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Showing posts from September, 2021

Notes from the conversation about building community archives in the Caribbean

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  Community archives are those archives which are maintained by individuals or groups outside of the State/National archives. These archives are vital in understanding different aspects of our humanity.  This conversation was held to discuss community archives related to the Caribbean.   These notes reflect some of the discussions in the conversation. (The conversation was not recorded) The need for community archives in the Caribbean The need for community archives is based on :- the gaps in information about marginalised peoples in the Caribbean and in the diaspora. This is an issue especially with regards to indigenous peoples and cultures, where the historical records are kept by colonisers and others with similar interests.   to improve access to untold stories and histories related to Caribbean peoples The nature of Community archives related to the Caribbean and its diasporas.  Ego shared some of the archive projects where she worked. Olive Morris archiv e Black Cultural Archi

The democracy that killed Junior Orin Boston, and divides us..

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Democracy On the dawn of the International Day of Democracy 2021 , 15 September 2021, police broke into the home of Junior Orin Boston at Dartmouth Village, Essequibo and killed him. The family of Junior Orin Boston has called for an independent investigation . The villagers of Dartmouth have come on the road, blocked the road. The Guyana Police Force has said they can do the independent investigation themselves.  In the democracy, the institutions can reject calls from the citizens who do not trust them. In the democracy, the Guyana Police Force does not see the benefit of transparency, of opening its procedures and investigations to the independent team.  Warhead, war Stabroek News reports that the Government Pathologist removed a 'warhead' from the body of Junior Orin Boston. Warheads are apparently meant to kill when they enter, rather than say wound or subdue.  On the International Day of Democracy 2021, Guyana's police thought it was okay to arm themselves with weapo

Ochro / okra and peanut butter stew ...

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  Peanut butter in stew on my mind and I wonder how it would go with ochro and I go to the search engine for okra peanut butter and then find that there is a whole set of stews/soups out there which use okra and peanut butter and other vegetables..  The names .. Domoda, Maafe.. and I get the courage to try a thing though nothing like what is showing in the videos and so.  Ingredients  A handful of small ochro /okra - take off the tops and tails (I think for my hand that was about a 3/4 lb ) Small onion or as much as you want, chopped up  Garlic as much as you want, minced  Ginger, as much as you want, chopped up  2 Tbsp tomato paste  some tomato chopped up to add some texture  1 wiri wiri pepper or any other chilli to add some flavour  Some of thyme, and other herbs and so which you like in your stews A pinch of whole geera/cumin, or a tiny pinch of cumin powder  Coconut milk (or water if you not able to make the coconut milk)  1-2 tbsp or so of peanut butter.  oil to sautee/chunkay

Sudanese Salata Aswad .. Guyana style..

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Thinking of the leftover fry baigan and if it goes good with peanut butter. The Internet says yes and I end up in South Sudan and watching the different ways they make 'Salata Aswad'   Fry baigan in my family is made by peeling (or not peeling) the eggplant/aubergine/baigan/boulanger , chipping up some onions and garlic and so, then chunkaying (sautee) the onions and garlic. We then put the baigan in and let it steam down, adding liquid if necessary. Sometimes other things are added like potato, or so. I watch different videos of Salata Aswad. Deep fry slices or pieces of the baigan. Make a stew sauce of tomato, onions, garlic, geera, and other things.  Put in the peanut butter. Put in the baigan. Put some lime juice or lemon juice. Some have yoghurt and other vegetables. More like a stew rather than a salad. Some people assemble the baigan and sauce like a salad. And so I fry up the onions and garlic, some tomato, and tomato paste and put some water to let it simmer a bit. A