Census report shows spike in Caribbean community

[vortex]

http://sun-sentinel.com/community/ne...,5229357.story
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Census report shows spike in South Florida's Caribbean community
By Georgia East

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

December 9, 2008

LAUDERHILL

Inside Bedessee East-West Indian Foods, reggae Christmas carols blare as shoppers fill their baskets with curry powders, yellow yam and sorrel leaves — a few Caribbean staples.

Cricket bats line a back wall, along with an array of flags and ethnic movies. When owner Ravi Bedessee opened the market in Lauderhill 16 years ago he knew the area had potential. But he didn't expect the Caribbean community would grow so rapidly.

"It went up steadily at first. But after 2000, it just exploded," said Bedessee, a Guyanese native who runs the business with his wife, Seeta.

Stroll down the 12th Street corridor in Lauderhill and the growing Caribbean presence is clear: Caribbean herbal stores, restaurants and money transfer stores line the strip plazas. It's happening in North Lauderdale, as well.

A census report released to the public today shows that the West Indian population in both cities jumped by about 10 percentage points since 2000. The number has risen from about one of every five North Lauderdale residents in 2000 to almost one in three last year. In Lauderhill, Caribbeans accounted for about one of every four in 2000; in 2007, it rose to almost two of every five.

Delray Beach in Palm Beach County also experienced a spike and is now about 16 percent West Indian, compared with about 12 percent in 2000. The census looked at some of the smaller cities in our area, with populations between 25,000 and 65,000.

While Lauderdale Lakes was not included in the latest census report, it is historically known for having a large Caribbean community. In 2000 it was 35 percent West Indian. The increases in the neighboring communities of Lauderhill and North Lauderdale have solidified the dramatic Caribbean growth in central Broward.

The conveniences of having specialty markets and religious institutions nearby often play a role in where people decide to settle, experts say.

"People tend to move to an area where they have friends or relatives and find other cultural affinities," said Richard Ogburn of the South Florida Regional Planning Council.

Romeo Bryan, a stylist at Island Trends Salon in Lauderhill, said with the new cricket stadium recently built in the city and the array of Caribbean restaurants and businesses, he sees why the city is popular among expats.

"In terms of transportation, this is a good location for my clients who don't drive," said Bryan, whose shop is near a busy bus stop.

Lauderhill has given rise to a number of commissioners of Caribbean ancestry. The city's parks are often hot spots for competitive soccer matches, and the new stadium recently hosted an international cricket tournament.

The community's changes are not lost on Bedessee, who is expanding his business to sell more cricket gear.

Trinidadian native Stephen Kissoon recently picked up some Shandy Ginger Beer at Bedessee's and visited the back wall to look at the cricket bats.

"You see these?" he said pointing to the bats. "You don't find this kind of stuff any and everywhere."

Database Specialist John Maines and Staff Researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.

Georgia East can be reached at geast@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4629.

[Captainron]

There's hardly a corner of the US that is safe from an influx of illegals. I have been passing along official government reports about document fraud, visa fraud, marriage scames, you name it....on to our elected officials. Does anyone actually care?

[Anna-Anna]

Careful -- nowhere in that article does it say these are illegal immigrants. I would dare say that the majority of these are LEGAL immigrants. They don't have the luxury like Mexico of having a common land border with the U.S. that is easily breached. They have to come through an airport and customs and be thoroughly screened.

They congregate in the same communities, very much like the early 20th century LEGAL European immigrants did on the lower east side of Manhattan. Back then, once they started to become affluent, they moved out to other burroughs or states.

And here's a plus, it appears these immigrants are from English-speaking island nations, so that's one cultural barrier we won't have to worry about. If anything, they may join with us in the fight to make English the official language of the U.S.

There may be a few of them who have overstayed their tourist visas, however. If so, then they need to be deported.