Global Voices » Cayman Islands

Caribbean: the meaning of identity

Nicholas Laughlin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:59:53 +0000

Creative Commess hosts a blog symposium “about Caribbean people, about West Indian people, about our contemporary experiences … ranging through race & identity to culture, mental health to constructs of beauty and more,” with contributions from seven Caribbean bloggers.

Caribbean: Caribe Wave 11, the first simulated tsunami alert

Claire Ulrich — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 18:55:33 +0000

On Wednesday, March 23, the first full-scale simulated tsunami alert exercise will take place in 33 countries in the Caribbean to test the effectiveness of alert, monitoring and warning systems (Hashtag on Twitter: EXERCISE - NOT REAL #CW11) . Open Street Map France [Fr] and Crisis Camp Paris [Fr] will join this exercise to encourage awareness and use of social media tools during emergencies in the French speaking West Indies.

Latin America, Caribbean: Increase in Food Prices

Silvia Viñas — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 19:53:26 +0000

Bloggings by Boz writes: “The FAO reports that February 2011 was a yet a new high on food prices. This has led to several warnings from organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean including ECLAC [Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean] and the IICA [Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture] that commodity markets are volatile and several countries are very vulnerable to price swings and food insecurity issues.”

Caribbean: Ready for another earthquake?

Nicholas Laughlin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 22:01:03 +0000

The stories and images of devastation pouring out of Haiti since the 7.0 earthquake on 12 January have shocked many citizens of neighbouring Caribbean countries. Many have joined relief efforts, and some have engaged in serious soul-searching about Haiti's history and the role the Caribbean should play in long-term reconstruction. And inevitably there has been discussion and debate about whether, and to what degree, the wider Caribbean is prepared for future major tremors, given that most of the region is earthquake prone. (Repeating Islands has posted a list of major historical earthquakes in the Caribbean, from the 17th century to the 20th.)

A 5.8-magnitude tremor in the vicinity of the Cayman Islands on 19 January and the 6.1-magnitude aftershock in Haiti on 20 January only added fuel to the discussion. Many bloggers — such as Yardflex — have linked to media reports discussing the ongoing risk, or suggesting that the Caribbean is “due for” another major tremor. As @anniepaul (Jamaica-based writer Annie Paul) remarked on Twitter after hearing of the Caymans tremor: “we must be next!”

Two days after the Haiti earthquake, Living in Barbados noted:

Most of us in the Caribbean think of our disasters in terms of weather-related events, such as hurricanes. But earthquakes are different. They cannot really be predicted with much accuracy, though one can know of their likelihood because of where the Earth's fault lines are…. they do not happen with equal frequency and do not have seasons. When your country's last experience of something is 100-200 years ago, it's hard to expect people to know what to do.

A few days later, Canada-based Jamaican writer Pamela Mordecai asked, “Can we avoid catastrophes like the earthquake in Haiti?”:

The ideal thing … would be to know when the earthquake is coming.

There is one famous case where the successful forecasting of a quake led to the saving of many lives. In 1975 Chinese officials ordered the evacuation of the city of Haicheng (population one million) mere days before a quake that had a 7.3 magnitude. Only a small portion of the population was hurt or killed…. The observation of animal behaviour was in part what led to the prediction of that earthquake….

It's hard to imagine that listening to the dogs and cats might have spared Haiti.

Bahamian Womanish Words reflected on the element of chance, or luck:

We in the Bahamas are as vulnerable to quakes and tsunamis as any other place, and I never really knew it until now. The window is full of calm, a silent, still night is coming down, Haiti is crying, and I am stunned by the thought of all that we know and love around us, swept away in one terrible moment, that it happens to people all the time, that it is only luck so far that has saved us.

And Trinidadian Coffeewallah wondered if recent natural disasters were part of a wider pattern:

It has become increasingly commonplace for Mother Nature to get even with us humans. Drought, flooding, earthquake, Tsunamis, we’ve seen a lot of activity…. Humans have grown to expect that we are at the top of the food chain and think we will always have it our way, perhaps Nature has other ideas for us or at least we must acknowledge that it comes with a price.

