Global Voices Online » St. Vincent & the Grenadines

St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Referendum Predictions

Janine Mendes-Franco — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:40:00 +0000

With 20 days to go to the Constitutional Referendum, Vincentian Life says: “It looks like Vincyland’s turned totally upside-down! A foreigner has predicted a tsunami, a local bishop has predicted heart attacks and I predict deeper divisions…”

St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Poll Taking a Toll

Janine Mendes-Franco — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:06:24 +0000

Vincentian Life is “more than a little concerned that…electoral officials have up to 14 days in which to make public the results of the November 25 [referendum on constitutional amendments] poll. That is scary - I mean we have a situation where desperate men are behaving like they are going to do themselves in if this fails…”

St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Happy Independence

Janine Mendes-Franco — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:29:51 +0000

“We still have far to go but I live in hope that the generations to come will get it right”: Abeni wishes St. Vincent & the Grenadines a happy Independence Day.

St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Yes or No

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:45:44 +0000

As referendum day approaches for a new constitution in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Abeni says: “These days it is so hard to find a Vincentian as people prefer to identify themselves as NDP or ULP.”

Caribbean: Celebrity Twitter

Janine Mendes-Franco — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:56:21 +0000

“Celebrities on Twitter; it’s the new fan mail – with direct, instant, and real-time contact”: Caribbean Public Relations has the scoop on how regional celebrities fare on the social networking site.

St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Pessimistic Outlook

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:28:11 +0000

As news breaks of another murder, Abeni is “just not that optimistic” about the future of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines: “good hair”

Nicholas Laughlin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:36:08 +0000

“If you are black, female from a post-colonial space you will have had this discussion at some point in your life.” Empath considers the ever-knotty question of what it means for black women to have “good hair”. “My locks … constitute a very important part of my identity and I have often had to defend them.”

St. Vincent and the Grenadines: split electorate

Nicholas Laughlin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:11:08 +0000

Lullabies, Fairy Tales and Other Self-Delusions thinks about the referendum on a new constitution for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and what it reveals about the state of the country's politics: “a finely delineated system of prejudices based on which political party you support.”

St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Tackling Domestic Violence

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:15:49 +0000

“I am still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that yet another woman has been the victim of appalling domestic violence,” writes Abeni, adding: “I can only hope that Debbie's biggest impact will be to mobilise Vincentian women into meaningful action…we simply cannot afford to pay lip service to this latest murder and then go back to business as usual.”

St. Vincent & the Grenadines: R.I.P. Walter Porter

Janine Mendes-Franco — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:46:29 +0000

And Still I Rise remembers Walter Porter, “a son of the Vincentian soil, calypsonian, musician and unfortunately the person seated in number 25C on Pan Am 103.”

St. Vincent & the Grenadines: New Constitution Vote

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:24:37 +0000

The people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines are about to vote on whether or not to adopt a new constitution - Numalali finds it unfortunate that “the entire process is mired in controversy and partisan bickering…as some observers have noted, the referendum will be a mock election.”

Caribbean: “Gold Rush” in Berlin

Janine Mendes-Franco — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:24:35 +0000

If there was doubt in anyone's mind that Jamaica can lay claim to having the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt's stunning 19:19 win in yesterday's much-anticipated 200m final at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Berlin must have removed any skepticism. Once again, regional bloggers celebrate with their Jamaican counterparts.

Trinidad and Tobago News Blog calls the race a continuation of the sprinter's “extraordinary world championships”, while compatriot Islandista doesn't know where to begin:

Oh, what a day it has been islandistas!

We just bossed up de World Championships in Berlin today, didn’t we?

Where do we start?

With golden girl and defending Olympic islandista Melaine Walker’s sizzling 400m hurdles victory?

Or with Usain Bolt’s jaw-dropping ‘yo, dat yute deh nuh normal' 19.19 second world record run in the 200m finals?

