to relevance in the 2016 presidential elections, his anti-immigration stance has driven qualified immigrants to seek US citizenship, and increased voter registration in South Florida. “There’s a definite noticeable trend in voting Democrat by Haitian-Americans, other Caribbean-Americans, and Hispanic-Americans ever since January,” said Downer.

Gabby Fairweather, a 24 year-old Jamaican-American, is among several Caribbean-American volunteers involved in Clinton’s South Florida campaign. “My priority is to ensure young people turn out to vote. As an immigrant American I have genuine fears should Clinton not win in November.”
Source: http://www.caribbeannationalweekly.com/featured/fear-of-the-unknown/ Posted September 23, 2016; retrieved October 7, 2016

The experience in the US is that the politicians do not always represent the majority of the people, but rather the majority of the passionate – those who turn out to vote. According to the foregoing stories, there is a lot of passion in the Jamerican community for the American election this year. The Go Lean movement wants “to bottle that passion” and direct it towards the Caribbean.

The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). It advocates optimizing the societal engines of economics, security and governance in the Caribbean, not in the US. But the Jamaican Diaspora is here-now; (and we fear that they will not seek to return). So we must succeed in this Caribbean reboot to dissuade the next generation of any further migration. And then maybe, at retirement, we can hopefully incentivize the Jamericans to consider repatriation for their “golden years”.

To succeed at this quest, we must do better than our past. We must emerge as an American protégé, rather than just an American parasite – the status our region holds now. The Go Lean roadmap starts with the recognition that first we need to convene, collaborate and confederate the regional neighborhood into a Single Market despite differences in colonial heritage. This need was pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 & 13) in the book with these statements:

xi.  Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xii. Whereas the legacy in recent times in individual states may be that of ineffectual governance with no redress to higher authority, the accedence of this Federation will ensure accountability and escalation … for good governance, justice assurances, due process and the rule of law. As such, any threats of a “failed state” status for any member state must enact emergency measures on behalf of the Federation to protect the human, civil and property rights of the citizens, residents, allies, trading partners, and visitors of the affected member state and the Federation as a whole.

xix. Whereas our legacy in recent times is one of societal abandonment, it is imperative that incentives and encouragement be put in place to first dissuade the human flight, and then entice and welcome the return of our Diaspora back to our shores. This repatriation should be effected with the appropriate guards so as not to imperil the lives and securities of the repatriated citizens or the communities they inhabit. The right of repatriation is to be extended to any natural born citizens despite any previous naturalization to foreign sovereignties.

xx. Whereas the results of our decades of migration created a vibrant Diaspora in foreign lands, the Federation must organize interactions with this population into structured markets. Thus allowing foreign consumption of domestic products, services and media, which is a positive trade impact. These economic activities must not be exploited by others’ profiteering but rather harnessed by Federation resources for efficient repatriations.

The Go Lean roadmap seeks to optimize the eco-systems for Jamaica and the entire Caribbean. The problems for Jamaica is bigger than just Jamaica alone; it’s a regional problem, requiring a regional solution. The book stresses new community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies necessary to transform and turn-around the eco-systems of the regional society. These points are detailed in the book as follows:

The points of effective, technocratic oversight and stewardship for Jamaica were further elaborated upon in these previous blog/commentaries:

Jamaica has a large Diaspora…

… most of this Diaspora that has abandoned the island now lives in the US, Canada or the UK. Their new homes, feature optimization of the societal engines. We want that in Jamaica …

… we want to make Jamaica and other places in our Caribbean homeland, better places to live, work and play. We must use cutting-edge delivery of best practices to execute the strategies, tactics and implementations to impact the Go Lean prime directives; identified with the following 3 statements:

• Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
• Establishment of a security apparatus to protect public safety and assure the economic engines.
• Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines.

So we must engage the political process in Washington, DC (and Ottawa and London) as the disposition of the Diaspora – the Jamericans et al, is important for exporting progress back to the homeland. As Jamaicans in their homeland, these ones had no “voice nor vote” in Washington. Now they do. They can impact Washington through voting. This is why the Jamerican vote is being courted. Which presidential candidate best extols the vision and values to help forge a new Caribbean?

Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.

This is the question being debated.

The Go Lean movement advocates this turn-around for the Caribbean, being a protégé, not just a parasite. We want to stop the abandonment – a quest of the Go Lean roadmap – we want our citizens to prosper where planted in their homelands.

This is the purpose of the Go Lean roadmap, to provide a turn-by-turn direction to accomplish the needed turn-round. Despite urging the Jamericans to vote, we are not seeking to change America; we seek to change the Caribbean. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

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Reference Footnote * – Other Caribbean includes Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, the former country of Guadeloupe (including St. Barthélemy and Saint-Martin), Martinique, Montserrat, the former country of the Netherlands Antilles (including Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten), St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands. – http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acsbr10-15.pdf posted September 2011; retrieved June 12, 2016.