Global Voices » Suriname

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.

Suriname: On Art

Janine Mendes-Franco — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:43:03 +0000

SRANANART'S BLOG considers the work of Marcel Pinas to start a discussion about what constitutes art.

Suriname: Street Art

Janine Mendes-Franco — Wed, 04 May 2011 14:47:18 +0000

Srananart's Blog says that “Suriname has known a flourishing culture of street art, with the painted buses and the colorful shave-ice carts as eye catchers that make a lasting impression on people”, explaining how it “resulted in a beautiful book…and with the book came a unique exhibition, taking street art to another level, and bringing the street to the gallery…”

Suriname: Video Art

Janine Mendes-Franco — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 14:57:03 +0000

Srananart's Blog is excited about the launch of “a new art form for Suriname” - video art!

Suriname: Mickey Mouse Art

Janine Mendes-Franco — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:48:46 +0000

Mickey Mouse as “a customized symbol for progress”? Srananart's Blog explains.

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.”

Suriname: Mickey Mouse art

Nicholas Laughlin — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 14:07:10 +0000

Artist Wouter Klein Velderman, on a residency in the town of Moengo in Suriname, shares images of his current work in progress: a monumental Mickey Mouse sculpture made of wood, “a symbol for a certain kind of transition.”

Suriname: On Beauty

Janine Mendes-Franco — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:08:52 +0000

Srananart's Blog republishes Wim de Pauws' views on the true meaning of beauty.

Latin America: Drawing Parallels with Egypt

Silvia Viñas — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 17:03:42 +0000

As protests in Egypt continue, Latin American bloggers are drawing historical parallels with similar uprisings in the region and some are wondering: “Could it happen here now?”

In The Mex Files, Rich compares Egypt's situation to Porfirio Diaz’ 30-year rule in Mexico –which fell during the Mexican Revolution– in his post, “Walk like an Egyptian: Porfirio to Mubarak.” Rich concludes his analysis looking at Mexico today:

Mexicans are not — one trusts — as desperate as the Egyptians, or at least not in the numbers seen in Cairo. But, what will happen if the Mexicans decide it is time for a giant leap in Mexican power, in which the people of the largest Spanish-speaking nation demand that they be allowed to fulfill their potential?

Greg Weeks writes about the similarities and differences between Nicaragua and Egypt from a historical perspective in his blog Two Weeks Notice:

It is impossible not to make analogies between the current situation in Egypt and the implosion of dictatorships in Latin America. Anastasio Somoza in particular comes to mind. Broadly speaking, the U.S. had supported a dictatorship for decades because it was a strategic ally, then internal opposition began to boil, hoping to copy the toppling of another repressive regime in the region.

There are, however, also very important differences.

Global Voices author Rodrigo Peñalba was recently interviewed by Nicaraguan newspaper El Nuevo Diario. Rodrigo posted his answers to the newspaper's questions in his blog [es]:

¿En Nicaragua el fenómeno de Túnez y Egipto esta lejos de la realidad nacional?

Tunez y Egipto responden a contextos específicos de gobiernos autoritarios con lideres en el poder durante décadas y con el apoyo abierto de Estados Unidos. Si hubiera efecto domino entre ambos paises, este pasaría antes a Siria, Libano, Jordanía o Arabia Saudí más que a Centroamérica.

Si la idea de la pregunta es que si podria pasar algo así en Nicaragua habría que buscar contextos más cercanos como son la narcoviolencia mexicana, los grupos de maras en Guatemala, Honduras y El Salvador, la inmigración en la región, el golpe de estado de Honduras, o las drama-novelas del poder de Panamá, Costa Rica, Venezuela o Colombia; o en el caso de Nicaragua el triple matrimonio a 3 bandas entre empresarios (anunciantes en los grandes medios), partidos políticos (que les dan entrevistas a los medios), y gobierno (al que amigos de los medios aspiran a manejar).

In Nicaragua, is the phenomenon seen in Tunisia and Egypt far from the national reality?

Tunisia and Egypt are responding to specific contexts of authoritarian governments with leaders in power for decades that have the open support of the United States. If there was a domino effect between both countries, this would happen first in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi Arabia rather than Central America.

If the question is whether something like this could happen in Nicaragua, we would have to look at closer contexts such as Mexican drug violence, groups of maras [gangs] in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, immigration in the region, the coup in Honduras, or the power drama in Panama, Costa Rica, Venezuela or Colombia; or in the case of Nicaragua at the 3-way marriage between businessmen (advertisers in mass media), political parties (which get interviewed by the media) and the government (which friends of the media aspire to manage).

In the post “Could instability spread to Latin America?” in Bloggings by boz, Boz focuses on the “global” –or “Tsunami”– theory: “An outside force created the conditions for these protests to hit many nations at the same time.” Boz explains:

it's the global factors I want to focus on, because if it is true, then the current crisis is not just affecting the Middle East. Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia could be next.

He goes through six points to answer the question: “If [2011] is a crisis year, what would it mean for Latin America?” and then writes,

If this is a “crisis year,” then governments are going to be destabilized in ways that you thought six months ago would be near impossible.

That said, most governments will survive. Even facing tough protests, governments tend to hold on to power more often than they fall. Not every protests or momentary difficulty will lead to a government falling. Also, in a region where democracy is the expectation rather than the exception, governments that do fall should return to democracy more quickly than in some other regions of the world.

Mike from Central American Politics responds in the open thread at Bloggings by boz on the subject. He breaks down his opinion by country:

Where to start? Interestingly enough, I think that if we survey the region, non-friendly governments of the US are the most likely to fall.

Ecuador - close to falling last year; recent history of extra constitutional removals

Bolivia - protests against gas prices recently; recent history of extra constitutional removals

Venezuela and Cuba are candidates, but will probably not see much instability. Honduras is a candidate as well, but there would have to be some spark to reignite things.

Asking “Could it happen here?” has been inevitable among bloggers who intently follow politics and social movements in the region. No one can know for certain if any Latin American country will get caught under the “political tsunami;” but what these bloggers do know is that in the history of Latin America, uprisings against the government are not unusual.

Blogger asks: “Could instability spread to Latin America?”

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 22:30:18 +0000

Considering the recent and ongoing events in Tunisia and Egypt, Bloggings by boz asks: “If it is a crisis year, what would it mean for Latin America?”. Boz goes over several points to answer this question and opens up a thread to discuss Latin American stability with readers.

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.”

Suriname: Art & Houses

Janine Mendes-Franco — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 12:51:34 +0000

“The Surinamese house from the 19th century is disappearing from the Paramaribo scene and with it a piece of our history”: Srananart's Blog features a painter who is passionate about “characteristic old wooden Surinamese houses.”

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.

Suriname: Art as a Beacon

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:25:49 +0000

At Paramaribo SPAN, Nicholas Laughlin blogs about artist Sri Irodikromo’s “monumentally scaled batik panel”, which, on the night of SPAN's recent exhibition opening, “served as a beacon, drawing visitors to the far end of the DSB Bank garden”. He suggests that the piece “might also be seen as another kind of beacon, drawing our attention to a mental space where cultural and spiritual traditions meet and negotiate.”

Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname: Alice Bangi

Janine Mendes-Franco — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:05:21 +0000

A big bench for liming? Trinidad's Alice Yard gets its own piece of traditional Surinamese outdoor furniture.