Once again, Guyana is the first (and often the only) Caricom member State to make an effort to attend the OAS sessions with the Indigenous Caucus.

The Indigenous Caucus was heartened by the attendance of the Mission of Guyana in the proceedings on the Draft American Declaration, as the only member of the Indigenous Caucus representing Amerindian concerns and issues from Guyana – Damon Corrie introduced himself to Guyana’s deputy Chief of Mission at the OAS and was greatly impressed by the career diplomat.

Corrie commented: “This lady is full of innovative and exciting ideas for the development of Guyana and it was a real pleasure to talk with her this morning. She explained to me that unlike the other Missions who have two sets of staff to handle the workload – Guyana has only one and it is not possible to be in attendance at all times.“

It should be noted that the current administration of President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana has made great strides in improving the standards of living for the vast majority of Amerindians in Guyana – and this fact cannot be honestly disputed by any serious enquiry free of political bias into the current state of affairs in Amerindian communities in that south American country.

Unfortunately, no other Caricom member state has yet attended any of these meetings during the current 11th session.

Damon Corrie (who is here in his official capacity on behalf of the United Confederation of Taino People) had lunch today at the IMF cafeteria at the invitation of Ambassador Denneth Modeste of Grenada – who now heads the OAS Secretariat for Multidimensional Security.

Corrie met the Ambassador purely by chance in the elevator at the OAS building, they knew someone in common – Mr. Roland W. Bullen a Grenadian by birth and former United States Ambassador to Guyana, struck up a brief conversation and it was then that Ambassador Modeste invited Damon to return today to meet with him over lunch.

Corrie summed up the meeting thusly:
“Ambassador Modeste impressed me greatly, I have never met a Caribbean Ambassador quite like him, not even remotely like him, he has a deep love for Indigenous cultures of the world and is the person behind the April festival in Grenada that is held each year that has invited the participation of Indigenous groups from all over the world.

“He strikes me as being of upstanding character and the highest of moral calibre, he is also extremely well connected in a myriad of fascinating ways, when you have the honour of conversing with him for over an hour – you leave with the distinct impression that you have just met the future Prime Minister of Grenada, and I firmly believe he will go down in history as being the best Grenada has ever produced.”