Global Voices » Aruba

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.

Aruba, Curacao: Eloquent Arguments

Janine Mendes-Franco — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 16:15:13 +0000

The lawyer as orator? Karel's Legal Blog discusses “a sensitive subject.”

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.”

Video: Kids News Network turns to web

Juliana Rincón Parra — Sat, 08 May 2010 13:09:25 +0000

In many homes, children are not allowed to watch news because their parents believe that newscasts on TV might be to traumatic or violent. So how can children find out about national and world affairs? In Burma, Zambia, Surinam, South Africa, Peru, Indonesia, the Dutch Caribbean and Mozambique, children now have the opportunity to watch TV news magazines that are specifically geared towards them, also giving them a space to voice their opinions and find out about current events.

All of these newscasts are coordinated and supported during their first two years by Freevoice from the Netherlands, they are aired on national television networks in their countries, and many of the projects are also turning to the internet as a better mean of getting children's feedback and including more of them in the process of suggesting topics and approaches to news.

In Peru, we have NAPATV, where the letters NAPA stand for the phrase in Spanish that means not for adult consumption (No Apto para Adultos). Through the website youth can see the different videos, comment on them, leave a message on the chat board and participate on online polls. They also have a Facebook page, twitter and YouTube accounts. On this daily 30 minute show kids ask the president questions, tell the world what they would like to be when they grow up, discuss current events, and also say in front of the cameras what they dislike. For example [es]: Kevin, age 15, tells NAPA that he dislikes it when neighborhood security guards tell them they can't skateboard on the streets with his friends because they will “damage the pavement and plants”.

Following is a short news review section where subjects such as permits for school buses and transport, mining companies and environment and school children with high levels of lead in their blood are discussed [es]:

The Caribbean Kids Network also publishes the videos on their website, and the subtitled newscasts are both in English and in Papiamento. There are 5 journalists assigned to the different islands and they produce together the weekly show. Following is the latest episode [en, pap], where they follow a protest on the construction of a hotel in Aruba; talk about counterfeit goods, why they are illegal and how to recognize them, and also other topics such as green energy and music.

In Myanmar (Burma), the situation is a bit different. There, YouthVoices gives children a chance to receive relevant news. As freevoice explains:

Press freedom does not exist in Burma; the military regime detains critics on a regular basis and the state television only provides positive news of the generals. To produce an uncensored kids news with real news, the DVB team works from Thailand and receives its images from Burma through a secret network of camjo's (camera journalists). For the safety and protection of the journalists and the children being interviewed, the children wear (animal)masks in front of the camera, so they cannot be recognized, subsequently, they can give their real and honest opinions.

On the sample newscast made for YouthVoices you can see the masks being used. In the latest ones [mya], though, masks are no longer used, but some of those who are interviewed do have their faces digitally blurred.

You can read more about the Kids News Network and their projects in other countries at Freevoice.nl.

Dominica: Fruit Cake

Janine Mendes-Franco — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:02:26 +0000

Dominica's Gourmet Global is getting ready for fruit cake season and posts a mouth-watering recipe!

Aruba: “Election Reflection”

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:41:01 +0000

Arubagirl reflects on the country's recently concluded elections.

Aruba: Election Results

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:16:59 +0000

“It's still sinking in. It was an incredible night. I'm fairly sure that this government is, at one point going to disappoint me, but today I'm very happy”: Arubagirl reports on the outcome of elections in her country.

Aruba: Quiet Election Season

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:23:04 +0000

“Could it be that the recession has hit the political parties and they're less inclined to print up flags and such? Are people still undecided and have therefore refrained from putting a sticker on their cars?”: Arubagirl notices that all is quiet on the election front.

Aruba, Suriname: Journey of Discovery

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:28:18 +0000

“It was so incredibly beautiful. The big trees rising from the gorges. The river flowing seemingly endless past the jungle…”: Arubagirl visits Suriname and posts some photos from her trip.

Aruba: Election Season

Janine Mendes-Franco — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:52:02 +0000

As Aruba gears up for this year's national elections, Arubagirl says: “I don't mind campaigns. What I do mind is that pronunciations made by politicians who are clearly campaigning are presented as ‘fact'.”

Aruba, U.S.A.: Hubble Engineer

Janine Mendes-Franco — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:08:47 +0000

Repeating Islands profiles Dr. Edward Cheung, an Aruban of Chinese descent who is the Principal Engineer of the Hubble Space Telescope Service Project.

