This past week (June 18-21) leaders of CARICOM met with President George W. Bush and other top U.S. government officials in Washington as part of the Conference on the Caribbean. Official word from the U.S. Press Secretary is that: “The Conference on the Caribbean continues an important dialogue between the United States and CARICOM, and it forms an integral part of the President’s Western Hemisphere Initiative.” Discussions were meant to focus on economic growth, investing in people, and security issues, though some mainstream Caribbean media ran stories detailing additional items on the agendas of various CARICOM Heads of State. Even the international media reported on the conference. But Caribbean bloggers stayed unusually quiet, save for two references made by Barbados Free Press and Politics.bm to OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza's statement on the freedom of the press. It made me wonder what issues bloggers from CARICOM member states would want to discuss had they been the ones sitting across the table from President Bush. A few responded to my question – Jamaican Geoffrey Philp, Trinidadians Jonathan Ali and Karel Mc Intosh and Bahamian Nicolette Bethel – and their views were as interesting as they were diverse… Jonathan had an immediate reaction to what the conference itself was named and was sceptical about what it would achieve: “Catchy, important sounding title. But what does it really mean? What will the Caribbean actually get out of it? We’ve had similar conferences and summits in the past, but what have they actually achieved for the Caribbean? Ours are small, client economies with very little economic or political clout—even Trinidad and Tobago with its oil and gas has relatively little influence in international affairs. Our politicians go cap in hand up north, get their photos taken with the US president, and come back trying to convince their people that they’ve secured major deals and concessions. But the reality remains that the US holds all the aces, and whatever deals are made will have had their terms and conditions, ultimately, set by the US.” Geoffrey, who lives in Miami, put forward a unique perspective as a Caribbean-American. He admires the visceral love Americans have for their land and thinks it is an example Caribbean people could learn from. In fact, he sees changes already taking place and believes that the power to make a difference ultimately rests in the hands of the people of the region: “Whether it's in the Jamaica National Heritage Trust‘s recent initiatives unveiled at a recent Conference at the University of Miami's symposium, Archaeologies of Black Memory, or the Annual Sunrise Remembrance of the Middle Passage, there has been a shift in how many New World Africans in particular, have begun to look at the land and by extension and their bodies. For there is an intimate connection that we have begun to realize–that we are the eyes, ears, nose, mouth and skin of this earth where we stand. Wherever we stand. And we look to you and your governments, the elected elders, to preserve the past, nurture the present, and give hope for the future. We look to you to set a tone, project an attitude because we know that no government can nor should it try to solve all the problems in our region. What a government can do is inspire, and the people will follow. Inspire us and we’ll figure out a way to solve many of the problems.” In Geoffrey's view, one of the most pressing problems Jamaicans face is the protection of their holy spaces: “This may seem absurd to list as a priority when we face real problems with crime, unemployment, and dwindling resources. But as my current pastor, Rev. Dr. Annette Jones, says, “Seek ye first the kingdom and all other things will be added unto you.” Granted, the challenge to protect our holy spaces will be difficult because after years of slavery and colonialism the restoration to wholeness of the body and minds of New World Africans is a formidable task. A war has been raged over the bodies of New World Africans and it has extended to the land that we stand on and the space we occupy. We need to redeem our bodies and our space. To paraphrase Marcus Garvey–we need backbones and not wishbones. We'll sell our sacred spaces for any price. And if this sounds like the ephemeral rant of an artist, do you think any American government would sell the Washington Monument or a piece of Arlington Cemetery because oil was found underneath? And yet everyday we hear in Jamaica of new plans to mine the Cockpit Country, to exploit one of the last pristine and ecological sensitive spaces located in the heart of Jamaica for a profit.