Presently, there is a phenomenon of glorification of what we call the “pretty boy” in the Caribbean. In the not so distant past the term “saga boy” was bestowed on the man who was able to woo all the women he came into contact with. This man was known to be the ruggedly handsome with overly masculine traits. He was a product of the traditional hyper-masculine culture of being a man’s man in the Caribbean. 

However, times have changed and now we see an overwhelming number of young men sporting earrings and fancy haircuts. Some may dye their hair bright colours or pierce some part of their faces. They may be quite fashion-conscious and can be seen at times at the spa getting a manicure. This is the contemporary man or, as it is officially dubbed, the “metrosexual” man. 

We see men behave this way now and we tend to accept it, which was not the case about three decades ago. 

Some, too, would say that Caribbean men are getting “soft” because of the growing tolerance of homosexuality in the region, a tolerance that was initiated by the north, more so North America and Europe. So what has introduced this image-changing phenomenon to the Caribbean? Also, why is it that young men who seek to adopt this lifestyle themselves are labelled “gays”?

Globalisation could certainly be the culprit here as what the Third World learns about fashion trends is gleaned from the media images dominated by the global north. Hollywood superstars of music and film decide what is deemed hot and trendy in clothing lines and body images. 

Through globalisation these fads are transmitted straight through our television screens as well as tablets, laptops, etc, which themselves are also by-products of the same globalisation. 

For a long time the Caribbean people have shunned any act deemed “gay”; any showing of feminine traits whether it be opening up emotionally or even walking with a swing instantly labels you a “batty boy”. Yet, today there seems to be less instances of this overt reaction and more tolerance. Why is that? 

This issue in general is essentially a war between cultures. The old culture of what is known to be a Caribbean man vis-à-vis the new culture of the contemporary man. People may hear their fathers or grandfathers condemning young men who engage in these fads as “hens” without even knowing them personally. Yet, we see boys entering adolescence already yearning to have their ear pierced. 

Usually, these boys want to be perceived as a “in style.” We live in a culture that now says “badman does rock earring,” and is partly a result of the initial understanding of what masculinity is in the region being redefined by the genesis of the “new” man deriving from the global north’s imposed standards. 

Most young men are becoming bolder with these fads by maintaining long hair, piercing their nipples and even wearing make-up. For sure, it can cause funny faces of people at the mall but it would not likely incite a verbal berating. 

There are men who are sometimes puzzled when they are called gay because as far as they know, they are “metro.” 

This phenomenon is now a defining norm in our contemporary Caribbean and we should accordingly become more sensitised to it. 

Aaron Koon Koon

It is with great concern that I am writing on the issue of migration and its global effects on Third World nations. Migration patterns occur mostly with professionals migrating from developing countries to developed ones. While this can be beneficial to developed or First World countries, this worldwide phenomenon is attracting attention globally, due to its negative impact on developing countries. 

Why do people migrate? The main answer is simply for a better standard of living. There are also numerous other reasons why people tend to migrate such as for better job opportunities. Third World nations rarely offer qualified or skilled individuals employment due to lack resources and technology. 

For example, there are people who have been educated at local educational institutions and are qualified with degrees and higher levels of education, but are unable to acquire jobs in many fields. Some also opt to attain their education in First World countries as it is seen as “better” and of a “higher standard” than if done locally. Some choose to return home, others do not. Another factor encouraging migration is the lure of higher salaries, since the currencies of developing countries are of a lessor value to those of the First World, and in most instances they are depreciating in value. 

There is also the inaccessibility of advanced technology in Third World nations. This affects the quality of life for those who reside there. One major sector that is affected is health. There is a lack of proper medical equipment to perform major surgeries and medication to prescribe for life threatening diseases. Even today many major surgeries cannot be done locally and must be done abroad. The health sector also suffers when medical personnel migrate. This is a classic example of “brain drain.” 

Another factor that contributes to migration is instability of political conditions and lack of good governance of the Third World. This can be seen by the challenges faced by Caribbean countries in curbing high crime and murder rates. Citizens who are affected by these instances flee the country while encouraging others to do so. Lack of proper infrastructure such as proper roads, buildings, transportation and basic necessities such as water and electricity are still prominent issues. 

Due to the above mentioned issues, most developing countries encounter migration and a brain drain. It affects their economies resulting in less production of quality goods and services, less expansion and growth in industries as well as in technology. 

Globalisation and its effects have left less developed countries heavily dependent on First World nations.

What we need to do to turn this around is encourage professionals to stay in their home countries for the betterment of it by offering incentives to stay. Better education, jobs, working conditions, security and benefits are a great start. Better infrastructure as well as tools and equipment, good governance, good transport are also needed. What are those in authority doing about this? Seems we have a long way to go.

N Mohammed

Kevin Baldeosingh

Two months short of his first birthday, my son Kyle is saying his first two words: “car” and “bang.” I hope they’re not a harbinger of things to come.

