· July, 2012

Stories about Caribbean from July, 2012

Guyana: Olympic Dreams

  31 July 2012

Guyana-Gyal explains how the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London “remind[ed] [her] to stay true to [her] dreams, no matter how mad they might sound to them people here.”

Guyana: Linden Protests

  31 July 2012

Imran Khan explores the roots of the Linden Protests and concludes that the recent electricity rate hike is merely the latest in a long series of “economic and social hardships” meted out to the citizen of that mining community.

St. Lucia: The Power of Words

  31 July 2012

David Cave writes a tribute to his mentor, the Saint Lucia poet Kendel Hippolyte: “Indeed, Kendel showed me first hand that there is real power in words.  Words evoke emotions, conjure images, analyse, interrogate, bring back memories, experiences and transport and even return a student to his mentor and friend.”

Jamaica: Campaign to Exonerate Marcus Garvey – Part 2

  29 July 2012

Jamaican diaspora blogger Geoffrey Philp has been working tirelessly to gather signatures for the online campaign to exonerate Marcus Garvey, who, in the early 1920s, was convicted and sentenced to prison on charges of mail fraud involving his Black Star Line shipping company. In this follow-up post, Geoffrey discusses why he thinks it is important for Garvey's name to be cleared and why it should be done under the Obama administration.

Jamaica: Campaign to Exonerate Marcus Garvey – Part 1

  27 July 2012

Marcus Garvey was a Jamaican political leader, writer and thinker who is considered a national hero in the land of his birth. But in the United States, Garvey is down on record as a convicted felon. In the first installment of this two-part post, Global Voices talks to one Jamaican diaspora blogger, Geoffrey Philp, who started an online campaign to clear Marcus Garvey's name.

Trinidad & Tobago: Panday on the Pulpit

  27 July 2012

“Mr Ramnath’s widow was driven to observe that she didn’t think her husband’s funeral would be used ‘as a platform to bash the government’. Spot the real neemakharam”: B.C. Pires blogs about a former Prime Minister's use of the pulpit to spew political vitriol.

London Olympics: Ambush Marketers Be Warned!

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) has taken stringent measures to try to ensure no ‘ambush marketing’ tactics are used during the London 2012 Olympics. A common feature at modern major sporting events, ambush marketers try to sneak in promotions of their brands and companies in front of the crowd and, most importantly, the TV cameras. Sports law bloggers and marketers posted their opinions on ambush marketing and the London Olympics.

The Bahamas: Comments on the Colorado Shooting

  24 July 2012

There has not been a significant reaction in the Caribbean blogosphere about the Colorado movie theatre shooting - which is being cited as one of the deadliest in recent U.S. history - save for two Bahamian bloggers, for whom the news hit close to home.

St. Lucia: New Direction for Carnival?

  24 July 2012

The Choiseul Powerhouse reviews Saint Lucia's 2012 Power Soca Monarch competition: “Suppose I told you before that St. Lucians were fed up with the Trinidadian-invented ‘Rag and Flag’ syndrome which has over the years supersaturated our Soca shows, would I have been vindicated by the outcomes of our just concluded...

Pre-Olympics 2012: What’s Buzzing

With the 2012 London Olympics drawing closer, activities relating to the Games are heightening every day. From countries participating in the Games to their athletes preparing to score their best, the world's online audience is coming alive and getting ready for this extravaganza.

Trinidad & Tobago: Irresponsible Advertising

  18 July 2012

“The new tagline for the rum’s advertisements was ‘When it pours, you reign.’ My brain exploded. Really? Show images of soaking wet, drunk-looking women, in a campaign that explicitly gives complete domination to the “you” to whom the ads appeal?” Lisa Allen-Agostini wonders “what on earth [the advertising agency was]...

Jamaica: Half a Century of Independence

  17 July 2012

Come August 6th 2012, Jamaica will celebrate 50 years of independence from Great Britain. In this post, two bloggers - one from the diaspora and the other living on island - talk about how Jamaicans are preparing for the celebrations, how social media has had an impact and what the country has accomplished in the last half a century.

St. Lucia: Making Music

  10 July 2012

At I and Iyanola, Nkrumah Lucien discusses Saint Lucia's rock music scene with journalist/actor/musician Jason Sifflet : “Playing rock from a Caribbean island is a trap, like playing reggae. It’s not indigenous to your culture, so every in and out of your culture sees you as a fake. But when you incorporate your...

Guyana: Editorial Ethics

  10 July 2012

Ruel Johnson responds to a recent controversial Guyana Chronicle editorial which asserted that black youth in Guyana were socialised to be resentful of Indians : “First of all, editorials are the highest form of journalism and basic journalism calls for the citation of sources of information – generalisations in editorials therefore usually point to...

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