Stories about History from September, 2011
Why don’t South Asians talk to each other?
South Asians consist of one fifth of the planet’s population and they have similar cultures. And yet some kind of loose confederation between South Asian countries looks like an unattainable dream. Dheera Sujan at South Asia Wired wonders why South Asians usually do not talk to each other.
Trinidad & Tobago: Black Power Documentary
“You could put all of the scholarship produced by the University of the West Indies and all the newspaper and TV stories done about the 1970 uprising in Trinidad and Tobago on one side and, when you tossed the single DVD of ’70: Remembering a Revolution into the other pan,...
Caribbean: Bloggers Saddened by Wangari Mathai's Death
Bloggers from Jamaica, Barbados and the Bahamas mourn the death of “The great African (Kenyan) environmentalist…and the first African woman to win the Nobel Prize, Wangari Maathai”.
Jamaica: Gratitude to Garvey
In his ongoing effort to petition President Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey, Geoffrey Philp says: “Marcus Garvey's cause was justice, plain and simple. And it is ironic that unjust methods were used to malign his good name and to bring about his eventual imprisonment on fraudulent charges.”
Guinea-Bissau: Celebrating Independence with a Tribute to Aristides Pereira
On the 38th anniversary of PAIGC's (African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde) declaration of independence of Guinea Bissau, many bloggers are paying tribute to the leader of the struggle at that time, Aristides Pereira [pt], who later became the first President of Cape Verde. Pereira died...
Cuba: “Capitalism of the Castros”
Iván García explains that “the Cuba of the 21st century is split in two. The islet of the gentleman and the atoll of the comrade.”
Haiti: Duvalier's Lawyer Disrupts Press Conference
mediahacker posts audio of “one of Jean-Claude Duvalier’s lawyers…attempt[ing] to shout over Gerardo Ducos, a researcher for Amnesty International, as he [spoke] to reporters…about his organization’s call for prosecuting the former dictator.”
Ukraine: Chernobyl Trip Reports
At Desolation Travel, Jane Keeler and Derek Kedziora write about their trip to Chernobyl this past summer.
India: The Coffee House Of Kolkata
Bong Mom passionately writes about the Coffee House at College Street in Kolkata, a legendary meeting place for the Bengali literati.
Bermuda: No Easy Fix for Term Limits
Respice Finem says that when it comes to term limits, there are no simple solutions and recommends that “now is a good time to revisit and assess if its current form is best suited to Bermuda today.”
Curacao: Financial Reality
“Yesterday an IMF delegation presented their 2011 Article IV Consultation Discussions: Preliminary Conclusions with the usual rhetoric, cut, reform, kill mantra”: TRIUNFO DI SABLIKA posts a poem intended to show “that these programmed Washington DC economists are not gods.”
Belize: First Prime Minister Passes On
“Belize’s founding father and first prime minister has died at the age of 92,” notes Repeating Islands; Life in a Banana Republic writes about her memories of the man, saying: “I shared a historical moment with the first Prime Minister of Belize with Rt. Hon. George Cadle Price, and I...
Trinidad & Tobago: Republic Day Fare
As Trinidad and Tobago prepares to celebrate Republic Day this weekend, TriniGourmet.com posts “a menu suggestion for your table!”
Cameroon: What if We Did Not Vote on October 9?
In Cameroon, the October 9 presidential election does not seem to be generating much interest amongst the general public. For many Cameroonians, this election has no real stake and voters don't see casting their ballot as worth the trouble, since the outcome is already in favor of incumbent President Paul Biya.
Ukraine: Georgiy Gongadze Memorial Rally in Kyiv
Olena Bilozerska (LJ user bilozerska) posts photos and video [uk] from the Sep. 16 Georgiy Gongadze memorial rally in Kyiv. Following a discussion in the comments section of ex-President Leonid Kuchma's role in Gongadze's case, LJ user fidel_80 writes [ru]: “I'm sorry for [Gongadze]. Could someone give me links to...
Russia, Ukraine: Gas Relations Analysis
Nils van der Vegte of RussiaWatchers examines the current status of the gas relations between Russia and Ukraine.
Sri Lanka: Identity Crisis
Shaahima Fahim at Groundviews discusses about the notion of the search for national identity in the post-war Sri Lanka.
Curacao: Images of Slavery Inappropriate
TRIUNFO DI SABLIKA takes issue with certain images on the Golden Coach, which has become the symbol of the Dutch monarchy: “The sidebar ‘Tribute of the Colonies’ activates great resistance from us. On that side are half-naked black men and women who offer their riches to the royal king. In...
Jamaica: “Ma Lou”‘s Art
National Gallery of Jamaica Blog profiles another art pioneer: “Louisa Jones…popularly known as Ma Lou…a national treasure and a master practitioner of the African-Jamaican pottery tradition.”
UK: Vasily Grossman's “Life and Fate” on BBC Radio 4
Sarah J. Young writes about BBC Radio 4's “adaptation of Vasily Grossman’s vast and still under-appreciated novel Life and Fate” (the first episode is scheduled to be aired on Sept. 18).
Iran: “Prince of Persia” launched his own blog
Reza Pahlavi, the older son of the late Shah of Iran, launched a blog in Persian. He says he wants to be in touch with the Iranian young generation. He named his blog:” a word with you”.