2004 Speeches

Making the World a Better Place

Feb. 11, 2004

Dr. Roy L. Austin
U.S. Ambassador
Address to the Rotary Club of St. Augustine

Good Evening!

I am happy to be here with you to help you celebrate World Understanding Month. It is entirely appropriate that you who have given graduate scholarships to “enhance World Understanding and Peace” should designate a month to draw attention to world understanding; and I applaud Rotary International’s choice of a goal to promote through these scholarships. I venture to say that every sane person will support your endeavor to try to advance world understanding.

I must admit before I utter any more positive statements about the Rotary movement that I may be somewhat biased. I am an honorary member of the Princes Town Rotary Club; but to help allay suspicious of bias, I must add that I would not have accepted membership when it was offered if I had not been convinced that I was being asked to be an associate of a group of people who practiced what Rotary’s motto states: “Service Above Self.” Such altruism deserves our highest praise, and should be emulated by every person with the ability to do so.

The birthplace and activities of Rotary International must be kept in mind as you consider many statements I shall make this evening. Just in the event that some members of this audience are not members of Rotary, the USA is the birthplace to which I refer; and Rotary International, in accord with its motto, has funded Graduate and undergraduate scholarships, some specifically in the field of Journalism. You should not be surprised that, like this organization that was born in America, the American government and other American institutions are “Making the World a Better Place,” the subject of my remarks this evening, by educating people from around the world.

What other activities of Rotary are relevant to my planned remarks? This Club’s 35th anniversary publication states that “The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International is progressively spending millions of dollars to assist the poor and needy around the World.” The Foundation’s Health, Hunger and Humanity (3-H) Grants exemplify this claim; and one of the better known of the Foundation’s health programs is Polio Plus which sought to eradicate polio by the year 2000. I shall be giving you examples of ways in which the American government and people are making the World a Better Place” with similar humanitarian activities.

Unfortunately, the image of America that I have so far presented is contrary to that portrayed in your local media. Recently, I asked our Public Affairs Section to examine local print media for editorials and columns favorable and unfavorable to America. The report that I received indicated that for the period from January 2, 2004 through February 10, 2004, there were 20 opinions unfavorable to America and zero favorable. There was one favorable letter noted. Yet, a few weeks ago, when I commented in an interview on the overwhelming anti-American bias in local media, one columnist advised that I “should really note the public behavior of the other diplomatic representatives – diplomatically quiet and proper.” I shall call this statement, that diplomats are prohibited from verbally labeling criticisms of their country, the Aryanist’s Code of Diplomatic Conduct. Why? Because the columnist seems to be fond of equating the United States with Nazi Germany.

I must also note two contradictory elements in the column to which I just referred. Firstly, this member of the media apparently believes that the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech and expression that has been so vigorously defended in local media recently should not extend beyond the Fourth Estate. Secondly, although his column suggested that I was unfair in characterizing the print media as generally anti-American, he provided a list of editors and columnists he imagines as heading our “no-fly” list. I am left to wonder whether he is agreeing with my characterization and nominating these persons for membership in his anti-American Hall of Fame.

The false media image of America portrayed in the local press goes much further. Our efforts to prevent another 9/11 are too great an inconvenience to some members of the media. One editorial headline describes these protective measures as “trampling on [the] rights of others.” Another editorial refers to “the hysterical so called ‘war on terror’ being bruited about by the U.S. Administration.” And one columnist saw “hysteria and paranoia” in our introduction of biometric security measures and sky marshals.

How many Rip Van Winkles write for Trinidad’s print media? In this country, Washington Irving’s 1820 fictional character who slept for 20 years has apparently been cloned a few times and has slept through terrorist attacks against American interests in Kenya, Tanzania, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and in the continental USA. How else can I explain diagnoses of hysteria and paranoia?

Do requests for Non-Immigrant Visas to America help us to understand people’s reactions to the 9/11 four-aircraft terrorist attack in America? In Trinidad, Non-Immigrant Visa applications declined from 33,011 in 2002 to 24,818 in 2003. For the World as a whole, these applications declined from 8.4 million to 6.2 million for the same years. While an increased processing fee may partially explain the decline, it is reasonable to believe that fear of travel because of terrorist acts forms part of the explanation. A decrease in the number of Americans traveling overseas certainly suggests fear as one explanation because a fee-increase may be irrelevant in the case of Americans.

As for the negative response to biometric security measures, they add less than 30 seconds to a visa interview. Fingerprinting is inkless; and the inclusion of biometric data in travel records will make it easier to replace lost or stolen travel documents. Also, fingerprints will make travel to the US safer for legitimate travelers, allowing more reliable verification of identity and having the potential to reduce the use of stolen and counterfeit visas. Is the inconvenience of these security measures really too burdensome to exchange for greater safety in the skies and in America?

In any event, The number of visas issued to Trinidadians allow me to begin my focus on American efforts at Making the World a Better Place. The world improves when people interact with one another and develop friendly relationship. From October 2001 to September 2002, our embassy issued 33,500 Non-Immigrant visas and 2,111 Immigrant visas to Trinidadians. In the following fiscal year, the numbers were 23,300 and 2118. That is, America continues to provide the opportunity for friendly interaction between its people and others around the world. America also makes it possible for nationals of other countries to improve their lives through residence in a “land of opportunity.”

Now let us consider some of America’s educational gifts to the world. Our Fulbright Program may more clearly than any other American Program enunciate a goal that reflects the subject I am discussing. This program is designed to “increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.” Since its inception over 50 years ago, thousands of persons have studied, taught, observed each other’s institutions, exchanged ideas, and developed projects that address global issues in the Program.

