Global Voices » Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua, Guadeloupe: From the Common Past

Fabienne Flessel — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:50:25 +0000

For the past decade, the tight historical and geographical bonds between the West Indian islands of Antigua and Guadeloupe have been analyzed by historians. A recent conference entitled “Antigua: From the Amerindians to an Independant Nation” [Fr] was organized in Guadeloupe by the group Yo Té Pou Nou Sé. Bloggers at PerspeKtives [Fr] explain the importance of this project.

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: Commonwealth Stories for Online Time Capsule

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:55:00 +0000

The Royal Commonwealth Society is creating the world's largest online time capsule in honour of HM Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and wants regional/Commonwealth bloggers to share their stories. Get involved, here.

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: environmantal atlas

Nicholas Laughlin — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 14:20:34 +0000

Repeating Islands links to a new Latin America and the Caribbean Atlas of our Changing Environment, published by the United Nations Environment Programme, which “uses over 200 images to highlight the region’s diverse ecosystems.”

St. Lucia, Antigua & Barbuda: A Different Literature

Janine Mendes-Franco — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 15:42:31 +0000

On the 8th anniversary of the passing of Tim Hector, whom Caribbean Book Blog describes as “one of the Caribbean’s undisputed intellectual giants”, the blog thinks it fitting to republish one of his articles, especially because “new literary developments in the region seem to be re-energising the Caribbean literary community.”

Barbados, Antigua: Constitutional Crisis

Janine Mendes-Franco — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 22:19:03 +0000

“Wuhloss. Only in the Caribbean could a political victory unfold so spectacularly”: Barbados' Cheese-on-bread! blogs about a constitutional crisis in Antigua.

Haiti: Help from Neighbours

Janine Mendes-Franco — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:31:17 +0000

CARICOM member states make donations to the Haiti earthquake relief effort: Repeating Islands has the details.

Haiti: Bloggers' Reactions to Regional Interventions

Fabienne Flessel — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:46:04 +0000

For more than two weeks, the governance of Haiti after the earthquake has been seriously questioned by Haitian bloggers. They are now discussing the reactions in the neighboring countries and islands of the Caribbean. Here is a review of the French-speaking posts dealing with this question.

Radio Kiskeya reacts to Fidel Castro's statement about the alleged “American occupation” in Haiti. After giving his “Lesson of Haiti” regarding health and cooperation, the former Cuban leader now condemns the military American intervention and above all the consenting silence of the UN [Fr]:

“Au milieu de la tragédie haïtienne, sans que personne ne sache comment ni pourquoi, des milliers de soldats des unités des Marines des Etats-Unis, des troupes aéroportées de la 82e Division et d’autres forces militaires ont occupé le territoire d’Haïti”, affirme le “lìder maximo” dans un billet publié sur le site officiel Cubadebate.cu.

“In the midst of the tragedy taking place in Haiti and without anyone understanding either how or why, thousands of US Marines, of 82nd Division airborne troops and other military forces are occupying the country of Haiti”,the “lìder maximo” stated in a post published on the official website Cubadebate.cu.

“Pire encore, ni l’Organisation des Nations Unies, ni le gouvernement des Etats-Unis n’ont fourni aucune explication à l’opinion publique mondiale sur ces mouvements de forces”, a poursuivi Fidel Castro…

Even worse, neither the UN nor the US government have provided any explanation to the world public opinion concerning these troops transfers, Castro added…

Radio Kiskeya reinforces this point by mentioning similar fears about the American intentions among other Latin American presidents [Fr]:

Avant Fidel Castro, les Présidents nicaraguéen Daniel Ortega, bolivien Evo Morales et vénézuélien Hugo Chàvez avaient dénoncé avec véhémence le déploiement sur et autour du territoire national d’un imposant contingent militaire américain qui devait s’élever dimanche à près de 20.000 hommes.

Before Fidel Castro, other Presidents, Nicaraguan Daniel Ortega, Bolivian Evo Morales and Venezuelan Hugo Chavez had already fiercely condemned the deployment on and around the Haitian national territory of a significant number of American military units, supposedly 20.000 soldiers.

