Newly crowned Digicel T&T Pro League champions, Central FC and Couva neighbours, DirecTV W Connection have been drawn apart for the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championship semifinals carded for the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva, May 22.

Previously it was stated that both T&T clubs would meet in one semifinal while Haiti’s Don Bosco and Jamaica’s Montego Bay Sports would face off in the other for a place in the final from 6 pm on May 24.

However, in a confirmed release on the CFU Web site it was stated that Central FC will clash with Don Bosco in the opening semifinal from 6pm followed by W Connection, CFU  winners in 2001, 2001 and 2009 and four-time finalists against Montego Bay with the quartet cashing the three CFU representatives to the 2015/2016 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League

The three-year-old Central FC club, making its debut in the 14-team tournament advanced to the semifinals after it won Group One played at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence with wins over Suriname’s Inter Moengotapoe (2-0) and host club, Alpha United (3-1) while W Connection was more emphatic in reaching the last-four as it crushed Guyana Defence Force 7-1 and followed up with a 7-2 bashing of Antigua and Barbuda’s SAP FC in Group Two at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva.

Jamaica’s Waterhouse FC was expected to be the fourth club in Group Two, but withdrew at the last minute due to financial issues.

Montego Bay, was also impressive in Group Three beating Club Sportif Moulien of Guadeloupe, 1-0; Haiti’s America FC, 2-1; and Suriname’s SV Excelsior, 3-0.

And in Group Four, Don Bosco hammered Bahamas’ Lyford Cay FC 10-0 and followed with a 5-1 beating of Virgin Islands’ Helenites Sporting Club and Unite Sainte Rose, 1-0.

The semifinal winners  will automatically qualify for the 2015/2016 Concacaf Champions League, which begins in August, while the third-place winners will secure the third and final Caribbean berth. 

CFU Club Championship Final round

Venue: Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva

May 22: Don Bosco (Haiti) winner Group 4 vs Central FC (T&T) winner Group I, 6 pm

Montego Bay Utd (Jamaica) winer Group 3 vs DirecTV W Connection (T&T) winner Group 2, 8 pm

May 24: Third place, 4 pm

Final, 6 pm

The T&T Volleyball Federation will host the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association Men’s Beach Tournament, a first round qualifying event to the NORCECA Continental Cup towards the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The three-day event to be played at the National Development Centre, Saith Park, Chaguanas, comes off from May 8 to 10, and will comprise 12 countries, represented by two men’s teams each.

The teams featuring will be Aruba, Barbados, Bahamas, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Suriname, Turks & Caicos, US Virgin Islands and host T&T which will be represented by recent ninth-place finishers in the 2015 NORCEC Beach Circuit Tour opener in Cayman Islands, in  Fabien Whitfield and Daneil Williams, and its B-team of Tevin Joseph and Josiah Eccles.

At the end of the double-elimination event, the top six ranked teams will be granted spots in a second round tournament of the NORCECA qualifiers pitted against the top six teams from the Eastern Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association inclusive of St Lucia, who won their qualifiers, Antigua & Barbuda, St Kitts/Nevis, Dominica, St Vincent and The Grenadines, and Dutch St Marteen.

For the tournament, each team will compete under a country versus country format in a best-of-three series with a “Golden Set” up to 15 points or a two-point advantage in case of a tied series.

Williams and Whitfield qualified to compete in Cayman Islands without dropping a match or set in the first phase of the T&TVF’s five qualifying tournaments and then emerged unbeaten in the second phase of qualifiers, four tournaments, between March/April to get the nod for the Pan American Games as well.

The run of nine straight competition wins equalled the feat set by women’s pair, Ayana Dyette and Nancy Joseph, achieved between last year and the opening tournament this season. 

Eccles and Joseph were runners-up in the local qualifiers to earn the other T&T team spot.

Teams

Participating countries for CAZOVA Men’s Rio Olympic qualifiers (May 8-10): 

Venue: National Development Centre, Saith Park, Chaguanas.

Aruba: Elmerlindo Robles De Medina, Dwayne Angela, Fransua Angela, Michaello Martilia

Barbados: Daran Gill, Sheldon Roach, Winston Gittens, Elwyn Oxley.

Bahamas: Renaldo Knowles, Mullet Petit, Princtanique Wilson, Byron Ferguson

Bonaire: Richison Frans, Farley Marcera, Percy Prudencia, Deebro Trinidad

Cayman Islands: Kirk Shervin Rankin, Richard Campbell, Olney Thompson, Phillippe Des Landes

Curacao: Derwin Colina, Quinten Anthony, Norandy Bonafasia, Kiran Ersilia

Guadeloupe: Arnouts Baptiste, Lavoye Cedric, Guillaume Coudevylle, Loic Couchy

Haiti: Senel Volvick Dupuy, Alexis Marco, Fritz-Emmanuel Mabou, Kempes Vilmot

Jamaica: Mark Lewis, Donovan Larry Richards, Ryck Mc Kenzie-Webb, Christopher Walters

Martinique: Lopes Jefferson, Lowinsky Edouard, Africa Freddy, Lienafa Derek

Suriname: Eurwin Daans, Roberto Joval, Keven Sporkslede, Furgil Ong A Fat

T&T: Fabien Whitfield, Daneil Williams, Tevin Joseph, Josiah Eccles

Turks & Caicos: Edner Cox, Darado Fulford, Jephte Moncher, Tanikko De Angels Clarke

USVI: Edward Peter Jr, Carlos Rosa, Gustavo Cintron, Bradley Riding-Connor

Baylay is by no means a forlorn hope for the eight-runner Maiden 3-y-o Stakes over ten furlongs of good ground Chester this afternoon when the prestigious three-day Cup fixture heralds this first week of May, exciting times.

Speaking of times, and their reliability, King’s Mimic landed this column a real 5/1 beaut at Beverley, Monday, and our decision to continually specialise with two-year-olds and all set-weight races is, yet again, paying off; after only eleven days we are back in the top ten of the Racing Post Naps Table with a decent profit.

The objective, as ever, is to win it for a record eighth time but it’s a long season and my focus has to be 100 per cent; not so easy but as the advert says, ‘you’re worth it!’

I’ve dedicated my racing life to readers of the daily columns, the satisfaction when such as King’s Mimic prevails is still immense; long may that be the case because, realistically, you simply can’t beat experience. Oh to do it all again and bring common sense into the equation far moreso.

Life is about here and now however and Baylay, trained by 78-year-old Barry Hills for Hamdan Al Maktoum, is certainly capable of going close and grabbing one of three places; by extensive process of elimination only four can be considered.

