Category: Spirit

A Jamaican People post

August 25, 2021

At the moment, I am celebrating Jamaicans. Not “celebrities” – I am not fond of celebrities in general. They serve no purpose, except for filling endless Instagram posts and providing employment for photographers and videographers. They are in a world of their own, one that I am not interested in and not impressed by. When … More A Jamaican People post

Jamaican gender activist Linnette Vassell tells older women: “Step out of fear”

August 23, 2021

I have a mental gathering of “Jamaicans I admire” in my head. They never cease to inspire me. They are young, and older, and in between, and in all walks of life. Linnette Vassell is one. This quiet afternoon – the first in three days of COVID-19 lockdown – I listened to a short interview … More Jamaican gender activist Linnette Vassell tells older women: “Step out of fear”

“There is no freedom where violence exists”: Emancipation Day 2021 Message from the Prime Minister of Jamaica

August 5, 2021

As I mentioned in my last news update, I found this year’s Emancipation Day message from Prime Minister Andrew Holness hit the right note. It is very well written, weaving in the legacy of violence from slavery days and looking at the dire situation our society finds itself in now. While noting that violence “in … More “There is no freedom where violence exists”: Emancipation Day 2021 Message from the Prime Minister of Jamaica

Jamaica Update, August 3, 2021: Andrew pleas for peace, Elaine flies down the track, and everyone must get vaxxed

August 4, 2021

These are tense times. While most of Jamaica has been glued to the Olympics track events – obviously, our forte – the number of COVID-19 cases has been accumulating rapidly. New cases are now in three digits daily, and so are hospital admissions. It is alarming, but what’s happening in Tokyo has provided a welcome … More Jamaica Update, August 3, 2021: Andrew pleas for peace, Elaine flies down the track, and everyone must get vaxxed

“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

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