I am a writer and media producer based in Trinidad and Tobago. Follow me on Twitter @JanineMFranco.
Latest posts by Janine Mendes-Franco
The Caribbean's ‘looming’ food security storm suddenly seems more threatening
It is estimated that there are as many as 2.8 million people — nearly 40 percent of the population — suffering from food insecurity in the English-speaking Caribbean, most of them from low-income households.
The southern Caribbean prepares for a tropical storm
With predictions for an "above normal" 2022 transatlantic hurricane season, the latest weather system teetering of the brink of hurricane status is the one organising itself in the southern Caribbean.
The Africa Film Festival gives cosmopolitan Trinidad & Tobago a chance to reshape its own world view
Festival director Asha Lovelace says that the themes, techniques and approach of African films can help inform how local filmmakers tell their own stories.
The overturning of Roe vs. Wade unsettles the Caribbean, most of which doesn't have progressive abortion laws
"Apart from women deeply inculcated with religious dogma, the time cannot be far off when women throughout the Caribbean will use their voting power to demand the right to choose."
World Oceans Day, in photos from Trinidad & Tobago
On World Oceans Day 2022, where the goal is revitalisation, these photos remind us of our seas' purpose and beauty, inspiring the collective action needed to successfully defend them.
Trinidad & Tobago's opposition leader gets into hot water over ‘slave master’ rebuttal
"To disrespect a group of people who were forcibly taken [...], stripped of their humanity and identity, brutalized and subjected to hundreds of years of enslavement shows your true intent."
Commercialisation of one of Port of Spain's oldest communities inspires Trinidadian Leona Fabien to advocate through her art
"I hope that issues surrounding the basic rights of residents will be addressed, as the businesses appear to have much more influence when pursuing their interests."
St. Lucia plans to implement the teaching of Kwéyòl in schools — but is it enough to revitalise the language?
"National identity [...] is a lived identity. Using an endangered language in school is only useful as part of a series of other national measures to support the language."
TIME Magazine chooses Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley as one of ‘the world's most influential people’
Mottley's advocacy for the Caribbean at COP 26 cemented her place in the global consciousness as a forward-thinking leader and change maker.
Lisa Allen-Agostini, shortlisted for the 2022 Women's Prize for Fiction, was born to be a ‘Trinidad writer’
The book's message? That women don’t have to stay in abusive relationships: "The shortlisting helps that happen and so I’m grateful for it."
The death of a toddler adds to Trinidad & Tobago's trauma
In the larger context of the violence the country has been experiencing, citizens feared for the child's well being, and the mood in the local blogosphere was tense.
World Press Freedom Day in the Caribbean is a mixed bag
'The environment within which journalists in the Caribbean operate is becoming increasingly perilous.'
Could the proposed return of British Virgin Islands to temporary UK rule be a case of pot, meet kettle?
In a recently concluded Commission of Inquiry into disgraced BVI premier Andrew Fahie's administration, it was recommended that the overseas territory revert to temporary British rule: netizens respond.
Regional social media users cringe after the British Virgin Islands’ premier is arrested on drug charges
'Why has there been no statement from the ruling party regarding the removal or suspension of Andrew Fahie's title of premier?'
What does Jamaican politician Kamina Johnson Smith's bid for Commonwealth secretary-general say about Caribbean political solidarity?
The post of Commonwealth secretary-general is currently held by Patricia Scotland, who is Dominican by birth, and whose re-election the Caribbean community publicly supported ... until Jamaica announced its own candidate.
What Earth Day means to the Global Voices Caribbean team
'On Earth Day, we pause to think about the planet we live on and share with other beings. But that’s just one part of it.'
Just in time for Earth Day, Trinidad & Tobago gets a new bat
Scientists record a new bat species in Trinidad and Tobago, bringing the total number of locally recorded bat species to an astounding 70.
Awards fiasco exposes flaws in Trinidad & Tobago's secondary school entrance exam
The bungling of the score tallying process in Trinidad and Tobago's Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) examination raises questions of fairness and relevance.
Why hasn't Jamaica made Bob Marley a national hero yet?
Marley's shaping of Black consciousness, “lyrical activism,” representation of reggae and Rastafari, and his “One Love” philosophy were cited as part of the bid to make him a national hero.
As international negotiations end in Jamaica, the threat of deep-sea mining hangs over the world's oceans
From the impact on global fisheries to destruction of carbon storage on the seabed, environmentalists say deep-seabed mining could herald even more catastrophic effects for climate change.
‘Untimely’ death of soca singer Dexter ‘Blaxx’ Stewart leaves Trinidad & Tobago in mourning
Having struggled with health issues and paid his dues in the soca music arena — he was told he was “too black,” “too fat” and “not marketable” — Blaxx's authenticity shone through.
