Review of the Indigenous Caribbean: Arima Borough Council

Showing posts with label Arima Borough Council. Show all posts

24 July 2018

On the Passing of Carib Queen Jennifer Cassar

Tributes for queen of First Peoples

The Guardian, July 21, 2018

“The Santa Rosa First Peoples Community is mourning the death of its Queen Jennifer Cassar. Cassar, 66, died on Thursday after a brief illness. She would have celebrated her birthday on August 4. She was elected Queen of the Santa Rosa First Peoples’ Community in 2011, until her death. Cassar succeeded then ‘Carib Queen’ Valentina Medina, who died at the age of 78. A statement from the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community said Cassar would be remembered ‘as being a very warm, humble and compassionate Queen of the Community, who worked tirelessly with the young Community members.’ She was a cultural activist for over 20 years and known for her advocacy for the arts…. The ‘Carib Queen’ as she was affectionately called, Jennifer Cassar was born on August 4, 1951 at Malabar, Arima to Nicholasa Lara-Pile and Rawle Pile. She is the first of five children. Her ancestral line was quite deep as she was descended from the full Amerindian bloodline through her maternal great, great, grandparents—Jose and Annicasia Lara (nee Lopez); Great Grandmother Maria Chichita Lara and Grandfather Pablito Lara, also called Hubert de France. Her paternal grandmother was also of full Amerindian blood from Guyana while her mother was also a descendant of the Caribs. Cassar was a member and Assistant Secretary of the Santa Rosa First Peoples (Carib) Community. She was a practising Roman Catholic who lived the Amerindian way of life through her grandparents who observed a staunch indigenous lifestyle through their involvement with the Santa Rosa Festival. She was a member of the Cabinet-appointed Amerindian Project Committee for five years. Cassar represented the Santa Rosa First Peoples Carib Community at the 3rd Indigenous Leaders’ Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama in April 2009. In December of that year she participated in a seminar on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for the Caribbean held in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. She had was a cultural activist for over 20 years and was a member of the Regional Carnival Commission with responsibility for co-ordinating National Stick-Fighting Competitions. As a career public servant, Cassar joined the Public Service of T&T in 1971 and served the country for 40 years. She worked in several government ministries including the Ministries of Education, Community Development, Culture, Sports, Health and the Judiciary. She was also a certified Home Health Care professional.”

Please note: Carib Queen—no quotation marks needed—is not an “affectionate title”. It is a formal title in the Carib community, as has been the case for a period stretching now across three centuries.

Condolences on the passing of the Carib Queen Jennifer Cassar

Government of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, Statement from Prime Minister Keith Rowley.

“I wish to extend sincerest and heartfelt condolences to The Santa Rosa First Peoples Community on the passing of the Carib Queen Jennifer Cassar. As the First People mourn this loss so too do the people of Arima, as Mrs. Cassar was a symbol of strength, will and power within this community. Though today we feel sadness having experienced this loss, I feel comforted by the fact that as Carib Queen Jennifer Cassar was able to experience the celebration of the First People across Trinidad and Tobago in 2017. This celebration and recognition of the community showed to all of us the vigour, energy and excitement that was Jennifer Cassar as she ceremoniously paraded through the streets in this celebration. Mrs. Cassar was not only the Carib Queen but also heralded a career in the Public Service of Trinidad and Tobago and served this country for over forty years. She contributed to the development of her country through work in Education, Community Development, Culture, Sport, Health and the Judiciary. Today I take the opportunity to again express my humblest gratitude to Mrs. Jennifer Cassar for her yeoman service to the First Peoples Community, to the Borough of Arima and to Trinidad and Tobago. May her life be an example to those in and outside of the Carib community and may her legacy be carried with love, light and positivity. May she rest in peace”.

PM issues tribute to late Carib Queen

CNC3, no date

“Mrs. Jennifer Cassar worked tirelessly to sensitise us to the role and contributions of the First Peoples Community and continuously strived to preserve and revitalise Amerindian history and traditions. The Carib Queen was one of the key advocates who lobbied Government to honour a long-standing call for a one-off holiday to formally recognise her Community’s presence and contribution to our country. Government granted the request and the holiday was celebrated on October 13th, 2017 with Queen Cassar leading a procession through the streets of Arima. She was a member of the Cabinet-appointed Amerindian Project Committee from 2007 and also a member of the Regional Carnival Committee of the National Carnival Commission with responsibility for coordinating National Stick Fighting Competitions”.

