Mahogany CoConut Blog

One Caribbean Nation. National Flag of Barbados The Mahogany Coconut Group welcomes the recent legislation, by the  Barbados Government, in the form of the Employment Sexual Harassment Prevention Bill, that will seek to curb sexual harassment at the work place. MCG is not surprised at the opposition to the Bill because we have maintained that certain cultural habits, do not disappear overnight. What we find particularly disappointing, is the reaction of some females, which suggests that they are seriously unaware of their rights. And  have perhaps accepted, that the disrespectful behavior of some men in the work place toward them, is just a part of our culture. Obviously, the current political atmosphere, with general elections in sight, guarantees that some political objection would emerged but at least the official Opposition has thrown its weight behind the bill.  We have seen the same diatribe in relation to legislation dealing with domestic violence and ch...

Grenada National Flag Maurice Bishop and  Bernard Coard                                                         To Maurice and Bernard                                                     I heard the soldiers marching                                                     I saw the guns...

One Caribbean Nation. Virgin Islands Barbuda Dominica We have often noted that we are not in the: “We told you so business”. The reason being that we take no delight, when we predict that some negative features of the region, will eventual lead to serious socio-economic retardation. The enormous damage done to some islands   by the deadly hurricanes that now dominate regional news and discussion, has brought us to a sense of reality, that only the most obstinate among us, would seek to ignore. We are hoping, some would say against hope itself, that the loud shouts for regional cooperation in the areas of disaster preparedness, are not silenced as the tumult  we now endure, fades. We have warned that crime and a deteriorating environment, if allowed to continue, would be the ultimate undoing of the region. These positions were taken long before the destruction, that the hurricane season has dumped upon us. It is believed that many of the gains made in t...

One Caribbean Nation.                                                                                                                                                                    Black Bird                                                                              Thy see you in flight                       ...

One Caribbean Nation. ·        Ottis Gibson Mahogany Coconut Comment We all recall when West Indies cricketers were banned for accepting lucrative contracts to play in South Africa in 1983. Now, almost thirty five years later, a Black West Indies cricketer, is appointed coach of the South Africa cricket team. The question would probably be now asked: Were these "rebel cricketers" villains or trailblazers who helped to bring down the walls of apartheid ?    ·          Facebook ·          Twitter ·          Facebook Messenger ·          Pinterest ·          Email ·          print ·          comme b     ·     ...

One Caribbean Nation. East Coast Road Animal Flower Cave First Published 9/29/12......almost 5 years ago. Bridgetown Promenade Unless we move swiftly to protect the environment, Barbados will face an environmental crisis from which escape would be virtually impossible. Since the early seventies, alert Barbadians, have been warning the bankrupt BLP and DLP governments, but they collectively ignored the warning and concerns, and casually dismissed the then budding environmental crusaders as alarmists. Who amongst us can forget then call-in radio host Reverend Father Hatch warning about the disappearance of our windows to the sea? We are all to blame: we dispose litter any and every where and dump the dead remains of animals in our gullies. For nearly a quarter century, both the BLP and DLP have failed to protect the health of the residents of the Ivy in St. Michael, from indiscriminate dumping in the surrounding areas and the assault on our water supply. Inde...

One Caribbean Nation. Barbuda after Hurricane Irma The Mahogany Coconut Group joins with all those expressing deep sadness, at the destruction of life and property, caused by the vicious and relentless hurricane season. The region has suffered tremendous and devastating loss and many Caribbean citizens in the Diaspora have been also affected; since these acts of nature also devastated states such as Florida and Texas, where many Caribbean nationals call home. We urge all Caribbean nationals regardless of place of domicile and degree of suffering, to reach out and support all efforts designed to bring relief and comfort for those who have been affected. Unfortunately, the destruction caused by these natural disasters have exposed, in many ways, the frailties of our regional infrastructure. Chattel houses (board) built often with poor or no foundations, are no match for hurricane strength winds. Our clogged drainage systems along with the inconsiderate dumping of garbage-everyt...