Ce sont les jeunes du foyer d'insertion de Sainte-Marie qui ont bénéficié de cette formation.

They benefited from the knowledge and experience of the Caribs, by learning to build a canoe and then ride it from Martinique to Antigua. But before reaching to all these islands from le Prêcheur in Martinique, many young adults in search of a professional project and practical training participated in the creation of the Kanawa (the native name for a canoe). The social integration building site quickly became a genuine shipyard, where the traditional skills of the native inhabitants were used to create this massive canoe. A comment on CocoNews post gives us more details concerning the measures of the canoe [Fr]:

Le kanawa pèse plus d'une tonne ( à vide !) , 18 mètres de long et 27 rameurs.

One of the team members has posted pictures of the construction site and lists the 4 steps involved in the making of the Kanawa: cutting the tree, transporting the trunk, preparing the top of the trunk and finally digging it up. Here is a diaporama describing all the different steps of the making.

CocoNews Guadeloupe introduces the project to its readers and reveals the itinerary of the ride [Fr].

@ CocoNews Guadeloupe

The journey was scheduled as follows: leave le Prêcheur in Martinique on May 21st and go back to le Prêcheur on June 1st, after stops in the Caribbean islands of Dominica, les Saintes, Guadeloupe (Basse-Terre then Grande-Terre) and Antigua. The trip included about thirty people, including historians, athletes, sociologists and writers, but it was also open to anyone else who had an interest in the project. This post lists all the participants.

Quite apart from its social integration and historical aspects, this project has had an important impact at the level of memory and conscience. To understand this better, CocoNews quotes one of the objectives of the project [Fr]:

L'objectif de KYTANGOMINGO EMA est la réouverture symbolique et matérielle de la route de navigation maritime des temps anciens,…

But the best way to understand the motivation behind the project is to read about the experiences of the passengers and rowers [Fr]:

L'aventure Martinique-Antigua a été pour moi une expérience très valorisante humainement parlant. Découvrir les îles des Caraïbes comme nos ancêtres amérindiens et pouvoir ressentir les moments forts de leur arrivée sur une terre inconnue

The general success of the initiative has gone a long way to inspire the team in its plan for next year: reaching Puerto Rico by kanawa.

On May 1st, the first massive demonstration took place since the end of the strike: Guadeloupeans got together in Petit-Canal after marching from 9 am to almost 1 pm, and spent all day together listening to music, watching dance performances and paying close attention to speeches from local union leaders. The occasion has helped make Shakazulu, who blogs in Creole at Gwakafwika, very prolific lately, as May is traditionally “identity” month in Guadeloupe and it's one of the blogger's favourite topics.

In his first post about the season, “Arété kouri ba patron” [Guadeloupean Creole] which means “Stop running for your bosses”, the blogger denounces a new sport challenge called Relais Inter-Entreprise [Fr] (a relay run by employees of public or private Guadeloupean companies). For the past 12 years, this race has been taking place on May 27th, to the point where it has become an integral part of some companies' annual schedule. But Shakazulu [French Creole] reveals much more about this crucial date, echoing this post from the Caribbean bloggers at Repeating Islands:

27 Mé an péyi an nou, on jou a mémwa, on jou otila pèp Gwadloup ka chonjé konba a Ignas, Dèlgrès, Masoto, Solitid pou libérasyon a gwadloupéyen anba gyouk a lèsklavaj é kolonyalis fwansé.

Indeed, May 1848 was the year of the second abolition of slavery in the French possessions of Guadeloupe and Martinique, which partly explains Shakazulu's conclusion about the post [Guadeloupean Creole]:

Alò ki jan nou pé konpwann, jou-lasa, chak lanné, travayè Gwadloup pé ay swé ba séla ki toulélanné ka fann kyou a yo?

Instead, Shakazulu suggests a march whose slogan is [Guadeloupean Creole]:

Fè mémwa maché, fè konsyans vansé pou nou sonjé gwadloupéyen ki goumé é ki tonbé anba bal fizi a kolon an lanné 1802 é 1967

This march mentioned by the blogger has actually been in existence for a few years, attracting people who are in quest of a symbolic act by which to remember their ancestors. Here is the program of this two-day-long march, which goes across the island [French/Guadeloupean Creole].