Many Trinidadians have benefited from the Fulbright program and are making valuable contributions to this country. They include a university principal, a Justice who chairs an important Commission, a well-known calypsonian, and a Permanent Secretary.

Between 1979 and 2003, fifty-four Trinidadians from the following institutions participated in Fulbright faculty and institutional development programs: The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine; The College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAAT); the Institute of Marine Affairs; the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources; the Sir Hugh Wooding Law School; and the National Institute of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (NIHERST).

Also, six students are currently studying in the US on 2-year Fulbright Master’s or Ph.D grants. Three other students are in the US on 3-10 month professional or post-doctoral non-degree Hubert Humphrey or Fulbright programs; and two persons are completing studies in the Fulbright 2000 Program that is partially funded by local companies but with US university tuition scholarships.

Additionally, eight Trinidadian nominees are undergoing Fulbright Board Review for US Government fully funded 2-year Master’s or Ph.D studies. Five are undergoing review for non-degree professional or post-doctoral fully funded studies. And five are being reviewed by the Fulbright Board for Fulbright 2000 grants.

Within recent weeks, I attended the launching of Trinidad and Tobago’s Center of Excellence for Teacher Training (CETT). This is one of several such Centers in the Western Hemisphere announced by President George Bush at the 2001 Summit of the Americas. The Centers’ goal is to improve literacy and learning throughout this hemisphere; and they are expected to train 15,000 teachers and reach 1,000,000 primary school students over four years. The US Government has pledged US $20 million over those years through USAID to fund the Centers. All twelve independent countries in the English-speaking Caribbean Island nations will have CETTs. So will Guyana, Belize, the Andean Region of South America, and Central America.

Although I have not exhausted American educational contributions to making the world a better Place, time demands that I turn to other areas of concern beginning with health.

The U.S. Government provides funding for HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean through programs administered by US federal agencies and international organizations. In fiscal year 2003, the U.S. Government’s contribution to the Caribbean through government agencies amounted to US $38.4 million. The U.S. Government has also provided 38% of donor country contributions to the Global Fund to date; and in fiscal year 2003, the Global Fund expended US $39.4 million on HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean.

The U.S. Government funding for HIV/AIDS in Trinidad and Tobago in fiscal year 2003 was U.S. $693,000. However, Living Waters Community in Trinidad also received US $2.9 million worth of medical equipment. It is important to mention also that U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is active in Trinidad, funding a senior lab advisor at CAREC and having a care and treatment team working to develop a national care and treatment plan for the country.

Additionally, the U.S. Government in each of the last two years has provided me with a U.S. $20,000 Ambassador’s Fund for HIV/AIDS related projects in this country. Last year, this money funded the Ambassador’s Song and Verse Stigma Reduction Contest among students. In 2004, most of this money will fund an art program aimed at HIV/AIDS awareness in Tobago.

In the allied area of nutrition, the U.S. Government in 2003 donated over 500,000 pounds of dry milk valued at US $476,000 to the people of Trinidad and Tobago through the US Department of Agriculture. The grant is renewable for 2004 and 2005. The Living Waters Community distributes the milk to children, the elderly and the indigent in Trinidad. Robin Mahfood, President of Food for the Poor, stated after receiving the first shipment: “Over 28,000 children and elderly will be receiving this life-giving nourishment every day, and it will make a difference in their lives. To children suffering from under-nutrition, this gift is priceless.”

Here is a summary of U.S. Dollars spent in the Caribbean by USAID on non-HIV/AIDS projects. On Improving the Business Environment to meet International Standards for FY 2000 through FY 2003: U.S. $11.6 million in Barbados and the OECS and $583,100 in Trinidad. On Improved Environmental Management by Public and Private Entities: U.S. $8.0 million in Barbados and the OECS and U.S. $604,652 in Trinidad and Tobago for FY ‘00 through FY ’03. And for Increased Efficiency and Fairness of Legal Systems: U.S. $5.2 million in Barbados and OECS and U.S. $72,927 in Trinidad and Tobago.

I must say a few words about one controversial area in which we have helped to improve people’s lives but are not generally recognized as having done so. I speak of military intervention and mention only a few recent cases. There is Grenada in 1983-84, Iraq 1990-?, Somalia 1992-94, Yugoslavia 1992-94, Bosnia 1993-95, Haiti 1994-96, Zaire 1996-97, Afghanistan 2001, and Iraq 2003. In Grenada, the press is free again and there are elections to select a government. Neither condition was enjoyed under the Revolutionary government. In Afghanistan today, women have rights they were denied under the Taliban. In Iraq, the Kurdish population and the Shi’a religious community were suppressed by Saddam Hussein’s regime. Women were raped and often videotaped during the rape to blackmail their families. Citizens were publicly beheaded, and their families required to display their heads as a warning to others who might question the politics of the regime. The people of Iraq now have the opportunity to democratize their government and live under the rule of reasonable laws. Compare that situation to what obtains after the American invasion and draw your own conclusions.

In the interest of time, I have omitted mention of our activities to protect the environment, and reduce illegal drug-trafficking and other crimes; but what I have said is sufficient to make you realize that America has done and continues to do more than perhaps any other country to make this world a better place. Perhaps, you can tell me why there seems to be a conspiracy to keep this knowledge from the people of Trinidad and Tobago and to offer only negative views of America.