To mark the occasion, TALLAWAH “rang up a few Jamaican celeb moms to get responses to the day’s most pressing query: Is having a child the best thing you’ve ever done?” The responses are worth a read.

Compatriot Nadine, Unscripted referred to her mother as “the epitome of self-sacrifice”:

We’ve had our share of ups and downs, and butted heads on some occasions. Yet, at the forefront of my mind, despite all that we’ve been through, I always remember everything she has given to us, simply because she cares.

She also took time to acknowledge “all the mothers, mothers-to-be, grandmothers and greats, the fathers who have a double role as mothers, and the mothers whose children grew in their hearts instead of their wombs”:

Wherever you are on this planet, I give thanks for you and your bright legacy. Know that you are blessed, honoured, loved.

Guyanese-born Tastes Like Home echoed her sentiments:

Thank you for loving me.
Thank you for caring about me.
Thank you for listening to my rants.
Thank you for supporting me.
Thank you for encouraging me.

Parenting is such a huge responsibility and I admire the grace with which you balance your life, work and everything else in-between. I join in the chorus of applause and salute you on this your very special day.

Over at My big, fat, Cuban family, the blogger's kids apparently logged in and shared some of the most meaningful things their mom has taught them over the years - from “[having] great adventures” to “[being] fearless.” Cuban bloggers were by far the most vocal about the sacrifices mothers - and women on the whole - have to make. Havana Times published an account of “a Cuban mother's drive”…

When you have a child who looks up at you in desperation and says: ‘Mommy, I’m hungry,' and you know full well that two salaries aren’t enough to satisfy that basic request…then you’ll know where my strength comes from.

…but balanced the perspective in another post that explains why motherhood is so rewarding:

Most of all there are the kisses, the kisses and hearing ‘I love you, mommy.' Those are the things that make me remember that being a mother is no sacrifice. Motherhood is simply a blessing.

So why aren't Cubans having more babies? This post offered some insight. Pedazos de la Isla uploaded a video tribute to Cuban women, explaining:

On Mother’s Day 2012, a number of Cuban mothers- most of them members of the Ladies in White- have been arrested and beaten by the Cuban political police, and yet they continue carrying out their activities and RESISTING against the repression.

These face harassment, acts of repudiation, beatings, and arrests for demanding the rights of an entire nation. Regardless, they still find time to protect and educate their children and families. They are examples of courage and inspiration.

Notes from the Cuban Exile Quarter reported on a march in honour of the memory of Laura Pollan:

Despite threats, harassment, and scores of women detained by State Security 68 Ladies in White following mass walked through Fifth Avenue in the west of Havana. They marched and chanted ‘Viva Laura Pollán!' and ‘Freedom for the political prisoners!'

The blogger (along with others) went on to describe several cases of women being detained and threatened, adding:

It is also important to remember that Cuban mothers are spending Mothers Day in prison for defending the human rights of the Cuban people.

Haiti Chery, meanwhile, spared a thought for Trayvon Martin's mom, explaining:

Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Matin, released a public service announcement…timed for Mother’s Day this [past] weekend, asking viewers to ‘call the governor of your state' and encourage them to reconsider ‘Stand Your Ground' laws like the one cited by the man who killed her son.

Trinidadian diaspora bloggers also marked the occasion, albeit in different ways. Fashion blogger Afrobella gave a few suggestions for the best Mother's Day gifts (hint: stay away from the irons!) and wished “anyone who's motherly” a wonderful day:

Whether you’re a mother with your own kids, or you’ve adopted a family, or if you’re a loving sister or aunt or grandma who really plays a motherly role in the lives of little ones, I wish you a very happy Mother’s Day. Thank you for all you have done to shape a child’s life! It ALL counts. Thank you for being part of someone’s village. You’re more appreciated than you may know.

Photoblogger chookooloonks meanwhile, confessed that:

I always feel just a tiny bit strange accepting gifts on Mother's Day…I don't ‘mother' so that I can get gifts once a year for my efforts. I mother for a lot of selfish reasons: because I wanted to be a mom. Because I get a hell of a lot out of my relationship with my kid. Because that's what I'm wired to do.

