VIDEO: Shaggy says Jamaicans abroad are not organized & not connected to Jamaica...

[Xavier]

Shaggy in a news conference with the Jamaican Observer made some very interesting statements on the Jamaican Diaspora. I am a bit taken aback by the statement after watching the Jamaican diaspora organize for Tessanne Chin" voting and also seeing all the charities that Jamaican abroad donate to. We get weekly announcements at Jamaicans.com from Jamaicans in the diaspora having events that benefit local charities in Jamaica. I have seen the community mobilize at the drop of a dime....

Below is a snippet.

To mobilise the diaspora is hard,” he told yesterday’s Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange. He bemoaned the fact that the majority of the Jamaicans living overseas do not have a connection with the island as many have not visited in a while, therefore getting the message to them regarding causes similar to the Bustamante Hospital for Children is hard unless they visit. “Much like how we have leaders in Jamaica who take a stand on certain issues and push things, you don’t have community organisers in the Jamaican diaspora that are active... who are just at it.
You just kinda find a man who will say ‘mi a yaadie’, wear the colours and a it dat and big up themself when Bolt a run. For us to have a strong Jamaican or Caribbean voice we need organisation, we need people to be actively supporting causes in Jamaica,” said Shaggy, whose concert in aid of the Bustamante Hospital for Children is scheduled for this Saturday in Kingston.

Read more at the Jamaican Observer

[j-kid]

Shaggy is being hypocritical. Him need fi point di finger at di Jamaican Government, not di Diaspora, if people do not feel safe in mass fi return home. He also eliminated di fact dat, many are aleo leaving for the same reason.

[evanovitch]

VIDEO: Shaggy appeals to diaspora to help Jamaica

SHAGGY is calling on Jamaicans in the diaspora to contribute to causes here at home, such as his Make A Difference Foundation, which supports the Bustamante Hospital for Children in St Andrew.

The reggae/dancehall artiste explained that there are more Jamaicans living overseas than there are here at home, and added that for the most part, the Jamaicans overseas are in better financial positions than their local counterparts, and are therefore in a better position to offer assistance to the less fortunate.


“The majority of our population is poor; whole heap a dem over deh so have money. Dem inna better job, better situation. They can engage, but part of the problem is half of them are scared. Dem don’t want to come down here for a cause because they are terrified... it’s as simple as that.

To mobilise the diaspora is hard,” he told yesterday’s Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange. He bemoaned the fact that the majority of the Jamaicans living overseas do not have a connection with the island as many have not visited in a while, therefore getting the message to them regarding causes similar to the Bustamante Hospital for Children is hard unless they visit.

“Much like how we have leaders in Jamaica who take a stand on certain issues and push things, you don’t have community organisers in the Jamaican diaspora that are active... who are just at it.
You just kinda find a man who will say ‘mi a yaadie’, wear the colours and a it dat and big up themself when Bolt a run. For us to have a strong Jamaican or Caribbean voice we need organisation, we need people to be actively supporting causes in Jamaica,” said Shaggy, whose concert in aid of the Bustamante Hospital for Children is scheduled for this Saturday in Kingston.

He is calling on Jamaican companies operating overseas to come forward and support causes here at home to help offset the strain brought to bear on the local private sector, which is already operating in a difficult economic climate and has to bear the brunt of the requests for assistance from local charities.
“There are Jamaican companies overseas that make millions of dollars. I am encouraging them to set up a fund and allocate certain monies to certain Jamaican charities,” said Shaggy.



Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz2p5bD0rN2

[evanovitch]

THE negative image of Jamaica, in particular Kingston, is affecting Shaggy's ability to promote his charity concert to an international clientele.
'Mr Boombastic' told journalists at the weekly Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange yesterday that just the mention of Kingston as the venue for the major event drives fear into many.

