[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 101 (Wednesday, June 18, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1254-E1255]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       CRIME IN THE CARIBBEAN--PRAISING YVETTE CLARKE'S RESPONSE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 18, 2008

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to praise the efforts of 
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke with regard to the bipartisan resolution 
that addresses crime in the Caribbean. The prevalence of crime in the 
Caribbean and its particular importance to the United States are 
discussed in the editorial ``Resolution Passes House of 
Representatives'' and ``Crime and Violence in the Caribbean: Clear and 
Present Danger,'' which appeared in this week's edition of the New York 
Carib News.
  Congresswoman Yvette Clarke introduced the resolution to the House 
floor in the hopes that it would raise awareness about the horrific 
situation of skyrocketing crime rates in the Caribbean. The resolution 
unanimously passed the House and hopefully will be followed by support 
from the Senate and the administration. Crime is threatening the 
pillars on many Caribbean nations' economies: tourism and agriculture. 
Crime destroys both people's perception of safety and companies' 
perception of a sound location to invest funds. Whether America likes 
to admit it or not, we have played a crucial role in causing this 
crisis. Contagion is a real concern as extremely high rates of violent 
crime can easily pass through our porous borders.
  Congresswoman Yvette Clarke has done America a great service in 
bringing this very serious issue to the forefront of American politics. 
I urge Americans to remain informed on the situation by reading the 
editorials ``Resolution Passes House of Representatives'' and ``Crime 
and Violence in the Caribbean: Clear and Present Danger'' in Carib 
News.

     U.S. Rep. Clarke's Caribbean Crime Resolution Passes House of 
                            Representatives

       Washington, D.C.--Today a bipartisan resolution addressing 
     crime in the Caribbean region introduced by Congresswoman 
     Yvette D. Clarke passed unanimously in the House of 
     Representatives. The resolution (H. RES. 865) expresses that 
     the United States Government should assist Caribbean nations 
     in taking specific measures toward reducing crime in that 
     region.
       Below are Congresswoman Clarke's prepared remarks on H. 
     RES. 865:
       ``The release of the UN/World Bank report `Crime, Violence, 
     and Development: Trends, Costs, and Policy Options in the 
     Caribbean' is a wake-up call for every American interested in 
     the security of our nation.
       As the report points out, a variety of factors, including 
     some for which the U.S. is partly responsible--such as heavy 
     illicit drug use and problematic deportation policies--have 
     contributed to the Caribbean region having the highest crime 
     rate in the world.
       While today the region remains a wonderful place for 
     Americans to visit, in the long-term, continuing these high 
     levels of crime will wreak serious social, economic, and 
     security troubles for many Caribbean countries.
       Allowing this situation to deteriorate for years-to-come 
     will undoubtedly create a security threat not just for the 
     Caribbean states, but also for our own country, as an 
     unstable Caribbean would create a vast hole in America's 
     border security.
       Many of the problems identified by this report have long 
     been recognized by Caribbean leaders.
       Now, with the confirmation provided by this report in hand, 
     the U.S. must partner with its Western Hemisphere neighbors 
     and allies to find workable solutions that will help the 
     people of the Caribbean and ensure the long-term security and 
     stability of our region.
       I ask my colleagues to support this resolution calling for 
     the U.S. to take up the solutions contained in a very 
     important UN/World Bank report. If we act now, we can help 
     our allies to greatly reduce their crime levels before the 
     situation becomes far less manageable.''
                                  ____


                  [From the Carib News, Apr. 22, 2008]

 Crime and Violence in the Caribbean, Clear and Present Danger Experts 
                                 Warns

                             (By Tony Best)

