Janine Mendes-Franco

A rose by any other name? How one Trinidad Carnival band’s intimate gesture has sparked controversy “You may dislike the choice [but] to declare that it denigrates culture is to flatten centuries of complexity into a single anxious conclusion.”

‘I love how people think this is about sex [...] and not [about] capitalism’

globalvoices.org/2026/02/15/a... @globalvoices.org @petchary.bsky.social

Wasting renewable energy comes at a high cost for the Dominican Republic By operating thermal plants above their limits and maintaining a grid with insufficient storage capacity, the DR wastes part of its clean energy and generates multimillion-dollar losses.

The lack of modern networks and insufficient storage are crucial factors that cause curtailment...

globalvoices.org/2026/02/01/w...

Sly Dunbar, one half of the groundbreaking ‘Riddim Twins’ of Jamaican music, dies at 73 “Sly was an architect of sound. Alongside Robbie Shakespeare, he established a foundation that defined the era of Reggae and Dancehall.”

‘One of the greatest drummers ever’

globalvoices.org/2026/01/27/s... @globalvoices.org @petchary.bsky.social

Third World’s Stephen ‘Cat’ Coore, a Jamaican who straddled musical genres, dies at 69 Coore expanded the language of reggae, weaving roots with jazz, soul, funk, classical discipline and global sounds, while never losing Jamaica’s heartbeat. His guitar [...] spoke stories, unity, love ...

‘He carried a tone that knew where it came from and therefore knew where it could go’

globalvoices.org/2026/01/20/t...
@globalvoices.org @petchary.bsky.social

The honeybee that stung Jamaica and yielded sweetness The name “Melissa” is of Greek origin and translates to “honeybee” in English, but [the] fallout felt personal, as if we troubled the hive and threatened the queen.

‘This storm left destruction and loss, but failed to snatch our gratitude and will to survive’

globalvoices.org/2026/01/09/t... @globalvoices.org @petchary.bsky.social

Year in Review: How the Caribbean survived 2025 By the end of the year, the U.S. and Venezuela, on opposite ends of the Caribbean archipelago, would have the region caught in the middle of an unfolding geopolitical standoff.

The year's ups and downs strengthened the region's muscles

globalvoices.org/2025/12/30/y... @globalvoices.org @petchary.bsky.social

‘The light plays tricks on us’: Trinidadian photographer Marlon Rouse’s ‘Sacred Objects, Fruit of the Land’ Rouse’s bold exploration rejects the familiar language of appetite, abundance and hospitality in favour of enquiry and even estrangement. The photos consider the fruit as organism rather than product.

‘My photography is about investigation ... of society, of people, of things and of light’

globalvoices.org/2025/12/25/t... @globalvoices.org @petchary.bsky.social

As U.S.-Venezuela tensions rise, Trinidad & Tobago thumbs its nose at CARICOM Criticism around the prime minister’s posturing, which academic Richard Drayton called “defiantly, even rudely, anti-Caricom,” started in September, when the U.S. began to assert its military presence...

‘Respectful dialogue with international partners is not subservience, nor is regional consultation disloyalty’

globalvoices.org/2025/12/23/a... @globalvoices.org @petchary.bsky.social @georgiap.bsky.social @older.bsky.social

Healing the past to strengthen the future: Why the Caribbean needs to talk about ancestral trauma “What our grandparents practised instinctively through prayer, song, and time spent in the natural world, neuroscience is now validating with brain scans and data.”

Ancestral healing is about making peace with the past to free the present and future...

globalvoices.org/2025/12/08/h... @globalvoices.org @petchary.bsky.social

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Jamaican bobsledders bring unexpected joy to an island beset with post-hurricane stress The idea for the bobsled team, which gained fame through 1993’s “Cool Runnings,” had its origins in an annual push-cart derby, where homemade vending carts are used in competitive races.

[T]he medals were a reminder of Jamaica’s ability to rise even when times are hard

globalvoices.org/2025/11/29/j... @petchary.bsky.social @globalvoices.org

From Kingston to the world: Jamaican music and film legend Jimmy Cliff passes on at 81 Cliff recorded over 30 albums in total, but his popularity skyrocketed after the low-budget Jamaican drama “The Harder They Come,” released in 1972, put him on the map as a cultural powerhouse.

‘Cliff was a poet [who] set his words to music, broadcasting them to the world over speakers and screens’

globalvoices.org/2025/11/25/f...
@globalvoices.org @petchary.bsky.social

Trinidadian film producer Danielle Dieffenthaller, who helped Caribbean people see themselves, dies at 60 Dieffenthaller was “a fierce advocate for the creative arts [who] championed local talent and pushed for the recognition and respect that Caribbean creators deserve.”

‘You treated our stories with seriousness and respect, and expected [us] to do the same‘

globalvoices.org/2025/11/25/t... @globalvoices.org @petchary.bsky.social

In Guadeloupe, creativity in the service of zero waste From citizen initiatives and artistic engagement to public policies, Guadeloupe is reinventing itself, turning waste into a resource — but there is still an urgent need to improve waste recovery chann...

For some Guadeloupeans, the act of creating is also becoming an act of ecological resistance

globalvoices.org/2025/11/20/i... @globalvoices.org @petchary.bsky.social

A look at how environmental crimes are prosecuted in the Dominican Republic The functions of three institutions, linked by the common denominator of environmental protection, complement one another in the pursuit of environmental crimes which, though frequent, are also more f...

