Stories about Caribbean from August, 2006
Haiti: Evaluating Kevin Sites Visit
Of Kevin Sites’ recent Hot Zones coverage of Haiti, Yon Ayisyen writes (Fr): “His visit helped me realize how narrow and even possibly twisted an image he portrays of the places he visits. He did not go farther than the well established cliches of this country.”
Haiti: Haitian Photo Sites
From Haiti, Yon Ayisyen points to (Fr) sites of pictures of Haiti taken by Haitians.
Jamaica: White martyrs, Black savages
Having watched the trailer for a newly released film set in Uganda, Jamaican novelist Marlon James announces that he's sick and tired of “stories of a white man trapped in black (and sometimes yellow) hell where in the midst of all this inhumanity he discovers what it means to be...
Trinidad & Tobago: Independence Day
“Does anyone really ‘celebrate’ our Independence as a nation?” wonders Elspeth Duncan, as Trinidad and Tobago observes the 44th anniversary of its independence from Great Britain.
Guyana: Face of the nation
By analysing the facial expressions of Guyana's incumbent president Bharrat Jagdeo, Andy is “100% confident that he is the new president-elect of Guyana“.
Guyana: Ministerial reconstruction
Guyana's “ministries [of government] and their portfolios are outmoded, irrelevant and obscure,” says MediaCritic three days after the country's general election, as he reconstructs government and puts forward his own ministerial wish list.
Jamaica: In-house terrorist
A Jamaica-born Muslim cleric who has been convicted in the UK for incitement to murder is about to be deported back to his homeland. “As if our gun-toting criminals aren't enough, now we have to worry about terrorist threats because we'll have our own soon to arrive, fresh from England,...
Trinidad & Tobago: Appetite for self-destruction
Is Trinidad and Tobago's opposition party trying to self-destruct? Jeremy Taylor thinks so.
Bermuda: Education & sustainable development
Christian S. Dunleavy congratulates an old schoolfriend on his decision to repay the scholarship funds granted him a decade ago; and questions the Bermuda government's decision to pave over a piece of parkland to create a location for a hospital.
Belize: Travel tips
A pair of travellers responds to the Belize Jungle Dome Adventure Travel and Vacation blog's request for travel tips.
Bahamas: The future in health
Sidney flashes forward to 2012, after the Bahamas’ government has implemented the National Health Plan towards which they are “proceeding with undue haste.”
Bahamas: Flat-earth policies
Riffing off of Thomas Friedman's bestseller, The Earth is Flat, Larry Smith discusses the Bahamas’ unpreparedness for participation in the current and future world order.
Guyana: Election watch
On Monday 28 August, an estimated 300,000 Guyanese turned out to vote in elections for the unicameral National Assembly. Elections in Guyana have historically been fraught with public anxiety and violence. The two leading parties, the People's Progressive Party (PPP/Civic) and the People's National Congress (PNC/Reform) have traditionally drawn their...
Trinidad & Tobago: Santa Rosa Festival
Maximilian C. Forte offers a substanial analysis of the 220th anniversary celebrations of the Santa Rosa Carib community in Arima, Trinidad, complete with audio files from the live radio broadcast.
Jamaica: Singles
Mikaila discusses the ins and outs of dating in Jamaica: “I have stories that could be episodes of Sex and the City. There are so many more women here than men. Dating anywhere is difficult. Last week I watched a special Dateline on AIDS in African American communities and was...
Jamaica: Intuitives
“The term “intuitives”, used to describe those artists without formal training and often inspired by religious movements like Rastafarianism or Revivalism, has decisively entered the art history lexicon of the Caribbean, even as some critics debate the political, historical, and even economic consequences of the label,” writes Nicholas Laughlin, linking...
Belize: Caye Caulker
Lee Vanderwalker posts some sepia-toned photos and a “technology timeline” of Caye Caulker, Belize.
Cuba, Bahamas, USA: Moral authority
Rick Lowe takes issue with the Cuban ambassador to the Bahamas's declaration that the US lacks the moral authority to criticise Cuba.
Bahamas: Not so far from the Middle East
Nicolette Bethel's analysis of an African-American commentator's views on white guilt and anti-Semitism prompts her to think about Israel's position in the Middle East: “We Bahamians should take heed. After all, there is not a huge difference between the plight of the Palestinian Arab or the young men who identify...
Barbados: Political dads
Barbados's opposition leader gets the chance to take a enviable swipe at the Prime Minister, who's apparently been cagey about the five year-old daughter he has with the woman he recently married. “Maybe it’s a low blow,” says Titlayo, “but you can’t say it isn’t a solid punch.”
Caribbean: Licensing sex workers
Barbados Free Press has some questions for the government officials who are considering licensing prostitutes (or is it “sex workers”) for the duration of next year's Cricket World Cup tournament.
About our Caribbean coverage
Janine Mendes Franco is the Caribbean editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