Potoprincipe also takes interest in the question of the Caribbean countries, in a post entitled “Chavez cancels Haiti's debt” [Fr]

“Nous allons annuler (la dette). Elaborez les documents nécessaires et la dette est annulée”, a déclaré Chavez à l'issue d'une réunion des ministres des Affaires étrangères de l'Alliance bolivarienne des Amériques (Alba) sur Haïti à Caracas, sans préciser le montant de cette dette.”

“We are going to cancel (the debt). Write the necessary papers and the debt is cancelled” Chavez said after a meeting about Haiti of the Foreign Affairs Ministers of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), which took place in Caracas. He did not tell the exact amount of the debt.”

As Potoprincipe concludes this post [Fr], the beginning of a Caribbean collaboration via ALBA is dawning:

Le plan inclut l'assouplissement des conditions d'accueil des Haïtiens dans les pays de l'Alba: Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivie, Equateur, Honduras, la Dominique, Antigua-et-Barbuda, Saint-Vincent et les Grenadines.

The plan includes relaxed reception conditions for Haitian citizens in ALBA countries like Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecaduor, Honduras, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Other bloggers have been either worried or sceptical concerning the intervention of Haiti's neighboring country, the Dominican Republic.

Blogger Réseau Citadelle expresses his total refusal at the deployment of soldiers from the Dominican Republic in Haiti [Fr]:

Rien n'est plus révoltant que de lire sur Radio Kiskeya un article faisant état d'une autorisation du gouvernement haïtien accordée aux Nations Unies pour le déploiement de 150 soldats dominicains en Haïti.

Nothing was more appalling to me than reading on Radio Kiskeya, an article dealing with the Haitian government permission given to the UN, to deploy 150 Dominican soldiers in Haiti.

In this same post, Réseau Citadelle advocates self-reliance so that Haitians provide support for their own people [Fr]:

Nous voulons démontrer aux étrangers qu'il y a encore en Haïti des hommes et des femmes capables d'assurer la continuité nationale. La destruction de Port-au-Prince, n'est pas celle d'Haïti.

We want to show the outside world that Haiti is still populated with men and women able to ensure national continuity. The destruction of Port-au-Prince does not imply the destruction of Haiti.

In a follow-up post, Réseau Citadelle insists on the psychological impact of this Dominican intervention [Fr]:

Le déploiement de soldats de la République Dominicaine sur le sol d'Haïti est un coup dur pour le moral des haïtiens. Dans la ville du Cap-Haitien, les observateurs n'y croient pas…

Seeing the deployed Dominican Republic soldiers on the land of Haiti is a psychological blow for the Haitians. In the city of Cap-Haitien, people can't believe their eyes…

In a post entitled “the Dominican solidarity” [Fr], Alterpresse lists all the initiatives from Dominican people and their government to help Haiti since Jan. 12th. However, the post mentions some distrust among some Haitians, echoing Réseau Citadelle's rejection:

Des migrants haïtiens, qui ont été contactés par AlterPresse à Santo Domingo, se sont montrés prudents, voire sceptiques quant à l’intention réelle du gouvernement dominicain d’aider Haiti.

Some Haitian migrants, reached by AlterPresse in Santo Domingo, consider the real intention of the Dominican government in helping Haiti, with caution and even scepticism.

Condemning altogether the Dominican Republic, MINUSTAH and President Preval, Réseau Citadelle is questioning the opportunity to resort to the Caribbean Community [Fr]:

Toutefois, pourquoi il ne fait pas appel aux soldats de la CARICOM ? Ils avaient intervenu en Haïti en 1994 au coté des troupes américaines.

Why hasn't he resorted to the CARICOM soldiers? They came to Haiti in 1994 along with the American troops.

