In May this year, the chief of an ancient Caribbean people came up with a drastic solution to protect their heritage - and their future.
Chief Charles Williams of the Carib - or Kalinago - people of Dominica said they should not marry non-Kalinago people. "The impact of colonization has been so strong on us that if we do not take steps to protect the race, it will be soon extinct," he said.
Extinct is a word that the academics who study this people would never use, but Chief Williams has little doubt that the Kalinago could be in danger of disappearing altogether.
There are now about 3,000 tribal members left on the island, which has a total population of some 70,000 - and the chief's radical views have found support amongst other leaders. In May this year, the chief of an ancient Caribbean people came up with a drastic... more
The Grenadian government says reports in foreign press suggesting gay cruises would be banned from docking at the island's ports are false.
Tourism Minister Clarice Modeste Curwin said "there are mixed views on the island about gay lifestyles, and that reports of coming gay cruises have fuelled debate on the subject."
Minister Curwin insisted however, that "not at any time was anything said about banning."
Earlier this week Dominican Tourism Minister Ian Douglas said that his island "was open to tourists without discrimination." The Grenadian government says reports in foreign press suggesting gay cruises would be... more
A 5.4 earthquake rocked parts of the Caribbean today. Officials say it was an aftershock of last week's 7.3 temblor.
Today's quake hit around 8:11am Eastern Caribbean time (around 12:11pm London time) and was felt on the islands of Dominica, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent.
Naturally residents are panicked and rumours of a large aftershock within in the hour have begun circulating around the region.
A statement on the UWI Seismic Research Unit read: "The Seismic Research Unit has not issued a warning that a large aftershock will occur within the next hour."
The statement goes on to say that a tsunami warning has also NOT been issued.
The Seismic Unit has advised islanders however, to be prepared for possible aftershocks with a "magnitude range of 6.1-6.5" which are "normally associated with earthquakes the size of last weeks.
The cracked flooring above was a result of last weeks quake at a friend's home. My mom said her ornaments were destroyed but she never felt the quake...lol. A 5.4 earthquake rocked parts of the Caribbean today. Officials say it was an... more
The strange behaviour of 30 girls at a local secondary school has left people on the tiny Caribbean island of Dominica baffled.
Pastor Omry Davis of the Seventh Day Adventist Church believed the girls were possessed by the devil after they were witnessed making "strange animal noises, denouncing God and professing loyalty to the devil."
""These are healthy girls, its not one person, eight of them at the Princes Margaret Hospital and 25 of them in all. Is that normal, is that an ordinary everyday occurrence, of course not," the pastor said."
However psychiatrist Dr. Griffin Benjamin is not that convinced. He said there were still "many unanswered questions" about the incident which took place about 2 weeks ago.
""What really happened we are not sure, we can't say we know," Dr. Benjamin told reporters, adding however that he was "very sure" that the phenomenon was a medical issue since the same students had been treated for similar symptoms in the past."
While "researching" this story (aka Googling local blogs), I found this comment by someone named Chilly which may explain the girls very bizarre behaviour: The only thing those girls were possessed by was the good 'ol fashioned pot brownie (presumably laced with something...) It is a well known fact that those girls had a bad trip (when one of the girls finally confessed to her "sins" the pastor oh-so-shockingly decided to stick with the first story."
As you might imagine, Chilly's account could not be verified....LOLThe strange behaviour of 30 girls at a local secondary school has left people on the... more
The 7.3 magnitude earthquake which rocked much of the Caribbean yesterday afternoon is said to be the largest recorded in the region in historic times.
According to the UWI Seismic Research unit, "The event was reported as widely felt throughout most of the Caribbean from Jamaica to Guyana."
Some islanders reported feeling tremors lasting up to a minute.
According to the BBC Caribbean website, "French police said it caused buildings to collapse in Martinique and Guadeloupe."
In Barbados, the phone system was briefly affected, while in St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Dominica there was said to be minor structural damage and/or broken furniture.
Damage assessment is still being carried out on other islands.
Initial reports indicate there were no casualties as a result of the quake.
However officials have said that a British citizen died of a heart attack in Martinique during the quake.
"There are no threats of a tsunami from this event."
CNN has reported that "shaking from the quake was picked up by a seismograph in California, which registered a magnitude 6.0 quake near Chico, California. But seismologists found no quake had occurred in California -- the instrument was reacting to reverberations from the Martinique quake."The 7.3 magnitude earthquake which rocked much of the Caribbean yesterday afternoon is... more
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake, has rocked islands in the Eastern Carribean. The quake was centered 42 km southeast of Dominica. The shaking lasted for about 20 seconds.
The quake could be felt from Venezuela to Suriname.
A waiter at a hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico said he could barely feel it, but he heard the sounds of glasses vibrating.
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake, has rocked islands in the Eastern Carribean. The quake was... more