"There are some people that I linked overseas, because we travel the world and buck up rich people all the while. Some of them I have invited down to Jamaica for the experience. The biggest problem for these people once they hear Kingston, they start [to] fret, as sad as that is," he said.
Shaggy said he tries to convince these persons that it is safe for them to attend, by explaining that he lives in Kingston and raises his three daughters in the city, but this does precious little to reverse the mindset.

"I have a very wealthy person coming for the event who is sending an advance party. This person is worth millions and is sending an advance party to come down and set up everything first, including security. They don't want any of our security, they want their own, just because they are scared of coming here. I have convinced him to come, but he's taking every precaution -- coming in on his boat, he's not even staying in a hotel. He's coming just for the show, but I'm gonna convince him to stay longer...," Shaggy related.

He accused Jamaicans of airing their 'dirty laundry' in public and, as a result, earning a bad reputation.

He added that he feels more at risk in Trinidad than he feels here at home.
"Mi a go deh fi years, and once I hit there, mi can't walk there, can't do dis, can't do that. You always hear that Trinidad is the place where you come to carnival and party, while Jamaica is the place where everybody a kill everybody. I have been to many other places where the crime is heavier but, yet still, because we are the flagship of the Caribbean, and we are Brand Jamaica, and we are the 'boasiest' set a people in the world, wear the brightest colours and gwaan de baddest, so that sometimes puts us in a negative light," he noted.

The diamond-selling artiste further said that, for his part, he tries to put a positive spin on this negative outlook on Jamaica by launching his albums here, and even named his 2011 album Summer in Kingston.



Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz2p5c6h8X9

[evanovitch]

Remittances to Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean dipped this year
Weak U.S. Economy to blame for the fall.
Tony Best

As Jamaica and most of its Caribbean neighbors continue to be bit by the fallout from the weak U.S. economy, remittances from nationals in America to relatives back home are taking a beating.

That’s the word from the World Bank which keeps track of the billions of dollars that flow to the countries in and out of Caricom.

But the Caribbean isn’t alone. Many Latin American states are suffering the same fate.

“In Latin America and the Caribbean, the growth of remittances has been impacted by the U.S. economic situation,” stated the World Bank in a recent report on global remittances. “In particular, remittances to Mexico have declined again in recent months, presumably because of a lagged effect of the slowdown in migration flows to the U.S. after the global financial crisis.”

In other words, as the number of migrants decline so do the remittances and their value.

The Bank expects remittance flows to the Caribbean and Latin America to reach $ 61 billion in 2013, a 2.5 per cent overall increase from last year. “With improved prospects for the U.S. economy, remittance flows to the region are expected to rebound during 2014-16. Remittance flows to Latin America began to recover in mid-2009. However, the pace of growth in the flows has been slow and uneven.

“Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Jamaica and in particular, Mexico, experienced a double dip,” it pointed out, a decline in remittances and average value. “Remittance flows to Mexico are expected to decline by 2.8 per cent in 2013. El Salvador had a 3.5 per cent growth in August. Jamaica registered a decline of one per cent while the Dominican Republic kept flat in the first quarter” of the year.
The World Bank didn’t provide details of the increases in many Caribbean countries or the extent of the declines. There were no figures for Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Grenada and their neighbors.