Twice-raced Baylay comes out similarly to Keble but John Gosden’s charge hasn’t raced beyond a mile and you can bet Dane O’Neill will be told to force the issue and sort out the wheat from the chaff.

Aidan O’Brien brings over superbly-bred, once-raced Sir Isaac Newton; he’ll probably win but never underestimate genius and can you imagine the furore if Mr Chester walks into the Chester winners’ enclosure?

An easy surface is a prime requisite for top-rated Duke Of Firenze in the Conditions Stakes over five furlongs; from the in-form yard of sprinting specialist Robert Cowell!

There’s been more than 25 millimetres of rainfall since Saturday which will change turf surfaces and so we’re looking at Captain Navarre in the Maiden Stakes over ten furlongs of Chelmsford polytrack for the daily patent third leg; what beats him will win. 

 Whether or not it is human error, negligence or simply forgetfulness, something is wrong with the way women are treated.

But in this case I am referring to Women in Sports, not in other spheres of life, and in particular for the purpose of those who wish to read further, women in football in T&T.

The fact, that since December 2, 2014, our national women’s team has not played a single match to this day, is not only unforgivable, but a possible sign of disengagement by those in authority, who if not for this team would have been as unpopular as their predecessors. Because let me explain for the infinite time to all Sports Administrators in all spheres of this country, that people are interested in the sportsmen and sportswomen and not in them. If they remain silent and do their work efficiently, they will have achieved and one day be recognised.

In the case of the women, the T&T Football Association stated that since the young ladies lost that game in December to Ecuador 0-1, there are no countries interested in playing our national team anymore. 

However, the women footballers are flatly denying that is true and instead believe that not enough effort was made by the TTFA to ensure that this could have occurred. It is difficult to believe that after such a successful run, that no team would be interested in playing this country ahead of the World Cup in Canada.

And if the TTFA were smart and given the apparent business success of the game in December, they would have found a way through connections to play a game in front of a still adoring crowd when the momentum was there for all to witness, instead to most, it appears as if they have turned their backs once again on women’s football. 

We all know the problems the team experienced in 2014 and when you listen to the captain Maylee Attin-Johnson talk from the heart again about the fact, that officials basically at one time told her, that the emphasis has to be on men’s football, because that is the flag bearer, you can imagine the passion and drive in our women when they heard this male dominated TTFA state these words.

However the situation at the moment that again has the TTFA and women’s football at loggerheads involves the Pan American Championships in Canada, where a men’s team was named some 10 days ago and names rightfully submitted to the T&T Olympic Committee. However no team was announced or published or released to the media on a women’s team for the same event with the same deadlines.

On i95.5fm, I sports on Thursday, we spoke with Maylee Attin-Johnson, who says she knows that a team is going, but no team has been announced to her or any of the players and it was just in line with that knowledge that Attin Johnson and Akhela  Mollon decided to call some players to practices. 

There is not even a coach as yet for the women’s team for these Championships, with apparently the TTFA in negotiations with Randy Waldrum. There is just too much uncertainly, and this breathes doubt and despair and can lead to more questions.

Why is there so much secrecy over the naming of a team , over the situation with a coach, it is this apparent unwillingness to be open and transparent that has affected the Football Association in the past and unless they fix this problem, quickly , they are heading down the same road.

As a follow up to all of this on Saturday on Isports, the President of the TTOC, Brian Lewis confirmed, that a team of ladies for the Pan American Championships had been received from the TTFA. So then, one is forced to question, why the need for all of this secrecy and this non-disclosure by the TTFA. Is it that Shaun Fuentes forgot to issue this information? Or was he told not to do so?

The Chaguanas Maestro Boys chalked up a second consecutive win in as many matches to sound an early warning to all 16 teams participating in in the 2015 Famous Grouse Scotch Whisky/Miller Lite Beer T&T All-Fours Federation Premier Champions All-Fours League.

Teams participating in the league are vying for a first prize of $200,000, the richest prize ever in the sport with a total purse of over $600,000 in prizes.

Coming up against hot favourites Barrackpore Jangos at Bamboo Restaurant & Bar, Maestro Boys overcame a sluggish start in the first half to record a close three bullseyes win, taking the match 61-58.

Princes Town Rambo 12, nine time national all-fours champions lost their first two matches against Tunapuna Street Walkers 60-61 and arch-rivals Princes Town D Boys 58-61 to record their worst start to any Championships.

Strong favourites for this year’s Championships, Basta Hall Black American Yankees showed their true class as they ran over Gasparillo Falcons 61-29 and and Forres Park D Bulls 61-52 to record impressive wins over their opponents.

All teams intersted in taking part in the National Championship Division  ( Lower Division)  are asked to contact the TTAFF Secretariat at 652-6875 0r 287-3076. for further information.

RESULTS OF THE FIRST TWO ROUNDS

Round 1

Barataria Barcelona defeated Fyzabad D Connection – 61-38

Chaguanas Maestro Boys defeated Barrackpore Jangos – 61-58

Tunapuna Street Walkers defeated Rambo 12 – 61-60

Couva Defiance defeated La Romaine Saints – 61-52

Churkoo Village CVS defeated Princes Town D Boys – 61-56

Basta Hall BA Yankees defeated Gasparillo Falcons – 61-29

Forres Park Bulls defeated Cedar Hill Points – 61-54

Round 2

Barrackpore Jangos defeated Barataria Barcelona – 61-48

Fyzabad D Connection defeated Couva Young Blood – 61-58

Chaguanas Maestro Boys defeated Tunapuna Street Walkers – 61-45

San Juan Bloodbath defeated La Romaine Saints – 61-59

Princes Town D Boys defeated Princes Town Rambo 12 – 61-58

Couva Defiance defeated Gasparillo Falcons – 61-46

Cedar Hill Points defeated Churkoo Village CVS - 61-46

Basta Hall BA Yankees defeated Forres Park Bulls – 61-52.

Co-captains Joelisa Cooper and Candice Guerrero will be hoping to lead T&T’s “Calypso netballers” to an opening series win when they come up against host England in the first match of their Tri-Series today.

The clash between the world ninth ranked T&T and third ranked England takes place at Sports Training Village, Bath, Somerset, England from 7.15pm (2.15pm TT time).

It will be the first international outing for the Wesley “Pepe” Gomes T&T women since they outclassed regional rival Barbados 53-46 to top the seven-team 14th edition of the International Netball Federation (INF) Americas Regional Qualifying Tournament to the INF Netball World Cup at SAIT Polytechnic, Alberta, Canada last August with a 6-0 record.

