Spirit – Petchary's Blog

“Nature is our lifeline”: A young indigenous Surinamese woman speaks during Caribbean Tree Planting Week

July 15, 2021

Caribbean Tree Planting Week (July 5 – 11, 2021) was diverse, vibrant, packed with valuable information, and full of youthful energy. Two sessions per day for a week, it covered a great range of topics – centred on nature-based solutions and climate action in the form of tree planting. One of the participants on the … More “Nature is our lifeline”: A young indigenous Surinamese woman speaks during Caribbean Tree Planting Week

Of mothers and an apple tree

July 4, 2021

A dear friend lost her mother in April of last year. We attended her memorial service in Kingston; at last, her five children and their families were able to say goodbye to her properly, and as she herself would have liked. Sitting by the open window in the church and staring out at the parked … More Of mothers and an apple tree

Caribbean Tree Planting Week: A Cultural Celebration of Trees

June 30, 2021

Next week (July 5 to 11, 2021) is the first Caribbean Tree Planting Week. So what, you may ask? This is certainly not a symbolic week, but the result of over a year of activities and networking (Zoom was working overtime!) among citizens of all ages and backgrounds (including a major youth contingent) – in … More Caribbean Tree Planting Week: A Cultural Celebration of Trees

Remembering Tiananmen Square: June Fourth Elegies

June 5, 2021

A friend today shared some passages from a poem called “Suffocating City Square” from “June Fourth Elegies.” I have the book on my too-long, and rather muddled “Want To Read” list on GoodReads. However, this book of poetry by Liu Xiaobo, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 for “his prolonged non-violent struggle … More Remembering Tiananmen Square: June Fourth Elegies

Pandemic Poems, First Wave: Olive Senior’s fragments of last summer

May 19, 2021

Our first wave of COVID-19 in Jamaica was the summer of 2020. Almost a year later, we seem to be just creeping out of the second – and fearing a third. The summer of 2020, at least for me, was a slow recognition – a dawning – that life wasn’t simple any more. It wasn’t … More Pandemic Poems, First Wave: Olive Senior’s fragments of last summer

Earth Day images from Jamaica

April 23, 2021

I always find Earth Day rather emotionally draining. A couple of videos made me weep. A book discussion had me thinking. Two webinars about bird conservation and monitoring, in the Dominican Republic and in Jamaica, induced feelings of hope and gloom, in almost equal degrees. Our Earth is under extreme pressure, right here in the … More Earth Day images from Jamaica

On the “sensible” use of ganja in Jamaica

April 21, 2021

Marijuana (or cannabis, or “ganja” as it’s generally known in Jamaica) is a complex and many-layered issue on the island. No, actually most of us do not all sit around under a palm tree puffing on a spliff all day, as many foreigners seem to think. As I am often mistaken for a tourist when … More On the “sensible” use of ganja in Jamaica

Thoughts on the Anthropocene in the time of COVID

April 13, 2021

The weekend was quiet, with no noise or distractions. It was “lockdown time.” I had time to think. To think about the terrible things we humans have been doing, are doing – and worse still, intend to continue doing – to the Planet. We are living with the pandemic we created. Earth Day (April 22) … More Thoughts on the Anthropocene in the time of COVID

Rastafari Coral Gardens Elders Home established in St. James, Jamaica

April 4, 2021

The terrible events of “Bad Friday” in 1963 in Coral Gardens, Montego Bay, have not been forgotten. Back in April 2017, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness made a formal apology in Parliament, on the anniversary of the persecution, torture and killing of Rastafarians in Coral Gardens. At the opening, Member of Parliament Dr. Horace Chang … More Rastafari Coral Gardens Elders Home established in St. James, Jamaica

“I See My Land”: Jamaica’s Poet Laureate Olive Senior on World Poetry Day, 2021

March 26, 2021

Our recently installed Poet Laureate, Olive Senior, has pledged to help foster environmental awareness through her poetry. She was guest speaker at this year’s World Poetry Day celebration organised by the National Library of Jamaica in partnership with UNESCO – a virtual event, of course. I am hoping that next year we will all be … More “I See My Land”: Jamaica’s Poet Laureate Olive Senior on World Poetry Day, 2021