In this same post, the blogger deals with a new date: May 1967. At that time, social protests were frequent, as the sugar cane workers were dissatisfied with their working conditions and salaries. Shakazulu explains here what happened during one special demonstration [Guadeloupean Creole]:

Mé 1967- Mé 2009! 42 lanné! 42 lanné léjyonnè fwansé kyouyé gwadloupéyen an vil Lapwent. Moun ka palé dè 8 moun, dòt ka palé dè 87 moun, on dòt pati ka palé dè plis ki 100 moun mò Lapwent

Nobody really knows what really happened that day as no official toll was ever communicated and the entire affair was filed “Confidential” - but some Guadeloupean directors decided to highlight the voices of witnesses about those memories which still haunt their nights. Here is a series of videos (made available on YouTube) called “Sonjé Mé 67″ [Guadeloupean Creole], which means “Remember May ‘67″:

…and here, another YouTube find, which deals with the events of both May 1802 and May 1967.

Grenadian Blah Bloh Blog says:

Although I’m a good 150 miles overseas, I must admit to a great deal of personal excitement over the impending arrival of President Obama in Trinidad; we can only hope he might decide on a spur of the moment rest-stop in Greenz perhaps?

For the past week or so, as advance security measures have begun, Grenada’s Point Salines International Airport has become a hub for the U.S. Air Force. F15 jets and C5 transports occupy a section of the runway, with the F15s maintaining a steady rotation of recon/surveillance flights.

Here’s hoping to hear some good news out of the Summit.

Good news may have to wait, but Blah Bloh Blog certainly spread some confusing news in the form of photos (allegedly of the arrival of The Beast) at Piarco International Airport, although there is no confirmation as to whether the vehicle in question is actually the U.S. President's limousine - but that didn't stop her from commenting:

Lawd, I have to love mi Trini brudders and dem - yuh ent see dem posing wid de man vehicle!! (For what it’s worth, I understand these pictures were taken by T&T police officers, not civilians. I know we Caribbean people good, but we ent so good dat de Secret Service go let we jus’ be liming around de most secure car in de world).

Other bloggers, however, are focused on more controversial issues. From Trinidad and Tobago, Undisputed Truth has the financial impact of hosting the Summit on his mind:

The government of Trinidad and Tobago is spending between $1 billion to $2 billion TT dollars (US$161 million - US$323 million) of taxpayer money on the Summit. So far they are yet to publicly disclose the exact figure.

Trinidad’s GDP is only about US$15 billion. Trinidad is therefore spending about 13% of its GDP just to host the Summit. Prime Minister of Trinidad Patrick Manning has been mentioning his intentions to host the Summit for years. He has translated this into creating state agencies to quickly renovate and construct high-rise buildings in and around Port-of-Spain and the country each costing hundreds of millions of dollars. So the real cost of the Summit may be even scarier.

To put this into perspective, the G20 Summit hosted in London costed just £20 million or TT$180 million or US$29 million. So Trinidad is spending as much as 10 times the cost of the G20 Summit for the Summit of the Americas.

This is an absolute scandal and waste of money…

Barbadian blogger Cheese-on-bread! adds:

All eyes will be focused over the next few days on Trinidad, where President Barack Obama will be attending the 5th Summit of the Americas. I must admit now that although I would have been thrilled to get a glimpse of Mr. President, I don't think we could afford the expense that comes with hosting him. Reports suggest that T&T is spending TT$1.2 billion on the summit…thank God they have oil money. No bosie, it doesn't make sense putting ourselves in the poor house to put on a good show for the Americans.

Part of the President's surveillance has been set up here at the Grantley Adams International Airport, and I imagine all their satellites must be trained on Trinidad at this moment. All the criminals will probably be lying low this weekend…

Over in the French Caribbean, Carib Creole One [Fr] is carefully following Summit developments and ponders on issues of self-governance and inter-Caribbean relations. He also takes a look at the complex relationship between the U.S. and Cuba.