However, in their last two meetings with England, the T&T women were banished without a fight, 24-56 in the first match of a Tri-Series which also included South Africa in 2013, and last year, 24-70 in the group stages of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

However, speaking from the Hilton Hotel, Bath City where the team is based, coach Gomes said he was confident that his team would show great improvement in their upcoming matches.

“Playing England is always a hugh task, but I think we have closed the gap in terms of the margin of defeats we suffered in our recent meetings. We also have a stronger team here on tour with the inclusion of Candice Guerrero and Samantha Wallace, who i believe makes a big difference.”

“Since arriving we have held training sessions twice daily and now we are just looking forward to testing ourselves against England to gauge how far we have reach in terms of preparations for Australia,” said Gomes.

Both teams are using the matches as part of their preparations for the 14th Netball World Cup in Sydney Australia, from August 7-16 and will play two other matches on May 8 at Copper Box Arena, London, 5.30 pm (12.30 pm T&T time) and Sunday May 11, at Echo Arena, Liverpool, 7.15 pm (2.15 pm T&T time).

In addition to Cooper and Guerrero, other regular members of the team selected are Samantha Wallace, Kemba Duncan,  Rhonda John-Davis, Onella Jack, Kalifa Mc Collin, Afeisha Noel, Daystar Swift, and Kielle Connelly, the “Most Valuable Player” of the recently concluded Courts All Sectors Netball League.

England which will feature a squad that is missing some big names due to playing commitments in the ANZ Championships, jumped off their preparations for Australia with a tour of Jamaica earlier this year where they went under in the Tri-Serie, 2-1.

The Sunshine Girls, as Jamaica are known, won the first match, 56-47, but England rebounded for a 55-47 victory, before Jamaica won the third and deciding match 57-47.

For England captain Pamela Cookey, the series against T&T will be a historic one as she is set to receive her 100th cap.

The 30-year-old Surrey Storm goal attack is two games away from the milestone as she prepares for Wednesday's opener in Bath.

“It will mean so much to me after all the hard work I've put in,” she said.

“It's also a thank you to my family and friends, for the sacrifices they've made for me.”

The former Team Bath player who spent six months on the sidelines with an Achilles injury last season, causing her to miss last summer's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where England failed to win a medal will join a select group to have made 100 appearances for England, with Kendra Slawinski (128) the record holder.

England will also have a new coach on the bench as Anna Mayes has since left her post with former player Tracey Neville, the sister of former Manchester United stars, Gary and Phil Neville, replacing her on an interim basis.

Neville will lead the team for the first time in the forthcoming series—the final warm-up games before this summer's World Cup in Australia.

Following the conclusion of that series, the T&T women will then head to Belfast, Northern Ireland for the  Netball Europe Ranking Competition and Open Championship, May 14-17 where they come up against the host, Scotland, Wales, England and fellow guest team South Africa.

The quartet of Gibraltar (#34), Ireland (#28), Malta (#36) and Switzerland (#30) will compete in a rankings round-robin tournament.

The Calypso Netballers who won the world title in 1979 jointly with the Australia  and New Zealand will come up against the top two teams in the world, host Australia and New Zealand in Pool A as well as Caribbean rivals Barbados in round-robin play in Australia.

Pool B of the 2015 Championship features world third and fourth ranked teams, England and Jamaica as well as Scotland and Samoa, while Malawi, South Africa, Singapore and Sri Lanka comprise Pool C, and the quartet of Fiji, Wales, Uganda and Zambia make up Pool D with the matches carded for the 21,000 seat Allphones Arena (formerly known as the Sydney SuperDome and Acer Arena), Sydney Olympic Park. 

Fixtures

England tour

May 6: England v T&T, Sports Training Village, Bath, 7.15 pm

May 8: England v T&T, Copper Box Arena, London, 5.30 pm

May 11: England v T&T, Echo Arena, Liverpool, 7.15 pm

Netball Europe Ranking Competition and Open Championship fixtures 

May 14: Gibraltar vs Ireland

T&T vs England

Scotland vs South Africa

Wales vs Northern Ireland

Malta vs Switzerland

England vs South Africa

May 15: Gibraltar vs Malta

Northern Ireland vs Scotland

Wales vs T&T

Ireland vs Switzerland

England vs Scotland

Northern Ireland vs 

South Africa

May 16: Ireland vs Malta

Scotland vs T&T

England vs Wales

Switzerland vs Gibraltar

T&T vs Northern Ireland

South Africa vs Wales

May 17: South Africa vs T&T

Scotland vs Wales

Northern Ireland vs England

Legislation may soon come for T&T’s disabled community, thanks to international disability rights professionals who are aiding the policymaking process.

 John Wodatch is one of these professionals. He is a pioneering disability rights attorney who worked for the US Justice Department. Wodatch wrote the first federal disability rights regulations in the 1970s, and played an important role drafting the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and its implementing rules, noted the Washington Post. Since then, he has devoted his career to enforcing the landmark civil rights law to ensure that those with disabilities have equality in a wide range of settings, the Post reported.

Wodatch visited T&T recently to help advance legislative reforms to improve disability inclusion in T&T. He met President Anthony Carmona and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, and visited several institutions to discuss recommendations on improving services for the disabled.

Wodatch is the second disability rights activist to visit T&T in the past few months. In December 2014, world-renowned human rights lawyer and expert on disability rights, Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo, visited T&T in honour of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. McClain-Nhlapo, who co-ordinates Disability and Inclusive Development for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), met with institutions working with the disabled during her earlier T&T visit, making recommendations on ways forward.

In an interview with the T&T Guardian at the Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy in Port-of-Spain, John Wodatch outlined some of his own recommendations. 

Identify the issues

He believes there should first of all be a national consultation with members of the disabled community, to identify the issues, concerns and needs important to them.

“An interesting thing about people with disabilities is that an inch at a kerb can seem as big as a wall. Sometimes it can be frustrating for people with disabilities, and for the service providers too, because when they try to provide, if they get just one little thing wrong, it becomes of little or no help,” said Wodatch.

Wodatch has advised the Government to make haste and ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The convention has already been ratified by 154 countries across the globe. Wodatch said if the convention were ratified, it would get the ball rolling with legislation and implementation. 

Accessible buildings

He also recommended developing a building code to require all buildings to be built with accessibility to accommodate the disabled (and not just for those who are wheelchair-bound); accessible restrooms in restaurants or public facilities; and accessible public transportation—especially buses.

Another issue is communicating with people with sensory impairment. 

Wodatch would like to hear from blind people who use service dogs to aid in navigation: are they allowed into buildings with the dogs? Or is this a hassle for them?

“Since I got here, I have noticed there are some efforts being made to make buildings accessible to people with disabilities... The hotel I am staying in certainly has accessible features. I have seen some accessible parking spaces around town. I also see the difficulties of the existing environment in opening themselves up totally to people with disabilities,” he said.