Meanwhile, according to blogger Bajan Global Report, CARICOM considers an active participation in the recovery effort of Haiti. Following the same logic as Réseau Citadelle and Radio Kiskeya, former Jamaican Prime Minister PJ Patterson defines one priority - Haitians living inside and outside Haiti provide support for their own so that the recovery could be sustainable:

“Unless there is ownership by those directly affected, the best laid plans will come to naught. In addition to the involvement from the outset of the Haitian authorities, that of civil society and of the people of Haiti is also of overarching importance,” he added.
[…]
The former Jamaican leader further recommended the involvement of the Haitian Diaspora, as well as the urgent reinforcement of the public functions of the state, including the public service, to ensure that the progress made in the provision of public goods and basic services is sustainable.

Video: Worldwide youth express themselves in 60 seconds

Juliana Rincón Parra — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:38:08 +0000

OneMinutesJr Logo

The OneMinutesJr project gives young people between 12 and 20 years of age from many corners of the globe the opportunity to express themselves, speak out and learn audiovisual skills to communicate across borders, languages and distances through 60 second videos.

The OneMinutesJr project results from the joint effort of the European Cultural Foundation, the One Minutes Jr. Foundation and Unicef, as well as other partner organizations. On their website, you can browse through years' worth of one minute videos from different countries, some sent in by individuals, others are results from workshops where youth are taught the skills to write, film and edit their ideas.

These short videos portray the concerns, ideas and dreams of youngsters from many different backgrounds, and give us a window into their daily lives. For example, from Poland, Ludmila Kierczak makes a video explaining who she is. To view the video, please click on the image below to go to the OneMinutesJr site.

In Bangladesh, Mobasshera Tarannum Adiba illustrates a couple of articles from the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In the video, I want Freedom, she touches on Article 12: Children have the right to have their views heard and their voices should be respected and Article 16 which states that every child has the right to privacy.

From Mongolia, Tuvdenjamts (Tuvden) Altankhyag illustrates the right every child has to their own culture:

And in this next video, Simone Tonge from Antigua and Barbuda, exercises her right to freedom of expression in Confessions of a Female Adolescent:

Ibrahim Ide from Niger illustrates the right children have to a family that loves them and protects their rights in With or Without:

For more one minute videos, you can check out the main site for the project at TheOneMinutesJr.org or you can visit the UNICEF One Minutes Jr. Channel on Youtube to see many other 60 second videos created by youth on the topic of Childrens' Rights.

Antigua: Sir Stanford?

Janine Mendes-Franco — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:20:41 +0000

Talk Antigua thinks “it is unfortunate that steps have been taken to revoke Stanford’s knighthood.”

Antigua & Barbuda: Ending Gender Violence

Janine Mendes-Franco — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:37:55 +0000

“I want to beat power and gender inequalities to a pulp, starting with enforcement of good legislation designed to protect women”: Antigua's playing with ink invites us to join in “16 days of activism to end violence against women, starting November 24th.”

Caribbean: Rethinking Online Publishing

Nicholas Laughlin — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:30:17 +0000

A selection of books from and about the Caribbean. Photo by Nicholas Laughlin, originally posted at Flickr under a Creative Commons license.

The anglophone Caribbean's small but energetic literary blogosphere has taken notice of a new arrival to its conversation. Caribbean Book Blog, created by the St. Lucian journalist Tony Williams, aims to “inform writers and readers about the latest developments in the international book trade and how they are likely [to] affect the literary communities in the Caribbean and other small-island states.” Since launching on 11 October, 2009, Caribbean Book Blog has posted a series of thoughtful, statistics-laden essays on the issues facing Caribbean publishers, writers, and readers, at a time when literary publishing around the world is grappling with financial hardship and technological change. Williams's posts have provoked thought and discussion both in the blog's comments fields and elsewhere.

Caribbean Book Blog began with an essay titled “Breaking the Shackles”, analysing the state of Caribbean publishing and the market for Caribbean books.

… if you speak to many booklovers in and outside of the Caribbean, or check out some online message boards where the topic of discussion is Caribbean literature, you’ll find people bewailing how difficult it is to find good books by Caribbean writers, whether it’s in the region itself or in the metropolitan markets.

… there’s need for change — massive change. Otherwise we may well be faced with a situation where our literary griots end up being relegated to a state of obscurity and irrelevance. To avoid this they must find new mediums to draw attention to themselves and their work.

