MetaFilter posts tagged with guyana

"We didn't commit suicide. We committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of an inhumane world."

Alvy Ampersand — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:42:07 -0800

31 years ago today, 918 people died in the Jonestown Mass Murder-Suicide. One week later, CBC Radio aired this comprehensive examination[MP3] of the events leading up the tragedy, including cult leader Jim Jones' rise to power, the founding of the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project in Guyana, and the ill-fated investigative delegation headed by Congressman Leo Ryan which precipitated the tragic event.

Send a Bulllet

Stu-Pendous — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:45:37 -0800

Due to “credible death and kidnapping threats”, T-Pain has cancelled a concert in Guyana for Mashramani, the festival that marks the anniversary of Guyana’s independence from Great Britain. Last years, celebration was soured by a killing spree perpetrated by a heavily armed gang led by man known as “Fine Man”. Because the 23 victims were mainly of East Indian descent, the massacre was a powder keg issue for the tiny South American nation. With a population of 44% East Indian and 30% African ancestries, Guyana tends to be socially and politically divided along ethnic identity lines. What initiated the February 2008 rampage was the fact that “Fine Man’s” (Rondell Rawlins) 18 year-old pregnant girlfriend went missing. The gang leader accused the Ethnic East-Indian controlled government of kidnapping her; employing secret, yet sanctioned vigilante squads to do so. Allegedly linked to the then Guyanese Minister of Home Affairs, these ‘Phantom Death Squads’ have been responsible for the murders of suspected criminals and escaped convicts since 2002. Such squads have also been linked to a prominent Guyanese businessman who may have motives of his own when it comes to his involvement with them. “Fine Man” was killed in a police raid last September. His girlfriend has yet to be found.

We gotta love you, leave you miles behind / But if you wanna talk a walk then come into the garden with me / Jimmie Jones...

scody — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:40:13 -0800

From Silver Lake to Suicide: One Family's Secret History of the Jonestown Massacre.

Meta Documentary

chuckdarwin — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 06:26:58 -0800

BBC's Lost Land of the Jaguar puts Guyana's unspoilt rainforest into sharp focus. The real stars of the three-part series are huge spiders, a harpy eagle, an (enormous) anaconda, a black caiman, a giant anteater, giant river otters, a sabre-toothed characin, one of the world's highest waterfalls and the elusive jaguar itself.

Businengue

pwedza — Sat, 26 Aug 2006 21:16:44 -0800

The Bushi-Nenge of French Guiana and Surinam (Bush Negroes or Maroons) are a unique, and little-known group of peoples (Boni or Aluku, Saramaca, Ndyuka) who escaped from Dutch plantations in the early 1700's, who battled for independence which was recognized through various treaties -- notably by the Treaty of Albina which France and the Netherlands signed in 1860 (I can't find any info on the net), and who still live an African-type life largely based around the Maroni River between French Guiana and Suriname, as citizens of either one country or the other. Their language is Sranan Tongo (a mixture of African Languages, English, Dutch, Portuguese and Hebrew -- also known as Taki-Taki -- click for a listen). Historical and scholarly works are scarce, but they exist (In English but mostly in Dutch or French). Some pictures of typical houses. Symbolic Woodwork. More art. Images of the people of French Guyana. Images of various canoes in French Guiana. More photos of the Maroni River. Amazonie Francaise.