Need to lobby for changes

Kerb cuts on city streets and wide, roomy wheelchair-accessible sidewalks may take a while to achieve, he said, but with enough agitation, it can be done.

“There are other things that aren’t going to be visible to me that I know are issues that we have in the US. Like: how do people who are hearing impaired, or blind, interact when they go to the grocery store? Who is helping them with their goods and services? Those are things you do not see. I won’t expect all those things to be addressed at once, or even overnight, here in T&T, because it took us quite some time to get those provisions for the disabled in the US.” 

Wodatch said he felt encouraged by the warm nature of T&T people.

“Can I just say that people here are much nicer than those in the US. You are a welcoming, polite society where people go out of their way to speak to you and be helpful. That will help in terms of people being much more willing to assist the disabled. They may not know how to do it, but they will be willing to do it, much more so than people in the US,” quipped Wodatch.

Paratransit services 

He said in a meeting with the Ministry of the People and Social Development, he learned it had teamed up with the Ministry of Education to develop paratransit services to cater to those with disabilities. He said it was steps like these that will begin to move things along.

“Implementation is always hard, and it’s a long process. My own personal philosophy is to set the goals very high, to say: this is a society where we want everybody to be able to do everything that everybody else does. But then to also be reasonable about it, and work steadily towards that goal,” Wodatch concluded.

The 19th European Film Festival in Port-of-Spain runs from May 6-19 and from May 13-19 in Tobago. 

T&T Guardian columnist, BC Pires, has been writing about film from an informed lay perspective since March 1988. 

He served on the first T&T Film Festival jury in 2009 and wrote the Jury’s Report. 

BC will pick a Film of the Day for every day of the festival. Preference will be given to films screening after normal working hours but other exceptional films will be noted, if deserved. Where the best film of the day is not the choice, that, too, will be noted. 

Today’s choice is:

My Father’s Bike (Piotr Trzaskalski/ 2012/ Poland/ Drama / 90 mins/ Polish with English subtitles / PG-13) 

TIME: 8.15 pm 

VENUE: MovieTowne, Port-of-Spain

Unusually for multi-generational relationship-driven cinema, the three lead characters in this strong Polish drama are all male, a feature which by itself makes the film worth investigating. The underachieving grandfather, whose wife’s desertion is the story’s lynchpin, has a difficult relationship with his very successful celebrity musician son, who himself has virtually no connection with his own teenaged son – to whom the grandfather is as close as the father is distant. 

From this setup, the filmmaker spins a well-paced, unassailable yarn (apart, possibly, from one plot development directly connected to the grandson). The cinefile or pedant might quibble, too, over the perhaps strained use of the bicycle as vehicle for depicting human relationships because the Italian, American and Chinese precedents (The Bicycle Thief, Breaking Away, Beijing Bicycle) that justify such usage do it better, but, on the whole, this is a warm, rewarding film saying a great deal worthwhile about the difficulties of relationships between fathers and sons.

•  Best of the rest: *A Gun in Each Hand, 11 am Best Film of the Day
•  Films start promptly at advertised times.
•  Starred films have been or will be picked as daily selections 

Schedule

Schedule for Week 1 of the European Film Festival, MovieTowne, PoS.  

MAY 6

11 am    A Gun in Each Hand (SP / 91 mins) 

1.15 pm    The French Minister  (FR / 113 mins)

3.30 pm    Gone too Far! (UK / 88 mins)

6 pm     Those Were the Days (NL / 90 mins)

8.15 pm      My Father’s Bike (POL / 94 mins)

MAY 7

11 am    Once Upon a Forest (FR / 78 mins)

1.15 pm     Age of Cannibals (GER / 89 mins)

3.30 pm    The Broken Circle Breakdown (BEL / 112 mins)

6 pm    ‘71 (UK / 90 mins)

8.15 pm    No Rest for the Wicked (SP / 114 mins)

MAY 8

11 am    Don’t Be Afraid (SP / 89 mins)

1.15 pm    High Performance (AUS / 100 mins)

3.30 pm    School of Babel (FR / 89 mins)

6 pm    The Hell of ‘63 (NL / 105 mins) 

8.15 pm       Colour of the Ocean (GER / 95 mins)

3.30 pm     Shaun the Sheep Movie (UK / 85 mins)

6 pm     The Poll Diaries (GER / 125 mins)

8.45 pm     On My Way (FR / 113 mins)

MAY 10 

11 am       Longwave (SWI / 85 mins)

1.15 pm       Snowflake, the White Gorilla (SP / 86 mins)

3.30 pm     Stations of the Cross (GER / 106 mins)

6 pm     Pride (UK / 117 mins)

8.30 pm     Soof (NL / 90 mins)

MAY 11

11 am       Six Days + A Haircut Story (EU, CYP / 22 mins, 75 mins)

1.15 pm    The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (SWE / 114 mins)

3.45 pm     No Rest for the Wicked (SP / 114 mins)

6.15 pm     Age of Cannibals (GER / 89 mins)

8.15 pm     The French Minister  (FR / 113 mins)

MAY 12

11 am     Once Upon a Forest (FR / 78 mins)

1.15 pm       Gone too Far! (UK / 88 mins)

3.30 pm     Those Were the Days (NL / 90 mins)

6.00 pm     My Father’s Bike (POL / 94 mins)

8.15 pm       A Gun in Each Hand (SP / 91 mins)

Somewhere this month you may hear a reference to Mental Health Month. Already, I’ve answered a few queries about whether there’s such an observance in T&T and how are “we” involved. 

May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the USA. And heartened by President Barack Obama’s statement, I posted his proclamation, which prompted questions. Then I noticed a few references to the May campaign as though it’s a local observance and became disquieted. 

I am all for education. My apprehension comes where I’m imagining some zealot rushing to declare a month of observances here where we’re so far behind, that we need to designate every month a mental health awareness month. 

And yes, I’m advocating change, but I’m petitioning for an holistic approach to mental health/wellness. We’ve done sufficient cosmetics and tokenism for the while with our half-hearted observances and much academic postulations on a topic here and there. We need more…better, actually. 

There is context to the US’s May month observations that goes back to over 100 years of investiture and investment by government, charities/non-profits, and the like, which I thought I’d share here to encourage our progress from the appropriate direction. 

Since 1949, the US has observed in Mental Health Awareness Month in May. Founded in 1909, Mental Health America (MHA) is the leading community-based non-profit that has been at the forefront of such observations. 

