Mahogany CoConut Blog

The Caribbean Is One Nation. End of Year Comment Submitted by the Mahogany Coconut Group “What then is the future of the Caribbean? Given its past history, the future of the Caribbean can only be meaningfully discussed in terms of the possibilities for the emergence of an identity of the Caribbean peoples. The whole history of the Caribbean so far can be viewed as a conspiracy to block the emergence of a Caribbean identity-in politics, in its institutions, in economics, in its culture and values. Viewed in its historical perspective, the future way forward for the peoples of the Caribbean must be one which would impel them to start making their own history, to be the subjects rather than the objects of history, to stop being the playthings of other people. In this respect, the Caribbean has so far been the “outsider” of the New World.” Eric Williams from Columbus to Castro page 504 “Once there is true integration among all units of the Caribbean (excluding Puerto Rico f...

The Caribbean Is One Nation. Jamaican scientist creates history Dr Gavin Jones among Foreign Policy magazine’s 100 Leading Global Thinkers BY VERNON DAVIDSON Executive editor – publications davidsonv@jamaicaobserver.com Tuesday, December 13, 2016     Jamaican scientist Dr Gavin Jones with his IBM research colleague Jeannette Garcia who were both named among Foreign Policy Magazine’s 100 Leading Global Thinkers for developing a process to chemically recycle plastics while preventing BPA from leaking. (Photo: IMB Research) Scientist Dr Gavin Jones created history last night when he became the first Jamaican named among Foreign Policy magazine’s 100 Leading Global Thinkers. Jones shared the award with his IBM research colleague Jeannette Garcia for developing a process to chemically recycle plastics while preventing BPA (bisphenol-A) — a chemical that is added to many commercial products, including food ...

The Caribbean Is One Nation. By Deborah Gabriel Queen Nanny Background Jamaica's True Queen: Nanny of the Maroons Queen Nanny of the Windward Maroons has largely been ignored by historians who have restricted their focus to male figures in Maroon history. However, amongst the Maroons themselves she is held in the highest esteem. Biographical information on Queen Nanny is somewhat vague, with her being mentioned only four times in written historical texts and usually in somewhat derogatory terms. However, she is held up as the most important figure in Maroon history. She was the spiritual, cultural and military leader of the Windward Maroons and her importance stems from the fact that she guided the Maroons through the most intense period of their resistance against the British, between 1725 and 1740. Queen Nanny is presumed to have been born around the 1680’s in Africa’s Gold Coast (now known as Ghana). She was reported to belong to either the Ashanti or Akan tribe...

The Caribbean Is One Nation. Theophilus Albert Marryshow ( 7 November 1887 - 6 October 1958 ) Theophilus Albert Marryshow Theophilus Albert Marryshow, CBE Albert Marryshow was one of the key figures in the political history of Grenada and the West Indies Federation, in earlier years a radical reformer who ended his days well respected by all segments of the society, including the Establishment. Early life and education He was born on 7 November 1887 and registered as Theophilos Maricheau, son of P.I. Maricheau, a small planter, and Eugenia de Souze. His mother died in 1890, and the boy was brought up by his godmother, Christine, housekeeper and later wife of Antonio Franco, a Portuguese merchant. After a brief apprenticeship to a carpenter, in 1903, Franco obtained a job for the young Maricheau in the printing establishment of W.G. Donovan, initially to deliver newspapers. Donovan produced notably radical newspapers, advocating representative government and a Federat...

The Caribbean Is One Nation. Submitted by the Mahogany Coconut Group Fidel Castro Those of us, who look for sincere and progressive leadership in the Caribbean, are unmistakably saddened by the passing of Comrade Fidel Castro. The detractors and fakes have tried to portray him as nothing more than a political thug, who specialized in human torture, imprisonment of political enemies and as the world’s leader in human rights atrocities. Of course these detractors were shocked to learn, that in the Caribbean, Castro was seen as a giant who always came to the rescue of our struggling island nations. He generously allowed our young citizens to advance their medical training and offered free health services in such areas as eye care. His generosity was not confined to the Caribbean and stretched throughout Africa and many other nations, that have been condemned  to the dustbin of economic ruin, orchestrated in great measure by European exploitation, American imperialism and ...

The Caribbean Is One Nation. National Flag of Barbados Submitted by The Mahogany Coconut Group We have previously stated that privatization will not solve Barbados’ economic problems. We base our position on the current state of the economy and its inability to function at the maximum level. Selling off state assets will only make the situation more volatile and consequently lead to more unemployment and economically empower the more dominant corporate class While we are aware that state agencies are often used to give party supporters jobs and other goodies, we really cannot blame the recipient party supporters for the actions of opportunistic politicians. Private investors will certainly not dish out such patronage but they will seek to make high the highest profits from their investments. In other words failing enterprises do not usually attract the highest offers and we are afraid that disposing state enterprises that are now run down and functioning very poorly , will...