But you know what would be nice?​

If we moms could use Mother's Day as a day of focus to help support each other. It seems to me so strange that an experience that is so universal — raising a child — can also at times feel so solitary. And, frankly, so guilt-ridden: we get messages daily, from the media, from corporate culture, from our communities and even from other mothers saying you're doing it wrong. Judgments on issues like how you should become a parent — ‘natural' or C-section or adoption or surrogacy. Whether you should work outside of your home. Or not. Or breastfeed. Or Not. Or how long you should breastfeed. Or what to feed you kid. Or how to dress your kid. Or what organizations you should get your kid involved in. Or when you should send your kid to school. Or where. Or homeschool. Or … or … or ….

AAAAUUUUGGH.​

So this year, here's an idea: in addition to the moms in our families, let's take a moment out of our day to send a message to peers — moms who are neither our mothers nor our partners — and just say, ‘good job.' Send an email to someone (even someone you only know online) just to say, ‘You have great kids,' or ‘you're an inspiring parent,' or ‘your children are lucky to have you.' ​An unexpected note of encouragement letting a mother know to keep on keeping on.

​

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Jamaica
Jamaican bloggers were understandably excited about the launch of the Bob Marley movie yesterday, which also happened to be International Weed Day. Cucumber Juice, who already “saw the new documentary about Bob Marley as part of the 2012 DC International Film Festival”, wrote:

The documentary is worth every second of its 145 minutes. On its 4/20 opening day Marley will also stream on Facebook. All of the reviews that I have read – and there are many, from the New York Times to local papers in Silicon Valley, California – are enthusiastic about the film. I agree with the seemingly widespread sentiment that Marley is a well-needed portrait of Bob Marley the man, not the superstar, not the celebrity, not the prophet…just a man. It was something that his granddaughter Donisha Prendergast urged us to have in mind as we watched – think of Bob the man not Bob the celeb – but the caution wasn’t necessary even as I saw footage and heard the famous songs; I couldn’t help but think about him outside of the context of superstar, maybe even the first Third World superstar.

I still believe as I did during and immediately after the film that every Jamaican must watch this film. And I still say that without any hesitation, reservation, or hyperbole. Why? Because Bob Marley is an important historical figure and he is Jamaica’s own. Even though he has touched millions – maybe he belongs to them too – he’s Jamaica’s own first. It is simply important to know our history, and this documentary is a good place to start.

Jamaica Woman Tongue, meanwhile, took issue with the “complete mockery of the national flag” that took place during a political swearing-in ceremony:

This juvenile act proves that we have sunk to a new low in national politics. Even the flag is no longer safe in the mindless colour war between orange and green fanatics.

The distasteful anti-green flag is forcing us to take a fresh look at the meaning of this national symbol. We can no longer assume that as a society we all accept the grand idea that national pride is wrapped up in what is really just a piece of cloth. It seems as it we are quite prepared to cut up the cloth to suit our rather limited political agendas.

The Bahamas
Politics were also top of mind with Bahamian bloggers this week, as the country's general elections draw closer. New blogs have been adding depth and dimension to the online debate: in response to one of its posts, Blogworld wrote:

I tend to fall into its camp with regard to the ways in which we view ourselves, our fundamental conservatism and fear of confrontation, our need of “brain-un-washing”. I particularly agree with the idea that 2012 and possibly years to come ‘may see the continuation of the unfinished revolution of the 1960/70s.' I’m not sure I share all of its cynicism, and while I am as unimpressed with the “achievements” of the past five years as the author is, I have not been convinced that a return to a PLP administration will be the magic bullet that solves all our problems.

Her compatriot, Rick Lowe, blogging at Weblog Bahamas, thought that it was time for him “to hit the off button” when it comes to election propaganda, while Political Bahamas Blog republished a mainstream media opinion piece which suggested that:

It is imperative to state that a leader will be judged by and for successive generations based on his/her ability to, among other things, manage the economy in a manner that balances economic prudence, socio-economic expectations and infrastructural development.