By the time a mental health week was declared, MHA had already participated in legislative changes, international congresses, and the effects/trauma of World War I, and had gone through a few name changes. As a result of MHA’s advocacy, the US’s National Mental Health Act (1946) was passed and America created its National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). NIMH is “the federal agency that conducts and supports research that seeks to understand, treat, and prevent mental illness,” (www.mentalhealthamerica.net/our-history). 

For me, while advocating for government’s leadership for better mental healthcare, when the leader of the free world makes such a bold plea he signals a hope that I carry deep inside. I cannot resist sharing. 

Obama’s statement says, “Despite how common it is to experience severe psychological distress, substance use problems, and mental illness, there is still considerable stigma associated with mental health treatment. This month, we must bring mental illness out of the shadows and encourage treatment for those who might benefit—it is our shared responsibility to recognise the signs of psychological and emotional distress and to support those in need.”  

He continued, “We must strive to remove the stigma around mental illness and its treatment, overcome fear and misunderstanding, and make sure all those dealing with a mental health issue know they are not alone. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness—taking action to help yourself is a sign of strength.” 

Then he called upon “citizens, government agencies, organisations, health care providers, and research institutions to raise mental health awareness and continue helping Americans live longer, healthier lives.” 

But Obama’s statement was set in motion more than a century ago and harks back to a piece of US history that I’ve only just come upon, when Clifford W Beers, a former psychiatric patient established Mental Health America. 

The history of MHA is the story of one person who turned a personal struggle with mental illness into a national movement and of the millions of others who came together to fulfill his vision. 

The story says, “During his stays in public and private institutions, Beers witnessed and was subjected to horrible abuse. From these experiences, Beers set into motion a reform movement. 

“Around the turn of the 20th Century, Beers, a graduate of Yale College and a Wall Street financier, suffered his first episode of bipolar disorder following the illness and death of his brother. In the throes of his illness, Beers attempted to take his own life by jumping out a third story window. Seriously injured but still alive, Beers ended up in public and private hospitals in Connecticut for the next three years.” 

Having witnessed the cruel and inhumane treatment people with mental illnesses received, he having been placed in a straightjacket for 21 consecutive nights, Beers, “used his experience and the abuse he witnessed to motivate him to act.” 

In 1908, he published his autobiography, A Mind That Found Itself, which “roused the nation to the plight of people with mental illnesses.” In 1909, “Beers, along with philosopher William James and psychiatrist Adolf Meyer, created the National Committee for Mental Hygiene, known today as Mental Health America.” 

That’s the historicity in which Mental Health Awareness Month finds its origin. It’s the kind of chronicle, which should inform the direction we take towards a comprehensive overview of mental health in T&T before we declare a month of anything. Just saying. 

• See: mentalhealthamerica.net/our-history. • Caroline C Ravello is a strategic communications professional and media practitioner with over 30 years of proficient experience. She has been living/thriving with mental health issues for over 35 years.

Over the next few days, Little Carib Theatre will be the home of JCS Entertainment’s Mahalia: A Gospel Musical. After two months of daily rehearsals, the cast of more than 20 singers, actors, dancers and musicians will take the stage to present this musical to the people of T&T.

For Director Raymond Choo Kong, the experience has been great fun. 

“I love it. I’m one of the luckiest directors around because I get to do this kind of work. Thank God for a person like creative director John Smith who has decided to commit his money and his artistic commitment to this kind of work. I think these young people are beginning to realise that they are lucky to have this opportunity,” Choo Kong said in a release. 

For actress Mandisa Granderson who will play the role of young Mahalia Jackson, the gospel legend herself has been an inspiration during her preparation for the part.

“I admire (Mahalia’s) commitment to singing gospel music exclusively and to living life according to the ideals espoused in her music. She believed in what she sang… She was a woman who knew what she wanted and would not be deterred...you have to admire that.”

Conrad Parris, who will step into the shoes of Dr Martin Luther King Jr shared the story on how he got involved. “I felt it would be a great honour—and challenge—to play Martin Luther King. He was quite the man, and I welcomed the opportunity to learn about and from his life.”

“I’ve been cautious about imitating him, as his voice and delivery of his famous speeches are quite distinct and well known. So I decided to read up on him to learn more about his motivations, so that I can relate more to what he said to the world. Some pictures and video did form part of the research, too.”

With book, lyrics and music by Tom Stolz, Mahalia: A Gospel Musical will be performed at the Little Carib Theatre from May 7 to 10. In this powerful and soul-reviving performance, JCS Entertainment will pay tribute to Jackson and celebrate her life, musical career and Gospel legacy.

MORE INFO

Mahalia: A Gospel Musical, May 7 to 10, The Little Carib Theatre, Woodbrook. For more information visit Feature Production page at www.jcsentertains.com or contact JCS Entertainment: 461-4033 or e-mail jcsentertains.tt@gmail.com.

“Your learning environment plays an extremely important role in your learning,” said Paula Lucie-Smith, as she described one of Alta’s 52 venues in 2012. Classroom space has been spread across communities for convenient access by students and volunteers. But these spaces create an environment that goes far beyond the physical mortar and brick or desks and chairs they occupy. Within the Alta classroom, tutors and students reclaim and restore dignity to learning during the two hours they spend together, twice a week.

Schools, church halls and community spaces have enabled Alta to reach thousands of adults by granting free access to classroom space in support of adults learning to read. Some of these venues have been faithful partners in Alta’s mission since the organisation began in 1992, so much so that students return to a venue after being absent for many years, as if returning home. In tribute to venues where Alta students find their place and forge meaningful bonds with our volunteers, this month Reading It’s Life profiles Alta’s class venues. Alta remains grateful that these class venues have made it possible for students to ‘Get in and Get through’ on the road to literacy.

Woodbrook Secondary School

Woodbrook Secondary School, located at French Street in Port-of-Spain, is considered to be the birthplace of the Adult Literacy Tutors Association of T&T (Alta). In 1990, as part of the International Literacy Year, the school hosted a volunteer adult literacy programme established by the government of T&T in conjunction with UNESCO. 

Paula Lucie-Smith was one of over 500 people who took part in the training. The programme ended abruptly in December 1990, but seeing the need for an adult literacy programme Paula Lucie-Smith continued to have classes at Woodbrook Secondary. She also continued to work tirelessly on forming a nationwide network of adult literacy tutors.

She founded Alta in October 1992 along with several strong willed and like-minded people. Together they developed a unique “all-volunteer” organisation dedicated to the nurturing of lifelong learning skills for adults. Training of new tutors began in 1993 and over the many years Alta has produced and constantly developed its own materials, books, and other resources relatable to our local culture.

