Home »

[bana2166]

Rallies lack Caribbean presence

Differences in assimilation, culture cited

By Alva James-Johnson

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

May 6, 2006

English-speaking Caribbean immigrants like Grant have been conspicuously absent from recent South Florida immigration demonstrations, which have been largely attended by immigrants from Latin America and Haiti.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For years, Selvin Grant spent six months a year cutting sugar cane in the hot fields of Belle Glade.

He traveled back and forth from Jamaica on visas until 1990, when he married a U.S. citizen and became a permanent resident.

Though Grant now has citizenship, he sympathizes with the plight of undocumented immigrants. But he wasn't among the thousands who marched on South Florida's streets on their behalf.

"I'm a hard-working person and don't really have time for that," said the West Palm Beach resident, who now owns a pressure-cleaning business.

English-speaking Caribbean immigrants like Grant have been conspicuously absent from recent South Florida immigration demonstrations, which have been largely attended by immigrants from Latin America and Haiti.

Caribbean experts say their absence points to differences in culture and immigration experiences.

Immigrants from the former British colonies are more likely to enter the United States legally and assimilate easily into the larger society because they speak English, according to immigration and Caribbean experts. They are less inclined to become politically active or to publicly criticize their host country than their Haitian and Latin American counterparts.

"Generally speaking, there's a lack of unity and leadership in terms of going out and speaking out as a voice," said Junior Farquharson, a Jamaican-American immigration attorney in West Palm Beach. "For the most part, Caribbean people have taken a wait-and-see attitude."

Glen Joseph, a Trinidad-born political consultant, said many Caribbean immigrants are so busy chasing the American dream that they feel they don't have time to demonstrate.

"They recognize the importance of the issue, and want to contribute where they can, but they're so focused on building their lives that they often tend to shed off the limelight and they would rather contribute from the back door," he said. "We've not had a history of militancy."

He said some community elders still live by the old adage "Don't sit on a river bank and talk the river bad," which means it is impolite to bad-mouth a country that has been good to you.

But the younger generation tends to be more outspoken.

"We're not going to be so grateful that we're going to take anything that's thrown at us," said Joseph, who has been trying to mobilize the community for elections. "Yes, this country has been good to us. But it has a lot of problems that need attending to, and immigration is one of them."

South Florida is home to more than 500,000 English-speaking Caribbean immigrants, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. Experts say the numbers are higher than reported.

Antonette Russell, a Jamaican-American immigration attorney in Hollywood and former supervising attorney for Broward Catholic Charities Legal Services, said many of her clients are from Latin American and Caribbean countries.

She said those from the Caribbean usually come into the country legally. If they're undocumented, it's because they overstayed their visas. They tend to have relatives and employers who can sponsor them, or they marry someone in the country and obtain legal status.

Russell said her Haitian, Colombian, Brazilian and Peruvian clients tend to come without papers. When they arrive at her office, they're seeking asylum because of political, religious or social persecution. They're the ones marching in the streets.

Some community leaders said they are disappointed with the low turnout among English-speaking Caribbean immigrants.

"People before us have done things to make things easier for us. We didn't just land here without someone making a sacrifice," said former Miramar Commissioner George Pedlar, who showed up at a Broward rally expecting to see a large Jamaican contingent. "I'm afraid not all of us are as sensitive to these issues as we should be."

He said there's a self-reliance among English-speaking Caribbean people that has hindered efforts to mobilize them politically.

"They don't think demonstrating is going to make a difference," he said. "They are not depending on politics, per se, to get them through. ... Caribbean people feel they have to work it out themselves."

Some say the predominantly black Caribbean community should support Haitians still struggling to obtain legal status in the United States.

"A lot of us seem to think it has nothing to do with us," said "Doc" Henry, a 43-year-old Trinidadian who lives in Fort Lauderdale. "When we face a crisis and find ourselves alone, we wonder why nobody is helping us."

Alva James-Johnson can be reached at ajjohnson@sun-sentinel.com or 954-572-2028.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/loc...sfla-news-sfla

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IMMIGRATION | ANALYSIS

Cultural gap, status keep West Indians on sidelines

The current immigration debate has failed to resonate with Caribbean nationals for a host of reasons.

