· July, 2009

Stories about Caribbean from July, 2009

Barbados: Corruption Legislation Needed

  31 July 2009

“It doesn’t matter how many tens of millions of dollars are missing at the end of a major project, no one ever goes to jail”: Barbados Free Press suggests that part of the problem is that “Barbados lacks the laws and the codified standards necessary to prosecute public officials for...

Trinidad & Tobago: Media Meekness

  31 July 2009

B.C. Pires recalls a radio show he used to host in the context of falling journalistic standards in Trinidad and Tobago: “From that thin end of the wedge we have reached this stage, where the Prime Minister can make the most foolish statements completely unchallenged – and the Media Association...

Trinidad & Tobago, Curacao: Sweet Tooth

  31 July 2009

Lifespan of a Chennette blogs about traditional sweets from Curacao: “It was a reminder that even if names were different, and languages, the people and food of the Caribbean do share so much!”

Jamaica: Capturing Pellew

  31 July 2009

Concerned about plans by private owners to develop Pellew Island, Snailwriter has a plan: “The Tainos ‘owned’ Jamaica until the men in Columbus’s ships took it…I figure I have as much right to do some capturing as anyone. So I’m gonna invade Pellew Island…I know my invasion will be symbolic...

Haiti: Secret Funeral

  30 July 2009

Haitian blogger Wadner Pierre reports that Kenel Pascal, “who appears to have been gunned down by UN occupation troops”, was given a secret funeral “because the priest and family were fearful of UN and Haitian government reprisals” and goes on to write another post examining the circumstances surrounding the death...

Trinidad & Tobago: Emancipation Celebrations

  30 July 2009

“On August 1, 1985, Trinidad and Tobago became the first country in the world to declare a national holiday to commemorate the abolition of slavery”: Repeating Islands highlights Emancipation Day celebrations in the twin island republic.

Trinidad & Tobago: PM vs. the Media

  30 July 2009

As the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago declares that the media is against him, KnowProSE.com says: “My olive branch for the Prime Minister would be, ‘You fix the government, we'll fix the media.’ But the point is that he isn't fixing the government…”, while This Beach Called Life sums...

Barbados: Humming Birds

  30 July 2009

my rustic bajan garden manages “to capture some photos of the emerald throated humming bird” and her young ones, who will soon be ready to leave the nest.

Jamaica: Doping Athletes?

  30 July 2009

Girl With a Purpose reports on five Jamaican track and field athletes “who have been found with traces of a banned substance in their urine.”

Bermuda, Haiti: Standing Up

  29 July 2009

“In the 1980s Bermudians participated in the global anti-Apartheid anti-imperialist movement”: Catch a fire thinks “it is time that our new generation continue this tradition and pick up the mantle of fighting injustices” such the ones in Haiti.

Bermuda, U.K.: Missed Celebrations

  29 July 2009

Repeating Islands reports that Britain's Queen Elizabeth II “skipped yesterday’s celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Britain’s oldest colony after a row with the island’s pro-independence leader”, adding that the island's Premier was also noticeably absent.

Haiti: What Happened to Pierre-Antoine?

  29 July 2009

“July 28 marks the 94th anniversary of the US occupation of Haiti…August 12th will mark the second anniversary of the disappearance of Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine”: The Haitian Blogger wonders what has happened to this leading human rights activist.

Trinidad & Tobago: Mother Earth

  28 July 2009

“It’s not how many tractors you have or how much oil you drill or how many smelters you build. But the humanity and the humility of what you do with your knowledge and your resources”: Trinidadian blogger Attillah Springer fears that we will pay for the “gross and sloppy mishandling...

Jamaica: Dancehall & Child Abuse

  28 July 2009

As the Jamaican government introduces a child pornography bill, Jamaica Salt makes it clear that the blame for the rise in child abuse on the island cannot be laid squarely at the door of dancehall music.

Caribbean: On Henry Gates Jr.

  27 July 2009

Caribbean bloggers are still abuzz about the Henry Gates arrest: Jamaican diaspora blogger Pamela Mordecai, 21 Square and Catch a fire from Bermuda and Weblog Bahamas.

Jamaica: Gladys Bustamante Passes On

  27 July 2009

Repeating Islands acknowledges the passing of 97-year-old Gladys Bustamante, “the widow of Jamaica’s first prime minister and a fierce supporter of women’s and workers’ rights.”

Trinidad & Tobago: LGBT Rights

  27 July 2009

As Emancipation Day approaches, Trinidad and Tobago blog gspottt focuses on human rights, observing that “in the Anglophone Caribbean, discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender often intersect with other socio-economic conditions.”

About our Caribbean coverage

Janine Mendes-Franco
Janine Mendes Franco is the Caribbean editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.