Stories from Quick Reads and French Creoles
Explaining the Evergrowing Tradition of “Chanté Nwèl” (Singing Christmas) in the French West Indies
Between late November and December 25, a unique tradition is taking place every year in the Francophone Caribbean islands, especially in Martinique and Guadeloupe. “Chanté Nwel” [fr] is a time when people come together to not only sing traditional Christmas songs but also share a meal as a community. Although the...
Haiti: “Dear Ayiti”
The Fanm Kanson Network posts the first video from its “Dear Ayiti” project, which asks a simple question: If Haiti were a person, what would you say to her? Two Haitian Americans, one Haitian and a Grendadian share their thoughts.
Haiti: The New York Times reviews Haitian Television
What do people watch on TV around the world? Alessandra Stanley, the chief television critic of The New York Times is traveling to many different countries and through videos, she is letting us know what people make and watch on TV. So far, she has covered Haiti and Russia.
St. Lucia: Our Own Stories
Nkrumah Lucien reviews Davina Lee's debut feature film The Coming of Org: “It is indeed important for us to tell more of our own stories, too reflect adequately on ourselves not to reproduce images of ourselves tailored by others and to steer away from cliché and the narrow uncritical Hollywood stereotypes.”
Guadeloupe: “Political Manipulation”
In a post entitled “On Kalkil Politik” [Cr], Guadeloupean blogger Gwakafwika explains his complete distrust in the recent appointment of 1 Guianese and 2 Guadeloupean-born Ministers in the new socialist French government. He calls it a political manipulation.
Martinique: Where has Creole gone?
On Martinican collective blog Montray Kreyol, a recent post [Fr/Fr Cr] wonders why Martinique 1ère [Fr], which is the local relay of the French National Broadcast Network, Fance Television [En], has almost no Creole language spoken on air.
Martinique: All together around Creole
The Creole language in the Caribbean and the cooperation between islands were recently discussed during the Creole-speaking Regions Days, as explained in this post on Tous Créoles [Fr Cr/Fr]. One of the most debated issues was a visa waiving program between the French Caribbean islands and the rest of the...
Comoros: Blog monitors Fuel Shortage in Anjouan
In his blog, Dafinemkomori documents fuel and power shortage [fr] in the Comoros. He explains that fuel shortage has greatly impacted greatly many other aspects of the economy on the island of Anjouan (rise of the price of tuna and power shortage).
Caribbean: Caribe Wave 11, the first simulated tsunami alert
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...
Haiti: Renown Orchestra Tabou Combo on Tour
Blogger Ménilmuche [fr] reports on his blog 7ici que ça se passe that renown Haitian band Tabou Combo [fr] has begun their new tour on Saturday, Nov. 6. Their new album (in five different languages) will also debut at the end of the month. The band is also looking for...
Guadeloupe: Our first soldier killed in Afghanistan
Blogger Gwakafwika expresses [Fr Creole] his sadness with the death of a 27-year-old Guadeloupean native soldier serving in the French Army, in Afghanistan last week.
Martinique: Regional Reactions after Insult
Martinican Bondamanjak [Fr] tries to explain the dismissal of Martinican native football player Nicolas Anelka [Fr] after he insulted his coach. Meanwhile, Guadeloupean B. World Connection has re-published [Fr] posts [Fr] about the latest developments.
Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana: Nestlé Going Local
Blogger Anba pyé mango-la [Fr/Fr Cr] is sharing skeptical opinions about the new moves of multinational food company Nestlé towards the adaptation of local products and recipes from the French Caribbean.
French West Indies, Haiti: Immigration then & now
Indiscrétions tells the story [Fr] of a Haitian girl deported from Guadeloupe by the French customs authority, for allegedly presenting fake identity documents at the airport, while Gwakafwika announces [Fr Cr] a conference about Guadeloupean immigration in Haiti from the 1800s to the 1900s.
Haiti: Reconstruction for Haitians or with Haitians
Haitian Alterpresse republishes a letter [Creole] from Haitian social organisations which openly criticise the Donor's Conference which took place in the Dominican Republic on March 17th. According to them, it will not lead to a long-term development project nor include the population in the reconstruction scheme. Here is the French...
Guadeloupe: Mainstream media biased?
On March 14th and 21st, French people (including Overseas residents) will be asked to vote for the “Regional elections”. In Guadeloupe, blogger Gwakafwika condemns [French Creole] the local press, which he sees as a vehicle of propaganda for the current President, Victorin Lurel.
Haiti: Oxfam streams Survivor testimonies and takes questions
Through video streaming service Ustream, @PierreCote organized a live video show where at 10:30 pm, survivor Philippe Barthole who worked at Multilink Haiti dialed in through Skype to speak in French and Creole about the earthquake aftermath at Port Au Prince. He described it as apocalyptic and highlighted the dire...
Guadeloupe: 2010 another year of social struggle?
The Guadeloupean blogosphere has been buzzing for about a week around one question: “2010, a year of social struggle?” asked by blogger Shakazulu [Fr Cr], sparked by another recent rise in the price of oil products, as explained by Shakazulu [Fr Cr], Indiscrétions [Fr] and Bondamanjak [Fr]
Haiti: National Anthem Singing Contest
Sammuel from Thanks for loving Haiti has launched [En/Fr/Fr Cr] a video contest for the best Haitian National Anthem singer. The best video will be chosen by the readers and the winner will probably be announced on January 1st 2010, National Independance day in Haiti.
Guadeloupe, Martinique: Soccer & Religion
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.
Reunion: Creole becomes second official language
In the midst of the International Creole Month, Guadeloupean blogger CaribCreoleOne discusses [Fr] the now official use of Creole language alongside French in all the administrative procedures and places, in the city of Le Port in Reunion.