Haiti
Haitian bloggers were talking about the magnitude of the country's cholera epidemic. Dady Chery noted that
“Haitian health officials have approved a medical trial of the oral cholera vaccine Shanchol on poor women and children”, saying:

This trial is being presented as a vaccination campaign and will curiously be administered in two of Port-au-Prince’s slums by researchers from Gheskio (Center for Haitian Studies of Kaposi Syndrome and Opportunistic Infections) a group closely associated with Partners in Health (PIH) that studies AIDS and enjoys generous funding from USAID…

To avoid possible abuse it is essential that, in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, the medical trial be monitored by a panel of impartial observers.

We can help the Haitian poor by giving them correct information and the choice to make appropriate decisions for themselves and their children. If poor women and children get coerced into becoming the guinea pigs for western pharmaceuticals, Haiti will add yet another sordid story to its long list of abuses.

Cuba
Diaspora bloggers were looking at numbers this week - Uncommon Sense republished statistics from “the opposition Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation”, stating that there have been “almost 2,400 political arrests in first 3 months of 2012.” Notes from the Cuban Exile Quarter took a longer view of what he called “the rising body count in Cuba.”

Pedazos de la Isla posted a recap of “another violent weekend in Cuba”, while Laritza Diversent blogged about the plight of “Sonia Garro Alfonso, a member of the Ladies in White and the Afro-Cuban Independent Foundation”, who was recently arrested. Crossing the Barbed Wire focused on another Lady in White, Yakelin Garcia Jaenz, whose husband is in prison:

She has been beaten and harassed by paramilitary Rapid Response Brigades and has been arrested arbitrarily for various hours, despite the fact that she is the mother of two small children.

Translating Cuba posted an article dealing with the case of El Ñaño, the imprisoned Rastafarian priest, while Havana-based Iván García was focused on the fact that Cubans are too busy “in search of their daily food” to notice “the flowers of the flamboyant on Havana’s Santa Catalina Avenue already [beginning] to change color”:

Increasingly, many Havana families find it difficult to put a decent meal on the table…The issue of food is a national headache. It takes about 90% of the money that a family receives. And so everyone may not always eat decently.

Trinidad and Tobago
Globewriter blogged about a group whose mission is to “empower youth to deal with difficulties regarding sexual orientation and gender identity/expression”:

Sitting in that first meeting held at a conference table at the University of the West Indies I looked at the young faces and listened to them emphatically stating that young people being driven to despair because they were lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered or questioning was not acceptable and I can’t really describe how proud I felt and how full of hope for the future.

His post gave details about “a project that will be a first for T&T – a Day of Silence which will be observed on Friday”:

This might seem like a small act to achieve a very big change – and it is – but it is a start and it will mark a major turning point in the fight for LGBTQ kids to be given the dignity and respect that they deserve as equal human beings. This is also being done in a country in the English speaking Caribbean – not normally viewed as an especially tolerant environment for such vulnerable kids. In practice T&T is nowhere as unwelcoming as say Jamaica but there are still discriminatory (though rarely enforced) rules on the books and LGBT people face discrimination on a daily basis simply because of who they are.

In support of the cause, his blog was silent until midnight on April 20.

Other Trinidadian bloggers were focused on the arrest of Ian Alleyne, controversial host of a popular television show, “Crime Watch.” The Eternal Pantomine said:

The People’s Police Commissioner Ian Alleyne has been arrested and it was all done on national television!

I get confused…under which act? Dangerous Dogs? Mental Health? Both?

Bear in mind that Ian come like a saviour/messiah figure to many members of the society who feel they can’t get justice from the police and judicial services here…if nothing else shows you how decrepit a society we have become, Ian Alleyne’s rise from pastor’s son, to obscure television host….to Trinidad’s Batman is a metre gauge that we shouldn’t ignore.

Mere minutes after Alleyne’s arrest the meme generators was on fire and youtube was under pressure. There is a part of me that even wondering if the entire arrest was staged given how over the top this entire thing has been. Raids for rape tapes and now raids to arrest…. If there is a show today….it will be EPIC.