       ``A clear and present danger to the Caribbean's social 
     stability and economic vibrancy.'' That's how Dr. Ivelaw 
     Griffith, perhaps the Caribbean's foremost security 
     specialist, described the bleak picture of crime and violence 
     confronting almost every nation and territory in the region.
       With the homicide rate at historic levels in some 
     countries, the rising incidence of kidnappings and armed 
     robberies, drug and gun running serious problem for urban 
     communities, and break-ins and assaults of homeowners now 
     commonplace throughout the area, Dr. Griffith, Provost and 
     Senior Vice President of the York College of the City 
     University of New York, said that unless a comprehensive 
     solution and implemented soon, the economic impact would be 
     severe and the social stability undermined.
       ``It has reached a nearly uniform level of being a clear 
     and present danger for the region,'' he told the Carib News 
     after Caricom leaders approved a plan to deal with it at a 
     recent special summit in Trinidad and Tobago, one of the 
     region's hardest hit countries. ``Although it is not a 
     crisis-driven situation in every country, for instance there 
     is variability in the homicide rate in Jamaica and St. Kitts-
     Nevis and there is the perennial trafficking of drug 
     trafficking in Guyana vis-a-vis the Bahamas. But given the 
     connectivity of the region, given the trans-nationality of 
     the challenges, an appropriate definition is that the 
     situation is a clear and present danger.''
       Meanwhile, the Caribbean's crime profile hasn't gone 
     unnoticed by members of the U.S. House of Representatives in 
     Washington. At the urging of Brooklyn Congresswoman, Yvette 
     Clarke, the chamber has approved a resolution calling on the 
     United States to assist the region as it tries to grapple 
     with the growing problem.
       ``What is very significant about it is that is a record by 
     which we can hold the feet of the House and by extension the 
     Congress to the fire when it comes to our relationship

[[Page E1255]]

     with the Caribbean region, particularly in the context of 
     safety and security, development and crime,'' Clarke said. 
     ``As far as I know, there hasn't been this level of 
     recognition given to the responsibility and the type of 
     bridge building that need to take place between the United 
     States and the Caricom nations.''
       The resolution doesn't have the force of law but expresses 
     the mood of the chamber. It was approved about a week ago and 
     Clarke expects it to open the door to assistance from 
     Washington at a crucial time.
       ``Typically when the House passes a resolution of this 
     type, the State Department is usually close behind it in 
     terms of its role and responsibility,'' she said. ``We expect 
     support, not only in the House and the Senate but in the 
     executive branch, the Administration. Definitely, it could 
     influence the flow of funds and technical support to the 
     Caribbean.''
       Dr. Griffith, the author of a number of books on Caribbean 
     security, said that two economic pillars of the region, 
     tourism and agriculture were under threat from crime and 
     violence because they have the potential to raise doubts 
     about people's personal safety and their foreign direct 
     investment.
       Of course, there is oil in Trinidad and Tobago, bauxite in 
     Jamaica and Guyana but as a region tourism and agriculture 
     define the economic landscape of the Caribbean,'' he said. 
     ``Crime and security jeopardize those in dramatic ways. 
     Jamaica is unique in a sense, but I am not sure for how long 
     to have had a significant crime and security challenge but at 
     the same time it has been doing fairly well in tourism. The 
     general economic livelihood of the Caribbean very much 
     revolves around having relative peace and stability.''
       As he sees it, the problem comes down to the degree of 
     crime, the extent of drug trafficking and the prevalence and 
     availability of weapons, all of which can undermine ``the 
     basic tenets'' that influence the flow of long-term foreign 
     investment in the various island-nations and coastal states.
       The York College Provost warned that the negative news 
     media coverage of the Caribbean, portraying it as a major 
     center for crime and violence could make the various 
     destinations far less appealing to tourists than at any other 
     time.
       ``It raises the question if tourists are going to want to 
     come to a region that is getting negative press day-in-and-
     day-out,'' he asked. ``When someone in Europe sees a story 
     about a particular country, he or she would see the Caribbean 
     as a whole, not the individual destination. The region's 
     long-term survivability makes crime and violence a clear and 
     present danger.''
       He gave the heads of government good marks for confronting 
     the problem but warned that many of the ideas approved in 
     Port of Spain, including special crime fighting and 
     management teams; improved training; introduction of 
     sophisticated equipment; and the availability of mobile law 
     enforcement units would take considerable amounts of 
     financial resources and time to get off the ground. The 
     upshot: moving the plans from the drawing board to reality 
     would result in a time lag that the region could ill-afford.
       ``The challenge becomes translating the statement into 
     practical reality,'' was the way Dr. Griffith, who advises 
     western hemispheric and other international institutions on 
     security question, put it. ``The statement's truisms 
     undermine some of the practical dimensions involved.''
       For instance, the decision to establish counter-kidnapping 
     units and response teams and negotiators would ``take a while 
     to plan and deliver'' and would involve foreign countries and 
     quite a lot of money.
       ``The training necessary for them and the recruitment 
     that's also necessary would require going beyond the 
     Caribbean boundaries, getting the money to do that. I am not 
     sure that the legislation to give effect to the proposals 
     exists in the Caribbean,'' he added. ``That would mean making 
     legislative accommodations domestically to accommodate some 
     of these worth

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