Tillerson’s Jamaica visit will divide CARICOM, Unless… Ambassador Curtis A. Ward While Secretary Rex Tillerson’s scheduled visit to Jamaica has been received with some level of scepticism, any visit by a U.S. Secretary of State to Jamaica should be welcome news. Ordinarily, such visits are expressions of good working relationships, and often used to strengthen ties even further. On the other hand, there are also visits by U.S. Secretaries of State which are triggered by disagreements on...
Conversation with Earl Jarrett – CEO of JN Group and Chair of Jamaica 55 Diaspora Conference 2017 Ambassador Curtis A. Ward, Host – CaribNation TV (20 Sept. 2017) — In a wide-ranging conversation on the role and importance of the Jamaican Diaspora to Jamaica, Mr. Earl Jarrett, CEO of JN Group, who was chairman of the Jamaica 55 Diaspora Conference 2017, provided an approach which should find resonance with members of the Diaspora; and which offers specific ideas for the way...
P.J. Patterson, In His Own Words – Interview with CaribNation TV I sat down as CaribNation TV Host with the Most Honorable P. J. Patterson, former Prime Minister of Jamaica at his New Kingston Office in Jamaica in July 2017 for a conversation which covered a broad range of issues. This conversation with the former Jamaican Prime Minister occured while the Jamaica 55 Diaspora Conference 2017 was underway at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston, attended by over a thousand Jamaicans...
Implementing the U.S.-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (21 July 2017) — As pointed out by Representative Eliot L. Engel (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, in his opening remarks at the Committee’s hearing on implementation of the U.S.-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act of 2016 – Public Law No: 114-291 (the Act) on July 19, 2017, having received the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in the Caribbean (the Strategy) report submitted...
Caribbean Response to COVID-19 Conversation Hosted by Ambassador Curtis Ward for CaribNation TV and The Ward Post Special Guests: Dr. Joy St. John, Executive Director, Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA); Dr. Douglas Slater, CARICOM Assistant Secretary General – Human and Social Development; Professor Dr. Clive Landis, Chairman, University of the West Indies COVID-19 Task Force This discussion explores the many important ways Caribbean regional institutions are...
Caribbean Diaspora aroused demonstrating discontent Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (04 December 2019) — Discontent within Caribbean diaspora communities is growing in intensity. To most governments in the region, peaceful demonstrations on the streets far removed from the homeland are viewed as non-threatening and inconsequential, thus easily ignored and dismissed. But they should take heed! What they see is only the tip of the iceberg. Traditionally, diaspora’s passionate patriotism has...
Collateral Damage from Trump’s Actions Destabilize Caribbean Countries Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (13 May 2018) –In just under 16 months of President Donald Trump’s administration, actions taken by the American president are sending shock waves across the Caribbean and the world. Unintended consequences – collateral damage – from U.S. actions threaten to destabilize the fragile economies and security of Caribbean countries. The Trump storm is creating new dynamics in geopolitical...
Tillerson’s Jamaica visit will divide CARICOM, Unless… Ambassador Curtis A. Ward While Secretary Rex Tillerson’s scheduled visit to Jamaica has been received with some level of scepticism, any visit by a U.S. Secretary of State to Jamaica should be welcome news. Ordinarily, such visits are expressions of good working relationships, and often used to strengthen ties even further. On the other hand, there are also visits by U.S. Secretaries of State which are triggered by disagreements on...
Questions I would have asked Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (29 Nov. 2018) — As a Host of CaribNation TV, I requested an interview with Jamaican Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness to take place during his visit to Washington DC from November 25-29, 2018. With the expectation that I would have the opportunity to sit down with the Prime Minister, I was asked to submit the subject areas for the interview which I provided in great detail. I was...
Trinidad & Tobago Faces Terrorist Threat Ambassador Curtis A. Ward It came as no surprise when news broke that U.S. intelligence services had warned the Government of Trinidad & Tobago (Trinidad) of plots to carry out terrorist attacks during Trinidad’s Carnival 2018 celebrations. Trinidad has been vulnerable for years and successive governments have failed to undertake necessary and timely action to ensure that the country has in place appropriate laws, and administrative and...
The State of National Security in Jamaica with Sen. Pearnel Charles, Jr CaribNation Inteview – Hosted by Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (15 Sept. 2017) — I had the opportunity to sit down with the Hon. Senator Pearnel Charles, Jr., Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security of Jamaica to explore the state of national security in Jamaica, in particular his areas of responsibilities. Sen. Charles has some very interesting ideas in terms of rehabilitation and reintegration of...
PJ Patterson warns of the G20 running the world at the detriment of Africa and the Caribbean Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (14 November 2021) — Former Jamaican Prime Minister P. J. Patterson, during a wide-ranging interview on CaribNation TV to discuss the PJ Patterson Centre for Africa-Caribbean Advocacy, issued an ominous warning about the role of the G20 making decisions that determine the fate of developing countries without full participation in their discussions by representatives of...
We didn’t have to Claim General Colin Powell, he Claimed us (In Memoriam) Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (18 October 2021) — Many Jamaicans and Caribbean people in the diaspora, and also at home, tend to claim famous individuals of Caribbean descent as their own. We bask in their achievements. We didn’t have to claim General Colin Powell, he claimed us. He was proud of his Jamaican heritage. He wrote and spoke of his Jamaican and West Indian heritage, proudly.
COVID couldn’t stop us, and it won’t Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (14 October 2021) — Despite the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) a little-known Jamaican diaspora charitable organization, Partners of Good Shepherd Jamaica (POGS) continued to raise funds under extremely difficult circumstances to support three charities in Jamaica. With a three-member board and a core group of dedicated committee members, though having to cancel its annual signature fundraising events in 2020 and...
Suffering within America’s Third Border and in its “Backyard” Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (01 October 2021) — It is difficult, perhaps imprudent, to point accusatory fingers at all those who bear some level of culpability and responsibility for the suffering of the people of Haiti without being accused of bias, or of pursuing an anti-‘whomever’ campaign. I choose instead to focus on those with the power to ameliorate the suffering and deprivation which is a perpetual Haitian...
A “culture of racism and abuse” at US border unchanged Recent images of US border protection officers on horseback forcefully “rounding-up” desperate Haitian migrants at the American Border with Mexico left many observers repulsed and horrified. During last Sunday’s (@6 September 2021) edition of Radio Jamaica’s That’s a Rap, the host, Earl Moxam, sought the views of former Jamaican diplomat Ambassador Curtis Ward on the matter. Please click on the...
Human Rights Imperatives for Biden’s Summit Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (25 September 2021) – When U.S. President Joe Biden announced his Summit for Democracy and identified ‘advancing respect for human rights’ as one of three key themes for discussion it gave some encouragement to human rights advocates and hope to those who are victims of human rights abuses. It signaled a renewal of American support for human rights and a commitment by the Biden Administration to reclaim America’s...