Other bloggers were pragmatic. Islas Bellas in the Cayman Islands, noting that “there's nothing like a few tremors to bring out the terror in people,” posted ten earthquake safety tips (and explaining that familiar advice about standing in a doorway during an earthquake isn't such a good idea). Trinidadian Taran Rampersad, writing at KnowTnT.com, argued for the implementation of emergency SMS (short message service) systems, to make communications easier in the event of a disaster:

Imagine being trapped under some rubble with only a mobile phone for company. You could be hurt, bleeding, hungry, dehydrated or any combination of the above. If the mobile infrastructure is even partially intact, calling people on the phone would be limited by the likely overload of the mobile system. But SMS messages get queued. They also drain less battery life which, if you're stuck, could be very important in saving your life or the life of someone you love….

The technology exists. Unfortunately, the concern never seems to exist until afterwards.

kid5rivers wrote about the importance of enforcing construction standards in Trinidad and Tobago:

…the drive must begin … with the massive public housing sector, where, for too long, shoddiness has been allowed to rule. For the life of me I cannot understand why inadequately reinforced buildings are permitted to be erected and or occupied.

And Now Is Wow Too simply decided to sign up for a Red Cross first aid course: “Not being ‘negative', just practical,” she wrote. “Whether injuries are as a result of 'simple' daily mishaps or natural disasters, it's good for us to have these basic skills.”

As if to reinforce the sense of urgency about preparedness, Repeating Islands posted an article by geologist and tsunami expert Brian McAdoo, who analysed the Haiti earthquake and declared:

This earthquake should be a wake-up call for Kingston [Jamaica]. Should the 1692 earthquake happen today, Kingston would be devastated, albeit not to the same degree as Port-au-Prince. If these strong-shaking events occur in regions with poor construction, after the earthquake is done wreaking its havoc, the tsunami will finish the job, leaving little hope for those stuck in the collapsed buildings.

Global Voices' Special Coverage Page on the earthquake in Haiti is here.

Cayman Islands: Earthquake Safety

Janine Mendes-Franco — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:45:33 +0000

As earthquake tremors are felt in the Cayman Islands, Islas Bellas posts a few safety tips.

Caribbean: New Media & Celebrity Fascination

Karel McIntosh — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:48:19 +0000

The fascination with celebrities has always been at a fever pitch, but in the current age of new media and consumer-generated content, it’s at an all-time high. Now that everyone – from the established media outlets to the average Joe – can share content via blogs and social networking sites, celebrities have found themselves under increased scrutiny. Celebrity blogs are some of the most popular sites on the Internet, with some attracting millions of readers per month. Online, sex, gossip and celebrity sells.

Celebrity interest is not geographically isolated either. The true mark of a celebrity is their ability to attract interest from people of all walks of life, and nationalities. International superstars such as Rihanna, Usain Bolt (hailing from Barbados and Jamaica respectively), Michael Jackson, and Tiger Woods have all provided blog-worthy material over the last year, fueling content and traffic for many sites. While Caribbean bloggers do not tend to overly focus on gossip, they also sometimes focus on the current story at hand. Take the current Tiger Woods controversy for example; blogs from several corners of the earth (including the Caribbean!) are covering it, but the really interesting part is to see it expressed through the eyes of different cultures.

Bajan-born and bred blogger, Jdid, who currently resides in Toronto, gave his special spin on it, complete with colourful dialect:

“Wuhloss the people doing dixie wid the Tiger talk!

Everywhere ya going is speculation and accusation and talk about the murderation that Tiger wife allegedly inflect on he. Whax, Palax, Bruggadown Brax! Ya wud think she name Bamm Bamm Ruble the way dem say she proficent wid the club. Cuhdear!…

But poor Tiger, this is a perfect example of damned if ya do damned if ya dont. If he give details we going say um sound fishy and if he keep quiet we gine say he covering up. And what to do. Dey claiming he have a outside woman an dat is why the wife lash he. Well ya know how that would look fa he career if u was true? From Cablinasian he and he career would turn black one time. Bye bye endorsements and fans. An he cant as well say boy I did running from the wife who was lashing me wid a 9 iron eidda cause the fellas would laugh and all that invincible aura on the golf course gone through the eddoes too an wid it endorsements and fans. So yes rock and hard place got Tiger trapped proper.”

