Guyanese Online
POEMS by Cyril Dabydeen:
While the World Test Cricket Championship is on–latest poem to share
–from the UK’s *Post-Colonial Text*…just published.
AT LORDS CRICKET GROUND –by C Dabydeen
The ball bowled, the game played
at this neck of the woods—
the Lord’s Cricket Ground
in London, don’t you know?
Doosra in cold weather; oh,
a wrong ‘un next, come on.
A mass grave containing the remains of 215 children has been found in Canada at a former residential school set up to assimilate indigenous people.
The children were students at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia that closed in 1978.
The discovery was announced on Thursday May 27, by the chief of the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was a “painful reminder” of a “shameful chapter of our country’s history”.
I like to think of myself as a good guy.
I am proud of my Guyanese roots. I enjoy being with other people with a Guyanese background, partly because of the buoyant, generous character of our people and partly because I don’t have to explain phrases like “Wha fo Do” or “Mango doan’ fall from genip tree” or “When goat foot bruk ‘e know ‘e Mama home” and I know they had senna pods and castor oil before going back to school, spoonfuls of brown sugar soaked in Canadian healing oil, for sore throat, although the bottle said “For external use only”; or they soaked their heads in Limacol when fevered or headachy. Continue reading
BlogTO – May 13, 2021
After weeks of asking for Prime Minister Trudeau for tighter restrictions at the Canadian border to help curb the spread of COVID-19 variants, Premier Doug Ford of Ontario is pretty pissed about getting repeatedly ghosted by his federal counterpart.
During his press conference on Thursday — during which he announced the official extension of Ontario’s stay-at-home order until at least June 2 — the provincial leader touched on the topic yet again, and called the feds out on what he deems a “two-tiered quarantine system” that has allowed the rich to flout the rules that the rest of us have to abide by.
Dear Diaspora Organisation,
In keeping with His Excellency President Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s promise to aggressively pursue the involvement of the Diaspora in national development, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation will host its first Virtual Diaspora Conference under the theme “A New Era of Engagement for the Guyanese Diaspora”, on Saturday, May 22, 2021, at 9 AM ECT (1 PM UTC).
The conference will provide a platform for the Government to reaffirm its commitment to Diaspora engagement and to garner feedback from the Diaspora on its plans to engage and involve the Diaspora in Guyana’s development. Continue reading
Author of: ‘Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream’
BOOK IT is a virtual Book Discussion featuring Guyanese authors.
It’s not all that surprising that TTC ridership has been abysmally low as a result of ongoing pandemic lockdowns, but the transit agency is noting that numbers are down even more than expected by this point, and that they may be down permanently.
Working from home has gone from something temporary amid stay-at-home orders to something permanent for the foreseeable future as companies forfeit their office spaces, residents move out of the city and we all get used to the comfort (and safety from viruses) that home can offer. Continue reading
BlogTO – 03 May 2021
Today in going out with a bang, we have Toronto’s own Brentnol “Cabbage” McPherson — aka Bonny Brent — a world-renowned Guyanese-Canadian musician who recently “performed” for the last time ever… at his own funeral.
Friends and family gathered at Covenant Funeral Home in Scarborough, Toronto on Saturday, April 24, to send off the lifelong drummer, who passed away at the age of 73 following a battle with cancer.
What was less traditional — and incredibly memorable — was the visitation that took place ahead of the funeral, during which McPherson’s body was presented in a seated position behind a set of drums bearing the words “Bonny Brent, 1952 – 2021.” Continue reading
BUSINESS: Transformation of the Street Vendor: A view from the Caribbean Diaspora – By Lear Matthews
Lear Matthews
(Celebrating Immigrant Heritage Month in June)
Transformation of the Street Vendor: A view from the Caribbean Diaspora – By Lear Matthews
Recognizing that the United States is a “salad bowl” of diversity and not the proverbial melting pot, Immigrant Heritage Month was created to acknowledge/celebrate the contributions and accomplishments of immigrants. Opportunities afforded them notwithstanding, despite encounters of xenophobia, immigrants have undoubtedly shaped the economic, cultural and civic engines of North America and Europe. Street vending which has existed as an occupation for a very long time is considered a cornerstone of the historical and cultural heritage of cities and towns globally, with immigrants among prominent purveyors of this tradition.
This article highlights street vending among English Speaking Caribbean immigrants, an aspect of the immigrant experience that has not received much attention. Although focused on the United States, there are implications for other countries of settlement or alleged “host societies” such as Canada and Great Britain. Continue reading →
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