Barbadians have been advised to carefully assess news about US immigration policies, separating fact from fiction, by Vic Fernandes, Barbados’ newly appointed ambassador to the United States and permanent representative to the Organisation of American States (OAS).
In one of his first public addresses here since assuming his role, the Washington-based diplomat and Rotarian, addressing the Rotary Club of Barbados’ lunchtime meeting on Thursday, acknowledged that immigration policies had shifted significantly since President Trump began his second term. But he stressed that it was important to critically analyse news from the superpower as he pushed back against “hyperbole” and rumours of the fate of Barbadian migrants.
“Obviously there are changes taking place in Washington and across the world, and those changes impact on us. One of the difficulties that you face on a daily basis is separating fiction from fact. Everybody would have heard that there are 151 Barbadians in detention…that’s not true,” he explained. “If I told you it’s not even in double digits, and that is the fact, then you begin to understand. Sometimes the hyperbole and all of the excitement around the charges and the allegations about these things, we can’t treat as if it is fact, but also you can’t disregard it. So we have to investigate it, interrogate it and make sure we have the facts.”
While recognising immigration as a significant concern, the ambassador underscored that it is only one of several priorities he intends to address during his tenure.
“We have some priorities right now, obviously immigration matters would naturally come front and centre, but that may be temporary, and therefore we don’t want to be focused solely on those things”
Ambassador Fernandes highlighted the importance of commercial diplomacy: “There is a big focus on trying to look for commercial opportunities – what we call commercial diplomacy – so that requires engagement with as many of the players that you can find. Whether it’s at congress, whether it’s at the trade associations and so on. That is a big priority to see if we could attract people into Barbados [for] opportunities for investors.”
The long-time broadcaster, in his first diplomatic posting, also announced efforts to build a comprehensive database of Barbadians residing in the United States, noting the challenge in networking with young professional Barbadians living in the States.
“We are trying to build a database of Barbadians across the US; you run into people either on the street or functions who either heard of you or knew you and you discover that they are Barbadian,” he said. “Now they are associations but the truth about the associations is that most of the associations seem to be populated with people over a certain age group. The young professionals, they are committed, they love their country, but they feel they [can’t] devote the time and resources to meetings and so on. So you have to now try to sus them out and find where they are and meet them where they are.”
Reflecting on a significant milestone during his ambassadorship, Fernandes celebrated the recent election of Surinamese Foreign Minister Albert Ramdin as the new OAS secretary general. Ramdin is the first Caribbean person elected to the position.
Ambassador Fernandes said: “We have not always done it as a region, [but] CARICOM stood firm. Coming into the home stretch it was clear that the other candidate did not have a chance. One by one, the neighbours of that country’s candidate came on board, and by acclamation last week Monday, Albert Ramdin was elected to be the next secretary general of the OAS, and he will take up duties in June. For me, that was one of the greatest highlights of my tour of duty.”
The Rotarian also presented a donation of just under $5 700 to the Rotary Trust Fund for the Schoolhouse for Special Needs, raised from a silent auction held in Washington in 2024 for Barbados’ Independence celebrations.
(SB)
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