The Caribbean Is One Nation Submitted by the Mahogany Coconut Group. Donald Trump So Mr. Trump is a racist! He spewed all that anti-Mexican, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric for nearly a year and he still won the elections for president of the united States and we are sooooo surprised; it shows we have not accepted that the shining city built on the hill, was built on wiping out one ethnic group only to replace it with another. Don’t forget Columbus, we call him an explorer but he was indeed the original Trump. Yes sir, those brown natives he found just could not be allowed to dwell in the luxury of lush and unspolit surroundings with their backward” unchristian” life styles. We imagine that much of the furor over Trump’s unexpected victory is subsiding or, to put it differently, we are slowly accepting that in a few weeks , he will be sworn into the highest office, of America’s version of the freest nation on earth. Already many Caribbean nationals who dwell in the ...

The Caribbean Is One Nation After a brief break we are back. Thanks for your patience. Submitted by the Mahogany Coconut Group. National Flag of Trinidad and Tobago Any hope that former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Ms. Kamla Persad-Bissessar , had of a fresh election to overturn the results of the last one which saw her swept out of office, has been effectively killed by the recent ruling of the Court of Appeal, which ruled that the Electoral Boundaries Commission, did not in any way cause the result to be any different, when it extended the voting hours by one hour . Since such matters are not put to the Privy Council, no further appeal is possible and in the words of our youth: Kamla will have to chill in opposition. We suggest that the political future of Persad-Bissessar, will now be questioned because she may be forced to finally offer her position as parliamentary leader to a more attractive colleague to challenge the Peoples National Party(PNC) in another f...

The Caribbean Is One Nation. TUBAL URIAH “BUZZ” BUTLER (1897-1977) Tubal Uriah “Buzz” Butler was born in 1897 in Grenada where he received his primary education. During the First World War, he served in the British West Indian Regiment, under Captain Arthur Cipriani. Like most of his fellow soldiers, he idolized Cipriani. He returned to Grenada after the war, but moved to Trinidad in 1921, attracted by the flourishing oil industry with its plentiful jobs and relatively high wages. In 1929, he was injured in an industrial accident that left him permanently lame. Uriah Butler Butler himself, a member of the working class, embraced the labour movement and its cause wholeheartedly, joining Cipriani’s Trinidad Labour Party but leaving it in 1936 because he found it too moderate. In 1935, he led a 60 mile hunger march from the oil belt to Port-of-Spain, to highlight the workers’ demands; this was considered a direct challenge to Cipriani who advocated more constitutional method...

The Caribbean Is One Nation.                                                       Race Relations In Barbados Barbados National Flag I woke up this morning to comments on the Facebook page of the online newspaper Barbados Today, about half of which were not in favour of the winner being a Caucasian woman.  My first reactions to the posts were that I could not believe that in 2016, a vast number of Barbadians of African descent, truly believed that a woman, though born in Barbados and a resident, was unqualified to represent our country at the Miss Universe Pageant, based on the fact that she did not “look like the majority of Bajan women”.  Some persons even alluded to her assumed “privileged” upbringing which was thought to have given her an unfair advantage to become the eventual winner. Having moved from feelings of shock, disbe...

The Caribbean is One Nation Some Caribbean Delicacies Enjoy.......... Pholourie Trinidad and Tobago Empananda Cuba , Dominican Republic Beef Patties Jamaica Fishcakes Barbados Conch Fritters Bahamas

The Caribbean Is One Nation. Felicia Browne Women's Advocate Human Rights and Peace Ambassador for the region, Felicia Browne, has cited the urgent need for new initiatives against gun violence. When women and youth are fatally shot with such brutality, it raises serious concerns about the effectiveness of our crime-related policies. No citizen can feel safe within areas which are ridden with crime and other gang-related activities,” Browne said in a press statement. She described gun violence as a local, regional and international problem and added that such violence and gun-related crimes create serious developmental challenges in high-risk communities, including developed countries. According to Browne, although many Caribbean countries have enacted laws to curb the levels of gun violence, rates of gun-related violence continue to rise. “ The lack of crime prevention programs and interventions have left the most vulnerable -women, children and young men – at hig...

The Caribbean Is One Nation. Barbados Olympic Team This was originally published as a letter to the Editor, Nationnews Paper Friday, Sept16th. 2016

The Caribbean Is One Nation. by William Skinner Errol Barrow The late prime Minister, Mr. Errol Barrow, singlehandedly turned the public against our public Servants by declaring them “an army of occupation”. Barrow was known for literally inflicting fear in those public servants, who refused to bend to his crude form of professional and  political bullying. We are a strange country that expects to plant okra and reap peppers, even if we live outside of the Scotland district! As we developed, the need for a well educated and vibrant public service became vital to our development. Any serious objective analysis of our public service will reveal that it is perhaps, along with the growth of the trade union movement, the pillar on which modern Barbados was built. While some may correctly point to the often ignored reports of the Auditor General, we cannot ignore that the lack of information forwarded to his office and the several negatives that he points out annually, are th...