Live in Guyana talks about the “Great Wall“:

The residents of Beetham Gardens, a drab area of rundown government housing and relentless gang warfare, have been cut off from the rest of this sprawling Trinidadian capital.

The government has erected a wall along the neighborhood's frayed edges, blocking the view into a long troubled community that shares space with the murky waters of industrial waste, overgrown weeds and the constant stench of the nearby landfill.

The 5-foot-tall wall is simply a beautifying touch, say government officials, who have spent months prepping for the arrival this week of 33 leaders including President Barack Obama at the largest and most important gathering of hemispheric leaders.

But it seems that Guyana has some Summit controversy of its own. Caribbean American Forum notes that:

The New York Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID)…published a full page ad telling summit participants that ‘There is a crisis of governance in Guyana which has burgeoned from unparalleled corruption, bad and despotic governance and the abrogation of the rule of law. Guyana’s democracy is tenuous at best and the nation stands at the threshold of failed statehood.'

T&T-based Now is Wow Too finds the theme of the Summit (Securing Our Citizens' Future by Promoting Human Prosperity, Energy Security and Environmental Sustainability) incredibly ironic:

T&T GOVERNMENT: Citizens? What citizens? All we care about is hurriedly spending at least $500 million dollars to fix up the country so that it looks good for Obama … and the rest of the world.

Quick! He's flying in today! Forget about the global financial crisis. Let's dish out about $1 million US to rehabilitate the airport so we can accommodate the US Presidential aircrafts and the other jets that are bringing in our important guests!

Paint all the lines, roadsigns, lightpoles, tree trunks … in fact, paint every and anything on the road along the route from the airport to Port-of-Spain! We can't afford to let Obama see any of our infrastructure looking old and ratty! And never mind if the citizens are stuck for hours in traffic while we spruce up. They're used to it.

(… i.e. the traffic, not the sprucing up).

Pave the roads and fix any potholes in areas where Obama and other foreign Heads of State have to pass! Build a wall (… and call it a ‘berm') to hide the 'slums' in the Beetham so our important guests won't see the poverty!

And on that note, drive around and pick up all the vagrants so it will look like we don't have a problem with homelessness and madness. Some of these social outcasts are running away, but hopefully not in the direction of the Summit centre!

As if to address her concerns, public relations blog 5 am at Mango Media Caribbean interviews a spokesperson for the Summit Secretariat, who claims that “we are ready alright [for the Summit]; we have been ready for awhile” - this despite countless stories of a lack of preparedness in the local mainstream media.

In fact, Trinidad blogger B.C. Pires, who now lives in Barbados, is convinced that the best place to be for the Summit is anywhere outside of Port of Spain:

The Summit of the Americas starts tomorrow and the big shots start arriving today, with Barack Obama being the biggest shot of them all, of course. And you won’t be able to move a muscle in town until Barack and the Beast ride out again.

He's not far off - Caribbean Beat Blog, for instance, reports that:

Caribbean Airlines (CAL) has been informed by the relevant authorities that there will be limited disruptions to its scheduled operations during the Fifth Summit of the Americas…CAL is recommending that passengers depart for the airport much earlier than usual, in the event that any traffic pile-ups occur, in order to arrive at the airport three hours ahead of their scheduled flight departure time.

But there is a lighter side to the Summit as well - at least in the eyes of bloggers. As always, Trinidadian This Beach Called Life uses humour to focus on key issues, posting a fictitious diary entry from President Obama:

The trip to Mexico was eventful. We promised to use less illicit drugs and Mexico promised to export less gardeners. I am now on my way to sunny Trinidad and Tobago and can’t wait to see the Hyatt.

I can see a few tall buildings, the Great Beetham Wall and Hugo waving a red flag. Port of Spain looks good from this angle but there are wires hanging everywhere. I wonder if they managed to round up the homeless and hide them from the international press. This was so Third World, the cleaning up for the Summit but denying it wasn’t so. Only a Banana Government would act this foolish. I wonder if there is going to be any protest but I don’t think a semi-dictatorial leader would allow something as democratic as protests to take place during an international event. It would make them look even worse.

