Drugs, Crime, Culture Degeneration and Racism

Chaired by Rodney Worrell and Trevor Marshall

Raporteur Chantal Esdelle

Proposed for adoption byThelma gill Barnett

Seconded by Eurika Harry

17 people from Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, St. Vincent.

The following issues and solutions were discussed in our meeting on Drugs, crime, culture degeneration.

Drugs and Crime

Issue

Direct, financially motivated connection between drug lords and politicians.

Solution

Lobby for transparency in political funding. Particulars: Make a list of funders available to public and have a set of requirements for funders to meet. Have a ceiling for party financing etc. It was suggested that the NGOs be used as a vehicle for this.

Issue

Children are being used to perpetuate the criminal aspect of drug sales.

Solution

Educate the young people around us in a way that we think can help them to think rationally about their human interaction.

Issue

Criminal activity from deportees

Solutions

Put their name in the papers. Controversial

Government can supply social support (counseling, jobs)

Funding should be supplied by the deporter and if it already is supplied it should be channeled towards this social support.

Issue

Farmers. As the state cuts farming subsidies farmers are farming marijuana

Solution

A movement towards the de-criminaliation of marijuana.

Racism

Issue

White racism and racism between Afro and Indo heritatge Caribbeans.

Solutions

Admit that it does exist and engage in conversations about it publicly from all angles. Indian/African, Africa/European.

In our communal and professional circles advocate that derogatory terms be eliminated/not used, specifically the terms dougla, for people of Afro-Indo heritage, and mulatto for people of Afro-European.

Establishment of of ethnic/race relation boards.

Issue

Racism against Rastafari especially in commercial firms and media for corporate image

Solution

Lobby for existing legislature that supports this discrimination to be repealed,

Cultural Decriminalization

Issue

Cultural Degeneration; Culture (performing arts) does not always seem to be accessible to the public because of the cost of concerts and the lack of it in the media.

Solution

Make it accessible with public concerts that are free, or close to it, so that young people are hearing and seeing our culture.

More involvement of grass roots involvement in events in cases where the government is resisting support.

Each organize and educate through cultural participatory events and workshops in our communities and families through participatory events and workshops.