Columns

During the extremely active 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season, major Hurricanes Irma and Maria made landfall on several Caribbean territories. CARICOM member and associate-member States were affected by these hurricanes, with Dominica and Barbuda among the more severely impacted islands. Floods, earthquakes and hurricanes are some of the major natural...

Despite the importance of tourism for a number of economies, local residents of many destinations across the globe have voiced their discontent with tourism development. For them, quality of life – and, in particular, happiness – is more important. Tourism as an industry has positive and negative impacts on...

On the 19th of March 2018, retired judge Paula-Mae Weekes was sworn in as President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Weeks prior, on the 6th of February, Trinidad Guardian journalist Joel Julien published an article confirming that Weekes was “not a lesbian.” On the 25th of May...

On 21st April 2018, the government of Trinidad and Tobago deported 82 detained Venezuelan migrants back to their country.  According to the Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon in a Trinidad Express report, out of the 82 Venezuelans, 3 abandoned their asylum certificates. Further, in a CNC3 report, Minister...

Simply put, being a “real man,” in the Caribbean, requires having the propensity to reinforce the traditional hierarchy of male domination and keeping your multiple female partners as sexual playthings. Gender socialisation creates pressures for young males to assert dominance and to engage in risk-taking. Reference may be drawn...

On the 11th of March 2018, Cubans turned out to the polls to vote. In a press release, the President of the National Elections Commission of Cuba, Aline Balseiro Gutiérrez, announced that the 605 candidates in the elections were now deputies of the new National Assembly. With over 8.6...

“When you point a finger at someone, there are three more pointing back at you.”  – Unknown   In early January 2018, whilst discussing under what conditions the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti, and Honduras might be renewed, the US president stated he would...

Similar to a heroin addict looking for the next fix, many countries continue to feed their greed for fossil fuels, investing and expanding the search for oil and gas. The addiction to fossil fuels is leaving big, gaping abscesses far away from the sites of injection. Category 5 Hurricanes...

Today, the United States of America recognises Columbus Day. A day which commemorates Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas. On August 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain with intentions to find a new route to Asia. On October 12, over two months later, he landed on an...

The Ocean Conference: Our Oceans Our Future At the opening ceremony for the Ocean Conference, held from June 5th to 9th 2017, the UN Secretary General stated that: “the health of our oceans and seas require us to put aside short-term national gain, to avoid long-term global catastrophe. Conserving...

Some say we live in a borderless world, but based on the stringent anti-immigration policies doled out by the Dominican Republic against its neighbour, Haiti, borders are to be respected at all costs. Haiti, a Francophone nation, and the Dominican Republic (DR), a Hispanophone nation, are two Caribbean countries...

Global concerns about climate change and the emergence of potential new energy markets such as renewable energy have attracted a great deal of attention. Nothing concentrates the mind as much as crises do and this is why there have been ongoing debates about being climate resilient and meeting climate...

One week ago, several countries in the Caribbean celebrated Emancipation Day.  On August 1st, we decked out in our African-inspired outfits and enjoyed traditional African music all over the region.  But how was independence and emancipation from colonial rule achieved in the Caribbean? A host of inspirational quotes could...

Globalisation means different things to different people. A central feature however, is the growing interdependence and interconnectedness of the modern world. Economic globalisation intensified in the post-Cold War period, as evidenced by increased ease of movement of goods, services, capital, and information across borders, creating a global economy; technological...

In the Caribbean Sea Ecosystem Assessment report, Professor John Agard and Angela Cropper, describes the Caribbean Sea as a distinct ecological region – the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem. The Sea was described in this way due to the interconnectivity of its characteristic habitats like mangroves, seagrass communities, and coral...