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Contents contributed and discussions participated by redavistinnell

redavistinnell

Culture of Antigua And Barbuda - history, traditions, women, beliefs, food, family, soc... - 0 views

  • culture of Antigua and Barbuda (local creole pronunciation, Antiga and Barbueda) is a classic example of a creole culture. It emerged from the mixing of Amerindian (Carib and Arawak), West African, and European (primarily British) cultural traditions.
  • Before Christopher Columbus arrived in 1493, Antigua and Barbuda had the Carib names of Wadadli and Wa'omoni, respectively.
  • . The population census of 1991 estimated the population of Antigua and Barbuda to be 64,252. Approximately 93 percent of this total are Afro-Antiguans and Barbudans, 0.2 percent are Portuguese, 0.6 percent are Middle Eastern, 1.7 percent are whites from Europe and North America, and 3.4 percent are mixed.
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  • Given the creole nature of its culture, it is not surprising that the language spoken by the vast majority of Antiguans and Barbudans is a creole, often referred to as Antiguan creole.
  • As the union got more deeply involved in the struggles of workers against sugar plantation owners, it became increasingly political. It very quickly developed a "political arm," which later became the Antigua Labor Party (ALP).
  • Antigua in 1623, five distinct and carefully ranked race/ethnic groups emerged. At the top of this hierarchy were the British, who justified their hegemony with arguments of white supremacy and civilizing missions. Among themselves, there were divisions between British Antiguans and noncreolized Britons, with the latter coming out on top. In short, this was a race/ethnic hierarchy that gave maximum recognition to Anglicized persons and cultural practices.
  • These struggles, reinforced by those in other Caribbean territories, by the struggles in African countries, and by the opposition of the United States and Russia to European colonial policies, finally pushed the British to dismantle their empire.
  • Fifth and finally were the Afro-Antiguans and Barbudans who were located at the bottom of this hierarchy. Forced to "emigrate" as slaves, Africans started arriving in Antigua and Barbuda in large numbers during the 1670s.
  • As a result, Afro-Antiguans and Barbudans were reinscribed in a dehumanized and racialized discourse that established their inferiority, and hence the legitimacy of their earlier enslavement and later exploitation as wage laborers.
  • 1700 and 1775, Antigua and Barbuda emerged as a classic sugar colony. Because of its exclusive specialization in sugar, the economy was not very diverse. Consequently, it imported a lot, including much of its food from the American colonies and Britain.
  • Like many other Caribbean societies, Antigua and Barbuda is a classic case of the superimposition of race on class and vice versa.
  • Between these two extremes was a middle class that consisted of the same three groups that occupied the middle layers of the race/ethnic hierarchy—the mulattos, Portuguese, and Syrians. The mulattos dominated the professions (law, medicine, and architecture) and the white-collar positions in banks, businesses, and the
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    In this article we see how Antigua was settled and can begin to see how the indigenous people were eventually wiped out. It also gives background into the country and how they have progressed through the years.
redavistinnell

Grant says union and political activities should not mix | Antigua Observer Newspaper - 1 views

  • Grant says union and political activities should not mix
  • Grant made the remark to OBSERVER media, yesterday, two days after Deputy General Secretary of the Antigua & Barbuda Workers’ Union (ABWU) Chester Hughes issued a strong warning to Prime Minister Gaston Browne, at a United Progressive Party (UPP) public rally, that the ABWU would mount strong opposition to any increase in taxes.
  • “I want to tell the prime minister that my statement to the media is not a threat; it’s a promise. If you and your government go forward and add any more taxes on the working class people of this country, there will be industrial unrest in this country,” Hughes declared.
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  • “It really would do the workers a good deal of benefit if the major trade unions could see a difference between their trade union activities and any political interest they may have.
  • According to Grant, it could be uncomfortable for those members of the ABWU who are not necessarily supporters of the UPP, to hear comments coming from the UPP platform that they may not agree with.
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    The union is a way for Antiguan workers to gain personal freedoms over working conditions, and Grant believes that this should be a separate group from the government. But this leads to an issue with the idea of helping to create a unified government. If the people can not trust the government how can a true democracy work? The union attempting to separate from all political dealings will only further breakdown the attempt to create a democracy.    
redavistinnell

Exclusive: leading candidate to be Commonwealth secretary general alleged to have recei... - 0 views

  • Exclusive: leading candidate to be Commonwealth secretary general alleged to have received $1.4m in fraud against Antiguan government
  • Sir Ronald Sanders, now the Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to Washington, apparently received monthly payments of £10,000 while serving as High Commissioner in London, according to a report ordered by his country’s government but never subsequently published.
  • Sir Ronald served as High Commissioner to Britain from 1982 until 1987 and then again from 1996 until 2004. Soon after he returned to London, the Queen made him a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG). She proceeded to award him a knighthood in June 2002. Two years later, Antigua’s then government commissioned an investigation by Robert Lindquist, a Canadian forensic accountant, after a routine audit suggested the state was overpaying a loan.
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  • The Lindquist report named Sir Ronald as a “person of interest” in this alleged fraud which cost Antigua $14 million (£9.3 million) between 1997 and 2006.
  • Mr Lindquist found that the monthly surplus of $203,594 – amounting to 40 per cent of Antigua’s total revenue from petrol sales tax - was shared between various beneficiaries, apparently including Sir Ronald. The architect of the alleged fraud was the late Bruce Rappaport, a S
  • A fax dated 28 November 1997 appears to show that Rappaport opened an account with the Bank of Bermuda called the “IHI Debt Settlement Co Account”.
  • The document says that “funds received monthly from the Government of Antigua” amounting to $403,334 were to be used to repay IHI to the tune of $199,74
  • Including funds that were channelled through Bellwood Services – a Panamanian company owned by Sir Ronald until 1996 – the Lindquist report says that he appeared to receive a total of $1,398,492 (£933,000).
  • But on 29 June 2015, Antigua’s police commissioner wrote to Sir Ronald’s lawyers saying this should never have happened, adding: “I hereby confirm that the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda has no interest in interviewing Sir Ronald Sanders and that there are no current or pending investigations that involve him in any way.”
  • Antigua's current government has described the Lindquist report as “riddled with hearsay, rumour and conjecture” and the result of a “partisan witch-hunt” launched by a previous administration. Sir Ronald has never been shown the report.
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    This article shows the corruption with in the Antiguan government. There is an obvious gap between the government officials in Antigua and Barbuda and the people. One of the biggest problems facing Antigua's government is how corrupt it is.  
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