Carib Queen’s life celebrated by President
Sunday Express, July 25, 2018

President of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, Paula-Mae Weekes:

“Having worked for forty years in the public sector before her retirement, Ms. Cassar devoted almost her entire life to the service of her country. I have known her since 1996 when I had been working at the Hall of Justice. I quickly became aware of the esteem in which Ms. Cassar was held by members of her team and was struck by the diligence with which she executed her duties. She was fiercely loyal to the judge for whom she was the Executive Secretary for many years and involved herself with many other ancillary functions of the Judiciary until she retired. During her tenure at the Judiciary, Ms. Cassar held a deep concern for the welfare of the First Peoples of Trinidad and Tobago. She had always wholeheartedly embraced her indigenous identity and sought to encourage others to also take pride in their heritage. Her inauguration as Carib Queen in 2011 therefore acknowledged her many years of activism and her standing in the First Peoples’ community. I was pleased to follow her leadership as Carib Queen as she worked tirelessly to improve the unity and solidarity of the indigenous people and to secure greater recognition for their customs and traditions, such as stick-fighting [sic]”.

NCC Mourns the Passing of Jennifer Cassar, the Carib Queen

National Carnival Commission, July, 2018.

“The National Carnival Commission of Trinidad and Tobago (NCC) joins with the nation in remembering the life of Jennifer Cassar – beloved Carib Queen, organiser, and cultural pioneer – who died on July 19, 2018. Cassar is widely lauded as a smiling, kind-hearted leader who worked alongside her community to organise events such as last year’s grand celebration for the First Peoples Public Holiday. Additionally, she has been an invaluable contributor and guiding figure in the Annual Arima Fest celebrations, Santa Rosa Festival, and First People’s Heritage Week. Cassar would also have a tremendous impact in an area outside of First Peoples’ empowerment movement. She is also fondly remembered for her work in bringing Stick Fighting to the fore and her tireless energy in giving the artform the respect and recognition it so rightly deserves. Remembering Cassar’s legacy and invaluable contributions, NCC Chairman, Winston ‘Gypsy’ Peters said, ‘We, at the Commission, are deeply touched by her passing’”.

Passing of Carib Queen, Jennifer Cassar Sends Arima into Mourning

Power 102 FM, July 19, 2018, Press Release from the Arima Borough Council.

“Mayor Lisa Morris-Julian and the Arima Borough Council are grieved by the passing of beloved Carib Queen, Jennifer Cassar. The Council describes the loss as a blow to Arima’s foundation, which is rooted on the First Peoples’ contributions. The Council laments the loss of a phenomenal woman of pure Carib descent. However, the council is thankful that she assisted in extensive work to keep persons of First Peoples’ lineage united and thriving in the Santa Rosa First Peoples’ Community. It recognizes her decades of labour which assisted to create a space in the borough where the First Peoples are acknowledged and respected. The Council recalls fond memories of the late Carib Queen as a smiling, kind-hearted leader who worked alongside her Community to organize events such as last year’s grand celebration for the First Peoples one-off Public Holiday. The Council will miss her contribution to this year’s Arima Fest celebrations, Santa Rosa Festival and First People’s Heritage Week. The Arima Borough Council wishes to express sincere condolences to her family, the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community and all of her loved ones”.

The Carib Queen has died

Daily Express, July 20, 2018, by Sandhya Santoo

“Education Minister and Arima Member of Parliament Anthony Garcia also extended condolences on the passing of Cassar….’She contributed to the development of her country through work in Education, Community Development, Culture, Sport, Health and the Judiciary. Today I take the opportunity to again express my humblest gratitude to Mrs. Jennifer Cassar for her yeoman service to the First Peoples Community, to the Borough of Arima and to Trinidad and Tobago. May her life be an example to those in and outside of the Carib community and may her legacy be carried with love, light and positivity. May she rest in peace,’ he said”.