Culture is also playing a role - both officially and unofficially. Caribbean Free Radio's flickr photostream displays a photoset entitled “The People Must Be Herd”, along with the following explanation…

As final preparations are being made for the staging of the 5th Summit of the Americas in Trinidad, a group of artists will do a performance installation on the streets of Trinidad and Tobago's capital, Port of Spain.

The silent procession is part of a video installation being created by the band’s designers Ashraph Ramsaran and Shalini Seereeram.

T’in Cow Fat Cow debuted as an independent mas band in 2009, inspired by the song T'in Cow by 3 Canal.

…while Repeating Islands blog has the scoop on the cultural presentation for the official Summit opening later today:

For the opening ceremony, [carnival designer] MacFarlane has put together a 45-minute cultural presentation that traces the development of the Caribbean peoples from the indigenous inhabitants to the multi-ethnic citizenry of the region today.

What the Fifth Summit of the Americas will eventually achieve is still up for debate, but one thing is certain: the multi-ethnic citizenry of the blogosphere will monitor its progress every step of the way.

On the blog Les Scoops d'or, Lagencedecom’ and Scoop announce the launch of a new blog and website competition in the West Indies [Fr]:

Après le succès de l’édition 2008, les Scoops d’or reviennent en 2009 avec un nouveau défi : faire découvrir non plus uniquement les sites internet de la Martinique, mais ceux aussi de Guadeloupe, Guyane et de la Diaspora antillaise.

A cette occasion nous lancons notre site Internet qui permettra à tout un chacun de visiter la première exposition virtuelle des meilleurs sites internet de la caraïbe francophone.

Competing categories include:

Sites Perso/Blog, Sites de Ecommerce, Site ou blogs d’Entreprises, Sites de Media, Réseau Sociaux & Forums

At present, there are about 69 blogs registered in the competition and the leaders thus far are “Massacre sur Facebook” for Guadeloupe, with 88 votes and “Kasper Extended” in Martinique, with 144 votes. In French Guiana, the frontrunner is a blog with a pun on the French name “Guy' Yann“, which has had the most votes so far: 365. Finally, the West Indian diaspora is represented by “Zagriyen.fr” which has garnered only 9 votes - on par with Bondamanjak, a socially and politically-oriented Martinican blog, whose vote tally is also 9 at the time of this posting.

While the votes increase every day, there are great discrepancies in the numbers depending on the territory - French Guiana appears to be the most active, as compared with the poor showing for blogs from the diaspora. This is probably exactly why the “Scoops” team has launched the project - to encourage more interaction among bloggers. One way that the organizers of the contest try to keep the discussion going is by featuring interviews with bloggers in the blog section of the website.

If you want to know more about this fast-growing phenomenon in the French West Indies, “Les Scoops d'Or” can be easily found on Facebook and Twitter.

The deadline for this competition is May 10th 2009, and results in the different categories will be made public from May 11th to 17th in Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Paris. Don't forget to press the “J'aime” button to vote for your favorite blog!

“Banania” is a popular French hot chocolate mix, launched in France in 1912. In the marketing strategy, the choice was made to associate this product (made of chocolate, banana, milk and sugar) with Africa or the French West Indies, in order to make it sound more exotic.

In 1915, during the First World War, soldiers came from the French colonies in Africa to fight for their Motherland. That was the beginning of a long relationship between the brand and the image of the Tirailleur Sénégalais. At the time, Senegal was enough of a household name in France to lend “exotic” authenticity to this product, originally exported from Nicaragua. The image of this happy, smiling soldier coming from Africa to fight for France in the war, was associated with a now-controversial slogan: “Y'a bon”. This phrase - supposedly a form of broken French used by Africans to say “It's good”- was, for decades, (certainly up to the 1970's) linked with the image of the Senegalese soldier as a symbol of the product's authenticity.