Woodbrook Secondary School was the first venue to come on board with Alta, granting three classrooms to be used for classes after 4 pm. Lucie-Smith quickly became aware of how many students from all over Trinidad travelled long distances to attend these adult literacy classes. She also recounts those early days at Woodbrook Secondary when she would have to momentarily stop her lessons because of the sound of violins coming from the evening music classes being held next to the Alta classes.

Even though classes were shifted from place to place and Principals and staff changed, Alta was always generously granted the use of classrooms at the Woodbrook Secondary School. More than 20 years on and the school remains dedicated to accommodating Levels One to Three of Alta’s classes.

MORE INFO

Are you considering becoming a volunteer or are you interested in joining an Alta class? Alta invites you to our community Open Days in June. A schedule and details will be published. Call 624-2582/653-4656 for further details.

Volunteer, donate, sponsor a student. Like us on Facebook: Alta Trinidad. 

Pupils of Infant 1 class at the Gaines Normal AME Primary School learned how to effectively deal with emotional situations thanks to Zippy’s Friends, an interactive Digicel Foundation-sponsored Programme for children aged five to eight. 

A release from the Digicel Foundation said the little ones were extremely excited to take part in the session on April 30, taught by their class teacher Tricia David-Francis. 

After singing the theme song for Zippy’s Friends and putting on their Zippy’s friendship bracelets, the children participated in a classroom-led discussion on how to resolve various conflicts that they may experience on a daily basis. 

During the session the children were eager to volunteer for role play and became even more animated in the question-and answer-segment.

At the end of the class the children had a better understanding of how to deal with conflict, how to say sorry and how to be considerate to others and share. 

Zippy’s Friends encourages children to think for themselves and come up with their own solutions to problems. The Programme is taught at 56 primary schools and runs for a period of 24 weeks per school year.

The Zippy’s Friends Programme is endorsed by the Ministry of Education and is being implemented by the School Leadership Center of T&T. 

It’s Election Day in Britain—the most exciting in living memory because nobody knows which party (or rather, parties) will win. 

Like T&T, Britain has been governed by an unpopular coalition dominated by one party for five years. While the Trinidad government has been shambolic and scandal-ridden, the UK government has damaged social cohesion and endangered long-term economic growth by slashing budgets for social services, community outreach and welfare, reducing pay and benefits for teachers and health workers, tripling university fees for students and letting the one per cent and corporate tax avoiders get away with repugnant practices. We’ve seen nationwide riots and looting. One million people are so poor they use food banks.

Another coalition is the likely outcome and this time a Labour/ Scottish National Party (SNP) coalition is a viable alternative to the Conservative/Liberal Democrat power-sharing deal. 

Labour (a former left-wing party now occupying the centre ground, though still working for the poorer people in British society) and the SNP (a genuinely socialist party committed to the poorer people in Scottish society and a manifesto based on leaving the UK to achieve Scottish independence) would be a revolutionary moment in British politics. 

It would be my most favoured option. Anything that keeps out the Conservatives and the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) will be best for Britain.

Ukip is an anti-immigration party—they don’t want Eastern Europeans coming to Britain. They want the UK to reduce net immigration from 300,000 per year to 50,000. If you transposed that from the UK population to T&T it would be like T&T having an annual net immigration of 6,100 people and a party campaigning for that to be dropped to 1,040. 

As T&T has experienced a net loss in migration for most of the last half century it’s a moot point. In fact, T&T needs a party that actively encourages immigration. In reality, it’s just as hard to move to T&T to settle and work as it is to come to Britain, which is why people go there illegally.

Ukip also wants to stop freedom of movement for workers from within the European Union. That’s like scrapping the Caricom migrant workers system.

Ukip wants out of the EU altogether and has seduced not only the xenophobes amongst the white working class but also amongst black and ethnic minority communities. They have wooed some of the Caribbean community in Britain by favouring trade with the Commonwealth over our European neighbours.

Now, I’m all for Britain trading with the Caribbean, Africa, India, Australia et al, but given the history of Britain’s trade with its former colonies, are we really expected to believe it will be fair, mutually beneficial trade? 

Ukip’s black politicians clearly believe it. In the past few weeks I’ve interviewed Clive Morrison, who was born in Jamaica and moved to Britain in 1969; Winston McKenzie, who was born in Jamaica in 1956 and moved to Britain aged five; Neville Watson, born in London to Jamaican parents in the 1950s; Ace Nnorom, born in Cameroon to Nigerian parents who migrated to London in 2001 and Ukip’s head of policy Tim Aker (real name, Timür) whose father migrated from Turkey in 1970.

All of these Ukip migrant politicians want to stop other migrants coming to the UK. There’s even a Polish candidate standing for the party. As McKenzie put it, “Polish people are trying to make a life for themselves here, they don’t want to see any further influx of Poles!”

McKenzie certainly doesn’t want any more. Like the Brits who spat racist abuse at his parents, he’s now affording a similar welcome to others. He’d even send the Poles back and incentivise them to go. 

“Black people don’t have anything in common with Europeans,” he told me. So I pointed out that my half-sisters are half-Polish and half-Jamaican. But it was only met with more blind rhetoric.

Morrison thinks Poles get preferential treatment in housing, schools and the health service. He’s also worried that in black areas of London, black people are becoming the minority again.

Immigrants turning on other immigrants is a shameful thing—just like the extremes of tribal ethnic politics in Trinidadian society, the stupidity is astounding. 

“All the parties are racist to some extent,” Morrison told me.

Looking at the dearth of black and Asian MPs in the UK there is some truth to that. 

But will Britain ever have a black prime minister, I asked him?

“Maybe in another 50 years.”

Even that might be optimistic in truth. And what about an Indian or Chinese PM? It’s probably something most Brits have never even contemplated. And that says something about our society.

Has anybody in any society ever realistically imagined a transgender PM? Jowelle De Souza may not ever be PM but she’s blazing a trail in Trini politics. Researching this column, I discovered that Anna Grodzka, a transgender politician, is running for the presidency of Poland for the Green Party. Here in Britain we have had two elected transgender MPs. 

But the politics of equalities isn’t straightforward—one of those British transgender MPs is affiliated with Ukip. And De Souza said in an interview she would not use her position, if elected, to give the LGBT community more power in Trinidad.

We often assume that one person’s struggle means they support all worthy causes. Perhaps that’s naïve. The one consistent thing in modern politics is inconsistency.

Read a profile of UK Labour party leader Ed Miliband on B11. 

Firm Foundation Band (FFB) launched its second album on April 26, with a concert in the beautiful setting of Green Meadows in Santa Cruz.

