Stories about Guadeloupe from February, 2009
Martinique and Guadeloupe: Vocabulary of the general strike
le blog de [moi] [Fr] discusses how a new vocabulary has entered into the creoles of Guadeloupe and Martinique since the beginning of the general strike: “What was really surprising (and for me, I admit, a little unsettling) was to see how in interviews, men and woman on the street...
Guadeloupe: Police “Blunder”?
Amidst the confusion of the month-long social conflict in Guadeloupe, two nights of violence took place on February 17th and 18th. Apart from acts of arson in shops and numerous burning roadblocks, the climax of these violent clashes has been the as-yet unsolved assassination of a man. Trikess, who blogs...
Martinique: On independence and French “paternalism”
As the workers' movement in Martinique and Guadeloupe continues, bloggers in Martinique consider what it might mean for the overseas departments to become independent. le blog de [moi] finds the idea Martinique couldn't make it on its own offensive and paternalistic. Her readers think that one reality of being a small island country is that you are always under someone else's shadow.
Martinique: President Sarkozy
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has finally met with elected representatives of French Guiana, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Réunion, regarding the crisis which has been shaking the French West Indies for the last month. Martinican bloggers Imaniyé and blogde[moi] are dissatisfied and note that his TV address raised two questions: Why was...
Guadeloupe: Local media under pressure
Guadeloupean CaribCreoleOne is the first blogger to talk about the political pressure put on Guadeloupean media RCI and Canal 10. Some journalists even seem to have been summoned by the Local service of the Judiciary Police [Fr].
Guadeloupe: Where is it exactly?
French West Indian blogger Fwiyapin questions the way in which traditional French media are dealing with the Guadeloupean crisis – images of Guadeloupe and Madagascar mixed up on ITélé, or Guadeloupe suddenly being located in the Asia-Pacific column, in LeMonde.fr.
Guadeloupe, Corsica: Same situation? Same claims?
Martinican blogde[moi] ponders on the possible extension of the French West Indian conflict to the French island of Corsica, following the analysis of a Corsican blogger.
Caribbean: Economic Effects
Keith in Trinidad says that “it is troubling that we seem so oblivious to the meltdown that's occurring” in Martinique and Guadeloupe, while Living Guyana cites the many examples of regional economic discord to add weight to his question of whether “Guyana's tenuous economy will be negatively affected.”
Guadeloupe: Escalating tensions lead to violence
After weeks of largely peaceful protests in the French overseas departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique, things took a violent turn on Monday, as police and demonstrators clashed in Guadeloupe's largest city, Pointe-à-Pitre. Workers are protesting skyrocketing unemployment and the rising costs of basic necessities, many of which are imported from France.
French Caribbean: Strikers Bloggers
Nowadays, no mass movement can ignore the importance of public relations and the social crisis in Martinique and Guadeloupe is no exception, according to Collectif5février [Fr, Martinique] and LKP and Elie Domota [Fr, Guadeloupe].
France, French Caribbean: Mobilization in Paris
It has often been said that l'Ile de France (Paris and its surroundings) is the Fifth French Overseas Department, due to its huge population of French Guianese, Guadeloupeans, Martinicans and Reunionese. In this announcement published by CaribCreoleOne, a group called Continuité LKP [Fr] invites the diaspora to march in Paris...
Guadeloupe: Police clash with protestors
Protests continue in Martinique and Guadeloupe, and yesterday protestors clashed with police. Imaniyé posts photos and writes [Fr]: “Yesterday, the French forces of repression hit Guadeloupeans. Tonight, Guadeloupe was set on fire and Guadeloupeans will not retreat!”
Guadeloupe, Martinique: Farewell Mr. N'Diaye
Martinican blogger Imaniyé and Guadeloupean B.World Connection both pay homage to Boubacar Joseph Ndiaye, who recently passed away. He was the Conservator of Gorée Island and instrumental in making French West Indians go back through the Door of No Return in the late 1990's.
Martinique: Bitterness after “The Last Masters”
Ever since the February 5th broadcast of The Last Masters of Martinique, a documentary about the Békés, the French West Indies have experienced the equivalent of a sociological tsunami. Bloggers and regular citizens alike are writing to express the shock, sadness and humiliation felt by many non-Béké Martinicans after watching the documentary.
Martinique: The last masters of the islands?
As the two-week-long-protest in Guadeloupe continues, the other French Overseas Departments of America - French Guiana and Martinique - are thinking about their own contribution to this deep thinking and massive mobilization. In the midst of this brainstorming, the French-encrypted and sometimes trouble-making channel, Canal+ is seasoning up the debate with a sizzling hot documentary about the tight relationships between certain ethnic groups and economic domination on the French island of Martinique. The Martinican blogosphere, naturally, has been buzzing...