From St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Abeni “had planned to write about Al Megrahi, the man behind the bombing of Pan Am 103. That was before the phenomenal Usain Bolt stopped the clock at 19.19 in the final of the 200 metres in Berlin.” She continues:

Long before there was Usain Bolt, Berlin had seen the magnificence of Jesse Owens who upset Hitler's race supremacy claims. This time around Bolt left the whole athletics world dazed and totally awestruck by his brilliance.

I am still wrapping my mind around his feats.

Interestingly enough, a link to you YouTube video - part of a meme in which people add subtitles to the same movie clip about all sorts of topics, in this case Hitler's imagined reaction to Usain Bolt smashing the 100m world record - has been circulating around the region, both via email and on social networking sites like Facebook. Most Caribbean Internet users and sports fans find the skit highly amusing, but please note: The video contains graphic language, not suitable for children.

But Bolt isn't the only Caribbean athlete whose outstanding performance would have theoretically upset Hitler. Ryan Brathwaite gave Barbados its first ever gold medal at the World Championships, powering to a 13:14 win in the men's 110 metre hurdles. BeachLime.com, a blog by a Barbadian living in Bermuda, says he was proud to be a Bajan and sends “congratulations to all the folks back in Bimshire.” Diaspora blogger Jdid adds:

Big up Mr Bolt for his phenomenal 19.19 in the 200m but got to give props to Bajan Ryan Brathwaite for winning the 110m hurdles. Barbados' first EVER gold medal at the World Games.

Barbados Underground also weighs in:

Not since Obadele Thompson’s bronze medal performance at the Sydney Olympics has Barbados had reason to celebrate the performance of our sportsmen on the world scene. Brathwaite’s performance this evening to win Gold in the 110 metre hurdles given the vacuum created by our non-performing Barbados and West Indies cricket teams has served to feed the hunger of Barbadians for success from our sports people.

Brathwaite’s success will have other benefits to the country given our reliance on tourism and international services. The respected Barbados brand will continue to take root.

Cheese-on-bread! adds her congratulations:

Blue, yellow and black, put it up! Cheese-on-Bread salutes Bajan 110m hurdler Ryan Brathwaite…congrats, Ryan. You worked hard for this, boy. Well done.

And Usain Bolt continued his winning ways as well today, busting his own 200m record down to 19.19. Wuhloss. Go on with your bad self, Bolt.

Tobago, Trinidad's sister isle, also performed respectably at the World Championships, with Josanne Lucas copping the bronze medal in the 400m hurdles. ttgapers.com explains the significance of her performance:

The Tobago lass is the first female athlete from Trinidad and Tobago to earn a medal at the global track and field meet.

Fellow T&T-based blogger Islandista sums up the euphoria that many regional bloggers are feeling:

Such an abundance of riches. We feel spoiled tonight by the amount of Caribbean medals!

It has been a big, big day for this little region at the World Championships.

For so many years, we have seen those who were born here compete under other flags…we have seen athletes from larger countries set ‘amazing’ times under clouds of suspicion that seemed obvious to us but not to the powerful nations that backed them.

But now…now the playing field has been leveled a bit.

And I know every Caribbean person feels the way we do.

IT’S ABOUT TIME!!!!!

The thumbnail image used in this post, “Pot of Gold”, is by tao_zhyn, used under a Creative Commons license. Visit tao_zhyn's flickr photostream.

St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Inter-Island Ferry

Janine Mendes-Franco — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:11:37 +0000

From St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Abeni reports, along with Repeating Islands, that come this October, “an inter island ferry service based in Grenada will be officially launched”, adding: “Given our disgust with LIAT [a regional air carrier] it should be interesting to see the response.”

St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Cricket Again

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:03:34 +0000

“Am I the only one who finds it amusing that WIPA has asked the Caribbean Govts to intervene in the cricket dispute?”: From St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Abeni blogs about “this cricket thing”.

Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados: Plantation Governance

Janine Mendes-Franco — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:02:25 +0000

“My thesis is that Caribbean governments today are run exactly like the plantations of old, the only difference being that there are fewer white people cracking whips; the overseers have taken over the Great House”: Barbados-based Trinidadian blogger B.C. Pires builds on the late Lloyd Best's Theory of Plantation Economy.