Greetings

You are invited to join the Caribbean Dialogue for a discussion on “Human Rights in the Caribbean: The Case of Jamaica.”

The forum takes place at the Brooklyn Public Library in the Trustees room on July 28, 2005 and kicks off at 6:30pm.

At the event, the main presentation will come from one of the Leading voices in Human Rights in Jamaica, Yvonne McCalla Sobers, head of Families Against State Terrorism (FAST). She, following the passage of Hurricane Emily, will be making the special journey from Jamaica to share with us on this very important issue.

Let me just share with you why in my mind this discussion and your presence there is important.

Recent newspaper headlines declared that since the start of the year, the homicide count had reached 845 as of June. . . This grim statistic suggests that the Jamaican murder toll for 2005 will exceed last year’s record of 1469 people killed, all in a country with just over 2.6 million people. In comparison, in NYC, with our 8 million residents, there were 219 murders between January 1 and June 19.

That said, I look forward to seeing you and assure you that it will be worth your while and only ask that you bring a friend or two who like yourself wants to learn about Human Rights and how it plays out in a post colonial society where both the violator (in the name of the state) and the violated are people in too many instances, from the same racial and ethnic background and dare I say…economic class.

Sincerely
Ian Forrest
Founder/Host
Caribbean Dialogue
C/o WBAI FM 99.5
120 Wall St. – 10th Fl
NY, NY, 10005