Meanwhile, Bajegirl recounts the excitement that took over Barbados when Tiger and his wife got married there in 2004 :

“Now, I feel personally insulted. Tiger Woods come down here to Buhbadus to marry Elin. He block up the roads leading up to Sandy Lane and yuh had to detour all bout St. James. He nearly give we heart attack with the fireworks they let off up at the country club on the wedding night. He had paparazzi mekking people miserable trying to climb up pon roofs to get photos (though some locals mek a good buck, don't fool yuh foot). And after all that he got the audacity to cheat pon she? I feel like he cheat pon me, too!”

This Beach Called Life takes a more philosophical approach, pondering on Tiger’s emotional state:

“This situation is unfortunate as nobody stopped to ask Tiger if he found women as exciting as hitting a hole-in-one. Nobody stopped to ask Tiger if he was a normal, unhappy man who found transgression a path to happiness and a necessary part of being found irresistibly sexy by sexy women.”

While Tiger Woods may want privacy during his current turmoil, traditional and new media just won’t let him, especially since almost every news site and blog is only too happy to enable a slew of comments on posts such as these. Not to mention, whether it’s covering the dramatic tales or giving their opinion on how a celebrity should conduct himself or herself, bloggers are only too ready to make their voices heard.

In the Caribbean, it’s no different, and especially when the celebrity in question is one of our own, you’re certain to find criticism and support alike.

New media has certainly catapulted celebrity, giving everyone the opportunity to expose celebrity missteps or to offer their opinions on how celebrities should live their life. Pop star Rihanna, arguably one of the Caribbean’s most viable entertainment exports, is a perfect example of how obsessed news outlets and bloggers alike have become in order to supply an equally fascinated public with the latest news.

Even before the reported incident with Chris Brown in February, she was fair game for blogs. In the aftermath it seems to have escalated, and her daily activities are constantly analysed by many, especially those at home. When she wore a revealing outfit and breast pasties at Fourth of July celebrations earlier this year in the US, Bajan blogs went afire, especially as she’s also an official Ambassador for Youth and Culture for the country.

Barbados Free Press stated:

“When Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson named pop-star and sex symbol Rihanna as our “Ambassador for Culture and Youth”, we had our doubts about the wisdom of this political move – for a political move is exactly what it was…

“Don’t get me wrong here, folks: Rihanna is an adult. She can wear whatever she wants to wear.

She can show titty and tattoo guns all over her body…. That’s her business.

But when she is our “Ambassador for Culture and Youth” and shows up dressed in a way that no father could say he was proud of, then it is the business of the people of Barbados.”

Ian Bourne of Bajan Reporter questions whether she should even be an official ambassador for Barbados:

“It is about time for this current administration to ask Ms Fenty to resign from the Global Diplomatic assignment, or rescind or revoke it quite vocally so as to salvage some form of reputation on the world scene, as we are now party to a planetary laughing stock as she spins wildly out of control…”

Bourne also questions whether her experience with Chris Brown has changed her forever. From a different vantage point, when the news first broke of the assault, US-based Trini blogger Afrobella had to contend with the stereotypical views of Caribbean women that commenters were leaving on blogs about the Rihanna incident.

There are some who argue that this sort of scrutiny is the price that celebrities pay for their fortune. However, Signifyin’ Guyana feels a bit differently about exposing celebrities, expressing the view that no one likes their dirty secrets revealed, especially when they can cause irreparable damage:

“I'd like to think most people who've ever held an embarrassing personal secret close to their chests, hearts, or wherever they chose to hold it, or people who have had such a secret exposed, would understand the mercy of TMI – too much information please!

Not true if you're fully fixed on American popular culture and its burgeoning fare of reality TV, which compete fiercely to see who can succeed in exposing the most cringingly embarrassing detail of someone's life.

And it gets a little more complicated when the exposure seems voluntary as in the case of reality TV and social networking sites–Facebook, blogs, Twitter and the like – doesn't it? Relatively ordinary folk can and do become minor or major celebrities on some of these shows / sites.

So here's a question for you: if someone discovers something…umm juicy let's say… about that ordinary-person-turned-celebrity's life, should he or she publish it claiming fans/ stalkers/ the interested following public have a right to know? How you answer that question depends on how fass you are, how much you delight in digging into people's business, how much or little you know about the success of lawsuits brought against those who have exposed others, and how much you care about how irreparably damaging (despite being on the winning side of a lawsuit) such exposure can be for that person.”

