Eslee Carberry, Publisher

At the Great Merger on 11 March 1973, the Convention delegates from the former St. David's based [Joint Endeavour for Welfare, Education and Liberation] JEWEL, and St. George's based [Movement for Assemblies of the People] MAP, elected Teddy Victor as the first Publications Secretary with responsibility for producing the newspaper "The New JEWEL." All operations, including distribution, were based in St. David's with the newspaper mimeo machine based at Sebastian Thomas's shop.

In October 1973, after having returned to Grenada from 17 years in the UK, Mr. Eslee Carberry replaced Teddy Victor as Publications Secretary. E.E.A. Carberry had launched, in the UK, a magazine titled "WestIndian World" and a newspaper "The Weekly Crusader."

Eslee Carberry was born in Grenada and raised in the Green Street, Carenage neighborhood of St. George's. He claims he

. . . grew up in the 'Rosary' with my parents and T.A. Marryshow as his adopted son.

After Carberry became Publications Secretary of the New Jewel Movement, according to Carberry, the printer was moved to Lucas Street in St. George's. Things changed, but that is another story.

Carberry addressed a letter to "Dear Fellow Grenadians", dated 7 November 1973. This was during the time of the 4 November 1973 People's Congress at Seamoon. The letter asked then Prime Minister Eric Gairy and his Ministers of Government to resign effective 18 November 1973. The letter followed "The Peoples Indictment".

A second letter from E.E. Carberry, dated 10 November 1973, was issued. The message was for island organizations to summon emergency meetings in support of the resolutions of 'The People's Indictment'.

According to Carberry, right before Maurice Bishop was arrested on 6 February 1974, Bishop said this:

Carberry, I appreciate the work you've been doing, but at a meeting of the Bureau, it was agreed that you are to relay all your releases to Phyllis Coard, since she is far more experienced in that field, effective from today (6th February 1974).

I turned to Maurice and said -

I am a member of the Bureau but I don't know about that decision

and, much to my surprise, he replied

the Inner Bureau.

A bad sign for the future for Carberry because by the 21 July 1974 meeting of the Co-ordinating Council of Delegates, Bishop informed the members of Carberry's 'resignation' as Publications Secretary effective 17 July 1974.

Teddy Victor had temporarily been re-appointed Publications Secretary. In August 1974, both Victor and Selwyn Strachan were appointed to an investigation committee to

look into the operations of the publications with a view of coming up with proposals geared towards the proper re-organisation of The Publications Committee with special emphasis on reducing the cost of production.

This report was to be sent to the Bureau on 27 August 1974.

Eslee Carberry moved on while remaining in Grenada to publish "The Westindian Crusader," which continued until 16 October 1979. The newspaper was printed in Barbados and registered in Kingstown, St. Vincent. Carberry was aiming to continue Grenadian journalism in the tradition of T.A. Marryshow's "The WestIndian."

Shortly after the coup of 13 March 1979, on Sunday, the 25th of March, the day of the Seamoon Victory Celebration, early in the morning PRA soldiers detained Eslee Carberry and York Marryshow. Both were taken to Richmond Hill Prison. Carberry reports he was rudely treated. Due to a personal request to the Prison Officer, according to Carberry, from Maurice and Angela Bishop, the two prisoners were shortly discharged. The Prison Officer at the time was the late Simon Daniel.

On the 5th of September, 1979, security personnel at Pearls Airport confiscated the copy of the "The WestIndian Crusader" which Carberry had been routinely taking to Barbados, by way of St. Vincent, to be printed.

The apparent trouble with the newspaper was a letter to the editor criticizing the PRG for asking the US to drop charges against Humphrey and Wardally.

Two weeks after Carberry's copy was impounded, his passport was seized by security forces. The reason for the removal of Carberry's passport was because it was believed government was afraid Carberry would leave the country to avoid an assault charge. It turned out the fact of the passport being confiscated was not revealed in the assault case when it came to Court.

The Magistrate Court date was 1 October 1979 on an assault charge from 13 September. Details of the alleged petty assault charge are unknown; the complaintants did not show, nevertheless Carberry was fined $25.

By 2 October 1979, Carberry's passport was returned to him.

With written permission from Special Branch of the Police Service, on 12 October 1979, Carberry made his way through the Immigration authority. He as aboard the "M.V. Perica," a vessel bound for St. Vincent.

The boat was off the pier when a member of the People's Revolutionary Army, and a stevedore claiming to be a security officer tried to stop the boat. The Captain refused unless the two men could get another boat out.

They came alongside in a rowboat and wanted Carberry. The Captain insisted Carberry had already passed through Immigration, but the men spoke of difficulties for the Captain if Carberry was not handed over. The Captain confirmed he wished to maintain his schedule and his boat went on.

Carberry lived in St. Vincent in exile with his wife. He flew to Trinidad 27 November 1979 to see his sister and to check on a medical matter. On that visit, Carberry was interviewed by "The Bomb" newspaper.

"The Westindian Crusader" was shut down as of 16 October 1979. Carberry was in St. Vincent on a Grenadian passport that was to come due for expiration 17 December of 1979, extended to 12 December 1981. He made application for St. Vincentian citizenship; even an appeal for refugee asylum with the United Nations. Carberry's name was on a 1980 Special Branch Watch List which was distributed to all Immigration stations.

Eslee Carberry later lived in Miami, Florida where he appeared to counter a presentation by Ian Jacobs on his PRG trip to North America. Carberry published a 'free' newspaper "The Caribbean Echo" in Florida starting 19 March 1984. Circa 2005 Carberry was drawn into a serious court proceeding.

Living in Grenada in early 2000-2012, E.E. Carberry is a publisher and editor. His publications include magazine-type booklets from the "Consumers Guide Grenada." These included "Hurricane Ivan Documentation" publication of 7 September 2004, "Grenada Recovery" published early 2005, and "Grenada, Carriacou & Petit Martinique Celebrating 31 Years of Independence" published following the 2005 Independence National Rally, 7 February 2005. Ewart Carberry registered "The Consumer Guide" name in Grenada on 15 Aug 2002, and also in St. Vincent & the Grenadines in July 1995. Eslee Carberry's former Florida-based publication "Caribbean Echo" was due to restart publication this time Grenada-based, in October-November 2008.

Eslee Carberry is attempting to finish his narrative of the events above and of his life in a book to be called Inside the JEWEL. A personal narrative is readily welcome as a primary source for the story of an interesting life.