#SHAMELESSLYCARIBBEAN: A Reflection and Tribute
It is hard for me to write this. It is hard because I have to articulate grief. A grief I have not exactly overcome. Perhaps writing this piece will provide a sense of closure. With that said, this piece will serve as a eulogy, a tribute.
Next month, on December 21st, will be the 2nd year anniversary of #ShamelesslyCaribbean. To some it is just a simple hashtag, with no name and face attached but to Vivi and me it was our baby.
Vivi (@loveritsv) and I launched the hashtag as a way to make ‘Caribbean Twitter’ a thing. You have Black Twitter, but let’s face it, it is often American centred and we found that being two West Indian girls from Toronto, our Afro-Caribbean Canadian experience was often obscured. We often relied on each other to affirm our experiences when our mutual followers were mostly non Canadian. With the help of a mutual follower #ShamelesslyCaribbean was born — and we were ready to set it off!
That night #ShamelesslyCaribbean was launched, Vivi and I were hyped and anxious. We had never done something like this before and as such we were freaking out in our direct messages.
“What the f*ck did we just do?!” Vera asked.
Obviously something great.
#ShamelesslyCaribbean was a space that was clearly necessary. It was amazing how our experiences living within and outside the Caribbean were similar. We got political, cultural, spiritual and comical. It was a big session where folks gathered to remember and unite. Our mentions were an actual party. The hashtag went on for days; we were all enthused about it. It even trended in some cities in the US and the Caribbean. If there wasn’t a Caribbean twitter then, it was certainly there after the hashtag.
From time to time, I usually peruse the hashtag, and I often see it being used with no acknowledgement of the originators, at times I ignored it but now I want to reclaim it for Vivi.
Vivi and I were extremely close on the TL. We went from being followers to friends. Though I never had the opportunity to actually meet her, her persona made you feel like she was your homegirl from time. Vivi’s spirited personality was absolutely infectious. Her humour dry, witty and snarky, she was always ready to tell a person about themselves with effortless execution.
It was Vivi’s “get em” attitude that really made the hashtag take off the way it did.
And all of the sudden, she disappeared from our TLs. Folks assumed she probably took a hiatus. When July (her birthday month) came and there were still no tweets from her, I searched her name on Google. It was then I learned about her untimely passing in October 2014. I never met her but I mourned her as if I did.
I would be lying to you, if I said I cared about #ShamelesslyCaribbean after that. My girl was gone and in a way, she took #ShamelesslyCaribbean with her.
I thought long and hard about doing a revival. I was saddened and shocked about her passing and I was completely devoid of courage to do it the way Vivi did. I needed her not only for the revival, but her friendship.
I have not accepted her being gone and I am not sure if I ever will.
We still follow each other, and I check her TL to see if she tweeted, but her last tweet in July 2014 remains: praising a follower on his Caribbeanness and impeccable cooking skills.
That was Vivi for you, always ready to pay you a sincere, genuine compliment, always there to affirm and uplift you. Vivi was that pinnacle of Caribbean sisterhood that is usually hard to find in the diaspora.
Prior to her passing, we did discuss doing a part 2, and I was excited as we gained a healthy following of Caribbean folks. I was excited to relive that night. I can’t say I feel as excited now as I did then.
So here we are, in 2015, as I informally eulogise someone I have not met, paying an overdue tribute to the Bajan ‘bad gyal’ herself. #ShamelesslyCaribbean has developed a new life of it’s own but it does not belong to anyone but Vivi and I.
It was started by a Bajan-Jamaican duo living in Canada. It was our baby and I do not want Vivi’s greatness getting lost in that.
When I see #ShamelesslyCaribbean, I see Vivi and Vivi only. I am incredibly privileged to had done this with her. She is the embodiment of the hashtag and because of that, she lives on and I’m glad it has been revived in the form of Calabash to unite us all once again.
There is no other way to live but shamelessly and that is what you have done and that is what I and those who love you will continue to do.
Here’s to the most ‘shameless gyal’ I have ever had the honour of knowing even though it was for a terribly short time.
