Stories about Trinidad & Tobago from June, 2008
Trinidad & Tobago: Silence that Kills
Four Fingers and a Thumb 2.0 speaks out against political tyranny and the passivity that allows it to continue. “A dictator in the world,” she says, “is like the abusive father in the community that no-one wants to report.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Poetic Port of Spain
Trinidadian blogger Sweetlime dips into the newly published Echo of Basho. He discovers that even though haiku and Port of Spain are as distinct as “oil and water”, authors Alec de Verteuil and Dawn Glashier have melded them beautifully.
Jamaica: Kingston On The Edge
From Jamaica, Active Voice reviews KOTE (Kingston On The Edge), a visual arts festival, where she says “For a brief moment in time we were treated to the kind of vibrant effervescent atmosphere we ought legitimately to expect from a well-connected and functioning art scene.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Glass Towers
A Trinidadian blogger fears that what sets the island apart is being lost among the tall buildings going up in Port of Spain. Why does the glass have to be half empty or half full? asks why do “we deny our people the right to our waterfront? Where is the...
Trinidad & Tobago: Soca Sweet No More
A loud party in the neighbourhood forces Why does the glass have to be either half empty or half full? to think about her favourite types of music. As the blaring continues, she remembers why her native Trinidadian soca is not at the top of her list.
Trinidad & Tobago: Praise Song
Four Fingers and a Thumb 2.0 is stirred by a hymn being played by a steelband, reminding her of the “magically bizarre wonderful place” that is Trinidad.
Barbados: Caribbean Football Falters
Living in Barbados comments on the fortunes of regional football teams, as qualification matches begin for World Cup 2010.
Trinidad & Tobago: Wildlife in Peril
The re-introduction of the Blue and Gold Macaw to Trinidad's Nariva Swamp some years ago was a triumph for environmentalists. Why does the glass have to be half empty or half full? is outraged at the news that the successful breeding programme has been endangered by poachers.
Trinidad & Tobago: Watching (out for) Whales
Life from a caffeine hyped point of view takes issue with some of the justifications being made for the resumption of commercial whaling—and recalls the day she found herself “holding a whale” off the southeastern coast of Trinidad.
Trinidad & Tobago: Life and Death
Notes from Port of Spain shares his thoughts on death.
Trinidad & Tobago: Land Ownership
KnowProSE.com is preparing for his new agricultural venture and blogs about a particularly mind-boggling encounter: “This is land ownership in Trinidad and Tobago. The police can't be involved in trespass of this sort because it revolves around ‘Civil Law’. There isn't much civil about it, I suppose.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Pot Hounds
Andre Bagoo posts a flickr photoset of street dogs, saying: “‘Pot hounds’ and the environments they inhabit are the perfect symbols for life in Trinidad and Tobago today.”
Trinidad & Tobago, Haiti: Small Shoes
Trinidad and Tobago-based artist Chris Cozier posts a photo of a child's shoes taken on his last trip to Haiti: “Something about the way that the shoes had become so worn out struck me. They looked like islands in the sea but also like the two countries that make one...
Barbados, Venezuela: Maritime Claim
Notes From The Margin sheds some light on the Barbados/Venezuela maritime controversy, saying: “The waters under discussion can ONLY be Venezuela's if you accept that 1. Half of Guyana is actually Venezuela. 2. That two countries (Venezuela and Trinidad) can commit a third and fourth countries (Barbados and Guyana) to...
Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago: Calabashing Walcott
Jamaican blogger Annie Paul quotes Guyana's Stabroek News on Walcott's anti-Naipaul poem, The Mongoose.
Trinidad & Tobago: Wet Season
It's finally rainy season in Trinidad and Tobago – and Now Is Wow Too takes the time to appreciate its beauty.
Trinidad & Tobago: Watch Your Contents!
“For the sake of my blood pressure, I try not to read the local newspapers”: The Liming House thinks that the redesigned Trinidad Guardian “needs more than a cosmetic change”.
Trinidad & Tobago: Chicken Run
Trinidad and Tobago-based blogger Grounding encounters a challenge with a few feathered friends, causing her to exclaim: “Thank God that I am vegetarian and that the global food crisis has not yet arrived.”
Trinidad & Tobago: How to Save the Planet
This Beach Called Life says that “Trinidad and Tobago is currently listed as the 5th largest emitter of carbon dioxide per capita in the world, a fact that has made our Prime Minister blush with pride and our trees to die without dignity.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Wave of Change?
Trinidadian blogger Attillah Springer believes in Barack Obama's wave of change: “This is one wave I want to arrive at our shores and wash away the apathy and the lack of political substance. Yes we can too. We too can change our politics.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Literary Sparring
Trinidad and Tobago based lit-bog Antilles continues to examine the Walcott/Naipaul feud, while Tattoo wonders where his literary role models have gone: “Who will inspire the next generation of writers in a positive way?”
