At a certain point the issue of a secret meeting with a few Haitians aimed at nominating a new Haitian/ Caribbean Liaison was raised. A Caribbean newspaper publisher said that it is not fair to exclude the Caribbean community from such a process.

When the director was asked why the person who is being considered for the position was not proposed to the Caribbean people first, Reverend Cheng Tan's reply was, "The reason why only Haitians have the privilege to participate in this process is because there are more Haitians in the New England area than other Caribbeans."

An area that I believe needs clarification is whether or not the city of Boston is willing to comply with the equal opportunity employment act. "It seems that this process is influenced by a feeling of sympathy toward Haitians because of the recent turmoil in their homeland which had led too many of them fleeing their country?" "I don’t know the motive behind it all," the director said.

Caribbean people have to look more closely at the concept behind this label of New Bostonians or Haitian/ Americans. We are called by many different names from banana to coconut people. Caribbean people do not want to start anymore new name-calling, we already have enough. The term New Bostonians is their way of undermining the contribution that we have made to this country.

Thank God there are still Haitians like Jacques Dady Jean who is continuing to promote unity in our community. The fact that they invite a few Haitians to a special meeting, while excluding the prominent Haitians and other Caribbean is an attempt of dividing the community. The Caribbean community is organized as a monolithic block. Our motto is: "United we stand, Divided we fall." We are mature enough to hold on to our unity. No one individual or political organization can divide us.

Reverend Cheng Tan is embarrassed to define the mission of her office, certainly because it is working against the contributions that the Caribbeans have made to America since the 18^th Century, especially Massachusetts and the other New England states. According to the director, the New Bostonian appears to be anyone who is not a Native American.

Does the name of Office of New Bostonians discriminates against other races and is it derogatory? The idea itself sends a wrong message to the public. If one researches and look at the member countries and the people who attended the meetings of this newly created organization, they could also draw the conclusion that it discriminates and it is derogatory. If the office has no purpose to divide the region or there is no hidden agenda, why couldn't a name be retained, which will represent these people and all people in a fair manner.

Caribbean people began to arrive in the United States since about two centuries ago, and they should be better recognized and respected for their contribution to this country.

The majority of people living in North America also do not know that U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, lie in the Caribbean Sea and that their people also are called Caribbeans. This is because of a lack of or no information about the geography and history of the Caribbean.

In the same meeting a so-called Cuban journalist stated that the Caribbean does not include Cuba. This is an appalling statement. It is not known where he has been or where he is hoping to go with his narrow mind. It is ridiculous, because a journalist should know that Fidel Castro was in Dominican Republic earlier this year to represent his country as a member of the Caribbean community - CARICOM - a trade agreement between all the Caribbean countries.

These uneducated people who are pretending being leaders and journalists project a negative approach to the Caribbean affairs. These kinds of people hold back the region's unity and its people that is holding Caribbean from prospering internationally.

Everyone wants to give their own version of the Caribbean for their own good and exclude the truth. Everyone wants to be a hero. The Caribbean people must be more vocal and look for opportunities where they will be recognized. Certainly they do not need to be divided.