Tag: Zoom

World AIDS Day in Jamaica: lighting a candle after 30 years

December 2, 2021

As I wait for the virtual Annual Candlelight Vigil to emerge from Zoom-land, I indulge in some memories. If I was to use that well worn cliché, I would call them “bittersweet.” For several years during the 1990s, I attended these vigils on the front lawn of what was then the headquarters of Jamaica AIDS … More World AIDS Day in Jamaica: lighting a candle after 30 years

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

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

A Town Hall Meeting on Mining in the Cockpit Country: Let’s Have a Real Discussion Because It’s Not Over

December 20, 2020

The long-awaited public consultations on the Special Mining Lease 173 in Cockpit Country, held virtually on December 8, have been called many things over the past couple of weeks: Jamaica Environment Trust described the proceedings as a “sham.” I would say it made a mockery of what should have been a proper airing of the … More A Town Hall Meeting on Mining in the Cockpit Country: Let’s Have a Real Discussion Because It’s Not Over

Public Consultation on Proposed Bauxite Mining in Cockpit Country: December 8

November 23, 2020

With the controversy over the proposed limestone quarrying and other developments at Puerto Bueno Mountain rattling on, many have asked: “What about Cockpit Country? Is that all over and done with?” Well, as I noted recently on this blog, stakeholders and concerned citizens have expressed concern that proper public consultations would take place, bearing in … More Public Consultation on Proposed Bauxite Mining in Cockpit Country: December 8

Cockpit Country Stakeholders Call for Thorough EIA Consultation Process for Mining Permits

October 29, 2020

This press release from the Cockpit Country Stakeholders Group is not just about environmental issues. It is about transparency, proper consultation, and democracy. As we in Jamaica are living under restrictions during the COVID-19 era – notably, the limitations on gatherings – we cannot possibly attend in-person consultations (which have often lasted for hours in … More Cockpit Country Stakeholders Call for Thorough EIA Consultation Process for Mining Permits

More COVID Reflections: The Sweet Sadness of Life Online

June 13, 2020

I wrote recently about my new obsession with housework (except for the cooking, regrettably, since I am culinarily challenged) during the Time of COVID. Another aspect of life at home is online life. Everything that we did before has expanded, and then some. The WhatsApp platform, which had already become a bit of a fixture … More More COVID Reflections: The Sweet Sadness of Life Online

COVID-19 Good Stuff (Don’t We Have Enough of the Bad Stuff?) from Jamaica

March 27, 2020

Life in the Time of COVID-19. It’s hard not to keep focusing on the rising numbers, the gloomy predictions and the heart-wrenching stories of pain and loss. We are living in Strange Days. To be honest I am also getting tired of the attempts at humor online that sometimes fall terribly flat (my sense of … More COVID-19 Good Stuff (Don’t We Have Enough of the Bad Stuff?) from Jamaica