Regardless of how you answer that question, the current fascination-turned-obsession with celebrities, which has undoubtedly been fuelled by increased new media channels, is in overdrive…

Bermuda, Cayman Islands: Look Who's Blogging

Janine Mendes-Franco — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:34:25 +0000

Bermudian Vexed Bermoothes is surprised to learn that “the Governor of the Cayman Islands has a blog.”

Cayman Islands: Native Tongue

Janine Mendes-Franco — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:55:13 +0000

Islas Bellas says “there has been a little bit of a debate going on and around about speaking English while in Cayman.”

Bermuda, Cayman Islands: Referendum

Janine Mendes-Franco — Thu, 21 May 2009 15:03:05 +0000

Bermudian bloggers Vexed Bermoothes and Catch a fire are paying attention to the Cayman Islands' recently-concluded elections and citizens' participation in a referendum vote on the country's new constitution.

Cayman Islands: Same Old

Janine Mendes-Franco — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:56:24 +0000

“This election has the potential to again be nothing more than ousting current politicians who do very little and replacing them with politicians who are entirely incapable of bringing their generalizations to life”: The Cayman Islands' Blog Man is afraid it's politics as usual for his country's upcoming elections.

Bermuda, Cayman Islands: Freedom of Info

Janine Mendes-Franco — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:20:47 +0000

“While Bermuda continues to pay lip service to public access to information, the Cayman Islands forge ahead”: Vexed Bermoothes weighs in.

Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Anguilla: New Constitution

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:05:56 +0000

Vexed Bermoothes [Bermuda] and Corruption-free Anguilla blog about the Cayman Islands' new draft Constitution and Bill of Rights that is scheduled to go before a public referendum on May 20.

Cayman Islands: Gun Violence

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:05:48 +0000

Mad Bull is monitoring the crime situation in the Cayman Islands.

Caribbean: 2008 in Review

Janine Mendes-Franco — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:21:24 +0000

From natural disasters to lightning bolts of the athletic kind, 2008 was a busy one for the Caribbean blogosphere. Here are some of the highlights…

Politics
On the heels of a year that seemed to be defined by politics, 2008 also began on a political high note, thanks to Barack Obama's amazing win in the Iowa caucus. From that point on, the majority of regional bloggers caught Obamamania and supported “their” candidate all the way to the White House. While the Caribbean was captivated by Obama's promise of change, Barbadians were orchestrating a political change of their own - some believe that outspoken political blogs may have helped turn the tide of the election by discussing key issues such as alleged corruption and the need for integrity legislation.

Further north along the archipelago, Jamaica's top politician was riling up bloggers, thanks to his “No gays in my government” comment during a BBC interview - but certainly one of the most significant political scenarios coming out of the region this year was the retirement of Cuban leader Fidel Castro after nearly 50 years at the helm of the socialist republic. Despite the change in leadership, however, most bloggers felt that it was business as usual. According to Uncommon Sense:

An unfortunate consequence of that hand-over, reinforced by Fidel's “retirement,” is that the dictatorship survives. A face, presumably Raúl's — I haven't seen the script — will be placed at the top of the flow chart, come Sunday. But the dictatorship survives.

Fidel's “retirement” is not a moment to celebrate. Unfortunately, his legacy will survive his life's work, and his life. It is a historical moment to note but nothing more.

Freedom of Speech
The issue of freedom of speech seemed to plague the region this year; both mainstream media and the blogosphere fought against attempts to silence them. Although there still appears to be some distrust between MSM and the newly active blogosphere in some Caribbean territories, it was interesting to see the two sides come together and make their voices heard. In Guyana, for instance, one blogger - MediaCritic at the Living Guyana blog - made it his business to cover the banning of a journalist by the country's President. His commitment to the cause was so fierce that it prompted GV Caribbean author Nicholas Laughlin to comment:

Living Guyana's sustained coverage of the Moseley ban story — largely ignored by other Guyanese blogs — has rivalled the coverage of Guyana's mainstream media.

Over in Barbados, bloggers were wondering if their means of online expression was in danger, while in Cuba, it appeared that certain blogs may have been blocked. Trinidad and Tobago had to contend with its Prime Minister actually paying a visit to a radio station to complain about two announcers who had made disparaging comments about him, a move that made bloggers even more vocal than usual. Barbadian bloggers also joined ranks with their mainstream media counterparts following the arrest of two journalists - a move that Barbados Free Press says was prompted by the fact that the reporters were covering the case of “a police officer…charged with dealing drugs.”

