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28 May / 2022Program by:

Audible Weed Walk – Ep.82 “Celebrating the spirit of the Girmitiyas, our African cousins”

Celebrating the spirit of the Girmitiyas, our African cousins – and the trans-continental weedy exchanges  : May is a very special month to relate to our diaspora in Fiji, in the Carrebbieans, and our cousins in Africa. To me 5th of May was simply a festive day Cinco de Mayo celebrating Mexican-American culture in the USA. But I got to learn that 5th May marks the Indian Survival Day in Guyana, in Martinique island the day is remembered on 6 May, in Jamaica on the 10th of May. They all remember the journey, the plight, and the survival of the indentured laborers who were transported primarily from Calcutta and some from the Madras port. In Fiji they are known as Girmitiyas – a distortion from the word “agreement”; the labor who came with the agreement but had never agreed to the inhuman conditions they were subjected to. But it is also a story of grit, of survival, or rising. May has another special day, 25th May being celebrated as Africa Day, and this year the theme  is Nutrition. True – our story of food is shaped by these journeys, by these continents. In this episode I share the story and suggest a meal you can make that celebrates the food in Africa, South America and the Carrebbeans. The ingredients, right around our back yard – traveled and naturalized over centuries now. Try them and with that celebrate our links. I would love to hear from you. Write to me at edibleweedwalk@gmail.com

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