Here then is the picture of remittances in the Caribbean and Latin America:
• The Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Haiti are the biggest recipients of remittances in the English, French and Spanish speaking Caribbean. Between them they account for more than $ 7 billion going to the Caribbean.
• Competition in the remittance market has increased due to the elimination of exclusivity contracts and more points of sale for receiving remittances.
• More and more Caribbean and Latin American immigrants are using the internet to send money back home.
• Intra-regional remittances have remained resilient to the financial crisis. Chile and Venezuela have shown positive growth in the first half of 2013. Remittances from Argentina have been adversely affected because of restrictions on outflow remittances in foreign currency.
Globally, the World Bank expects developing countries to receive $414 billion in remittances this year, a 6.3 per cent increase over 2012. BY 2016, developing states are expected to receive more than $700 billion.
In addition:
• Some 232 million migrants are expected to remit $550 billion this year.
• The top recipients for 2013 are India $71 billion; China $60 billion; the Philippines $29 billion; Mexico 22 billion; Nigeria $21 billion; and Egypt $20 billion.
• Growth of remittances has been robust in all regions of the world except for the Caribbean and Latin America, where expansion decelerated due to economic weakness in the U.S.
• Some international banks are closing the accounts of money transfer operators because of concerns about money laundering and terrorism financing.
Across the Caribbean remittances are playing an increasing role in the financial fortunes of governments and individual families.
Just last week, Dr. John Ashe, President of the United Nations General Assembly and Antigua’s UN Ambassador told officials participating in a high level dialogue on International Migration and Development that his country received $22 million in migrant remittances last year.
Rodney Charles, Trinidad and Tobago’s Permanent Representative to the UN, said at the same session of the dialogue that “outward migration” of skilled people to such developed area as Europe, the United States and Asia has resulted in contributions “to our economy through remittances” while providing a “vibrant market for our cultural exports such as music. “ But it also represents a “brain drain.”
In Jamaica’s case, its Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Arnaldo Brown, that the country “recognizes that remittances are private funds, but supports policies gear towards leveraging the development impact of remittances.”

[Wahalla]

The world bank reports says Jamaicans in the diaspora are connected financially....

[evanovitch]

The world bank reports says Jamaicans in the diaspora are connected financially....

didn't have to await dem to spell DAT out...wen remittances r counted as part of Jamaica's GDP it is clear how connected n invested we r.....GDP...Gross Domestic Product...let us be clear wat GDP is...Gross domestic product (GDP) is the market value of all officially recognized final goods and services produced within a country in a year, or other given period of time.

we a mek money outside di country , send to di country fi buck up di country....

[jah_yout]

He accused Jamaicans of airing their 'dirty laundry' in public and, as a result, earning a bad reputation.

i wonder if he is on the government's payroll

[evanovitch]

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) say it will donate US$1 to the Shaggy Foundation, for every remittance sent from January 2 to 15, 2014, through any JN Money Transfer (JNMT) branch in New York, Connecticut, Florida, or any JN MoneyShop in Jamaica.
The Shaggy Foundation raises funds for the Bustamante Hospital for Children in St Andrew Jamaica through an annual charity concert.


“This is the only full-service paediatric hospital in the English speaking Caribbean, and it serves a population of approximately 700,000 children,” said Leesa Kow, General Manager of and JN Money Services Ltd (JNMS). “Therefore all of us need to give the promotion our support.”
In addition to the donation JNMS, a subsidiary of Jamaica National, will waive remittance fees on donations of JA$2,000 to $5,000 sent to the Shaggy Foundation, through any JN MoneyShop in Jamaica; or, on US$20 to US$100 sent to the Foundation at any JNMT branch in New York, Connecticut and Florida, Kow said.
The Shaggy and Friends charity show is slated for January 4, 2014 and features recent winner of The Voice Tessanne Chin as well as finalist Matthew Schuler.


Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz2p6IkyQp2

[blugiant]

The world bank reports says Jamaicans in the diaspora are connected financially....

yu see y mii luv jamaicans.com

da peeps laff att peeps nunsense

[blugiant]

The World Bank released its 2014 World Development Report, which includes the wealth of the Caribbean. The information is data of its main criterion for classifying economies, the gross national income (GNI) per capita.

The GNI per capita is the gross national income of a country divided by its total population. It is also the sum of value added by all resident producers, plus any product taxes (less subsidies) not included in the valuation of output, plus net receipts of primary income (compensation of employees and property income) from abroad.

Here are the rankings of the top 10 countries in the Caribbean, based on GNI.

