Halfway house for deportees
published: Thursday | June 23, 2005

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I WRITE in support of the idea of establishing some sort of "halfway house" for deportees, especially those who are returning with no immediate families in Jamaica. This, of course, is a mere band-aid approach as the larger challenge of dealing with the United States approach and its new initiative to increase its deportations to the Caribbean calls for an immediate CARICOM response.

But we should not be alarmed by this. In fact, since 1996 when the United States passed its Anti-Terrorism Act, we were well aware of its consequences. For several years now efforts of Caribbean immigrant services to get CARICOM not only to meet among themselves but to include groups such as ours in the dialogue have fallen on deaf ears. It is my hope that although the challenges may now seem difficult there is still time for CARICOM to encourage their diaspora groups to be a part of the dialogue.

I am, etc.,

IRWINE CLARE

irwineclare@hotmail.com

Jamaica, New York

Via Go-Jamaica