Hundreds of people came out to listen to the young group perform its latest songs, along with other Christian favourites by the likes of Sean Daniel, Denyse Plummer, Mark Isaacs and Joshua Ali.

The band’s first album was launched in 2012. 

An up-and-coming gospel-Christian band, FFB was formed in 2003 by Kerwin Springer, who was 14 at the time. 

The band plays all genres of music and is committed to perfecting all aspects of its music, whether on bass, guitar, keyboard, drum or pan and saxophone, and ministering to youth in the nation. 

FFB has been performing across the land through the church. 

Pastor Winfield Springer, administrator of Firm Foundation Ministries, challenged and encouraged his children—Josiah, Kerwin and Nathan—to bring some vibrant music into the church by playing the instruments they mastered while growing up; and they did just that. 

From the age of five, he began teaching them the keyboard and guitar. 

The children were quick to learn to play the instruments and started teaching the other children in the neighbourhood, who eventually joined the band. 

Then, vocalists joined, and now there is a vibrant group of at least 12, ministering all over T&T at various events. 

FFB’s genre of music stretches over reggae, R&B and alternative, to soca, and many other mixtures in-between. 

For the band, the best is live music and this is why the members try to perform in as many places as possible, because, as Kerwin says, “we want the people to really feel the music and dance to it—like David did in the Bible. 

“We hope to touch the hearts and souls of all the youth in Trinidad and Tobago, in order to get them to understand that living a righteous life is the only way to true and eventual happiness.” 

THE MEMBERS

1 Kerwin Springer—bandleader, keyboardist, vocalist, and main song and music composer 

2 Troy Williams—drummer 

3 Nathan Springer—guitarist and vocalist 

4 Josiah Springer—bassist, guitarist and vocalist 

5 Jessi Charles—drummer, keyboardist, guitarist, pannist and vocalist 

6 Rachel Rivers—vocalist 

7 Stacee Lewis—vocalist 

8 Latonya Springer—vocalist 

9 Nakasa Thatcher—vocalist 

10 Christopher St Louis—keyboardist/drummer 

11 Samuel Rivers—vocalist/ drummer/saxophonist 

12 Brian Jaggernauth—keyboardist

The Rotary Club of San Juan, in collaboration with the blink | bmobile Foundation, hosted a Day of Motivation, Stimulation and Fun for 75 children with autism on Saturday. The day, filled with activities, was held at the grounds of the Autism Society of T&T (ASTT) at Ragoo Road, D’Abadie in observance of World Autism Awareness Day which was April 2. 

The day included organised games for the children, as well as face painting, blowing bubbles and playing on a bouncy castle and trampoline. The children also had fun interacting with the animals at a petting zoo provided by the Emperor Valley Zoo Outreach Programme. Some of the animals in attendance were Chutney, the military macaw; Mustard, the albino Burmese python; red-footed tortoises; two rabbits; and, Patches, the ocelot. 

The children were presented with materials sponsored by the foundation which will be used by the ASTT to stimulate and engage the minds of the children during therapy sessions held at the society. These materials included board games, puzzles, drawing books, colouring books, colouring pens and pencils. The children were also provided with lunch, snacks and drinks throughout the day.

Michelle Ramnath, President of Rotary Club of San Juan, explained why his organisation decided to host the fun day for the children. He said: “Our club wanted to do something different this year so we came to spend a day with the children so we could interact with them and get to understand them better. This way we can help others to also understand autism.” 

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a range of complex neurodevelopment disorders, characterised by social impairments, communication difficulties, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behaviour. Although ASD varies significantly in character and severity, it occurs in all ethnic and socioeconomic groups and affects every age group. 

Camille Campbell, Chief Marketing Officer (Ag) at blink | bmobile congratulated the Rotary Club of San Juan and ASTT for the opportunity to be a part of a beautiful day spent with the children and said, “it is important to recognise that persons with autism have enormous potential but need particular kinds of support to help them fulfill that potential. We want to encourage others to give support and bring greater attention to the areas of need that will help people with autism to lead more productive and fulfilling lives.” Campbell continued: “The children are really awesome. It was great seeing them out today having fun. The ASTT can certainly count on our continued support in the future.” 

ASTT General Manager Nicole Alves thanked the Rotary Club and the blink | bmobile Foundation for the stimulating and fun-filled day organised for the children. She said: “The society is a support group for persons with autism and their parents. The UN released statistics just this month that said one per cent of every population has autism. Locally that’s 13,000 persons. ASTT serves over 600 families. That means here in Trinidad and Tobago an estimated 12,400 people may not have been identified as being autistic nor have come forward to receive assistance. That’s’ alarming.” 

The theme for this year’s observance of World Autism Awareness Day is ‘Employment: The Autism Advantage’.

It is estimated that more than 80 per cent of adults with autism are unemployed but research suggests that employers are missing out on abilities that people on the autism spectrum have in greater abundance such as heightened abilities in pattern recognition and logical reasoning, as well as a greater attention to detail. 

Alves expanded: “This year the UN asked that we focus specifically on employment opportunities for adults with autism. The state has to put things in place to help not just children with autism, but adults with autism as well. This includes employment. 

As they graduate out of the school programmes, there aren’t adequate provisions at organizations to cater to adults with autism. They need certain types of alterations in their work schedule such as a shorter work day or more breaks in between.” 

Alves explained that putting things in place to assist adults with autism goes beyond providing them with jobs. She said: “We are also concerned about the lack of housing options for persons with autism. For instance one of the boys here, Javan who is 25, is now a ward of the state living at the St Ann’s Mental Hospital because his mother just died. The St Ann’s Hospital is not necessarily the most conducive environment for him but this is the reality that many parents face.” 

Alves shared that ASTT had written to the Housing Development Corporation and received provisional approval to build five houses on a parcel of land next to the ASTT. However Alves explained that additional assistance was needed from the state. She said: “Once we get those houses, we will also need help from the Ministries of Health and People and Social Development to provide round the clock social care, to provide a social worker attached to the home, a house manager and of course to provide therapies to the residents who will live there. All of these are things which should have been provided by the government.” 

Defending champions Belmont Girls and Boys RC primary schools have won the Primary School Latin, Ballroom and Group Line Dance Competition for the second consecutive year.

The talented students, recently put on a riveting show and displayed their fancy footwork in front of scores of fellow students, parents, principals and teachers, who came out to the Woodbrook Youth Facility, Port-of-Spain, to support the event, which was hosted by Nostalgia Promotions with support from the blink | bmobile Foundation. 

In addition to winning the title, students of the two schools who joined together to compete, copped the lion’s share of awards, including the Most Outstanding Dance Teacher Award, which went to dance instructor Alana Doyle. Doyle has been involved in the competition from its inception. 