In his second essay, “Now Is the Time”, Williams proposes that “a group of intellectual, editorial and IT visionaries with … pioneering spirit and the entrepreneurial drive” ought to “take up the challenge of creating an online home for our struggling writers and poets to help them stand on their feet so they in turn can help usher in a new dawn of knowledge and enlightenment.”

Several writers based in the Caribbean have joined the discussion by leaving comments. Antiguan novelist Joanne C. Hillhouse writes:

It does take away from the time and energy I have to give to my writing, and I’m still working on finding that balance, but I’ve come to terms with the fact that self-promotion (ugly word) is part of the process and the Internet is in many ways leveling the playing field.

Jamaican poet Tanya Shirley echoes these sentiments:

I think as Caribbean writers we are now living in an age where we have to be more proactive in the process of marketing our work and using all the resources at our disposal to do so.

The Miami-based Jamaican writer Geoffrey Philp — also one of the Caribbean's most prolific literary bloggers — responds on his own blog, with a proposal:

What is needed is a web site that is devoted full-time to Caribbean writing. The site as I envision it would be a clearing house for books published by Caribbean writers. Publishers would submit their catalogues, writers could upload their photos and reading dates, and readers could subscribe via RSS, newsletters, or email.

Philp also lists well over a dozen Caribbean literary and scholarly journals online, some of them traditional printed journals that also maintain a web presence, and some entirely web-based. Together with a few dedicated litbloggers and writers-who-blog, these sites, Philp suggests, could evolve into the nucleus of a future web-based Caribbean publishing community.

In the three and a half years since Global Voices last comprehensively surveyed the Caribbean literary blogosphere, a handful of new journals has emerged, based online and in many cases using blogging software to publish quickly and inexpensively. tongues of the ocean, based in the Bahamas and running on WordPress, was launched in early 2009 as a poetry journal, but by its third issue it also included short fiction. Editor Nicolette Bethel (who also writes at her personal blog) in an interview with Antilles, the blog of the Caribbean Review of Books, described being inspired by online journals based in other parts of the world:

I was impressed by these journals’ integration of media into their offerings, which made them a substantially different, more alive, animal from the printed page.

What was missing among them? An online Caribbean journal for Caribbean writers with the kind of turn-around and quick publishing record that these other online journals had.

In mid-2009 another blog-based magazine project went live: Zafra Lit, which translates short fiction by contemporary Cuban writers into English. Edited by David Iaconangelo, a student at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and running on Blogger, Zafra Lit draws on the efforts of student translators who volunteer their time and skills. An even more recent arrival is Town, launched in October 2009. Based in Trinidad, it publishes short poems and fiction both online and via broadsides — posters — which readers can download as PDFs and print at home.

Other bloggers have responded to the shortage — or absence — of serious literary and cultural coverage in the Caribbean press by turning their blogs into virtual magazines. At Tallawah, Jamaican journalist Tyrone S. Reid posts reviews and articles covering books, music, art, and film, in an effort to “help facilitate constructive discussion.” New Jersey-based literature teacher Charmaine Valere reviews Caribbean and especially Guyanese literature at Signifyin' Guyana — in a recent post she tackled the question “Why review?” And PLEASURE, a new blog by Trinidadian writer Andre Bagoo (who also has a personal blog, Tattoo), covers “art in all its forms”, including a recently launched interview series which began with UK-based Trinidadian poet Vahni Capildeo.

The most energetic recent arrival in the Caribbean online literary scene may be Repeating Islands, an arts and culture blog run by two literary scholars with roots in Puerto Rico, Ivette Romero-Cesareo and Lisa Paravisini-Gebert. Covering literature, visual arts, music, performance, cultural studies, and more, Repeating Islands posts up to six or seven new items daily: links to articles and interviews, information about new books and exhibitions, and fascinating oddments. Covering all the Caribbean's language areas — English, Spanish, French, Dutch — the blog plays an increasingly important role in spreading information and ideas. An online writing and publishing network like the one Caribbean Book Blog and Geoffrey Philp imagine will need this kind of breadth and enthusiasm.

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.