The portrait of Sir Thomas Picton, a Welsh officer and former governor of Trinidad who was known for his cruelty towards the people of the Caribbean island, will be re-hung in the National Museum of Cardiff to highlight his legacy of cruelty and torture. To get to the portrait, visitors must walk through an exhibition by Trinidadian artists who were commissioned to tell the story of slavery in Trinidad. The exhibition  is called Reframing Picton. The Guardian UK and the BBC reports.

In Trinidad and Tobago, there is a Cabinet-appointed committee charged with reviewing street names, buildings, monuments, and statues that honor colonists who engaged in the slave trade and tortured, butchered, and murdered Indigenous people and enslaved Africans. 

Sociologist and part-time senior lecturer at UWI St Augustine Dr. Tyehimba Salandy said the problem is not just about the removal of the colonial names but the trauma that has been carried forward from colonialism. He said Trinidad and Tobago is a country with, “deep social inequalities, racism, ethnic hostilities, crime, the antagonistic top-down model of politics and the inability of our leaders to appreciate the perspectives of ordinary people—these issues are rooted in our colonial history.” The T&T Guardian reports. 

Climate Justice

• The Bahamas will host the first regional climate change conference in preparation for COP 27 on August 16 and 17 at Baha Mar. This is supported by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Prime Minister Philip Davis said he will personally contact every leader in the region to ensure participation. “We must take the reins in ending our suffering and replace our position of vulnerability with that of power. It’s past time to go on the offensive against the painful blows that climate change has landed in the region. But we must be united in the fight and convince the world that for better or worse we are in this together,” he said. Eye Witness News reports.
  
  
• The Caribbean is being inundated with an overwhelming amount of Sargassum.  From Puerto Rico to Barbados, the seaweed, which is healthy to the ecosystem in moderation, is smothering the Caribbean coastal areas, killing fish, chasing away tourists, and causing a noxious gas that smells foul. A Bloomberg article said, “More than 24 million tons of sargassum blanketed the Atlantic in June, shattering the all-time record, set in 2018, by 20%.” Climate change is being speculated as the cause of the sargassum invasion. This year is estimated to be the worst year for the sargassum infestation. Bloomberg and NPR report.
  
  
• As The Bahamian parliament is about to finalize the Climate Change and Carbon Markets Initiatives Bill. Bahamian climate scientist, Marjahn Finlays, gives the opinion that the bill will set a precedent. Instead, Finlay said, The Bahamas needs a “comprehensive plan for adaptation measures, backed by wealthy nations contributing their fair share of climate finance.” Climate Change News reports.
  
  
• Jamaica launched a gender and climate change strategy and action plan (GCCSAP) called  ‘Build Institutional Capacity for Mainstreaming Gender in Climate Finance Programming.’ One part of the plan was financed by the Green Climate Fund and supported by the International Institute for Sustainable Development. The plan was created to lay the foundations for integrating gender and climate change issues into projects and policies. Caribbean National Weekly reports.
  
  
• In preparation for any destruction caused by the Atlantic Hurricane Season, Antigua and Barbuda’s Ministry of Agriculture is conducting an exercise to clean ponds, drains, and waterways in flood-prone areas, particularly near farming lands, to prevent floods. The Antigua Observer reports.
  
  
• Climate change is a major cause of human migration. Drought, fire, and flooding that destroys homes force people to move. Usually, climate migration is done locally, where people move from one part of their country, usually rural to urban parts of the country to live. But for some, they are forced to flee their country for a safer life. Proving migration based on climate change is difficult. A natural disaster like a hurricane, drought, crop failure, or fire can bring economic instability to the country, thus creating crime, violence, and other reasons for people to flee their country. PBS reports.
  
  

Funding

• The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a US$100 million guarantee for Barbados to help the government access funds for conservation activities at reduced rates. The guarantee will allow the government to create a long-term instrument to finance measures related to sustainability and marine conservation. Barbados Today reports.
  
  

Energy

• The Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) and the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE), both based in Barbados, came to an agreement to create a framework of cooperation to grow businesses using sustainable energy. The two organizations will work to manage the climate crisis, build sustainable and affordable energy systems and work on reducing poverty. Read more from Caribbean Nation Weekly.
  
