Between concern and optimism, West Indians in New York scrutinize the American presidential election campaign

Welcome to Little Caribbean ! In this Brooklyn neighborhood, Trinidadians, Saint Lucians and other African-Americans from Barbados and the French West Indies live side by side. The colors, the music, the shops bring you a little piece of the Caribbean right in New York.

This is what appealed to Janluk Stanislas when he moved here five years ago. Co-founder of the platform and store I am Caribbeingthe Guadeloupean is not yet an American citizen but he is following the campaign closely.

The excesses of Donald Trump worry him. “He has lots of messages that are anti-immigration and somehow, I'm an immigrant toohe recalls. I am a French-speaking Caribbean, I am not only French, there is an additional dynamic.”

The former American president does not hesitate to convey false and racist remarks such as the fact that Haitians eat dogs and cats. Beyond the fact that they pollute the countryside, they illustrate a radicalization of American society.

Some West Indians like Audrey Célestine, a Martinican professor at New York University, are concerned about the possibility of Donald Trump returning to power. “It's a bit astonishing because he is announcing quite clearly a program that is very undemocratic. We have the feeling that work to dismantle American institutions will continue in the near future.“, she notes.

In particular, she fears a regression in women's rights: “There is a real danger for women who are prevented from accessing abortion.“Members of the Queens Women March organization, which helps women in difficulty, also plan to vote for Kamala Harris.

But New York remains a cosmopolitan bubble that votes Democratic, just like California, unlike Kentucky or of Oklahoma which are pro-Republican states.

Above all, this polarization of American society is not surprising, according to Melvin Manchau. This Guadeloupean is an IT strategy consultant. He has lived in the United States for 16 years, green card but don't vote yet.

“There is no country today where immigration issues, social issues, relations between men and women, religious and cultural issues are not at the center of the debate.he thinks. And the Americans ask themselves the same questions with the same difficulties.”

One of her Guadeloupean compatriots, Marilyne Cox, believes in the victory of Kamala Harris. Agent at the French consulate, she even took American nationality in 2016, as a snub to the first election of Trump, elected at the end of 2016 and became president of the United States between 2017 and 2021.

“We don't know what will happen, but for the moment I don't even prefer to think about it too much.she confesses. I prefer to think that it is Kamala Harris who will pass and then, if she passes, we will see.”

Like Marilyn, 240 million American voters are called to the polls this Tuesday, November 5.