Meanwhile, his sister Jinaki, who is two years older, hardly ever stops talking. As a father and a writer, I don’t ever get bored with her conversation, though. Even if the content is not in itself gripping, I am fascinated at how language develops in small children. For instance, this week she was reminding me of something she did the previous night and said: “Daddy, you know when I was wearing my necklace yesternight...” I didn’t bother to correct her, not only because the “a day is 24 hours” is too complex a concept for a nearly-three-year-old, but because I was impressed with the logicality of her inference. 

Similarly, when we were talking about her cousin Kaleyn as we left home one morning, I said that Kaelyn was a sleepyhead who stays in bed late but Jinaki wasn’t since she wakes up early: to which my daughter said, “I am a wakey-head.”

Chatting to her isn’t a deliberate policy on my part, but the research does suggest that how parents talk to their children may make a significant different to their academic abilities. In surveys done in the United States, parents with higher socioeconomic status (SES) spoke an average of 2,000 words every hours with their children, as compared to lower-SES parents who spoke about 1,300.

More important, though, was how the parents spoke. 

“The working class parent talks less to the child, and more of what is said is in the form of demands that would not likely stimulate the child’s intellectual curiosity,” notes psychologist Richard E Nesbitt in his book Intelligence and How to Get It. 

And, whereas higher-SES include children in conversations, working-class parents are more likely to say “Shut up nah boy, is big people talking here.”

The higher-SES parents also made six encouraging comments for every reprimand they gave the child, whereas among the lower-SES the ratio was two encouragements for every one-reprimand. I suspect that, in T&T, that lower-SES ratio might hold for our higher-SES cohort and, among the working-class in hotspot communities, the encourage-reprimand ratio might actually be reversed. 

In the Childrearing Practices in the Caribbean report, edited by UWI lecturer Carol Logie and child development expert Jaipaul L Roopnarine, the authors note: “Caregivers in Indo and Mixed-Ethnic parentage families engaged in higher level of positive behaviours, rule setting and material rewarding than those in African Caribbean families...African and Mixed-Ethnic caregivers used harsher disciplinary practices than Indo Caribbean caregivers.”

Of course, there are many other factors which explain why the children of higher-SES parents do better in school than lower-SES children. But one interesting finding emerged from an American study: the children of talkative lower-SES parents had better outcomes than the children of taciturn high-SES parents.

In other words, helping lower-SES parents with words may help their children overcome some of the disadvantages that come with poverty. And what could be simpler than this advice: Talk with your child but don’t talk at them.

This is an open letter to the Cemex-led management of TCL, Claxton Bay operations, to let them know it is not acceptable to break small commitments as long as you keep the big ones. 

Six retired TCL Exempt Staff (Non-Unionised Staff) are collectively pursuing the matter of overdue salary considerations for two negotiating periods from 2009-2014. 

Since December 2014 all other employees, retired and current staff, have been paid back pay for the same periods. 

While it was heartening to read of TCL’s improved financial results (an indication of the company’s ability to deliver results to all its stakeholders) it is however very disheartening for retired TCL employees who continue to not be paid long outstanding back salaries and allowances. 

For almost two years the retired Exempt Staff has been continually assured verbally that payments will be honoured in the subsequent month. 

To date, as each month passes, we continue to be disappointed by the non-committal and dismissive attitude to any of our approaches. There has been no formal communication or acknowledgment by the company to emails, letters and phone calls sent by this “Exempt” group on the issue. 

As Exempt Staff at TCL, we all worked closely to the then TCL management team, some of whom have been dismissed by the new Cemex team. 

Exempt employees are trusted with highly-confidential information, more responsibilities and are sometimes required to work longer hours without overtime pay. 

It must be noted that at each round of settled negotiations the custom and practice was a similar adjustment to our compensation packages so as to maintain the differentials. 

We have served the company well in achieving outstanding performance over the years and as such we are merely requesting what is ours.

To the Cemex-led TCL management team: you have proudly boasted that you stand committed to integrity beyond compliance and everything you do rests on this foundation. 

We implore you to behave consistently with your words and please honour your long-outstanding commitments to all your stakeholders in a timely manner. 

TCL Exempt Staff 

Retired

Missing from the formula given by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to achieve the historical objective of diversification of the T&T economy is the requirement for an injection of an inventive and aggressive local entrepreneurship into the industrial, manufacturing and business environment here. 

The IMF’s statement advocates structural adjustment of the economy to make it open and encouraging to investors; it requires that government bureaucracy be eliminated or minimised to encourage investors; and that there be a curtailment of make-work social programmes to allow labour to be available to investors and the general business community. 

These are measures which are merely facilitative of investment and assume a range of capacities which does not exist in the local business community here. The prescriptions of the fund, therefore, are directed at T&T attracting foreign direct investment (fdi) with its long-developed entrepreneurship insight, technological capacity, and established markets for export production.

Notwithstanding the importance of the facilitative measures for local and foreign investment, it is the spirit of risk-taking, adventurism, insight into creating potentially competitive products for the international market, and the drive to conquer markets which are the far more vital requirements for diversification in T&T. And those characteristics need to be spawned here in our environment.