  
• Residents of Lethem in Guyana are now using electricity from a $472 million, one megawatt solar farm. The solar power plant began testing on July 26. It was reported that 10,000 liters of diesel were saved. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Energy Agency, Dr. Mahender Sharma, estimates that the solar farm will save approximately $136 million annually. The project was financed by a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in November 2018. News Room Guyana reports
  
  
• Guyana’s Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh reaffirmed that the country remains committed to having a national energy transition that promotes the use of renewable energy sources. He said this at the Fourth Regional Committee Meeting for the Latin America and Caribbean Region of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). He said Guyana has a large off-the-grid population and the creation of solar farms would allow these citizens access to electricity. News Room Guyana reports.
   

Oil and Gas

• Dr. Vincent Adams, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Guyana, does not believe ExxonMobil has hit the flaring targets set out in the Liza Two permit. Flaring is the burning of natural gas during oil extraction. This process is harmful to the atmosphere because it emits toxins that contribute to greenhouse gasses such as benzopyrene, benzene, carbon disulfide, carbonyl sulfide, arsenic hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide and methane to name a few. “ExxonMobil through its subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) had been flaring associated gas at the Liza One field soon after the start up of oil production in 2019, owing to its failed gas compressor. It was only last week that the company told members of the media that the equipment was finally replaced,”  Kaieteur News reports.
  
  
• It has been two years since Guyana’s President, Mohammed Irfaan Ali-led government took power, but they are yet to pass Article 13, a new legislation to regulate Guyana’s oil sector. The Act was amended 25 years ago. According to Kaieteur News, Ali’s government upon assuming office in August 2020, promised to overhaul Guyana’s archaic petroleum laws but to date, he has not done anything in this regard…The outdated laws have glaring loopholes that allow for Guyana to lose big from its oil resources.”
  
  
• Guyana’s Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo agreed that the contract between the government and ExxonMobil will have to be renegotiated, but said it will not be done just yet. He said, “The contract was bad, we have to change it in the future but we are not going to renegotiate now.” Guyana will receive at a flat rate of US$50 per barrel, US$157B into 2040. Jagdeo said he noticed “extremism” in the daily newspapers, saying that the contract was the worst, however, he disagrees.  Kaieteur News reports.
  
  

Food security

• What effects does climate change have on food security? A change in climate can mean an addition of droughts or flooding that would hinder the development of crops. With most Caribbean countries importing food, food security problems could come in the form of supply chain issues. Stabroek News discusses in its editorial.
  
  
• In the midst of a looming food crisis caused by a plethora of factors which includes Russia’s war in Ukraine, supply chain disruptions because of the pandemic and food crops being destroyed by floods and rainy weather, several major food producing and exporting countries from Latin America and the Caribbean, along with the United States and Canada, signed an agreement at the Summit of the Americas to work together to tackle common challenges. Read more by Caricom Today.
  
  

Reproductive Justice 

• In Trinidad and Tobago abortion is still illegal. Abortions are only allowed if the pregnancy poses a threat to the woman’s physical and mental health. A woman would require a doctor to legally approve her abortion. While women with economic means are able to easily access illegal abortions through their gynecologists, women without access frequently have unsafe abortions. In this two-part series, CNC3 discusses activists’ call and public health crisis criminalizing abortions bring, and the lack of political will to decriminalize abortions in Trinidad and Tobago.
  
  
• The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) opened its first office in the Caribbean in Trinidad and Tobago. This is its second office in the Americas. The office was opened to ensure there was the necessary space in the Caribbean to ensure universal access to reproductive and sexual rights. Trinidad and Tobago Newsday reports.
  
  

Gender Justice

• The Caribbean Employers’ Confederation (CEC) and the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL) just signed a regional policy agreement to address gender-based violence in the workplace.  The implementation of this policy will require a lot of work in changing the “deeply ingrained cultural values” of the Caribbean. Trinidad and Tobago Newsday reports.
   

Human Mobility

• Four men were charged with the deaths of 17 Haitian migrants in The Bahamas. The men are suspected of being the smugglers who were trying to transport the migrants out of The Bahamas. Their boat capsized off the coast of New Providence. The men face 18 counts of manslaughter. One for the 17 people and the 18th will be for an unborn fetus. The Jamaica Gleaner reports. Five of the drowned victims were identified by the police. Eye Witness News reports. 
  