Kudos to TV6 who has successfully removed itself from culpability by insisting that Alleyne responsible for his own show…that way the station never have to get any flack for the filth aired on the programme while getting all the viewership, advertising and ratings.

In a follow-up post, she repeated her point about the television station's culpability and raised questions about Alleyne's track record:

Since Ian doesn’t own a television station, or broadcast rights…nor in fact pressed play on the tape button, doesn’t the TV station have some culpability in this matter? Didn’t the station allow the tape to be aired not once but TWICE…showing the face of a minor engaged questionable circumstances.

All yuh see why I asking if is the Mental Health Act or Dangerous Dogs Act? Because somebody in tv6 has to be liable too…because is the station broadcast the thing.

Another issue I have is this…ppl keep calling Ian the poor people’s champion and alleging he has done so much for this country…how many of Alleyne’s arrests have resulted in solid convictions? Because a crime is only solved when there is a conviction…so, how many solid convictions has Alleyne’s show really resulted in?

Could it be people have faith in Ian because he does put on a good (pappy) show

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For the wmall organization award, the winner was Protect the Defenders, an organization that honors, supports, and gives voice to people serving in the US military services who have been raped or sexually assaulted by fellow service members.

For the medium organization award, the prize went to Solid Women, a video made by Fonkoze, Haiti's largest microfinancing organization which shows the impact the organization's programs has had on 5 different women.

The large organization award went to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's video on a new medication to treat CF which is benefiting some patients, although efforts are still needed to find treatments for other patients.

Best video storytelling was to the World Memory Project's video on how information is helping Holocaust survivors get some closure as they are able to discover what happened to their loved ones during the World War II. In the video, Sol discovers what happened to his father after they separated the day before the liberation.

Four separate grant money awards went to the most fearless videos in the contest. Real Stories of Addiction and Recovery, The Story of Cholera, Not Acceptable R-word PSA and the story of Robert, a homeless man.

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Of Haitian parentage, Beauvery was born in the United States. Growing up in Brooklyn, she was surrounded by the lilt of Creole; the language was very much a part of her everyday experience. Her new spoken-word CD, “My Grandmother's Tongue”, which the video highlights, depicts her experience as a Haitian-American woman. She talks to Global Voices about her inspiration for the project, the importance of oral tradition, Haitian culture and the close-knit community that is the Haitian diaspora.

•••

Spoken-word artist Melissa Beauvery; photo by Francesca Andre

Janine Mendes-Franco (JMF): As a spoken-word artist, you continue the oral tradition that is so fundamental to Haitian (and Caribbean) culture. In what ways do you think that new media (e.g.: this video that you and Francesca have produced, as well as other social media avenues) will help to spread your message? Do you see new media as a useful tool?

Melissa Beauvery (MB): As a spoken-word artist, I believe that new media is, in this day and age, fundamental in spreading messages, ideas and movements at a much faster rate - and reaching a more diverse audience. The video Francesca has produced illustrated the project in a way ‘word of mouth' or even just doing local performances and conferences would not be able to do. The video is an important element of spreading news about the project due to the power of visual communication. Part of the reason why I believe that oral tradition is so important because it allows you to capture image[s] through words. This gives artists such as myself and Francesca the opportunity to present more accurate and personal images of the lifestyles of Haitians around the world.

Spoken Word Artist: Melissa Beauvery from Victor Oliveira on Vimeo.

JMF: Your reverence for the Creole language is inspiring, particularly because it could have been considered “fringe” in the wider context of American society. Explain why it is so important to you and your work.

MB: My earliest childhood memory was hearing Creole. Because my grandmother was illiterate, instead of writing letters, she would record what she had to say on cassette tapes. I never would forget listening to a language that didn't mirror the languages of the cartoons that I often watched. Creole opened up a portal to self-discovery. Who am I? Why doesn't my grandmother speak English like ‘everyone' else? It was because I was Haitian. Despite being born and mostly raised in Brooklyn, I was from somewhere else and I had to dig deeper to understand this Haitian identity that cannot be forgotten. This is why, even in my poems that are mostly in English, you will always hear at least a few words in Creole. This is part of my self-expression as a Haitian living in America. Creole is the heart of my project.

