Global Voices Online

This week, two of the most prestigious French literary prizes were awarded to two French-speaking authors of African descent: The French-speaking Caribbean blogosphere has been buzzing over this double satisfaction, in this post from Haiti, this one from Guadeloupe and this one from Martinique [Fr].

Blogger Imaniyé from Martinique reports the creation of a Facebook group [Fr] by people who are eager to defend the rights of Martinicans to comb their hair as they want and above all to twist it into dreadlocks, without being discriminated against.

A video showing an interview of the famous French soccer player Thierry Henry in which he expresses his affiliation to Islam, has caught the attention of Martinican blogger Bondamanjak [Fr/Fr Cr] and triggered impassioned comments from readers.

Martinican MontrayKreyol discusses the popular debates [Fr] over the change of institutional status of Martinique as a French overseas department.

Repeating Islands notes that the French Overseas Territories “are to vote on more autonomy in January 2010.”

Repeating Islands republishes writer Raphaël Confiant's account of his experience of “physical aggression at a service station in Martinique.”

Repeating Islands features Leïla Bizet and her bèlè, “a traditional folk dance practiced on islands like Dominica, St. Lucia, Guadeloupe, and Martinique; hailing from the days of slavery, it has become a time-honored symbol of African legacy.”

The news of the death of the King of Pop was like an earthquake felt around the world. The shock wave reached the French Caribbean, where bloggers from Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, all pay homage to the late artist.

Repeating Islands notes that French President Nicolas Sarkozy is scheduled to make a trip to Martinique and Guadeloupe later this week “to address overseas ‘issues' after the general strikes” that took place in the French Overseas Territories earlier this year.