Human Rights
Closely linked with freedom of speech is the question of human rights. Some of the most memorable stories in the Caribbean blogosphere this year dealt with human rights abuses - from the arrest of Las Damas de Blanco in Havana as they staged a peaceful demonstration for the release of their husbands, to the reinstatement of the death penalty in Jamaica. Cuban bloggers were by far the most conscious of human rights issues, blogging at length about the significance of International Human Rights Day and their island's history of stifling human rights.

Puerto Rico was worried about “the government's latest deed, the application of the Real ID Act to the island's drivers”, which they thought was way too intrusive and bordered on a breach of privacy. Barbadian bloggers cried “foul” after the suspicious and untimely death of I'Akobi Tacuma Maloney, while the issue of the Rights of the Child was linked with concern about Jamaica's escalating crime rate in this post about violence against minors.

Crime & Health
The big crime story in the region this year was undoubtedly “the killing by joint army and police services of Guyana's most wanted man, Rondell ‘Fineman' Rawlins, and his ‘Lieutenant' Jermaine ‘Skinny' Charles”. Bloggers breathed a communal sign of relief that the two men met as bloody a fate as they inflicted on so many innocent people, even as an editorial in the Stabroek News warned that the killing of Rawlins doesn't mean the end of violence - but Jamaica certainly tried to curb its own rising crime rate via a March for Peace, inspired by the increasing number of violent crimes against women and children. The region's own experience with violence - not to mention the fact that several West Indian territories have substantial populations of Indian origin - made it that much easier for Caribbean to empathize with India after the horrific Mumbai terror attacks. And in another kind of war - the war on HIV/AIDS - the Caribbean joined the rest of the world in recognizing World AIDS Day and joining the discussion on everything from education to HIV/AIDS workplace policy.

Disasters
This was the Year of the Hurricane. Monster storms wreaked havoc across the Caribbean archipelago, from Grenada to the Cayman Islands. Gustav, Hanna, Ike, Omar and Paloma are not names the Caribbean is likely to forget.

Cuba and Haiti were hit particularly hard by the multiple storms, which caused loss of homes and of life - and on the heels of these tragedies, Haiti faced yet another in the form of a disastrous school collapse. In the words of Haiti Innovation:

Some emergencies can be predicted. Every hurricane season, we can anticipate that Haiti will likely be hit with tropical storms. Others such as the collapse of a school in Petionville yesterday are unexpected tragedies.

Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana were battling floods on a regular basis during the region's rainier-than-usual wet season.

The Economy
Perhaps the first sign of the effects of the looming global financial crisis was rising food prices and scarcity of produce. Caribbean bloggers were concerned - and finally the penny dropped with regional politicians - Trinidad and Tobgo's Prime Minister called for “belt-tightening” a few months later.

Cuban bloggers were quite vocal about the US/Cuba embargo, debating whether or not any change to the status quo would actually be felt in the Cuban economy. Guyanese bloggers, on the other hand, suggested that if their government did not sign the new European Union EPA, the local economy would be the loser.

Meanwhile, the French-speaking Caribbean was rife with protests over the skyrocketing price of gas and its effect on the pockets of the man in the street.

Sport
If there was a bright spot in the Caribbean blogosphere this year, it came in the form of regional athletes' performance in the Beijing Olympics. Jamaican Track and Field athletes dominated; the Caribbean celebrated. Usain Bolt was not only a hero - he was a phenomenon.

A few months later came another sporting moment to be proud of - the Caribbean team defeated England in the Stanford 20/20 Cricket Tournament, winning the match by an astounding ten wickets, becoming overnight millionaires in the process and - even for a moment - restoring some pride to beleaguered West Indies cricket fans.

Fond Farewells
Several Caribbean icons passed away this year and bloggers respectfully paid them homage…

Jamaican musicians Alton Ellis and Byron Lee and Guyanese newspaper editor David de Caires, who Nicholas Laughlin describes as “the founder and editor-in-chief of the independent Guyanese newspaper the Stabroek News, and one of the Caribbean's strongest advocates for press freedom.”

