GUYANA'S President laments Haiti, lauds the University of the West Indies

NEW YORK,  NY, April 23, 2024 - President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and chairman of CARICOM, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, has again called on the world community to help the people of Haiti.

Addressing an awards function put on by the University of the West Indies’ AFUWI, in Manhattan  New York  on Thursday April 18, President Ali noted that as Caribbean people, we cannot ignore the realities of the people of Haiti. “They have suffered for too long, and too little has been done by too many of us,” President Ali said.

“Only recently I looked at the shocking reality of resources being allocated, and justifiable so, to the people of Ukraine, but the question is, where is the urgency for the people of Haiti? Ali lamented.

In our region we’ve always had the moral standing to be on the right side of history, and we must never allow any circumstance, or change in conditions to change the way we approach situations, regionally and globally.

Turning to the University of the West Indies which honoured him on Thursday night, President Ali said Professor Beckles and his team must be complimented.

He said too often we find ourselves quoting reports that are extra regional, when those very studies and reports are available at the University of the West Indies. I believe we must value more who we are and value more what we produce, and utilize more of what we own. "We own The University of the West Indies,” the Guyana President declared.

He said it was in light of this that as the Government of Guyana tries to build a world class education and health care system, will  have decided to incorporate the University of the West Indies Medical School with the first level five hospital that will be built.

The Guyana President also  lauded the University of the West Indies for leading the charge in the area of reparatory justice. He thanked the Centre for Reparation Research at the University of the West Indies led by Professor Beckles, which has been conducting research into the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade in Africans and European colonialism, in the hopes of bringing transformational justice.

He said the work of the UWI has led to a number of apologies. “But apologies must be natural and we must move from that to full reparatory  justice,” Dr. Ali maintained.

It is the University of the West Indies that must lead us. We must show that we have the indigenous academic firepower to battle this and win this for ourselves. We cannot rely on external consultants to do this for us.

He thanked the University of the West Indies for their initiative under the GOAL scholarship programme where over the past three years “ we have over 345 programmes from 19 Universities. More that 30-thousand students are on this programme in just 3 and a half years, 75% of whom are women,” he said.

He said “in the last three years, 2229 graduates came from the University of the West Indies programme. This includes 119 post Grad programmes, and currently there are 659 students enrolled for University of the West Indies Programmes. This is testimony to Partnership,” Ali said.

The Guyana President observed that the CARICOM “region should find innovative ways in which we can help the University of the West Indies by incentivizing studying at that institution. This could be done through the taxation system; support to the corporate sector; write offs and  bringing in more of the education fund as deductibles. These are things that I think could help to stimulate more entry into the University of the West Indies and more support for West Indian students,” Ali concluded.

In his remarks, Vice Chancellor Sir Hilary Beckles said he was proud to say that the University of the West Indies was ranked the number one university in the Caribbean, and has also maintained its status in the top one percent of the two thousand universities in Latin America and the Caribbean. He said the UWI was also in the top three percent of the finest universities in the world.

Despite its ranking however, Professor Beckles said the UWI was not an elite university. Rather it is an institution for the public good; a university that is focused on uplifting the poor and dispossessed; it stands behind all of those who have been disfranchised; it is committed to justice and equality for all and it is in every sense an ethical enterprise.

Professor Beckles congratulated the awardees as well as Executive Director of  the American Foundation of the University of the University of the West Indies (AFUWI) Ms Ann Marie Grant who raises funds through the gala annually to assist needy students.

The event also honoured six distinguished personalities who have made their mark in various fields, from governance and technology to law, business development, and community service.

Each honouree's story reflected a dedication to not only their professional success but also their commitment to nurturing the next generation of leaders in the Caribbean and in the Diaspora.

These include His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali: As the ninth President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the current chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM);Mr. Don Christian: A partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP with a remarkable 35-year career in technology, aerospace, and defense;Attorney-at-law Mr. Darren Skinner: a Partner at the Washington, D.C. office of Arnold & Porter; Mr. Antony Mark Desnoes Hart: The executive chairman of the Montego Bay based Caribbean Producers Jamaica Ltd;  Ms. Michele Chow-Tai: Managing director of Business Development at Fairview Capital Partners, and The Reverend Mr. Patrick Perrin: Who, from Jamaica to New York, has dedicated his life to guiding youth towards a brighter future. 

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