A still from the video "My Grandmother's Tongue"; photo by Francesca Andre

JMF: In the poem “My Grandmother’s Tongue”, you juxtapose white and black, light and dark. Haiti is often painted in mainstream media with a sombre brush, whereas this project honours everything that is strong and inspiring about the country and its people. As a Haitian-American, what is your vision of Haiti?

MB: The poem ‘My Grandmother's Tongue' is a love poem. It represents my love for Haiti and my grandmother who was always Haiti to me. My grandmother [was] very patriotic, always made sure each trip was a learning experience. It was through my grandmother [that] I understood the beauty that is Haiti. Not everyone can appreciate its beauty. Haiti has a kind of beauty that needs particular vision. My vision of Haiti is love…that kind of love keeps a Brooklyn-born artist such as myself constantly inspired and eager to write. This tongue, my grandmother's tongue, is so important and was essential in my upbringing.

JMF: Can you share what it was like to work with such accomplished Haitian musicians and how the power of music helped to transform and add depth to your poetry?

MB: Because ‘My Grandmother's Tongue' is my first project, I was very nervous and intimated working with all of the[se] accomplished musicians. I was also fearful that some of musicians who are more used to collaborating with vocalists would not be as enthusiastic because it was poetry and not singing. But to my surprise, all of the musicians were extremely helpful and offered their talent and advice. They understood me. The musicians truly breathe life into ‘My Grandmother's Tongue'. The instruments truly complement my words in a way I can't even verbalize; I am truly thankful for all of the giants that selflessly offered their talents.

Melissa Beauvery; photo by Francesca Andre

JMF: Tell us a little about the kinship of the Haitian community in the United States and what it has been able to accomplish.

MB: Many Haitians in the U.S. constantly have Haiti in mind. Even those who don't go back to Haiti, they are always sending money or paying for school for family members or even children of childhood friends. It becomes an obligation. For if we don't look out for family back home, who will? And kinship goes beyond particular bloodlines. This kinship also transforms artists into family. Francesca and I started sharing more ideas for different projects because we felt compelled to do more to promote a more accurate and humane image of Haitian people in Haiti and abroad. It is our obligation as a large family.

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An organic off-shoot of that project is a new video about spoken word artist Melissa Beauvery, which Andre has directed. In this post, she speaks to Global Voices about her work, how this video fits in to the bigger picture of amplifying the voices of Haitian women and the significance of Haitian art and culture.

Haitian photographer Francesca Andre

A follow-up post will focus on the perspective of the spoken-word artist herself, Melissa Beauvery.

•••

Janine Mendes-Franco (JMF): How did you and Melissa meet and what inspired you to direct this video?

Francesca Andre (FA): I met Melissa through a mutual acquaintance. I first worked with [her] on a documentary that I directed titled ‘Our Wombs, Our Voices', [which was] subtitled ‘Four Women'. It is a short documentary that highlights the lives and talents of four Haitian women poets: Michele Voltaire, Jennifer Celestin, Keren Charles Dongo and Melissa Beauvery. The documentary shows snippets of their personal lives, in correlation with the writing process and inspiration. It also examines how poetry helps them identify themselves in the diaspora. During that time that I became more acquainted with ‘My Grandmother’s Tongue', Melissa’s current project, and the idea of doing a short video on the project came to light.

Spoken Word Artist: Melissa Beauvery from Victor Oliveira on Vimeo.

JMF: Was the transition from still photography to video challenging for you? How did you use the medium differently to tell the story?

FA: It wasn’t challenging at all. it actually made Fanm Kanson Network’s mission even easier…we want to tell stories; inspiring stories, uplifting stories…and ‘My Grandmother’s Tongue' will take you [on] that journey…the different complexities and dimensions of Melissa’s project could only be enhanced by moving images. Listening to her poems on ‘My Grandmother’s Tongue' created very vivid images and awakened memories and sentiments about Haiti that are worth celebrating and cultivating.