The Carib Queen is dead

Trinidad & Tobago Newsday, July 20, 2018, by Carol Matroo

“Arima Mayor Lisa Morris-Julien said Cassar was not only Carib Queen but the ‘Queen of Arima’…. ‘We expected to have Mrs Cassar with us for a very long time. She was loved by everyone, by her neighbours, by the entire community. Every Arimian was proud that she was our queen. She was heavily involved in culture and I credit her for bringing back stick fighting back to Arima, always trying to ensure that we become the cultural mecca that we should be,’ Morris-Julian said…. It was Cassar’s dream to establish an Amerindian village in Blanchisseuse and the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community was granted 100 acres towards this venture. ‘Government gave them the land and I’m so happy that she lived to see the one off holiday (last October 13). Her role in the community could never be underestimated. She was the right hand of the chief (Ricardo Bharath) and she always took the needs of her people before her own. She was an excellent mother and wife,’ she said.”

Regional Amerindians for Cassar’s funeral

Trinidad & Tobago Newsday, July 24, 2018, by Carol Matroo

“Her casket will be open for public viewing at the Arima Town Hall on Friday from 10 am to 12 noon and a funeral service will be at the Santa Rosa RC Church. A full Amerindian ritual service will be conducted at the Santa Rosa Cemetery ‘where her body would be offered back to the elements from which she came.’ Indigenous members from Guyana and Surname are expected to attend”.

Carib Queen’s funeral on Friday

Daily Express, July 23, 2018

“Viewing of the body will take place at the Arima Town Hall from 10 a.m. to 12 noon where a condolence book will be available. After this there will be a procession through the streets of Arima and then to the Santa Rosa Catholic Church on Woodford Street for the funeral service. Following the interment at the Catholic Cemetery, guests will gather at the Santa Rosa First Peoples Centre at Paul Mitchell Street, Arima. Nightly wakes will be held today and on Tuesday at Koon Koon Street, Malabar, Arima from 7p.m. to 12 p.m. On Wednesday, the wake will be held at the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community headquarters at Paul Mitchell street”.

T&T mourns passing of Carib Queen Jennifer Cassar

Caribbean National Weekly, July 22, 2018

“Carib Chief Ricardo Bharath-Hernandez has described her passing as a great loss to the Community, especially coming on the eve of the Santa Rosa De Lima Festival on August 26, the 223rd Anniversary of the festival. ‘She was indeed a Queen, for our time’”.

Updated on July 29, 2018

16 July 2011

On the Passing of Rose Janniere, Former Mayor of Arima, Friend of the Carib Community of Trinidad

Rose Janneire, at Balisier House, on Republic Day 1998.
Photo © Maximilian C. Forte.

I was sadly surprised to learn of the passing of former Arima Mayor, Rose Janniere, from reading the Trinidad news this morning. She passed away on Thursday, 14 July, 2011. I first met Rose Janniere about 16 years ago, in 1995, at the Carib Community Centre, when she was then Mayor of Arima and closely associated with the Santa Rosa Carib Community. Janniere was the first, and only, woman to have become Mayor of Arima. In the years that I did my research with the Caribs (1995, 1998-1999, 2001-2003, 2006) I would meet her very often, especially as my research expanded to include the Arima Borough Council where she sat as an Alderman next to Ricardo Bharath Hernandez, head of the Carib Community. She was for a long time a staunch promoter of the Carib Community. Like Ricardo, and most members of the Carib Community, she was also a loyal supporter of the People's National Movement and, if I recall correctly, had at one time been the secretary to Dr. Eric Williams, and later was the Public Relations Officer for the PNM. Thanks to her, I was able to attend and document the PNM's celebration of Republic Day in 1998, where I saw how Trinidad's Caribs were prominently featured (in part due to the work of Rose Janniere), and where I also met Patrick Manning, then Opposition Leader. Later Rose Janniere also became active in the National Association for the Empowerment of African People (NAEAP), which today has also written its condolences:

The National Association for the Empowerment of African People (NAEAP) joins the nation in recognizing the many services Ms. Janneire rendered to the nation. Ms. Janneire joined NAEAP in 2000, two years after it was founded, and worked arduously with the organization to transform the landscape of African people in this country. She served as a trustee in the organization and for many years controlled the finances of the organization.