Image courtesy just.Luc, used under a Creative Commons License. Visit just.Luc's flickr photostream.

Back in 2005, blogger Alain Mabanckou published a blogpost [Fr] entitled “Y'a Bon Banania ou Y'a Pas Bon Banania” about an action group of Guadeloupeans, Martinicans and Reunionese called Collectif DOM which sued Nutrimaine, the company which produces Banania, for…

…d’utiliser des clichés insultants pour les personnes de couleur noire, en exploitant l’image du tirailleur sénégalais et son fameux slogan « Banania Y’a bon » créés au début du siècle dernier…

In 2008, another action group, le MRAP [Fr] (Movement Against Racism and for Friendship between the Peoples) sued Nutrimaine again for not respecting an agreement signed in 2006 with the Collectif DOM, after the charges were laid against the company. According to blogger Storytelling, the MRAP was nonsuited [Fr]…

au prétexte que ce slogan ne trouble pas l’ordre public ni n’est contraire aux bonnes moeurs.

Photo by ɐılnɾ, used under a Creative Commons License. Visit ɐılnɾ's flickr photostream.

Today, Banania uses a sort of cartoon character as its mascot and the controversial slogan has disappeared - but most black people in France are still not reconciled with the brand. On March 17th 2009, a group called les Indivisibles [Fr] launched the “Y'a Bon Awards”, a dubious honour, bestowed upon politicians, journalists, or any public officials who have contributed to the spreading of racism in France. Montray Kreyol [Fr] posts the link to the list of all the recipients of the “Y'a Bon Awards”, and you can follow more reactions to this century-long advertising campaign on just.Luc's Ethnic Stereotype flickr page.

The most commented signs of the crisis are the Wall Street crash and the collapsed housing industry in the United States. Without belittling these unfortunate economic disasters, we should also highlight other symbols of the crisis which people around the world are witnessing and experiencing everyday.

For example, the economic downturn is forcing many South Koreans to change or abandon their travel plans. This has affected the tourism industry in Brunei which is a favorite destination of many South Koreans. Because of declining number of global tourists, Egypt’s tourism workers are complaining that their salaries are not given on time.

Decreased consumer spending in the U.S. has also brought down the demand for garments made in Bangladesh. This has weakened the garments export industry of Bangladesh which employs a large number of the population. Bangladesh exports its products mainly to the U.S. and United Kingdom.

In Russia, the financial crisis is signified by reduced government spending on health care. In Japan, the recession has become evident through reports showing reduced department store hours, slump in car sales, and increasing presence of jobless and homeless persons in temporary facilities, parks and even net cafes.

Economic freeze became literal in Ukraine as hot water was shut off in much of Kyiv for a week last December because of unpaid water bills. Evie of Kiva Stories from the Field narrates the hardships endured by freezing Kyiv residents:

“In sub-zero temperatures and bitter continental winter conditions, losing heat for a week is a hardship to pale at. People couldn’t even wash dishes, because the water was literally freezing out of the tap. Even now, three days after the heat was turned back on, radiators are merely lukewarm, homes are still freezing, and people are sick with colds and flu.”

Hong Kong, a tower of strength in the global financial community, was shocked to learn that the stocks of HSBC Holding crashed to its lowest level since 1995. The shock was personified by a TV commentator who shed a tear while reporting the unbelievable HSBC plunge last week.

This news has further weakened the confidence of Hong Kong residents in the economy. Those Were the days underscores the relevance of the HSBC debacle in Hong Kong:

說匯豐跌至如此水平，已不是個別企業升跌的問題了，那，已是維繫港人信心的問題：港人普遍相信、甚至迷信，全世界股票跌到七個一皮，匯豐也是不會大跌的，所以為何一個又一個關鍵價位，港人散戶總會組成血肉長城，想頂住匯豐股價！匯豐與廣大香港散戶，已是血脈相連！

Pessimism

The financial crisis is generating a lot of anxiety. This is evident among a growing number of Japanese youth who have pensive questions about the troubled state of their country. In Hungary, some have noted the mood of pessimism prevailing in the country as shown by the following newspaper headlines in recent weeks:

“Here are some Hungarian headlines of late: “The situation is worse than in October” (Index). “The German chancellor is reminded of the second world war” (Hírszerző). “Crisis: According to Bajnai amputation is necessary” (Hírszerző). “We are sitting on a timebomb of bloody social strife” (Hírszerző). “Hope is not in sight” (Heti Válasz).”

