Stories about Caribbean
Dancehall star Buju Banton’s rejection of mask-wearing stymies Jamaican government’s efforts to stem ‘COVID-19 fatigue’
"Please do not listen to Buju Banton [...] in this case, he is 110% wrong. Wear your mask, wash your hands and socially distance."
Marine ecosystems and livelihoods at risk if Venezuelan oil tanker sinks
The FSO Nabarima, a tanker filled with approximately 1.3 million barrels of crude oil, is in imminent danger of sinking and causing an ecological disaster in the Gulf of Paria.
Caribbean alphabet series provides lots of laughs on TikTok
Laughter has become a critical coping mechanism in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but in an era of social media "influencers," can anyone lay claim to originality?
The Caribbean's case for reparations: Part II
"We transformed these broken colonies into functional democracies without any support […] and now we have this debt crisis because we were abandoned by those who plundered our wealth."
The Caribbean's case for reparations: Part I
"When a wrong has been committed, it must be repaired. If you recognise that colonization has been a source of massive crimes against humanity, then reparations are legitimate."
The climate crisis message in Jamaican environmentalist's new novel is rooted ‘in love for home’
"The disconnect in the region is between rhetoric and action. We’ve already lost a lot, but we still have much worth protecting, and should be determined not to lose more."
Trinidad & Tobago loses a fount of cultural knowledge with the passing of comedian Dennis ‘Sprangalang’ Hall
"He was our identity, he was a creole griot. A historical raconteur who spoke the nation language in a way that was universal. A comedian who made us think."
Citizenship by investment in the Caribbean: Economic boon or diplomatic minefield?
Citizenship by Investment, dubbed the “golden passport”, offers the wealthy a second citizenship at a time when visa and COVID-19 restrictions are becoming more onerous.
COVID-19 causes Trinidad and Tobago to cancel its Carnival for 2021
"Everyone else has already gone ahead and cancelled theirs. I do not [...] see how [anyone] could possibly think to put the country under further threat from Covid-19."
Masculinity in my genes/jeans
Manoeuvring the complexities of being a boy or man in Caribbean societies assumes "there was a DNA of maleness already living in us, sometimes waiting to be activated."
In Trinidad & Tobago, citizens defend sou-sou savings against pyramid scheme comparisons
"It has become popular to bad talk traditional methods of savings [without] a clear understanding of the roles they played in the economic development of historically disenfranchised communities here."
The untold plight of imprisoned women in Africa, the Americas, and Asia under the pandemic
"Not only are women at risk of contracting COVID-19, they are also exposed to an increased threat of sexual violence during the pandemic."
Belizean Independence reminds me of the complicated legacy of colonization
My granny’s Blackness and her attachment to the British Crown provided me with some of my first lessons about the complexities and peculiarities of diasporic Blackness.
Brutal murders in Guyana seen as ‘continuation of earlier ethnic upheavals’
After a months-long election stalemate, and the opposition party's framing of the murders as the failure of a "fraudulent government" to protect Afro-Guyanese, racial tensions are again on the rise.
Barbados declares intent to recognise same-sex unions and remove British queen as head of state
The Cayman Islands recently made same-sex partnerships legal, but Barbados may become the first CARICOM member to do so. It will also replace the queen as head of state.
The Caribbean's ‘double standard’ on the enforcement of COVID-19 protocols
Some social media users are convinced that when it comes to COVID-19 regulation enforcement, police officers come down harder on residents of disenfranchised communities.
Fans mourn the passing of energetic Jamaican reggae icon, ‘Toots’ Hibbert
Often credited with inventing the term "reggae," the legendary "Toots" Hibbert will be remembered for his upbeat, energetic, positive music.
World Shorebirds Day in the Caribbean: The beauty of wetlands and the birds that visit them
World Shorebirds Day, marked this year on September 6, saw “citizen scientists” across the region document the presence and the movements of various island bird species.
Trinidadian writer Ingrid Persaud talks about her new novel, ‘Love After Love’
"I let the characters lead me and often, I wasn’t too sure where we would find ourselves. It was the only way I could navigate these themes."
About our Caribbean coverage
Janine Mendes Franco is the Caribbean editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
