Stories about Caribbean from August, 2014
Former Prime Minister Feeds the Meme Machine With Rejection of Trinidad & Tobago's Highest Honour
Patrick Manning doesn't want the Order of Trinidad and Tobago from current Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who he accused of breaking proper award protocol and attacking him in the past.
In Defense of the National Gallery of Jamaica's Director
Over the last month, the National Gallery of Jamaica's executive director's leadership was the target of criticism, first via an anonymous letter written to the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper, and then in a blog post written by blogger Annie Paul, which she prefaced by saying: I’ve been closely involved with the...
Trinidad & Tobago: Back-to-School Apps
ICT Pulse shares 5 useful apps for staying organised once school starts.
Ferguson Evocative of Civil Rights Movement, Says Trinidadian Diaspora Blogger
What’s happened – and what is HAPPENING in Ferguson makes my heart hurt. The ache won’t go away. The anger won’t go away. We’re witnessing history in the making, and history repeating itself. What will be the lessons we learn this time? What scars will we bear? Trinidadian diaspora blogger...
Why Protesters in Trinidad & Tobago Are Against the Proposed Constitutional Reform Bill
With general elections due next year, some suggest it is an attempt to boost the government's approval ratings before citizens go to the polls, while others see more sinister motives.
Arrests Made in Man's Fatal Beating Have Not Renewed Faith in Jamaica's Police
The case has continued to fuel protests and discussions in Jamaica, which has a history of police brutality and other similar forms of violence.
Bahamian Women Battling for Equal Rights
You would think that a nation which spent so much of the 20th century doggedly pursing equality would be united today over equal rights for women to pass on citizenship to their children and spouses. You would think that a constitutional provision to prevent discrimination against more than half the...
Cubans Join Authorised Users of Google Chrome
Google Chrome finally becomes “legal” in Cuba and blogger Yoani Sanchez says that she gleans great satisfaction from “knowing that the opinions of citizens interested in the free flow of information and technology influenced the elimination of this prohibition.”
Do You Have to Be Christian to Be Jamaican?
A Jamaican politician has sparked debate over his comments that "the country has moved too far from God, and has ceased pleasing God."
Lessons from Marcus Garvey, Jamaica's First National Hero
Marcus Garvey, who was born 127 years ago, was a fervent supporter of Pan-Africanism. On the anniversary of his birthday, two bloggers commemorated the leader.
Demanding Gender Equality in the Bahamas
Lynn Sweeting, blogging at Womanish Words, wants equality for women in the Bahamas and pens a poem in that regard.
Safety Measures Against Ebola in Cuba
Thus far, no-one in Cuba has contracted the deadly Ebola virus and the government wants to keep it that way. Havana Times reports on “increased control measures to prevent the possible introduction of Ebola into Cuba”, adding that The Ministry of Public Health and other supporting agencies are being extra...
Trinidad & Tobago: Is Education Really About Learning?
Why, oh why, did I fail what is clearly a basic english class? The easy answer – I didn’t try hard enough […] The more complicated answer lies in a system so rigid that I am required to take freshman english despite all proof and indications to the contrary. Trinidad...
Speaking Out Against the Stigma of Mental Illness in the Caribbean
Mental illness has long been taboo in the Caribbean, but on the heels of American actor Robin Williams' untimely death, regional bloggers explain why it's important to talk about it.
National Gallery of Jamaica Director Faces Accusations of Intimidating and Bullying Employees
Blogger and cultural critic Annie Paul has criticized the management style of the gallery's Executive Director Veerle Poupeye, which she says drove two curators to leave.
Jamaica: #Ferguson & #Gaza
Jamaica-based blogger Annie Paul republishes a compilation of tweets that show the similarities between the standoff in #Gaza and in #Ferguson, where yet another unarmed black man was gunned down by the police. The response to the resulting protests by U.S. law enforcement has been so brutal that netizens are...
Defending Human Rights in Jamaica
When JFJ [Jamaicans For Justice] began, extra-judicial killings by police were commonplace. Yet, not a single police officer had ever – not in the entire history of Jamaica – been ever held accountable for one of these murders. It was a matter that desperately needed addressing. The death of Mario Deane...
Spanish Radio Report Captures History of ‘the Freaks’, Havana's Biggest Metal and Punk Fans
This is the music of an entire generation who pushed aside socialism to play the music that they desired, and to dress as they pleased, regardless of the consequences.
Jamaican Women Are Speaking Out Online Against the ‘Widespread Sickness’ of Public Sexual Harassment
"Instead of falling into the trap of thinking that unwanted sexual attention is a compliment, women must fight back. We cannot passively see ourselves as victims."
What Gardening Has Taught Me About Civic Responsibility
Our Trinidad-based Caribbean editor has learned a lot of things in her garden. She shares eight seeds that germinated into her civic consciousness here.
Investment Deal with China Leaves Jamaicans With More Questions Than Answers
I AM SO FLABBERGASTED: WHO gives a FOREIGN government the RIGHT to CHOOSE WHICH LAND IT WANTS? As part of an investment exchange, the Jamaican government has agreed to give 1,200 acres of land to the Chinese government – wherever it wants. Cucumber Juice has critical questions that she feels...
About our Caribbean coverage
Janine Mendes Franco is the Caribbean editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
