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Vol. 33, Issue 10 BROOKLYN EDITION March 11-17, 2022
CARICOM
SLAMS
RUSSIA
Individual nations begin
sanctions against Russian
nationals
By Bert Wilkinson
Caribbean Community governments
last week widely condemned
Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine calling for a diplomatic
solution rather than war to
end the conflict while leaving
any sanctions up to individual
nations.
That decision was made at
the recent leaders meeting in
Belize but by the middle of this
week, tiny Dominica appeared
to have fired the strongest diplomatic
salvo, suspending nationals
from Russia and Belarus
from participating in its much
vaunted citizenship by investment
program (CIP).
Along with St. Kitts, St.
Lucia, Grenada and Antigua,
the island nation of about
75,000 people has used the program
to replace revenue lost
from the US-inspired collapse of
its banana exports to the European
Union in the past decade
and import taxes also garnished
through tax free trade in the
regional single market.
Latest figures indicate that the
island national-nestled between
the French Overseas Territories
of Martinique and Guadeloupemade
around US$550 million in
the past three years from people
who participated in the scheme.
Some of the money is to be used
to build an international airport
that could accommodate
jet aircraft and help to pay off
external debt.
A government announcement
from Roseau, said cabinet
had agreed to an immediate
suspension of the right of
nationals of these two countries
to apply to obtain Dominican
citizenship and passports once
they can afford the minimum
US$100,000 fee, pass due diligence
tests, are older than 18
years, in good health, possess
no criminal record and could
defend their source of funds.
English language proficiency is
not a requirement.
“In light of the ongoing conflict
in Ukraine, the government
of Dominica is suspending the
process of all new applications
from Russians and Belarusians
with immediate effect. This
Hundreds of excluded workers march for improve benefi ts on Brooklyn Bridge. Make the
Road New York
Hundreds of excluded workers shut
down Brooklyn, Manhattan bridges
By Nelson A. King
Hundreds of excluded workers
and electeds came together
on Tuesday in massive marches
over the Brooklyn and Manhattan
Bridges to raise the
heat for an additional $3 billion
for the Excluded Workers
Fund in the State budget and
a permanent program dubbed
“Excluded No More” to provide
compensation to workers who
have lost a job or income and
are ineligible for unemployment
insurance.
Workers in helmets, vests,
cleaning supplies and other
work tools linked arms to shut
down the bridges as the deadline
approaches for the State
Senate and Assembly to release
their one-house budgets.
They were joined by Democratic
candidate for Lieutenant
Governor of New York Ana
María Archila and elected officials
including New York City
Comptroller Brad Lander and
Council Members Carmen de
la Rosa, Sandy Nurse and Lincoln
Restler.
“While so many of my
friends and neighbors were
able to access the fund, so
many others never got a chance
because of how quickly the
fund ran out of money,” said
Victoria Rivera, a board member
at New York Communities
for Change. “We marched so
that the thousands of workers
who didn’t get it can finally get
the relief they need. We need
to refund the Excluded Workers
Fund and work to create a
permanent solution by passing
Excluded No More,”
Workers at the action
demanded an additional $3
billion for the Excluded Workers
Fund to make funding
more accessible to workers
who could be eligible for it.
Organizers said more than
130,000 people across New
York State have had their lives
transformed after receiving
funding from the Excluded
Workers Fund.
Yet, they said, scores of New
Yorkers could still be eligible
for funding but didn’t have
enough time to qualify or
faced barriers in applying.
A recent Immigration
Research Initiative report estimated
that 175,000 New Yorkers
would be eligible for funding
if the Excluded Workers
Fund was expanded.
Workers are also calling for
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