Bermuda, Curacao: G20 on Offshores

Janine Mendes-Franco — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:41:01 +0000

Vexed Bermoothes has been following the G20 Summit and notes that “Bermuda is on the greylist of 39 ‘jurisdictions that have committed to the internationally agreed tax standard, but have not yet substantially implemented'”, while Karel's Legal Blog is pleased that “The Netherlands Antilles and Aruba do not appear on the OECD blacklist of international tax havens”.

Dominican Republic: Upset at World Baseball Classic by Dutch Team

Eduardo Avila — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:42:27 +0000

The 2nd edition of the World Baseball Classic is underway in 4 sites across the globe. This international baseball tournament features Major League baseball players representing traditional baseball powers like the United States, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. This year, the team from the Dominican Republic was one of the favorites to take home the championship and whose roster was filled with professional All-Star talent.

Photo of Dominican slugger David Ortiz taken by James W Carras and used with permission. http://www.flickr.com/photos/rsnlaud/

The tournament also features countries with less tradition playing this sport, such as the Netherlands. Tapping into other territories like Aruba, Netherlands Antilles and Curaçao, the squad featured only one current Major Leaguer, several others who are no longer playing, and other younger players with little experience.

It had all the makings of a lopsided mismatch. However, the Dutch team pulled off a 3-2 upset in their first meeting. In a game that was crucial for the Dominican team to remain alive in the tournament, the Dutch team squeaked out a come-from-behind victory to eliminate the Dominican team from the tournament and leaving their fans stunned in the process. Twitter user Trompeta sums up the mood across the country:

Me imagino que toa la bandera dominicana tan a medio palo hoy…

I imagine that they'll have the Dominican flag at half-staff…

Joan Guerrero of Duarte 101 [es] reported on the scene on the street during the highly anticipated game:

Perdimos. No somos dignos de decir comentarios sobre este Clásico Mundial que, desde el principio, se encontraron todas las debilidades del mundo para que nuestro equipo pasara al menos, su tercer y último juego, en una derrota que le está doliendo a más de 10 millones de dominicanos en estos momentos. Sin embargo, los colmadones —sin importar la crisis— estuvieron repletos de fanáticos a la espera de que el equipo dominicano hiciera su mejor esfuerzo.

We lost. We're not worthy of commenting on this World Classic where, from the beginning, all of our team's weaknesses were shown in the third and final game, a loss that is hurting more than 10 million Dominicans right now. However, the bars and restaurants - no importance to the (economic) crisis - were filled with fans hoping that the Dominican team would put forth their best effort.

However, the result was the least expected by the Dominican fans and they are left to wait for the next edition of the World Baseball Classic or even try another sport altogether.

Como decía una amistad, durante la noche de hoy: «mejor nos pongamos a jugar fútbol, de ahora en adelante. A ver si les ganamos a los holandeses»

Like a friend said to me tonight: «it's best that we start to play football, from now on. Let's see if we can beat the Dutch»

Some bloggers and baseball fans also analyzed why their team lost in this fashion. Luis Corcino of Dominicana en el Mundo [es] sees a big difference in the motivation of the two sides:

Para un jugador dominicano, jugar en este encuentro no les aporta nada en terminos económicos, excepto el amor a la patria, encima de eso se consideraron superiores; los holandeses por su lado, querian demostrar que podian con un rival como el domincano, se armaron de valor y ahi esta el resultado.

Los holandeses estaban mas motivados!!

For a Dominican player, to play in this tournament does not provide anything in economic terms, except for their love of country, on top of that they thought they were superior; the Dutch, wanted to show that they can play against a rival like the Dominican team, they were armed with courage and you see the result.

The Dutch were more motivated!!

The next round of the World Baseball Classic continues with 8 teams that have qualified from their group.

Aruba: Calling the Socialists

Janine Mendes-Franco — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:03:33 +0000

“Some Arubans are also affected because they invested in Stanford's company and are now, as we say in quaint Dutch, sitting with the baked pears”: Arubagirl examines her government's reaction to the Allen Stanford story and wonders where all the socialists have gone.

Aruba: Putting on the Ritz-Carlton?

Janine Mendes-Franco — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:19:02 +0000

The Ritz-Carlton hotel chain is apparently in Aruba to stay, causing Lost in Smallness to exclaim: “Does the government realize that this will put extra pressure on our infrastructure? Oh wait. It's an election year. This is just a campaign stunt, not necessarily something to improve the island.”