Haitian woman; photo by Francesca Andre

JMF: What did you want this video to achieve? What is its primary message and how are you using the power of social media to get it out to the people you want to see it?

FA: The purpose of the video was to show a little bit about Melissa’s life, her upbringing, her project, the process of working on ‘My Grandmother’s Tongue', the inspiration behind it and to give the audience a little taste of what to expect from the album. The key message is to promote a more positive image of Haiti. It is to acknowledge the power of words, the power of storytelling in our culture and how it could transcend in other cultures as well - how words can close bridges and create understanding between cultures, peoples and mentalities. Facebook, Twitter and blogs are very important in establishing a presence online…I do intend to post it on various active Facebook groups as well as asking others to spread the word in order to continue this dialogue.

JMF: Explain a bit more about how Melissa's video fits in to your flagship project about Haitian women.

FA: All these projects have one thing in common: Purpose. Whatever project we tackle has a similar purpose - to create a dialogue, raise understanding, promote arts, respect, humanity, love and to celebrate who we are as women as well as defining our own territories, voices and purposes in this world. ‘My Grandmother’s Tongue' was inspired by Melissa’s grandmother, [but] it pays homage to all women. It tells stories of a people, of many people, of a Haiti that the world doesn’t see. It tells stories of women whose names the world won't pronounce, won't remember. However, they hold power to resist poverty, cruelty and to create changes and that is Power! And this is why it is important [for] Fanm Kanson Network to highlight a project such as ‘My Grandmother’s Tongue' and an artist such as Melissa Beauvery.

Fanm Kanson women, Haiti; photo by Francesca Andre

JMF: As a member of the Haitian diaspora, what do you think the main challenges are for your country – and how do you think your art – and the wider elements of Haitian culture (music, painting, etc.) are having a positive impact?

FA: A lot of times when I am asked to share my sentiments about Haiti, I am always proud to talk about resiliency and then I realize that the people will always be resilient as long as they are fighting negative forces such as poverty, corruption, political instability, lack of consciousness,
exploitation and so on. My views of being resilient have changed over the years…I really wish the people didn’t have to be resilient.

The only thing that is keeping Haiti ‘kanpe', which means ‘up', is the culture…the artists. The artists represent the soul of the people…they are the spirits that communicate with God and they are the heart of the people, the blood of the people. If you want to understand the people, study their art, listen to their music, listen to their words, learn their tongue and you will discover so many beautiful things about them, so many sensibilities that are often dismissed by others. This is how the culture is keeping Haiti alive.

Look at the story of Melissa: she was not born in Haiti, but here she is talking about Haiti in English and in her grandmother’s tongue, which is Haitian Creole. This project personifies hope, survival of culture that is changing and the audacity to celebrate it and to keep creating a better Haiti through words, music and images.

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Cuba

Uncommon Sense, who is part of the Cuban diaspora, thought the papal visit was summed up by a photograph of the pontiff meeting Fidel Castro, which he republished on his blog, saying:

I read a transcript of Pope Benedict XVI's homily in Havana today, hoping to find something to convince me that His Holiness and the church he leads are on the right side of history, and on the right side in the struggle for freedom, in Cuba.

Unfortunately, there was little there to make me forget the message, intended and otherwise, in this photograph…

The photograph also offended others. In a guest post at babalu, Asombra said:

I’m sorry, but this grotesque travesty is deeply offensive, and if the Vatican cannot understand that, then it understands nothing, and nothing can be expected from it. Alas, I cannot believe this is a case of cluelessness.

This is a choice made by this pope to put Nero or Caligula before his victims, before the persecuted and the oppressed, before the millions that have suffered and lost so much at his filthy, bloody, evil hands—the same hands taken warmly in his own by Benedict. This has nothing to do with ministering to the marginalized, the outcast, the stigmatized and the socially undesirable. This is smiling at, catering to and fraternizing with the devil. If there was no way to avoid this abomination, Benedict should not have visited Cuba.