By JACQUELINE CHARLES

jcharles@MiamiHerald.com

Better able to blend in than their Hispanic and Haitian counterparts because they speak English -- albeit with an island twang -- thousands of South Florida's West Indians nevertheless live with the same fears of being deported as other immigrant groups.

Yet those from Jamaica, Trinidad and other parts of the English-speaking Caribbean have been absent from the debate over immigration reform. This week, few participated in the business boycott and job strike.

What gives?

The struggle for legalization has failed to resonate among South Florida's nearly 400,000 West Indians, many of them already naturalized U.S. citizens, for a host of reasons. Some -- including Creole-speaking Haitians -- view the push for legalization as a Mexican issue that doesn't pertain to them. But unlike Haitians, many English-speaking West Indians arrived legally and simply overstayed their visas -- which many of them view as a technicality.

Others maintain their laissez-faire attitude is a cultural thing, unique to those who grew up in the former British colonies. ''We do not like anyone to know our business,'' said Sherna Spencer, a Fort Lauderdale immigration attorney who doesn't necessarily agree with the notion. ``Caribbean people are proud -- they do not march in the streets.''

Maybe not in South Florida, though decades ago they rallied to become free of British control on their islands. So why not now?

Spencer and others in the Caribbean community have been attempting to change the dynamic in recent weeks -- drumming up support for immigration reform by asking people to sign a petition to send to their representatives in Congress.

Part of the hard sell: education. Aside from allowing most of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants to live legally in the United States and for many to eventually become citizens, legalization also would benefit thousands of Caribbean-born youngsters nationwide. In Florida, for instance, students whose parents are undocumented cannot pay cheaper in-state tuition for college.

`DAMN SCARED'

George Pedlar -- the Jamaican-born president of Broward's Caribbean American Democratic Club, which is challenging members to collect 7,000 signatures -- believes West Indians are much more likely to sign their names on paper than to make noise in the streets.

''It's not that they don't care or [that] they are not interested,'' said Pedlar, a former Miramar city commissioner. ``They are just as damn scared as the Mexicans.''

Getting undocumented Caribbean nationals to speak about their plight proved difficult, with some individuals refusing to discuss their status with a reporter.

Pedlar said even those who contact him often do so through an emissary.

Recently, a Jamaican-trained accountant first had a friend call Pedlar before she risked going to his office. The woman, who has been living here for five years, told him she's unable to drive because she can't renew her driver's license without documentation that became necessary after 9/11. She quit her job, fearing she would be picked up by immigration authorities. She also said she had been swindled out of $5,000 by two immigration attorneys who promised to get her ''straight'' with the law.

Pedlar's recommendation to the woman: ``Go home [to Jamaica]. . . . She's an articulate and intelligent woman, and she's scared.''

LANGUAGE ISSUE

Carole Boyce Davies, a Trinidadian-born professor at Florida International University, said the lack of Caribbean participation has more to do with language and the organizational force behind the current push.

''Almost all of the circulation of information is in Spanish,'' said Boyce Davies. She believes Caribbean people didn't participate in rallies because they did not relate to organizers, who are predominantly Hispanic.

Nationally, Mexicans comprise about two-thirds of undocumented immigrants, but in South Florida, Mexicans -- whether U.S. citizens, green-card holders or undocumented -- barely make up 5 percent of the population. Central and South Americans, Haitians and Caribbean nationals make up the bulk of South Florida's undocumented population.

''It has not reached the same crisis level as it has with the Mexican community. There isn't a lot of desperation in terms of how Caribbean people come,'' Boyce Davies noted because most Caribbean migrants arrive by plane and overstay their visas.

`ONE STRUGGLE'

The one exception has been Haitians, who unlike their English-speaking islanders, have been more active in immigration rallies and marches. But even in that community, the response has been lukewarm, conceded Marleine Bastien, a Haitian activist. Bastien noted that a Miami rally two weeks ago drew thousands of Haitians because it was billed as both immigration reform and a push for ''Temporary Protected Status'' for Haitians, which would stop their immediate deportations.

''This struggle cannot be fragmented, it has to be one struggle for the benefit of all immigrants,'' Bastien said. ``If it remains fragmented as it is, it is bound for failure, something immigrants in this country cannot afford.''