TSTT’s acting chief marketing officer, Camille Campbell, said the blink | bmobile Foundation is proud to be a part-sponsor of the fourth annual competition which continues to growth from strength to strength.

“Studies have shown that dance is a powerful ally for developing a child as it builds confidence, encourages discipline, camaraderie and respect for others. It also inspires friendly competition and encourages them to realise their full potential outside of academics,” she said. 

“This is what the foundation is all about. It aims to create opportunities for the development of young people and communities in Trinidad and Tobago. It is very focused on youth and youth development. If we want a better nation, we must start at the youth level because they are the future. The foundation recognises the need to support and encourage them to be all that they can be.” 

Over the past weeks, interested students from 12 primary schools have participated in dance tuition workshops conducted on their school compounds. And, at the final dance-off, over 160 students graduated and received their Certificate of Participation. Some of the dance disciplines included waltz, merengue, heel and toe, soca, group line dance and universal electric slide. The competition was approved by the Ministry of Education and was themed, A Healthy Mind, Body and Lifestyle. 

Nostalgia Promotions director Charles Morris was in high praise of blink | bmobile for its generosity and commitment, not only to the event, but to the country’s young people. 

He said: “This competition caters to students from schools throughout Port-of-Spain and environs and was conceptualised in 2011 with just four or five primary schools taking part.

“Today, we have 12 schools and a cadre of certified, professional dance instructors, who worked assiduously with the students. This would not have been possible without sponsors like blink | bmobile who came on board to assist us from the very start. I’m really happy that they have seen our vision and believed in our potential.” 

Morris continued: “Events like these really help with a child’s health and fitness development. Like any other sport, it helps them in the short, medium and long term and makes them better individuals.” 

Myrtle George, Level Four teacher at the Wharton-Patrick School, agrees. She said her students, who placed ninth overall, were elated to participate in the competition and dedicated their entire Easter vacation to learn their dance moves. The St Ann’s-based school also copped the Special Award—for its “Dedication and Commitment to Dance.” 

George added: “This is a school which teaches special students and to see the smiles on their faces, it was a real joy. The competition was very important to them. They gave up their holidays to attend the dance classes every week to prepare them for today. 

“We really need more events like this, at least three times for the year. Every day they came by the school to talk about the competition. If they didn’t see me at school, they were asking their parents to call ‘Miss’ to see when the next practice is.” 

Level-four pupil of the Wharton-Patrick School, Latonya Andrews, was all smiles after her team’s performance of the Cupid Shuffle. “We practised morning and evening. It was good. I felt nervous but I felt happy,” said 13-year-old Andrews. 

She added: “I like to dance but it was my first time dancing in front of a crowd. I think children who like dance should continue dancing because it will make them a better dancer.” 

Another highlight of the event was the Professional and Amateur Category which was won by Patna/River Estate Government Primary. This year’s competition also saw the introduction of the School Teachers Dance Category which also went to Belmont Girls and Boys RC Primary. The loud cheers and applause from the students proved that a good time was had by all.

The ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Jeroen de Graaf and his wife Saskia Zwartjes hosted a cocktail reception at Mary Street, St Clair, on April 28, to celebrate King’s Day, the birthday of His Majesty, King Willem-Alexander.

The birthday of King Willem-Alexander was celebrated on April 27 in the Netherlands.

However, since the High Commission of South Africa celebrated their Freedom Day on the said day, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands opted to collaborate and host their event one day later.

An important aspect of King’s Day celebrations (and a wish of The King) according to the ambassador, is “connecting people.”

King’s Day, Ambassador de Graaf told guests at the reception, is celebrated through and through the Kingdom—from the Netherlands in Europe to the countries within The Kingdom in the Caribbean region. 

For the countries in the Dutch Caribbean, almost neighbouring countries to Trinidad and Tobago, he said, the Netherlands not only stresses the need for regional co-operation in a general perspective but more and more in a practical manner, especially on combatting drugs, money laundering, human trafficking and so on.

It would also focus on the importance of formal co-operation such as the ratification of the San Jose Treaty.

Chief Justice Ivor Archie, Transport Minister Stephen Cadiz and Commander of the T&T Coast Guard Hayden Pritchard were among guests.

This is another open letter to the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance—especially the people of the Treasury Division.

Thank you. Thank you for the speed and alacrity with which you were able to remove the clogs, the snags and the inefficiencies in “the process” that were causing such delays that resulted in some pensioners having to endure years of suffering waiting to get their superannuation payments.

Within days, just days, of my letter of protest I received my gratuity and 14 months of arrears of pension!

Well done! Your efficiency and caring have created hope for so many other pensioners. Responsiveness is one of the greatest hallmark and attribute of excellent leadership. You have responded well. Thanks again.

There is one other troubling and distressing situation relating to the payment of arrears accumulated due to the 14 per cent salary settlement. Checks with the Ministry of Education have revealed that calculation of these monies is being done first for people who are actively working. I am trying to understand this decision derived by reasoning turned on its head.

I am aware that the greatest power possessed by a worker to force the hand of the employer is his option to withdraw his labour. Pensioners obviously are now dispossessed of that power.

Social justice demands that decision making should not always be based on the balance of power.

Consider:

(1) pensioners are now struggling to survive on half or, in most cases less than half of what was their already inadequate previous income;

(2) people who worked up to 2014 were existing while toiling for at least 14 per cent less than what their labours were worth.

Putting senior citizens last diminishes their humanity and reduces to second-class citizenship productive people who have spent most of their lives contributing to the building of this nation.

Old people should not be sent to the back of the line. TTUTA should find the above thoughts arousing.

Please address this injustice.

Gabriel Solomon,

Retired teacher

All previous governments, along with the private sector, have paid lip service to diversifying the economy away from oil and natural gas, except one, the administration of George Chambers. 

In the mid-eighties, the Chambers administration embarked on a Meet the Manufacturers tour. The goals were these: import substitution; extra-regional exports; and diversification. 

Import substitution was needed to save foreign exchange by manufacturing locally, goods we imported. Extra-regional exports (outside Caricom) were required to earn foreign exchange and create more jobs in the process; diversification was needed to replace oil and natural gas as our only real means of earning foreign exchange as they both are considered wasting assets. In other words they have shelf lives. 

The idea was to protect new start-up industries from competition for a specified period, either through increased tariffs on like imports or not granting licenses to import the said products. This would have given local manufacturers breathing room to achieve the quality and the economies of scale comparative to their foreign competitors. 

Now that Moody’s has identified lack of diversification as one of the reasons for downgrading our credit rating, the diversification bogeyman is back in play—30 years later.

Gerard Johnson