When Uncommon Sense posted a video of members of the crowd at the Papal Mass in Havana “[crying] out for ‘Libertad', he was firm in his opinion that:

The faithful have the final word.

The fact that the Pope was said to have discussed the issue of the country's dissidents with President Raul Castro was hardly salve to the wound of many bloggers - especially in light of reports like this one from Capitol Hill Cubans:

Just prior to this evening's Mass in Santiago de Cuba by Pope Benedict XVI, a courageous young Cuban screamed ‘freedom' and ‘down with Communism.'

He was immediately detained by Castro's secret police and brutally beaten.

The blog also posted its view on the ability of the Pope to effect change in a post titled “Pope Speaks, Regime Answers”:

Pope Benedict XVI said today after praying at the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity:

‘I have prayed to the Virgin for the needs of those who suffer, of those who are deprived of freedom, those who are separated from their loved ones or who are undergoing times of difficulty.'

And the Castro regime answered, through the Vice President of the Council of State, Manuel Murillo:

‘In Cuba, there will not be political reform.'

Any questions?

There were other items of note in the Caribbean blogosphere this week, though…

Jamaica

Girl With a Purpose had her finger on the pulse of the country's local government elections, regularly posting updates and then final results: The governing People's National Party enjoyed a comfortable win, winning 147 of 228 divisions.

Jamaica Woman Tongue, meanwhile, dealt with the issue of language (”proper” versus “corrupted”) and cultural heritage in these two interesting posts.

Curacao

Over in Curacao, TRIUNFO DI SABLIKA took issue with what he called the disrespect being shown to Liberty Battle Park:

The organizational forces have done a good job at not maintaining the Lucha pa Libertat park.

Maybe after 14 years they will receive an ancestral enlightenment to plant 4/5 trees for the visitors. Or just maybe they would shine up the statue every 4 months, lick up the benches with paint. Put trashcans, clean up once a week?

Put some historical info placards for tourists and indigenous folks unfamiliar with the 1795 revolt. You know what I mean. Show respect. Honor. Make us feel you serious about your cultural consciousness business.

Trinidad & Tobago

In the twin island republic this week, the two political bloggers who questioned whether the political entity “Congress of the People” was still relevant continued their examination of the issues, here and here.

Barbados

Barbados Free Press, meanwhile, continued lobbying for the cause of illegally held Cuban prisoner Raul Garcia:

43 days ago, Raul Garcia discontinued his ‘fast unto death’ on the word of Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart that he would be moved from his illegal imprisonment at H.M. Dodds Prison to a non-punitive facility. Garcia, naive fool that he is, took the bait and remains at Dodds… having lost his credibility and media interest. Worldwide interest in his case went to zero overnight. Only little old BFP keeps Mr. Garcia close to our hearts.

Listen folks: Raul Garcia has been held illegally according to Barbados’ own laws for over two years.
Is there not a shred of decency, of justice, left in our justice system, in our Parliament?
Apparently not.

Finally, the case of Trayvon Martin continued to move regional bloggers from Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidadian diaspora fashion and beauty blogger Afrobella expressed her sadness by saying:

Every time I sit and try to write about Trayvon Martin, the words get stuck inside me. I have started and stopped this blog post so many times over the last week. It’s been so hard to know what to say because this case makes me feel so hopeless and so sad, and so afraid for the future of this country. I hate the comments I’m seeing online. I’m hating the slant of some of the coverage I’ve been reading. I hate that people are finding ways to say that Trayvon’s sartorial choices made him a deserving victim.

It’s all so heavy and ugly and upsetting. Not the kind of thing I like to write about on a blog that’s about beauty and positivity. So I will end this post with my hopes, regarding the outcome of this ongoing situation.

I hope that the murder of Trayvon Martin doesn’t lead to any additional violence.

I hope there is some form of justice and I hope it doesn’t take forever. The wheels of justice are already turning too slowly here.