  
• Haitian migrants wait at the Mexican borders for the removal of Title 42, the emergency public health ordinance that allows the denial and removal of anyone who came from a country with a communicable disease. This was put in during March 2020 for the COVID-19 pandemic. Some migrants do not want to attempt to cross the Mexico/ US border because they are afraid to be sent back home as there are deportation flights from Texas to Haiti. Instead, they live in cities such as Ciudad Juárez which borders the US, keeping a low profile in the Spanish-speaking country.  Border Report tells the story.

Regional Politics 

• St. Kitts and Nevis has a new Prime Minister after a snap general election that was held three years early on August 5. The St Kitts Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) won six out of the 11 seats contested. Dr. Terrance Drew is the country’s fourth Prime Minister. The Jamaica Gleaner, teleSURE, and Barbados Today report.

Caribbean leadership

• Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies (The UWI), was elected to serve on the governing Council for the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU). Beckles’ appointment will be for three years. He was recently appointed by UNESCO to the Council of the United Nations University for a  six-year term. According to Caribbean News Global, “The ACU is the world’s first and oldest international university network, established in 1913 to provide a forum for universities to share information, knowledge, and ideas.” Caribbean News Global reports.
  
  

Emancipation

• On August 1 countries around the Caribbean celebrated Emancipation Day. In 1834 the British Empire announced the end of the enslavement of African people. Trinidad and Tobago was historically the first country to celebrate Emancipation Day, making it a public holiday. Its Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley, said people must remember the history and legacy African people had, both their accomplishments before slavery and the trauma they endured during and after slavery. He said people of African descent still wrestle with the violence of the past, behaviors that can be seen when young people engage in acts of spontaneous violence and children get ignored in the family. Loop Caribbean reports.
  
  
• Trinidad and Tobago has the first African Holocaust monument in the world. It is located at St. Clement Anglican Church on Manahambre Road in Ste. Madeleine. The African Holocaust Memorial Park was dedicated on July 20, 1997. Read more by The National Archives of Trinidad and Tobago’s Facebook page.
  
  
• Trinidadians gathered at the All Stars Panyard on Duke Street, the site of the Canboulay riots, to commemorate Emancipation Day. A special ceremony was held to be a spiritual reclamation of the Emancipation holiday, connecting with the ancestral practices of the enslaved Africans. CNC3 reports.
  
  
• St Lucia’s Prime Minister, Philip J. Pierre vows to keep Emancipation Day as a major national event meant to educate and celebrate the fight their ancestors went through to get freedom from the British. In the past, there were not many celebrations for Emancipation Day, but this year the country had a J’Ouvert and Freedom Concert to mark the day among its events. St Lucia Times reports.
  
  

Decolonization

• Ghana joins Caribbean countries such as Grenada, Jamaica, and Antigua and Barbuda in calling for reparations for European colonization. “It is time for Africa, 20 million of whose sons and daughters had their freedoms curtailed and sold into slavery, also to receive reparations,” President Akufo-Addo of Ghana said. The Voice reports.
  
  

Culture

• Trinidadian playwright, director, and drag king, Emily Aboud’s play Bogeyman will be shown at Pleasance Dome in Edinburgh from 3-29 August. It is inspired by the 1791 Haitian revolution, where enslaved Africans overthrew the French to free themselves. Set between 18th-century Haiti and modern-day London, Kate Wyver from The Guardian describes Bogeyman as exploring, “how many modern fears are steeped in the continuing legacies of racism and empire. The Guardian UK discusses.

Events

• The University of the West Indies Open Campus in St Vincent and the Grenadines in collaboration with ‘the Friends of Oscar Allen’ will host the ‘Oscar Allen Emancipation Memorial Lecture’ on 11 August at the UWI’s Open Campus from 6:30 pm. Mr. Dorbrene O’Marde, chairperson of the Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Committee and one of three vice-presidents of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, will deliver the lecture on the theme “Celebrate Freedom Repair the Damage”. For more information please email svg@open.uwi.edu or uwisvg@gmail.com.

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