For most of her eleven years in NAEAP she was the chairman of NAEAP’s Annual Emancipation Dinner and made sure she found the finances to run NAEAP’s day school. She served conscientiously in these roles and gave of herself unstintingly to make NAEAP a better organization. That is why NAEAP members such Oscar Gooding, Marcia Toney, Marion Simmons and Annette Valdez took care of Ms. Janneire in the final days of her life while her daughter lived in Barbados and her son served as a priest in New Jersey.

NAEAP regards her as faithful servant who worked hard to advance the cause of African people in Trinidad and Tobago. We thank her for such services on behalf of the black community. Selwyn R. Cudjoe, President of NAEAP says of Ms. Janneire, “She was a good and faithful servant who served her nation well. We will all miss her as an organization.” NAEAP will not hold its annual Emancipation dinner this year in respect for the life that Ms. Janneire’s lived. We will use the time to reflect on the many contributions that she made to her country.

Even via NAEAP, Rose Janniere continued to support the Carib Community, and once again it was thanks to her that I met Dr. Selwyn Cudjoe who came and advised at various community planning meetings in the Carib Centre. Rose Janniere became a Senator, and from that point I do not think I saw her again. While we certainly had our differences, I must say that Rose always showed herself to be very gracious and kind in my regards. I am certain that her loss is felt not just by her family, but also by many people in the Carib Community, not least of whom is the current Carib chief.

Rose welcoming the Caribs as they enter the Church for the Santa Rosa Festival

Rose dancing with Cristo Adonis of the Carib Community

Rose and the author of this post, at the Carib Centre in August of 1998

Rose Janniere dies from pancreatic cancer

First published in the Trinidad Express

Story by Anna Ramdass

Jul 16, 2011

Former mayor of Arima and member of the People's National Movement (PNM) Rose Janniere is dead.

Janniere died on Thursday at the Port of Spain General Hospital from pancreatic cancer.

Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley, in a statement yesterday, described Janniere as a "servant to the people of Trinidad and Tobago".

"As a member of the PNM, Ms Janniere served in the constituency of Arima as Deputy Mayor from 1983 to 1987 and as Mayor from 1992 to 1996. She was actively involved with the Carib community and also served on the management team of Arima United Sports Club," stated Rowley.

He further noted that Janniere gave yeoman service to the PNM as assistant general secretary, public relations officer and a member of the Women's League.

"Her public career saw her act as a senator between 2002 and 2007. She also served as a director of the Port Authority and, up to 2010, was employed at the Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago," stated Rowley.

He added, "Rose Janniere was a tried and true servant of the People's National Movement and, by extension, the people of Trinidad and Tobago. On behalf of the PNM family, it is with a great sense of loss and sadness that I extend sincere condolences to the family and friends of Ms Janniere. May she rest in peace."

PNM general secretary Ashton Ford told the Express he had known Janniere for a very long time and praised her for her service to party and people.

"I worked with her when I was a member of Parliament. She became a councillor and moved on to be the first female mayor of Arima. She was well loved and served the party at all levels," said Ford.

He added that Janniere was a people's person who was actively involved with the sporting community and loved Carnival and playing mas.

He also pointed out that Janniere was instrumental in having the statue of Calypso King "Lord Kitchener" erected in the country.

Arima Mayor Alderman Ghassan Youseph also expressed sympathies to Janniere's family, adding that a condolence book will be opened at Arima Town Hall for all Arimians who wish to pay their respects.

He said the Council will be in contact with the family to determine what role the Council can play in the funeral arrangements.

"On behalf of the Council and staff of the Arima Corporation, and all Arimians, and on my own behalf, I extend condolences to the family of the late Rose Janniere, especially her mom Ms Rose Hilibrand and children Mrs Natasha Lashley and Fr Nigel Mohammed," Youseph said in a press release.

He pointed out that Janniere, who came from a well-known Arima family, served Trinidad and Tobago and the Arimians, as Mayor of Arima, for almost four years, between 1992 and 1996.

"Ms Janniere's passing is a sad loss for the borough of Arima and all of Trinidad and Tobago," he added.