Consul General Optimistic that Obama Administration will be More Favourable Towards Jamaica

Consul General to New York, Geneive Brown Metzger, is optimistic that the Barack Obama administration will be more favourable towards Jamaica and the wider Caribbean region.
Mrs. Brown Metzger, who spoke to JIS News recently, expressed the hope that the installation of the new United States (US) Government “will mean a greater level of interest in the affairs of our country, in supporting our social and economic issues.”
She said that having lived in the United States for 41 years and voted in several elections, “I have never seen this amount of goodwill and hopefulness for any US Administration.”
The Consul General said that one of the great lessons from the US Presidential elections was the importance of youth involvement in the voting process. “The engagement of our youth in the Diaspora is something that we must continue to cultivate so that they can exercise their franchise in our national development agenda, even as they conduct their own lives as citizens of the United States,” she stated.
Consul General Brown Metzger said that she was looking forward to greater collaboration between the African-American and Jamaican communities and that she was optimistic that such a relationship will thrive under this new administration in the White House.
On Tuesday afternoon (Jan. 20), Barack Hussein Obama took the oath of office, becoming the first black President of the US.
The Consulate opened its doors to the Jamaican community in New York, many of whom gathered there to watch the live telecast of the historic installation ceremony and parade that followed.
The significance of the ceremony, coming just a day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day, was not lost on Executive Director of the American Foundation for the University of the West Indies (AFUWI), Ann Marie Grant. “This day, this moment, represents a significant milestone in the journey for civil rights, political growth and development of the US. It highlights possibilities for all, irrespective of race, colour and creed. I am thrilled and ecstatic that I am here to witness it at this time,” she stated.
“This day means a great deal for me in terms of hope and responsibility, not just as a Jamaican but also as an American citizen, echoed Social Work Supervisor and President of JAMPACT, Inc., Akelia Lawrence.
Electrical Technician in Brooklyn, Kenneth Roach, who visited the Consulate to get his new CARICOM passport, said: “it’s a wonderful occasion to have a black president in the White House. It’s a big change. We have been waiting for this for at least 400 years.”