As at September 2025, 118 cases have been brought to justice for environmental violations...

globalvoices.org/2025/11/17/a... @globalvoices.org @petchary.bsky.social

‘We are not waiting for permission to survive’: A Jamaican perspective on COP30 after Hurricane Melissa “What we need now is radical change. We need commitments. We need adaptation financing. We need Loss and Damage money […] now is not the time to pause.”

‘Their profits were built on our pain’

globalvoices.org/2025/11/11/w... @petchary.bsky.social @globalvoices.org

Trinidad’s border communities face rising citizen security risks amid U.S.-Venezuela tensions For decades, the waters between Trinidad and Venezuela have supported fishing and small-scale trade. Today, they flow along a geopolitical fault line that threatens local livelihoods and community sec...

This is not abstract foreign policy; it carries real implications for citizen security and development...

globalvoices.org/2025/10/31/t... @globalvoices.org @petchary.bsky.social

Messaging through Hurricane Melissa I know what's happening on the ground in Jamaica thanks to WhatsApp — ordinarily, a quick and convenient means of staying in touch; under threat of natural a disaster, a lifeline.

‘It’s nerve-wracking’

globalvoices.org/2025/10/28/m... @globalvoices.org @petchary.bsky.social

Forty-two years after the assassination of Grenada’s Maurice Bishop, can the Caribbean remain a ‘zone of peace’? In its dealings with Venezuela, which have included challenges to Maduro’s presidency and a border dispute with Guyana, CARICOM has upheld the region as a “zone of peace.”

In an address to the UN, Bishop emphasised the region’s determination to be ‘free from military intimidation’

globalvoices.org/2025/10/20/f... @globalvoices.org @petchary.bsky.social

On World Migratory Bird Day, the Caribbean focuses on shared spaces The occasion unites people across the Americas in a shared commitment to securing a bright and sustainable future for these marvellous migrants: healthier habitats for birds and, by extension, people.

Is it possible to create spaces where birds and people can thrive together?

globalvoices.org/2025/10/11/o...

@petchary.bsky.social @globalvoices.org

From wreckage to resilience: Bolstering Barbados’ fishing industry against hurricane impacts Without proper support, fishery-dependent communities may fail to recover, leading to declining employment, food security, and biodiversity.

[There is] a growing need for a holistic approach that integrates nature-based solutions into disaster preparedness

globalvoices.org/2025/10/06/f... @globalvoices.org @petchary.bsky.social

How one community in Trinidad & Tobago pushed the culinary boundaries of pigeon peas They had the peas, but it would literally take a village to showcase their versatility. By the time the first festival rolled around, it was a true community effort.

‘I’ve heard of a mango festival, a breadfruit festival, a chocolate festival. Why not pigeon peas?’

globalvoices.org/2025/09/24/h... @globalvoices.org @petchary.bsky.social

What the exit of Bocas Lit Fest’s title sponsor says about how the arts are valued in Trinidad & Tobago The National Gas Company's recent defunding of projects in the arts “underlines a much bigger issue with regard to Trinidad and Tobago’s culture and the value we place on it.”

‘The country cannot grow a successful arts sector in this way’

globalvoices.org/2025/09/21/w... @globalvoices.org

Caribbean athletes shine at the 2025 World Athletics Championships It began with a full-circle moment as Jamaica's beloved Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ran the last individual race of her career; over the coming days, there would be more performances to celebrate.

‘Keep trying, keep going!’

globalvoices.org/2025/09/20/c... @globalvoices.org @petchary.bsky.social

Can Caribbean classrooms become seedbeds for conflict resolution? Teachers may change, ministers of education may rotate, but the school bell keeps ringing. This consistency makes the classroom one of the most strategic sites for planting seeds of peace.

‘A generation that learns empathy, dialogue and mediation [is] better prepared to lead peaceful communities’

globalvoices.org/2025/09/19/c... @globalvoices.org @petchary.bsky.social

U.S. military strike on Venezuelan vessel leaves Trinidad & Tobago caught between giants Maduro, calling the U.S.’ modus operandi “regime change through military threat,” said that Venezuela was willing to engage in dialogue, but Trump is sending more military muscle to the Caribbean.

A war on drugs, protection of energy interests, or a broader geopolitical stand-off?

globalvoices.org/2025/09/09/u... @globalvoices.org @petchary.bsky.social

Melissa Koby becomes first Black US Open theme artist, and honours Althea Gibson by channelling her own Jamaican grandmother “When I think about the theme artist title, I don’t think about being the first Black anything. [It's] about telling Althea Gibson’s story...she’s the blueprint for Black women in tennis.”

‘I get to be a pinpoint in her story, and that feels like the real honour’

globalvoices.org/2025/08/20/m... @globalvoices.org

Could community policing in the Caribbean build trust to prevent violence? For many citizens in state-described urban “hotspots,” calling the police feels less like a right and more like a gamble.

‘A breakdown in trust in one community quickly ripples outward, affecting tourism, governance and national identity’

globalvoices.org/2025/08/18/c... @globalvoices.org

A ‘Time of Trial’: Rastafari haven disrespected and ruined in Jamaica The Indigenous village brought Rastafari to life; gave it meaning through personal connections — not in the servile way that tourists interact with Jamaicans at all-inclusive hotels, but as something ...

‘In our pursuit of the Cult of Development, Jamaica is losing its way, its humanity’

globalvoices.org/2025/08/16/a... @petchary.bsky.social @globalvoices.org

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