Stories about History from January, 2011
Jamaica, Haiti: The “Baby Doc” Blues
Jamiacan diaspora litblogger Geoffrey Philp pens a poem for Haiti's reportedly “homesick dictator”.
Haiti: About “Baby Doc”
“Préval, who will complete his mandate which runs from 2006 to 2011, has betrayed the aspirations of the Haitian people. Now he organizes the return of a dictator who should...
Cuba, U.S.A.: Effects of Lifting Travel Limits
“President Barack Obama's decision to loosen limits on travel and remittances from the United States to Cuba is a gift the Castro dictatorship has not earned”: Uncommon Sense links to...
St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Haiti: On the Return of “Baby Doc”
Empath has a question about the return of Jean-Claude Duvalier to Haiti: “How is he able to do return and not Aristide?”
Sudan: Chronicles of Darfur
Lidwien reviews a new book by Jerome Tubiana, Chroniques du Darfour (Chronicles of Darfur): “This is a unique contribution to the growing field of Dar Fur studies, which brings to...
Haiti: Duvalier Visit Political Red Herring?
A little more than a year after a debilitating earthquake practically leveled the Haitian capital and destroyed innumerable surrounding towns, killing thousands and leaving survivors homeless (tent cities are still full, despite millions of dollars in relief aid pledged), exiled dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier returned to his homeland. Many bloggers are still stunned at this latest political development and remain unclear as to the motive behind his visit.
Sri Lanka: Archive of Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) submissions and media reports
Groundviews has launched two archives covering media reports on and submissions to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) of Sri Lanka.
Cuba: Where Do We Go From Here?
“In 2011, the sad thing isn’t that history is repeating itself, nor that they might recognize their mistakes after so much time in power…what is inconceivable is that they keep...
Jamaica, Guadeloupe, T&T, U.S.A.: MLK Day
“Dr. King's importance lies in his challenge to expand our moral imagination”: Geoffrey Philp and other regional bloggers pay tribute to the late American civil rights leader Martin Luther King...
D.R. of Congo: Remembering Patrice Lumumba
Dave Donelson remembers Patrice Lumumba: “Lumumba's death just months after his choice as the Democratic Republic of Congo's first freely-elected leader was akin to strangling the infant nation in its...
Bulgaria: Bloggers Discuss the Soviet Army Monument in Sofia
The Soviet Army Monument in Sofia was built in 1954, in honor of the victory over the Nazis in World War II. Today, this monument is the subject of dispute between left- and right-wing political groups. Recently, a group of right-wing activists started a discussion in the Bulgarian society whether the Monument should be demolished or not.
India: Writing The City In Conversation With Mumbai Taxi Drivers
“Taxi drivers write the city. They move through its streets, they collect its stories, they are confronted with its changes” – this is part of the introduction page of CubbyKabi's...
Africa: Can white people be Africans? – Part 1
Can white people be Africans? Sentletse Diakanyo, a South African blogger, does not think so. He says, “Historically, the term “African” never had any ambiguous meaning. To Africans today it still does not have any ambiguous meaning. Africans across the continent and in the diaspora have long understood its meaning to refer to them as black people.”
Cuba: Forbidden Programs
Generation Y blogs about the upsurge in sales of pirated DVDs and music, commenting: “Absent from the public catalogs are the documentaries — so often watched in Cuban homes —...
Macedonia: “Napoleon Bonaparte in Skopje?!”
Razvigor :-) finds some incorrect information in Croatia Airlines’ in-flight magazine: “I got an impression that the author received a briefing from an overly enthusiastic source, someone with a burning...
Estonia: KGB Museum at Tallinn's Hotel Viru
Kerry's Eastern Europe Travel Blog on About.com writes briefly about a new museum that opened in Tallinn earlier this month: located on the top floor of Hotel Viru, it “preserves...
El Salvador: A Decade Since the January 13 Earthquake
Hunnapuh [es] asks if El Salvador has learned “the lesson” 10 years after the January 13 earthquake. Blogger “Jjmar” answers the question reporting that construction companies still build homes in...
Lebanon: Eleven Cabinet Members Resign, Toppling Government
More big news from the Arab world this evening as Lebanon's government has reportedly collapsed, following the resignations of 11 cabinet members. The cabinet members, all members or allies of Hezbollah, resigned over arguments stemming from a UN probe into the assassination of Rafiq Hariri.
Haiti: One Year Ago…We Remember
Today marks one year since the devastating earthquake struck Haiti. Haitian bloggers are remembering and paying tribute to the survivors of the disaster, while acknowledging that there is still a lot of work to be done.
Cote D’Ivoire: From grandiose lifestyle to Gbagbo’s madness
What happened to Cote D’Ivoire?: “Back in the late 1990s, one of the popular countries I often heard about, apart from Nigeria, was Cote D’Ivoire. The French speaking West African...
Malaysia: Historic cemetery plot to be removed
Heritage enthusiasts are upset over the eviction of a family cemetery plot in a historic location in Malaysia. Local officials approved the property development plan in the area.
