…It is worth remembering, then, that in 1767, Henri Christophe of the Haitian Revolu- tion was born on the Sans Souci estate of Grenada, from where he was taken to Haiti as a slave. That Fedon, who led the Fedon’s Rebellion in 1795 in Grenada, inspired by the same events that inspired the Haitian Revolution, evaded the British military, and according to popular memory is said to have escaped to Cuba. And that early meetings towards a ‘One Caribbean Revolution’ took place in 1970 in St Lucia, or that Grenada’s New Jewel Movement held one of its first meetings in Martinique in 1972. Or that the US invasion of Grenada was rehearsed in Vieques, Puerto Rico. And that the fall of the Grenada Revolution shaped Suriname’s rightward turn, and probably played a part in Nicaragua’s moving to hold elections in 1984.
— Shalini Puri “Introduction: Legacies Left” Inverventions: International Journal of Post Colonial Studies Vol 12(1)
writing my own ticket
Lately I have been feeling like I just want to be working with my hands….creatively, in collaboration with others, in community development efforts….that is not however, what my time is really being taken up with…it is all about this academia right now. Luckily I am working with a topic and methods that I am excited about and that connect me directly with the communities I want to work with.
But since the program I am in is less than engaging…I am just seeing this thesis as writing my own ticket. This is my pass back to being able to use my time in the ways that I want. To use my time to help incubate the powerful, creative energies in Grenada and the broader region towards efforts of empowerment, self-sustainability and laughter. Check out www.3rdward.com and www.urbanartbeat.org for models that reflect some of what I want to set up in Grenada.
…ok time to stop procrastinating and wishing I didn’t just have to sit here and grind out this research proposal…back to work.
