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THIS is the name of a magazine which the National Joint Action Committee (NJAC) of Trinidad and Tobago has just put on the a6 market to meet the needs “of the black woman in the Carib- bean.” Defining “black woman” to mean both the Caribbean women of African and Indian descent, this magazine effort by NJAC represents part of the educational programme of the organisation. In an over-view of the Caribbean scene the NJAC women wrote iff one — article entitled ‘““RAPPING” to the “Sisters and Brothers of the Caribbean”: THROUGHOUT the Carib- bean, the air is charged with oppression. And it is oppression coupled with disease, hunger, malnutrition and squalor. CORRUPTION 4 Yet there is plenty plenty for few. The white parasites. The few Black-skinned political lackeys and their hangers-on who thrive on back + room deals, bribes and who use politics as a road to instant _ wealth. the Corruption is the name of game. In Trinago, the Auditor General’s report for 1974, disclosed that there were a total of “563 cases of fraud, loss and other irregularities in government ministries involving a total sum of $404,628: that were unsettled up to June 30th last year.’ It was further report- ed that some “11.9 ~ million doilars from the Petroleum Development fund were not accounted for last year.” TACTICS Our next door neighbour Grenada, has been living . on loans and grants from countries as near and far as Trinago, Nigeria and England. Just in May of this year, it was dis- f closed by the British Govern- ment that $960,000: loaned to Gairy, not long before the Independence “gift” of $480,000: had been misappro- priated —- not used to carry out the aid projects planned. And it is the same song every where else. Corruption, mismanagement and a few gett- ing richer while the majority suffer unending poverty and are pressured by rising expectations that cannot be satisfied under this system. Therein lies the reason for those in power, and determined to stay there to enforce stronger and stronger _ tactics oppression. These corrupt puppet regimes realise that in order to stay in power they must control the means of communication. Because it is through communica- tion that people become aware of the causes of their suffering and how to ease them. So in the Caribbean, there of | is. Rosetta sis Onikaer ear is a clamp down on travel, a key means of communicating. CARICOM or no CARICOM, Biack peopie of the Caribbean will not be allowed to travel freely if they are suspected of being able to expose injustices that our people are suffering. RESTRICTIONS In Guyana, the means is simple, beyond a very meagre sum of $15: nothing more of Guyanese currency is allowed out of Guyana. How could anyone spend time in another island with $15: which cannot be spent outside of Guyana anyhow, as the banks in the other islands do not accept Guyanese currency?. And with 5 Sis. Olabisi Sa 5 4Sis, Fint q Sis. Abenkina S Jamaica, it is the same thing. No banks outside of Jamaica accept Jamaican currency. While all this is going on, the cost of travel from one island to the next is quickly increasing. As far as restrictions of travel go, we here in Trinago are not as subtie. There exists a persona non grata list and those unlucky enough to find themselves on that list are banned from entering _ the country — no reason need be given. So the lists’ grows Stokeley Carmichael; Carl Black- wood, former UWI student from Jamaica involved in the 1970 uprisings; Pat Emanuel, UWI lecturer from Grenada; Bill Rivere — UWI lecturer from Dominica; Bobby _ lawyer from Barbados and a Clarke — }. — \ member of the Caribbean Steer- ing Committee. Each territory has its list. Recently when our Daaga (formerly Geddes Granger) and Kambon (Dave Darbeau) also members of the Caribbean Steering Committee, attempted to travel, they found out that with the exception of Guyana, Jamaica and Barbados, there was pretty much no where else in the Caribbean that they could travel to. But the corrupt regimes have not stopped at _ travel. Presently, the printed word is under heavy attack right through the Caribbean. We had an example in Guyana where “Dayclean,’ a paper exposing the corruption of the Burnham regime, written in Guyana, but forced to print in Trinago (due to printing hardships in Guyana} was bann- ed from entering Guyana. MUZZLE The Working People’s Alliance (WPA), decided that they must find a new way to communicate with the people brothers | so they attempted to continue | to print Dayclean, but as a stencilled leaflet (generally no more than one page). But these Caribbean governments are so afraid of truth, that for this, Moses Bhagwan, ieader of IPRA (Indian People’s Revolutionary Association) and a member of WPA was arrested and charged with being the editor of an illegal newspaper. Deposit fees and licence fees for Newspapers have sky- rocketed in Antigua and Grenada in an attempt to close down all opposition papers. So _ in Grenada, a deposit fee of $20,000: is now required plus a licence fee of $500: and in Antigua it is $10,000: and $600: respectively. The Afro-Caribbean news- paper, “Outlet” of Antigua has been forced to stop printing due to this latest move. And in Grenada, New Jewel Movement members, who continued to publish and distri- | bute their newspaper in defiance of this repressive law, were severely beaten, arrested and charged. So it is quite clear that the muzzle is on. In the light of all this stifling of the views of Biack people of the Caribbean, we the women of the National Joint Action Committee, feel bound to try and open a new avenue of commemication for our people and Black women in particular. ne RAP WITH US We feel that it és the Black woman particularly who is used to bolster the statws quo; it is she who is least reached by non- governmental facts and figures; it is she who is bombarded >y European-American ‘values and yet it is she who must give courage to the Black man, who must give direction to her children, who must assist in the fight to change this corrupt, vicious whitewashed system. So we have begun to com- ' municate in this our first issue. ‘But communication is not . -@ one way business — we hope - you will feel free to rap with us. } ! your ‘ideas, your § criticisms and information about * . Send us your country. We are looking | building forward to hearing from Black women and men who wish to contribute in some way to and widening this avenue of communication with | our people. the’