The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat joins the people of the Caribbean in mourning the passing this week of two great West Indians who contributed significantly to the development of Caribbean society – Dr. Alistair Hughes, outstanding Grenadian journalist and Hon. Allan Rae O.J., Jamaican attorney-at-law and former West Indian opening batsman and cricket administrator.
Secretary-General of CARICOM His Excellency Mr. Edwin Carrington said both are distinguished sons of the Caribbean whose unique contribution in their respective fields helped to build the foundations of the modern Caribbean society and enshrine the fine legacy we now enjoy as Caribbean people.
He noted that Dr. Hughes was a tireless and fearless advocate of the Caribbean people's right to information and for decades, often against great odds, was an active participant in providing information that met the highest standards of journalism, his chosen craft. “Dr. Hughes, more than most others, did much to capture for the reading and listening public the dynamics of political change and economic developments in the Caribbean and especially in Grenada,” the Secretary-General added.
Meanwhile Mr. Carrington described Allan Rae as being among the architects of West Indian greatness in the area of cricket. He recalled Mr. Rae's unforgettable contribution as a successful opening batsman for the West Indies in the 1940s and 1950s, his brilliant representation of the Region at the 1978 World Cricket Conference and his outstanding work as president of the West Indies Cricket Board in the 1980s. He expressed the view that, “Allan Rae's seminal contribution to the building of the edifice of regional integration through that powerful uniting force of cricket will remain indelibly etched in our memory and in the annals of Caribbean History.”
The CARICOM Secretariat extends to the families of these great West Indians deepest sympathy on their and the region's great loss.
