IYN CEO, Gennike Mayers, was featured recently in the Trinidad Express newspaper speaking about her book titled “CARICOM: Good Offices, Good Neighbours. Explaining the diversity of CARICOM Member States’ approaches vis-à-vis the Venezuelan crisis” published by Lambert Academic Publishing.
She shared her views on bridging language barriers in such a crisis where the protagonists do not speak the same language. In the case of CARICOM diplomacy, the mainly English-speaking Member States are extending offers of mediation to the Spanish-speaking Venezuelan Government and Opposition. Additionally, some CARICOM Member States, particularly Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, are welcoming tens of thousands of Venezuelan migrants as a humanitarian gesture.
These diplomatic and humanitarian interventions are occuring among parties who do not share a common language or culture. The crisis underscores the need for building solid bridges across linguistic and cultural barriers.
