Stories from Quick Reads and Caribbean
Predictions for an Opposition Party Win in Trinidad & Tobago's General Elections
By midnight Trinidad and Tobago time, the country should know which political party will form its next government. As predicted, it has been a tight race — out of just over a million eligible voters, the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) has thus far tallied over 400,000 votes. Many seats...
Do You Know These 10 Afro-Puerto Ricans?
The reclaiming of history as an ally of marginalized groups is key to their very survival. This is especially true in a colonial context such as Puerto Rico, where history has been and continues to be used as a means to justify inequalities and deny visibility. In the spirit of...
“Where de Lizard?” Why the Caribbean is Fascinated with Them
These little creatures have different meanings in other cultures. Ancient Romans believed that the lizard symbolized death and resurrection, because it sleeps during winter and reawakens in Spring. For the Greeks and Egyptians, the lizard represented divine wisdom and good fortune. In the Caribbean, lizards have special significance as well....
FIFA Elections Are in Progress
Despite the recent arrests of FIFA officials due to indictments laid by the US Department of Justice, the world football governing body has said that its elections, which it calls the 65th FIFA Congress, will continue as scheduled today. Current FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who headed the organisation while the...
A Trinidadian Falls in Love with Jamaica
Trindadian diaspora fashion blogger, Afrobella, grew up “steeped in reggae music and [with] a love for Jamaican culture” – so why did it take her so long to actually visit the island? She's not sure she can answer that question, considering that her first impression was that “Jamaica is an...
Bermuda's 99%
The economic gap appears to be widening in Bermuda and one blogger has been paying attention. A week ago, after the Bermuda Telephone Company announced that it was considering introducing new – and more expensive – residential high speed broadband internet products and a high-end restaurant launched a $1000 per...
Ireland's Cricket World Cup Win Against West Indies No Laughing Matter
Irish satirical website Waterford Whispers News certainly enjoyed the Ireland cricket teams’ victory over the West Indies on 16 February in Nelson, New Zealand: THERE were concerns this morning among the Irish Cricket Union after the success of the Ireland team at the World Cup caused massive strain on the...
Misbehaviour Trumps Murder in Trinidad & Tobago Headlines
While Trinidad and Tobago is in the midst of political woes and police try to determine the identity of the country's latest murder victim, at least one blogger thinks that mainstream media is doing its level best to ignore these pressing issues and capitalise on the pre-Carnival frenzy. (Trinidad and...
Trinidad & Tobago: Am Gay; Will Travel
What is it like to be gay in the Caribbean? The Travelling Trini occasionally gets emails from young gay Trinidadians who “have the burning desire to go abroad, travel, and see the world”. She deduces that this wanderlust stems from the fact that “the Caribbean is a incredibly homophobic place...
10 Things to Love About Trinidad & Tobago Carnival
One committed Carnival blogger recounts the ten things she loves most about Trinidad and Tobago Carnival - the event that many feel is "the greatest show on earth".
Will Death of Cartoonist Prompt Introduction of Better Traffic Laws in Bermuda?
A beloved Bermudian political cartoonist dies after being struck by a motorist's car while on his way to deliver his latest drawing to the newspaper where he worked. The Beach Lime blog notes that “the Corporation of Hamilton speedily acted to move the pedestrian crossing away from the roundabout, in...
Dominican Republic Found Guilty of Discrimination Against Haitians
According to reports from Spanish newspaper El País, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (CIDH) found the government of the Dominican Republic guilty of discriminating against Haitians and descendants of Haitians born in the country in a ruling issued on Wednesday, October 22. The CIDH, based in San José, Costa Rica,...
Still No Arrests in Case of Murdered Trinidad Attorney
After one national newspaper published the contents of murdered Trinidadian attorney Dana Seetahal‘s will, public relations expert and blogger Denise Demming is more concerned that five months later, no-one has been arrested: As the days pass and the likelihood of laying charges against the perpetrators of this crime recedes, I...
Marlon James Writes the Great Jamaican Novel – and the World is Raving About It
Jamaican author Marlon James’ new novel, A Brief History of Seven Killings, has been released to such fanfare that even hard-hitting literary critics cannot use enough superlatives in their reviews. Michiko Kakutani, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for The New York Times, described James as a “prodigious talent”, calling the novel “epic...
Against Her Will – Trinidad Newspaper Publishes Details of Slain Attorney's Estate
Today's lead story in one of Trinidad and Tobago's most popular newspapers was the contents of slain Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal's will. Seetahal was gunned down five months ago in Port of Spain; no one has yet been arrested for her murder. The blog Wired 868 could not understand the...
One Westerner's View of the “Global War on Terror”
As the United States-led international coalition forges ahead with its fight against ISIS, the Al Qaeda offshoot which has come to control large parts of Iraq and Syria using brutal and violent tactics, Bermudian blogger catch a fire shares his thoughts about this “new war”, which he believes will only...
Will Trinidad & Tobago's Government “Listen, Learn & Lead”?
Blogger and public relations professional Dennise Demming is disillusioned with Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who claims to “listen, learn and lead”, but then takes action to the contrary. Demming first cited the example of the country's recent Constitutional Amendment Bill, with which, “despite popular objection, the Government...
Telling Puerto Rican Stories on the Web
Esta Vida Boricua [This Boricua Life] is a digital storytelling project which explores the past and present of Puerto Rico through the collection of experiences of people from all walks of life and all ages. At its most basic level, it is “a place to share stories,” as explained in...
Art & Education in Suriname
Referring to English art critic Sir Herbert Read‘s book Education Through Art, Carmen Dragman, via Srananart's Blog, looks at the value of art in education, suggesting that the current Caribbean model is shortchanging students by not recognising the power of art as a creative outlet and learning tool: Teachers and...
Trinidadian Diaspora Blogger Appeals to Domestic Violence Victims After Seeing Rice Viral Video
Once the video of Ray Rice (the American football player for the Baltimore Ravens) hitting his wife went viral, Trinidadian diaspora blogger Afrobella couldn't get the incident out of her mind. “The video where he spits and hits the woman who would go on to be his wife, where he...
Why One Trinidadian Father Will Never Hit His Kids
Corporal punishment has, for a long time, been ingrained into the fabric of Caribbean societies, with some making the connection between the region's harsh colonial history and its modern day bent towards violence. In many cases, the recipients of such beatings are the most defenseless members of society – children....