Stories about Guyana from September, 2008
Guyana: Power Hungry
Guyana-Gyal is on a steady diet of power cuts and “thick, charcoal-dark bitter carbon…”
Guyana: Perception Rejection
Living Guyana says: “Not unexpectedly the PPP Government of Guyana has rejected Transparency International‘s grading of Guyana on their corruption index.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Amerindian Heritage Day
The Voice of the Taino People Online reports that “Amerindian Heritage Day will be commemorated this year in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Jamaica, Guyana: New Book
Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp focuses on a new book by Guyanese author Sasenarine Persaud.
Guyana: The Crying Game
Signifying Guyana attempts to outwit her “cry-baby” son.
Guyana: Unspectacular?
Guyana-Gyal examines “the mundane, the ordinary, everyday routine of living” – with a twist.
Guyana: Criminal Inquiry?
As the opposition party calls for an inquiry into the deaths of two suspected mass murderers, Living Guyana says: “We disagree. No one can deny that the deaths of Fineman and Skinny have put a serious dent in crime and have gone a far way at dismantling a well established...
Guyana: Fire Kills Three Children
After three Amerindian children die in a dorm fire, Living Guyana voices his disapproval over the way in which the funeral arrangements were handled by the government, while Signifying Guyana posts two poems by Martin Carter in their memory.
Bahamas, Guyana: Fringe Benefits
Bahamian blogger The Gaulin Wife reflects on her experience at the recently-concluded Carifesta: “Perhaps being left out of officially sanctioned spaces is sometimes the critical jolt that remembers us to ourselves – reminds us that no government, and no festival can create art or artists, we create and define ourselves.”
Guyana: El Dorado
Guyana-Gyal thinks up some alternatives to her country signing the European Union Economic Partnership Agreement.
Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana: Cricketer of the Year
Caribbean Beat Blog reports that “Guyanese batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul has received the International Cricket Council ‘Cricketer of the Year’ award…the first West Indian to claim such a major prize from the ICC.”
Guyana: Massacre Suspects Killed
The killing by joint army and police services of Guyana's most wanted man, Rondell "Fineman" Rawlins, and his "Lieutenant" Jermaine "Skinny" Charles on August 28, has been greeted with relief by the public and by bloggers.
Jamaica, Guyana: Bolt Welcomed Home
“The rain didn't stop Usain Bolt's return ‘back a yawd’. People lined the road from Norman Manley Airport all the way to the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston”: A Fe Me Page Dis Iyah reports on the Olympic Gold Medalist's triumphant return home, as do YardFlex.com and Guyana 360.
Caribbean: Ike Strikes
The 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season is not letting up. Beleaguered Caribbean islands like Cuba and Haiti barely had time to recover from the ravages of Hurricanes Gustav and Hanna when Mother Nature struck once again, this time in the form of Ike. Tensions were high with bloggers Caribbean-wide.
Jamaica, Guyana: New Publishing House?
Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp reports that “as publishing opportunities for Caribbean writers continue to shrink…Derek Walcott, David Dabydeen, and Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo have agreed to pursue the development of a Caribbean publishing house located in Guyana.”
Guyana: The Other Side of the Akon Story
Last week, a video of hip-hop rapper Akon apparently hitting a female fan in a crowd-surfing frenzy during a Carifesta concert in Guyana caused an uproar in the Guyanese blogosphere. Akon's publicity company has since released footage of the incident taken from a different angle, which they believe proves his innocence.
Guyana: Hands-On
Where would Guyana-Gyal be without her hands?
Guyana: Akon Again
Akon has done it again - created controversy in the Caribbean. This time, Guyana is his territory of choice and bloggers are interpreting this latest outburst as a demonstration of the singer's misogyny.
Jamaica, Guyana: Poet as Maker
Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp features Guyanese poet Cyril Dabydeen in his own words.
Guyana: Living or Surviving?
Both Guyana Providence Stadium and Living Guyana blog about the high cost of living: “It is a heart wrenching situation when the mathematics is done based on real terms. Things may be getting better in Guyana but it is still a difficult life and one wonders how people are managing.”
Bahamas, Guyana: Carifesta Comes to a Close
“There's the mastery of the activities in the Grand Market…the hospitality of the ordinary Guyanese, the incomprehensibility of the closing ceremony preparations, the ending of the Fineman reign of terror…and there’s the serious discussion of what we need to do, and how, if we want this festival to move forward”:...