The Caribbean celebrated astounding highs and coped with debilitating lows this year - but the most convincing sign that we can deal with whatever comes our way is the fact that we continue to talk about issues and through discussion, better understand our own experiences and challenges in the context of an ever-shrinking world.

A Caribbean Christmas

Janine Mendes-Franco — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:15:34 +0000

‘Tis the season - and nowhere celebrates Christmas quite like the Caribbean! Here's a glimpse into what bloggers are doing to get into the spirit of the festivities…

Guyanese bloggers do a meme on “Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without…” For Signifyin' Guyana, who started the meme, it's “my dad's ham” and “playing board games with my folks after we've all had a few and then some more.” Guyana 911 chimes in (sometimes cynically) with the following list:

- Christmas clean up.
Whoa.. what happened to this house. Are you moving out?

- Pepper Pot.
Time, tide and Jesus birthday waits for no pepper pot. Is the earth going to stop moving if you don't make pepper pot?

- Black Cake.

- A Christmas Tree.
Cut them all down, but lets not make Christmas cards out of em. No.. instead, we can make furniture. Now that's a revolutionary idea. Furniture… something anyone can actually use.

- Singer commercials.

- Painting over the house and anything else paint sticks to.

- Remittances.

Raptus8 thinks that gift-giving is an inseparable part of Christmas (once the gift is for him):

Since we are speaking about gifts I would like to say to all of my friends and family that you know I have lots of love for you but this year plz don’t expect anything but a Christmas card from me.

I’m broke; yes I’m broke…what? I got a promotion the other day? Yes I did but I’m not wealthy and I want to be, so I’m saving my money. I do hope that you will understand my position and that this will not discourage you from buying that special item you saw with my name on it…

In Jamaica, Iriegal says that while Christmas time is synonymous with family, the global financial crisis is having an impact on remittances and gifts sent to Jamaica from the diaspora:

We know it's Christmas time in Jamaica when the barrels start rolling in.

Tings kinda 'salt' this year though. The economy has made many items scarce and the shipping fee has gone up as well. Seems folks sending ‘gift cards' now.

She also notes that the recession is making itself felt in other ways this Christmas:

Christmas is not Christmas without deh white dem. (Jamaican white rum). We use it for sorrel, Christmas Cake, Christmas Pudding and so on. So why did the people at Wray and Nephew dem lay off their workers right before Christmas. Isn't that shooting yourself in the foot?

Cuts are going on everywhere on the island, just as it is all over the world. The recession that the United States is feeling is a Global thing. Everything trickles down. What is sad is that many of the smaller islands do feel it more. When you don't make nothing, you don't have nothing and people try to take that ‘nothing' away from you, it hurts.

Abeng News Magazine prefers to reminisce, taking a look at Christmas in “Old Jamaica” here and here.

Bermuda's The Devil Island.com knows its Christmas when Jose Feliciano sings Feliz Navidad, saying:

I swear, there is nothing that comes to mind as a more perfect, joyous, happy-making Christmas song.

Trinidadian blogger This Beach Called Life concurs, calling it “the best Christmas song ever” and even posting video of Feliciano singing his signature tune. He goes on to explain:

Jose Feliciano is an an accomplished guitarist and sings with a distinctive voice and style. Feliz Navidad has become a Cristmas classic and is now impossible to separate from the Christmas season. Feliz Navidad is one of the top 25 most played and recorded Christmas songs around the world.

However, fellow Trinidad and Tobago-based blogger Coffeewallah is finding it hard to get into the spirit of the season:

I constantly hear people talking about their ‘Christian' beliefs. It never ceases to amaze me that a lot of these so-called Christian folk are the same ones who bitch the loudest when asked to contribute to a can drive or anything. The same people who will come around and ask you again and again for their children's raffle or whatever, when asked, their response usually is, I gave to something two months ago. I must remember that one for future use. Grinch behaviour coming alive here.

But the staples of a Trinbagonian Christmas somehow manage to bring her around:

The pointsettias were abloom, their spiky red leaves cheerily brightening the usually sombre space. Though the skies were rainy, inside we were snug, with our ponche de creme to warm us, some Christmas music to sing along with…and all was good.

Speaking of Christmas staples, Simply Trini Cooking salutes that time-honoured West Indian Christmas dessert, Black Cake, and includes a recipe should anyone want to try making it.

