Cape Verdean News Items

December 18, 1996

DCJCC Insider Embassy Night at the Embassy of Cape Verde: A Big Success

by Carol Castiel - ccastiel@aol.com

The District of Columbia Jewish Community Center's popular Insider Embassy Night program attracted a capacity crowd for its latest event on December 18 at the Embassy of Cape Verde. Ambassador, H.E. Corentino Santos expounded on Cape Verde's Jewish roots, its diplomatic ties with Israel and the archipelago's recent attempts to spur economic development through trade, investment and tourism. Cape Verde, located about 650 kilometers off the coast of Senegal, West Africa was a Portuguese colony until it attained independence in 1975. The Ambassador explained that since its discovery in the mid-1400's , the island nation of 400,000 has experienced devastating cycles of drought and famine, but has survived these periods through dint of perseverence and hard work. Cape Verde is attacking its most stubborn problem, that of a shortage of fresh water, with the help of Israeli state-of-the-art technology and expertise in desalinization and irrigation. The Jewish state is constructing a desalinization plant in the capital city Praia.

The Ambassador also spoke of Cape Verde's Jewish heritage which derives from two major waves of immigration. In the late 15th century, Jews and Marranos (new Christians) fled to Cape Verde to escape the Portuguese Inquisition. Then, Jews from Morocco arrived in the late 19th century as reflected by Hebrew and Portuguese etchings on headstones in the several small Jewish cemeteries that dot the islands. The latter group came in search of economic opportunities and eventually assimilated with the predominantly Catholic population. Their descendants, though not practicing Jews, still bear the typically Sephardic surnames such as Cohen, Levy, Benros, Benoliel, Wahnon and Pinto, and speak with pride of their forebears. Through the newly- founded association AMICAEL, The Friends of Cape Verde and Israel, the descendants of these families have formed a committee to restore and preserve the Jewish cemeteries left by their ancestors.

In addition to the blood ties which bind the Jewish and Cape Verdean people, Ambassador Santos underscored two additional shared qualities: Both are a "diaspora people" (Cape Verdeans, like Jews, have traditionally emigrated to other lands), and both are "survivors" despite the myriad natural and man-made calamities that have befallen them throughout history.

*** A B I L I O   D U A R T E ***

** HOMENAGEM FROM A GRATEFUL CAPE VERDEAN NATION **

Raymond Almeida

        With Amilcar Cabral, Abilio Duarte was a founding member of the P.A.I.G.C. and a major player in the armed struggle to secure the independence of Cape Verde. He served the Republic of Cape Verde as its first Foreign Minister and later as President of the National Assembly. He was a poet and a composer and will live long in the cultural memory of our people.

        In the 1960s and early 1970's Abilio made himself accessable to Cape Verdean immigrants around the world and brought expression to his fundamental conviction that Cape Verdeans in the Islands joining hands with thier brothers and sisters in the international diaspora have the capacity and the responsibility to build and sustain an independent country. Abilio was one of the first Cape Verdean leaders to reach out to American-born Cape Verdeans to engage us in the struggle to change hearts and minds about where we were going AS A PEOPLE. Cape Verdeans in America responded by joing hands with Cape Verdean immigrants and building the PAIGC-USA Support Committee and later TCHUBA-The American Committee for Cape Verde, Inc. and other grassroots initiatives in the Cape Verdean American community.

        He believed in us and the critical role of solidarity in defending the permanent interests of the Cape Verdean Nation. May our willingness to continue to struggle for justice and sustainable development in Cape Verde and for solidarity within the international Cape Verdean Nation be the living tribute to the life of this Cape Verdean patriot.

*** REST IN PEACE / AUGUST 20, 1996 ***

Tell no lies. Claim no easy victories!

PAWTUCKET RHODE ISLAND CAPE VERDEANS JOIN HANDS FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Capeverdean American Community Development of Rhode Island (C.A.C.D.) have launched a ambitious program of service to their community which has deep roots in their culture and the spirit of "djunta-mon". In the remote villages of Cabo Verde neighbors still routinely join hands (in Kriolu literally, djunta-mon) to build a home for a neighbor in need, complete a community project or respond to a common threat in time of crisis. In this spirit local Pawtucket Cape Verdeans have also welcomed the concrete support C.A.C.D. is receiving from the City Year program and the many "Friends of Cape Verde" in southern New England who have been helping C.A.C.D. to realize its dream.

Japanese Sub Found in Atlantic

Subject: Japanese Sub Found in Atlantic
From: kensykes@news.epix.net (Albert Sykes)
Date: 1995/07/19

MessageID: 3uhtmm$d4k@grape.epix.net#1/1

organization: epix.net
newsgroups: sci.military.naval
The New York Times Science section reports the following :

Lost Japanese Sub with 2 tons of gold found on floor of Atlantic. 357 ft. long, the I-52 was carrying 4409 lbs of gold, 228 tons of tin, molybdenum, and tungsten, 54 tons of raw rubber, and 3 tons of quinine to Lorient, France, in exchange for German technology.

On the moonless night of 23 June 44 the I-52 rendezvoused with a German Sub 1200 mi. west of the Cape Verde Islands to pick up 2 German technicians with their radar detector, food and fuel.

An Avenger flying off the carrier Bogue, just after midnight picked up the I-52 on his radar, dropped flares and bombs but missed the diving sub. The Avenger then dropped acoustic bouys to find the sub and dropped his only torpedo which hit the submerged sub, sending it to the bottom! (Damned good flying!)

The finder of the I-52, Mr. Tidwell, hired a Russian research ship in a race with British salvagers to locate the wreck. Unlike the failed Brits, Mr. Tidwell refined the Bogue's navigation logs to find the sub. The I-52 lies in 17000 ft of water. It may be recovered by pumping it full of a special foam to float it to the surface. Mr. Tidwell is work- ing closely with Japanese authorities and has offered to return any per- sonal effects and possibly the whole submarine, if raised.

Total cost to locate and raise the sub is $6,ooo,ooo. The gold is worth $25,ooo,ooo. Not too bad for 5 years work.

Tallyho !
Alpha Kilo

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