10. Jamaica $5,140 (GNI)
Jamaica has a mixed economy with both state enterprises and private sector businesses. Major sectors of the Jamaican economy include agriculture, mining, manufacturing, tourism, and financial and insurance services. Tourism and mining are the leading earners of foreign exchange. Half of the Jamaican economy is generated by income coming from services such as tourism. An estimated 1.3 million foreign tourists visit Jamaica every year.

9. St Vincent and the Grenadines $6,380 (GNI)
Agriculture, dominated by banana production, is the most important sector of St Vincent and the Grenadines’ lower-middle-income economy. The services sector, based mostly on a growing tourist industry, is also becoming an important part of the economy.

8. Dominica $6,460 (GNI)
Bananas and other crops dominate Dominica’s economy, and nearly one-third of the labor force works in agriculture. In 2008, Dominica had one of the lowest per capita gross domestic product rates of Eastern Caribbean states. The country nearly had a financial crisis in 2003 and 2004, but its economy grew by 3.5 percent in 2005 and 4.0 percent in 2006, following a decade of poor performance.

7.St Lucia’s educated workforce and improvements in roads, communications, water supply, sewerage, and port facilities have attracted foreign investment in tourism and in petroleum storage and transshipment. The island nation has been able to attract foreign business and investment, especially in its offshore banking and tourism industries, which is the its main source of revenue.

6. Grenada $7,110 (GNI)
Grenada’s economic progress in fiscal reforms and prudent macroeconomic management have boosted annual growth to 5 to 6 percent in 1998–1999. The increase in economic activity has been led by construction and trade. Tourist facilities are being expanded as tourism is the leading foreign exchange earner.

5. Suriname $8,480 (GNI)
Suriname’s democracy gained some strength after the turbulent 1990s, and its economy became more diversified and less dependent on Dutch financial assistance.

4. Antigua $12,640 (GNI)
Tourism dominates Antigua’s economy, accounting for more than half of the gross domestic product. Antigua is famous for its many luxury resorts located around the coastline.

The growing medical schools and its students also add much to the economy. The University of Health Sciences Antigua and the American University of Antigua College of Medicine teach aspiring doctors.

3. St. Kitts and Nevis $13,330 (GNI)
St. Kitts and Nevis are a twin-island federation with an economy characterized by its dominant tourism, agriculture and light manufacturing industries. Sugar was the primary export from the 1940s on, but rising production costs, low world market prices, and the government’s efforts to reduce dependence on it have led to a growing diversification of the agricultural sector

2. Trinidad and Tobago $14,400 (GNI)
Trinidad and Tobago is one of the wealthiest and well-developed nations in the Caribbean. In November 2011, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development removed Trinidad and Tobago from its list of developing countries.

Bahamas $21,280 (GNI)
The most economically prosperous countries in the Caribbean, the Bahamas relies on tourism to generate most of its economic activity. The tourism industry not only accounts for over 60 percent of the Bahamian gross domestic product, but provides jobs for more than half the country’s workforce.

After tourism, the next most important economic sector is financial services, accounting for approximately 15 percent of its GDP.

The Bahamas is one of the richest countries in the Americas.

*Note: The report did not give specific gross national income information for Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Barbados or Haiti.

[blugiant]

didn't have to await dem to spell DAT out...wen remittances r counted as part of Jamaica's GDP it is clear how connected n invested we r.....GDP...Gross Domestic Product...let us be clear wat GDP is...Gross domestic product (GDP) is the market value of all officially recognized final goods and services produced within a country in a year, or other given period of time.

we a mek money outside di country , send to di country fi buck up di country....

so itt da jamaican diaspora welfare dat proppinn upp dem misleaders inn jamaica

dem misleaders inn jamaica shood be ashame aff da national disgraceful candition aff sum aff de hospitals inn jamaica, natt onlee da wan shaggy pushinn

[evanovitch]

COMPLIMENTARY tickets have eaten as much as $15 million from the funds donated to the Bustamante Hospital for Children from the Shaggy and Friends show.

