Mahogany CoConut Blog

The Caribbean Is One Nation.                                                                   Caribbean Ocean                                  Somewhere out there .................                                                                                                                                                               ...

The Caribbean Is One Nation.                                                                                                                                  Haiti  Is On the Mend Port-au-Prince , Haiti Five years after the devastating earthquake, that would have totally destroyed most other Caribbean countries, our Haitian brothers and sisters are slowly, and we are convinced surely, rebuilding their society. As always, the aid promised has not all be forthcoming and the spectre of corrupt practices still looms, but we hasten to add that these maladies are not unique after such destruction and chaos. There will always be those humans and organization...

The Caribbean Is One Nation.   Mighty Sparrow A salute to Sparrow Story Created: Feb 12, 2015 at 8:26 PM ECT Story Updated: Feb 12, 2015 at 8:26 PM ECT   The Mighty Sparrow has lived to experience effects of an advancement in national consciousness going beyond sentiments expressed in his famous calypso, “Memories”.  That Winsford Devine composition, sung by Sparrow in 1973, is dedicated to “those who died”. But it is a measure of growing national maturity that Dr Slinger Francisco, unlike many other sung heroes of the Caribbean, has received official accolades while he is yet alive. Few, if any, would argue against Sparrow, now 79, receiving such richly deserved recognition for his long career of achievements. The Express Individual of the Year 2014 thus counts as a timely celebration of an iconic artiste and larger-than-life model of indigenous Caribbean possibility.  The Express award coincided with the premiere of a Ministry of the Art...

The Caribbean Is One Nation.                                                       Kamla Is No Paragon of Integrity Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar “The Prime Minister’s address is an admission that the government tripped on integrity issues and has had t o scramble to protect the public interest once exposed.” Martin Daly, Trinidad Express, Sunday Feb.8 th 2015. We totally agree with the above. It should now be obvious to even her most ardent defender, that the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Mrs. Kamla Persad- Bissessar, is no paragon of integrity. The Mahogany Coconut Group has been saying for some time that she is the head of the most corrupt government to have emerged in the Caribbean in the post independence era. Her forced firing of her party’s pit-bull Attorney General, Anand Ramlogan, is anoth...

The Caribbean Is One Nation.                                                                      HAIR  We Go Again ! Harrison College, Barbados The recent furor in Barbados regarding students’ hairstyles at the prestigious public grammar school, Harrison College , clearly demonstrates that those entrusted with carving the destiny of our Caribbean youth, are still reluctant to accept their blackness. Obviously, if the hairstyles worn were mainly of the traditional “pressed” variety, they would not have offended the consciousness of the headmistress, Ms. Juanita Wade. Her concerns are apparently the twists and locks that are considered of the natural hair variety. They have been now accepted for the better part of twenty or more years, by those who see them as the natural evolution of black hairst...

The Caribbean Is One Nation.                                             Chris Gayle  Chris Gayle: Caribbean Citizen of Note 2014                         Many of our readers, have asked why we have not named any Caribbean citizens of note for 2014. We admit that we have been very tardy, in this regard because the pickings were few. However, after monitoring many issues, we believe that the abandonment of the Test Series in India by West Indies players was, outside of the usual political goings on, the most volatile story of 2014.  While Chris Gayle was not a part of that process, we believe that his subsequent remarks and those he made before , regarding the poor administration and selection policies of the West Indies Cricket Board, reveal  how some professionals are treated within the broade...