Perhaps the feeling of pessimism is not limited in Hungary alone. Latvia Economy Watch makes this apt and smart observation about Europe’s financial woes coinciding with the launching of the Large Hadron Collider last year:

With every passing day getting I find it more and more difficult to avoid associating all those worthy attempts to uncover that illusive Hick's Particle with the all-encompassing black hole into which our financial markets seem to be getting sucked with a disturbing velocity, despite the numerous efforts by the global financial authorities to invent some sort of monetary equivalent to “anti-matter”.

In Kazakhstan blogger Pulemetchizza compares the crisis and a famous expression by writer Mikhail Bulgakov:

Crisis is in the rest-rooms. Earlier we used to have high-quality two-layered toilet paper and towels in the rest-rooms. Now we have the cheapest toilet paper, and no towels available. Looks like in a couple of months we will just be cutting a newspaper.

Sign of the times. From the Flickr page of IH (40)

Even language has not been spared by the recession contagion. In Kazakhstan the word “crisis” is now perceived as a taboo, especially by government ministers. While in Japan, asking “What are you up to now?” and “Are you married” have become taboo questions because of rising unemployment. Blogger koheko explains further:

正月に久々に会った友人たちは皆元気そうで安心した。ただやはり我々ももう30歳を迎え，気になることはいくつかあった。まず，一番面白いというかショックというか複雑な現象だなと感じたのは，「今何やってるの？」という質問が禁句になっているということだ。

Social discontent

The current economic crisis has worsened social inequalities in many countries. It is not surprising that public unrest has gripped both rich and poor nations. In Russia disgruntled citizens have launched Dissenters’ Marches in the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg last December. Streetwise Professor has written about a popular drivers’ protest in Vladivostok:

“In Vladivostok a march of protest of several thousand automobilists against the increase in customs duties for used foreign makes went outside the thematic bounds: people started talking about the costliness of fuel, food products and housing-and-public-utilities services, about unemployment, the crisis and property stratification.”

The Vladivostok rally was significant because the media openly discussed the prospect of unrest in Russia and the protesters were ordinary citizens who have refused to join opposition-led marches in the past. As more Russians are becoming dissatisfied with the economy, the Russian president has unleashed a preemptive legal strike: The Russian Criminal Code was modified to allow the instant prosecution of persons who instigate “mass disturbances” and “diversions.”

Recession-related protests are erupting in different parts of the world. There was a general strike in France and wildcat strikes in Britain last January. Protesting Greek farmers clashed with riot police last month. More than 600 labor protests were registered in Egypt last year. In Singapore, investors protested in the streets when big Wall Street banks crashed last October. Riots broke out in the French overseas departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique as people protest against skyrocketing prices. In Guadeloupe, the slogan of the rioters was Lyannaj kont pwofitasyon, Creole for “Let's gather up to fight against all sorts of abuses”.

More than 10,000 people participated in the so-called Penguin Revolution in Latvia last January. The protesters disliked the statement of the Prime Minister who compared Latvians to penguins who stick together in the time of severe winter storm. The slogan of the Penguin Revolution is “Nasing spešal” (Nothing Special) in reference to an answer given by the country’s finance minister to an interview question regarding the state of the country’s economy. There is now a “Nasing spešal” website, T-shirt products and even a “Nasing spešal” menu in some restaurants.

Over the past few months, the financial crisis has engulfed much of the world which created disastrous economic consequences. The full impact of the global economic recession has not yet been felt. The number of jobless, homeless, hopeless and angry individuals and groups in the world is expected to swell further. This promises to be an exciting but scary year.