The stunning revelation was made by the man behind the charity effort — Shaggy — as he explained why he has moved to limit the number of complimentary tickets issued for the show. Jamaican international recording artiste Shaggy talking about his experiences at the Bustamante Hospital for Children during this week’s Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange. Listening is fellow artiste Wayne Marshall, who will be performing on the Shaggy and Friends show scheduled for this Saturday. Funds from the show will be donated to the hospital. (PHOTO: NAPHTALI JUNIOR)

Jamaican international recording artiste Shaggy talking about his experiences at the Bustamante Hospital for Children during this week’s Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange. Listening is fellow artiste Wayne Marshall, who will be performing on the Shaggy and Friends show scheduled for this Saturday. Funds from the show will be donated to the hospital. (PHOTO: NAPHTALI JUNIOR) 1/1

While acknowledging that event promoters cannot escape issuing comp tickets, Shaggy (real name Orville Burrell) appealed to Jamaicans to remember that the show is staged to raise funds for the hospital.

"We stress to hold the comp tickets down, which is very hard because Jamaica is all about comp; every party every man want a free ticket, ah so it go, is the culture. But this is a charity. It's about raising money," Shaggy said during this week's Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange at the newspaper's Beechwood Avenue headquarters in Kingston.
This year's staging of the Shaggy and Friends Show is scheduled for January 4 on the lawns of Jamaica House in Kingston and will feature Tessanne Chin as the headline act.
The reggae/dancehall artiste, in an obvious effort to demonstrate the hospital's need for the funds, related a number of experiences he had there which pushed him to donate money for nine years before going public.
He said that when he first started visiting the hospital they had no blood warmer. The staff, he said, would place the frozen blood into a pot with water and warm it until the blood got to the temperature to be used for operations.
"That was how bad it was," he said. "We have, since Shaggy and Friends, got blood warmers.
"I have many stories of things that they do that are unconventional to save lives... These people are miracle workers."
He said the major aim of the show is to provide the hospital with the best facilities.
"The Observer has always been on board with us and we thank you," he said, adding that some of his biggest partners in the effort are the artistes, who all perform for free.
"I'm not doing this to have a good time. Normally at Shaggy and Friends I don't enjoy it at all, I'm running around doing way too many things. I just realised the other day everybody is talking about how great the meal is at the show; I've never had a meal there, ever, because I'm running around doing many things," he said.
"So this is not a glamour thing for me, if it nah mek a difference me nah involve inna it, I don't have time for that," the deejay said.
"I don't need anyone to look at me and say, 'oh you're doing this'; I was doing it for nine years by myself without publicity; I went public because I wanted help, not because I want to look good... If it's not making a difference, it doesn't make any sense," he added.
He recalled a sad experience he had one Christmas when he went to the hospital with fellow artiste Sean Paul to hand out gifts to the children.
"There was a little girl covered up by a sheet and her mother was there holding and shaking her head," Shaggy said. "I looked at the mother and asked her what is wrong with her, Mommy?"
The mother replied that the doctors said they did not know. He said when he asked her how come, the mother repeated her answer and lifted the sheet.
"The child was about three times the size of what her head was," Shaggy explained, adding that he went to Dr Lambert Innis, head of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at the hospital, took him to the child and asked him what was wrong with her.
"This is a medical marvel," Dr Innis replied. "Nobody knows what is wrong with her. We're finding more and more children coming in with adult-type sicknesses."
Innis then told him that they would be sending the child to the University Hospital of the West Indies, with a couple of his doctors, to see if they could diagnose her problem.
"I said all right. At that point ah feel helpless again, so ah comfort the mother," Shaggy explained.
He said that a few weeks later he checked to find out what had happened to the child, only to be told that she died an hour before his enquiry.
"Ah say to miself, 'Jesus!'"
At that point, he got word to the child's mother, telling her that he would pay for the funeral.
"I think is about two or three funeral I pay for out of that hospital, which is never a nice thing," he said. "So when you have these experiences, this becomes personal."


Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz2pAze0IjH

[blugiant]

sum hospitals inn jamaica still doan ave labs fe perform blood test

give shaggy credit cah imm raisinn oww backward sum hospitals inn jamaica ar butt diss ave more fe do widd jamaica misleaders mismanagment ann oww dem mismanage jamaica finance. awl dat money dem use fe prop upp tourism ann natt enuff fe improve jamaica healthcare. free healthcare in jamaica iss a joke ann jamaicans know itt

[Xavier]

His team issued the statement below last night. I was told by various community leaders it was a response to the diaspora disappointment in his statements. This statement clearly does not address it...

Shaggy's New Year's Message


December 31, 2013 at 5:51pm


As we celebrate the New Year, I would like to wish all Jamaicans, at home and abroad, the warmest blessings for the 2014 and beyond and my sincerest hope for your prosperity and health to your families.


This weekend on Saturday, January 4th, we will welcome another production of Shaggy and Friends to benefit the English speaking Caribbean’s only full service Children’s Hospital. Over 10 years ago, I was introduced to this important medical institution when visiting a friend’s son who had been admitted there for treatment. This visit changed my view and knowledge of the great needs at the hospital and the challenging obstacles children faced with receiving medical care in Jamaica and the region.


I knew that I had to act immediately. Over the years, along with friends in Jamaica and across the world, we have had personal donations of medical equipment, including, but not limited to, ventilators, electroencephalogram (EEG) machine, table top sterilizing machine, upgrade of the medical oxygen system, funding of the beautification of the administrative block and creation of a kiddies park & recreation area.


In addition to meeting the needs of Bustamante Hospital for Children, I would like acknowledge and recognize the efforts of many other Jamaicans and organizations, at home and in the diaspora, who have also stepped up over the years to conduct medical missions or make personal donations of their own to support other needs within Jamaica. We have much more work to do, including myself, to inform ourselves of these efforts and to share best practices for greater collaboration to meet the critical needs of our kids in our medical institutions.


For the Shaggy and Friends concert, we are endeavoring to raise the necessary funds to meet the hospital’s actual dire needs list of well over US$2,000,000 worth of equipment and supplies. This is where we need each other. Every single dollar and voice of support from all Jamaicans, at home in Jamaica and across the world in the diaspora, and our extended family across the world as well could make an extraordinary DIFFERENCE in this effort.


We have demonstrated our collective will before as a people on many occasions, including recently to support our songstress Tessanne, in an unprecedented manner and I am appealing to all to rally in a similar manner again for our kids at the Bustamante Hospital for Children as#TeamShaggy4Kids.


As someone who lives in Jamaica and in the United States, I recognize that we have global reach with our music, culture and our voice. I am eternally grateful to all here in Jamaica and in our diaspora who work tirelessly to make Jamaica a better place for our kids to grow and be healthy.


To support the needs the hospital this weekend and beyond, please consider the following donation options:


1. CALL or TEXT: J$50 per text. Simply text PLEDGE to 876-444-4248 from any mobile device
2. ONLINE: via Food For The Poor at foodforthepoor.org/teamshaggy4kids *contributions are tax-deductible under Internal Revenue Code Section 501 © (3)
3. JAMAICA BANK INFORMATION: Any Scotiabank. J$ Account: 801492 and USD$ Account: 927180. Account branch is at Scotiacentre (#50765)
4. US BANK INFORMATION: Any CapitalOne Bank. Routing #021407912. Account #7017148030
5. JN MONEY TRANSFER: For the period January 2-15, 2014, JNBS will donate US$1 per remittance for each JN Money Transfer remittance. For any donation of J$2000 - J$5000 to the Shaggy Foundation through any JN Money Shop in Jamaica or US$20 to U$100 at any JN Money Transfer branch in NY, Connecticut and Florida and JNMT will waive the remittance fee on the donation.