Barbados Underground posts a reminder about the reason for the season and expresses concern about the commercialization of the holiday:

Christmas 2008 will be celebrated in gloomy economic conditions but Barbadians appear to be following the script of behaviour from previous years…which sees the majority of our population motivated by commercial reasons to celebrate Christmas.

BU's apprehension is echoed by Dominica Weekly, which considers the true meaning of Christmas and goes one step further by asking what God would think of modern-day celebrations.

Christmas celebrations in the French-speaking Caribbean, on the other hand, appear to be steeped in tradition. With December 25th quickly approaching, the French Overseas Departments of Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyane are vibrating to the tune of their folk musical instruments like ka (a big drum)[Fr], ti-bwa (two bamboo sticks)[Fr] and of Christmas Carols. Welcome to the world of “Chanté Nwel” (Singing for Christmas)!

In the blog Sous le Soleil de Guadeloupe [Fr], Pat and Jac describe the paradoxical situation of the island, gripped with the Spirit of Christmas and raging through the gas crisis [En].

Still, there is one thing at the core of the Guadeloupean traditional celebration of Christmas and it is “Chanté Nwel”. Creole [En]for “Singing for Christmas” or “Singing Christmas (carols)”, it is the very shrine of Christmas in these French territories. “Chanté Nwel” used to be an opportunity for entire families to go around their neighborhood to visit neighbors and sing Christmas carols with them to the tune of the “ka” and the “ti-bwa”. At that time, it was in a safe atmosphere that people would go around their remote villages very late at night.

Although Chanté Nwel cannot be done in the same way as before, people still feel the need to sing Christmas carols together and in a very local way. You haven't celebrated Christmas, if you haven't been to a “Chanté Nwel”! It is such a vivid tradition that even the West Indian diaspora abroad wants to celebrate. On his blog Risbomontréal [Fr], a young Guadeloupean university student describes his joy at receiving an invitation for a “Chanté Nwel”:

Quelle bonne nouvelle que j'ai eu ce matin en ouvrant mon p'tit mac :D ! La news lettre de ces types super cool de Tropikal97 où ils invitent à participer à une super soirée diner/Chanté Noël + Boite de nuit à l'antillaise et tout ^^ !!!

I received great news this morning when I opened my lil' mac :D! In the newsletter of the very cool guys of Tropikal97, there is an invitation for a nice dinner/Chanté Nwel and West Indian night club and stuff ^^!!!

It seems that the Chanté Nwel fever is spreading wherever French West Indians can be spotted: check out this invitation for a Chanté Nwel in Cergy, in the suburbs of Paris, published on the blog Carrefour du Soleil [Fr], by a group of West Indians. Or listen to Cactus, a Guadeloupean folk group that promotes Chanté Nwel in a blog called Cactus Chanté Nwel [Fr]. There is even a video of Cactus performing some Christmas carols, sung in Creole.

Can't manage a trip to the Caribbean this Christmas? Not to worry - the West Indian warmth transcends distance thanks to the voices of bloggers who share their stories of Christmas in Cuba, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Cayman Islands, and Puerto Rico. Some posts are more optimistic than others, but the sentiment of the season is palpable: Hope.

In the words of Bahamian blogger Womanish Words:

Suddenly, a choir. Singing Deck the Halls. Outside the dark living room window. And sistas, I mean, singing so beautifully.

I would have loved any carolers, the raw-boned, hollering kind I would have gratefully welcomed in these hard times. Any group of folks generous of spirit so, creative and cooperative and connected so, having spirit enough to gather themselves together and go sing-up Christmas for strangers, I have to love them. Especially now, when money is tight, and fundamentalism is dividing the neighbourhoods with hatred, and all are on guard against violent crime. We opened the door, lit a torch, gave a donation. They were all wearing Santa hats. They sounded like a choir out of Dickens. Perfect harmonies, soaring tenors. Our son asked, “Are they singing for us?” Yes, they were singing for us.

I thought it was a cosmic moment, a sign and a wonder, a message from the World of Spirit. Saying quite literally, go ahead and deck the halls, try Be Happy, celebrate, give. Do this to actively resist the fear, to transform it into something like good living.

Fabienne Flessel contributed to this post.

All images in this post courtesy janinephoto; used with permission.