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Cuba
Today, Notes from the Cuban Exile Quarter reported that:

Two days after the Wall Street Journal published his essay on the Pope's upcoming visit to Cuba, Dr. Oscar Elías Biscet is paid a visit today at his home in Havana. Elsa Morejon tweeting at 11:50am March 22, 2012 from Cuba: ‘Police are in my house; bring summons for Oscar.'

There have also been other reports of arrests ahead of the Pope's visit on Monday: Pedazos de la Isla gave accounts of two instances, here and here.

Other bloggers continued to denounce the Archbishop of Havana's decision to have church protesters forcibly removed. Lilianne Ruíz, blogging at Translating Cuba, argued that:

People have the right to peaceful protest to demand change. That which puts the situation in crisis is the Cuban government which does not want to be removed from its desperately sad power. And the Church is behaving more like a politician than as an institution protective of human rights. Because it seems that Cuba is condemned by the national — not universal — spirit: abuse, cowardice, boorishness.

babalu, meanwhile, focused on collecting last-minute signatures for the One Cuba petition to Pope Benedict XVI. In contrast, The Cuban Triangle thought that:

In a sense, the church is serving one function of a political opposition by pressing the government to form policies that serve the public good, and to keep its promises. But the church is anything but a political organization, and its public policy voice derives from what it conceives as its mission to look out not only for Cubans’ spiritual needs, but for their general welfare. As an editorial in a church publication put it, ideologies “should be at the service of the Cuban people, not the other way around.”

This role comes with its share of controversy. The church’s good offices were essential to the release of 130 political prisoners serving long sentences – reducing the number of prisoners of conscience recognized by Amnesty International to zero – but when all but twelve accepted an offer to leave for Spain with their families, the church was accused of weakening the political opposition and accommodating a form of government antithetical to Christianity.

This argument will not be resolved…Benedict is not likely to ‘open a new chapter in the history of Cuba,' as Lech Walesa predicted dramatically last week. His embrace will be a vote of confidence in Cardinal Ortega and the Cuban church, and as the Vatican’s head of state he will applaud improved church-state relations in Havana. But he will leave it to the Cubans to make their own history.

The rest of the region, meanwhile, has been blogging about other issues. A common point of focus for diaspora bloggers from Jamaica was the killing of unarmed Florida teen Trayvon Martin - a case that has reignited the issue of race relations in the United States. Geoffrey Philp, who lives in Florida himself, said:

As a father, I have tried to protect as best as I could from the evils of racism.

Sometimes, I know they thought that I was overdoing it. Maybe I did.

But now the killing of Trayvon Martin has brought racism home. Trayvon went to the same school as my children. Trayvon Martin could have been one of my children. Trayvon was killed and his only ‘crime' was being black in America.

My heart goes out to Trayvon's parents. And there is nothing more that I can say. I can only grieve.

Philp's compatriot, Cucumber Juice, added:

That race (overwhelmingly) seems to be a factor in how Mr. Zimmerman perceived, classified, and treated Trayvon Martin makes this situation so much worse for me, a black Jamaican woman living in the United States.

I think that, generally, the outrage and protest epitomizes a need for justice as well as a frustration with the racism that still exists in the U.S. of A.

As a woman imagining and longing for the day when I have children and little by little preparing to send them out into to the world it angers me. And it scares me. Every time I hear this child’s mother on the radio the grief in her voice shakes me to the core. The grief etched on his father’s face is…indescribable.

As a human being it is appalling and completely unacceptable. There’s no excuse or justification. There is no comfort that can be offered to this boy’s family to ease the grief and loss that they must be feeling. Yet I won’t and can’t dismiss what I feel…as I can’t and won’t forget that as much as this is about racism, injustice, and the need for justice. Laws like this, situations like this, unaccountability for murders like this cannot be right.

Trinidad and Tobago's Bocas Lit Fest Blog was understandably focused on its hosting of the upcoming literary festival, while further north of the Caribbean archipelago, in Haiti, Haiti Grassroots Watch examined the apparent corruption surrounding the construction of more than 200 emergency shelters in the mountains above Léogâne, epicenter of the 2010 earthquake.

Written by Janine Mendes-Franco · comments (1)
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