Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc.

 Garifunas journey back to St Vincent and the Grenadines

New York – The Board of Directors of the Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc. a, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization is pleased to inform that the Regional Integration and Diaspora Unit (RIDU) Office of the Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, has accepted its proposal for Vincy Homecoming 2009-The Garifuna Reunion. The Garifuna Reunion is scheduled for July 19-25, 2009.

As descendants from shipwrecked slaves who sought refuge in mainland St. Vincent and  intermarried with the Caribs and Arawaks, the Garifunas or Black Caribs, are part of the unique cultures and melting pot of ethnicities that have their roots in the Caribbean.

211 years ago, everybody wondered if the Garifunas were going to survive as a people and live a long healthy life. Two years after the paramount Garifuna Chief Joseph Chatoyer was killed on March 14, 1795, the Garifuna people were exiled from their native  land  of  St Vincent (Yurumein!) to the island of Roatán , off the coast of Honduras from where they dispersed along the Atlantic coast of Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and Nicaragua. However, 212 years later, not only have they survived but will be returning to their homeland St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Yurumein!) The Board of Directors of the Garifuna Coalition has organized a planning committee for this historic event and has extended invitations to Garifuna organizations of the Diaspora to participate and will publish additional details in the near future.