Of course, that does not mean turning our backs on fdi. Given the limited local capital, technological base and the complicated and very challenging access (through free-trade agreements) to large external markets, foreign investment and investors will always play a significant role in export production.

But the reality is that notwithstanding the hundreds of billions invested here and large volume of products exported to markets in the USA and Europe over a couple hundred years, the T&T economy remains limited and vulnerable to every shift in international economic vagaries. Moreover, economic production of the kind that has been engaged here has been and continues to be based on the economic and financial agendas of external corporations: and it cannot be expected to be otherwise.

No better example of this than the present decision of ArcelorMittal to leave T&T. The company says that international and local market conditions have turned against the continuing production of iron and steel at Point Lisas. And who can blame a company that has its shareholders interests to pursue rather than a T&T national interest.

It took passion and vision for the great inventors and entrepreneurs of the world to “dream dreams,” science and technology to create products for export, and gumption for entrepreneurs to have the toughness to turn those dreams to reality. In the instance of the Newly Industrial Countries of Asia, it was the spirit of inventiveness, entrepreneurship and a disciplined culture which lifted those countries out of old colonial relationships. In many instances, there was bondage and brutality in the colonial relationships, as in the instance of Japan over South Korea.

Critical to the triumph in those Asian countries was a culture of belief in self and the willingness and disposition to acquire dynamic and productive work habits. And this latter point can only take hold if the right productive industrial environment is negotiated into existence. It must be one which, as last week’s column advocated, produces understanding and equity amongst the industrial partners.

I repeat: It cannot be that only those who put ideas and financial capital into the enterprise will reap the great benefits, while those who make those ideas and projects come into existence are made to exist on subsistence salaries and wages, and are made to feel like expendable appendages to the enterprise.

In such an environment, a new more co-operative and participative trade union movement must arise; if not, employees will surge ahead of their unions. Such employees will confine unions to obsolescence while they enter into new and productive partnerships with the corporations in which they have a vested interest.

The generation of business and commercial entrepreneurs evolved here naturally out of the colonial relationship of Mercantilism. Local businesses, many of them family organised companies developed from their links with the merchants who traded and produced during the period of slavery and indentureship and during the period of Crown Colony government.

The local companies focused naturally not on developing local products for export but rather on becoming agents for the producers of goods and services in the Metropole. Over the last few decades the likes of Ansa McAL, Matouks, Neal and Massy (now Massy) have evolved and have achieved some measure of success in establishing export operations.

What we have not done as a nation is to take on deliberately, strategically and perceptively the challenge of nurturing and nourishing entrepreneurship. Yes, there have emerged a few bold and creative investors who have done it through instinct and necessity. But at the institutional level we have continued to produce job seekers and workers with technical skills who can fit into a business organisation and a narrow range of industrial plants.

Following on logically from such a conclusion is the need to transform our education system to produce thinkers, inventors, scientists, entrepreneurs who will see possibilities in our arts, our physical and social environments, in the capacities and potential value of our entertainers and what they have created.

We have to see and appreciate the value in our writers, intellectuals, sportsmen and women, painters, dancers and creative artists from Cazabon to Clarke, to Tony Williams to Machel.

To be continued. 

Kevin Baldeosingh

According to the Bible, Jesus once fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. And it seems that trade union leaders and other leftists think that the economy works in the same miraculous way.

Since the closure of the ArcelorMittal steel plant two weeks ago, a particular narrative has been spun about the company’s previous success: that steel magnate Laskhmi Mittal, who took over the loss-making Iron & Steel Company of T&T (Iscott) in 1989, was able to turn around the firm in just one year only because he got concessions on gas, water, electricity, telephone and port rates from the Government. 

This is so obviously foolish an argument that it shouldn’t even need rebuttal. After all, Iscott was completely state-owned and losing the country about $300 million every year. If paying gas and electricity bills was the problem, the Government could have offered Iscott the same deal it gave Mittal. Even more ridiculous is the claim that Mittal became one of the world’s richest men because of the Trinidad steel plant, as though he was the master who gave his slave five talents who traded them and made five more.

Nonetheless, history does not stop the National Trade Union Centre (Natuc) from spouting colonial-era rhetoric, such as: “No multinational comes to a country for the love of the country. Greed, profits and draining the country of all of their resources, without giving back to the country, has been the experience in the Caribbean, Latin America, South America and Africa.”

But isn’t this like the labourers who complained to the vineyard owner about being paid the same wages as other labourers who had not worked in the hot sun, whereupon the landowner asked were they envious because he was generous? MNCs generally pay better and have better working conditions than companies in the poor countries these corporations invest in. Even the women who are often held up as poster girls of exploitation usually prefer to work in MNCs than turn to other options which are far more debilitating or oppressive, such as farm work or prostitution. Not that such facts intrude on the jeremiads spouted by local anti-capitalists who, like the lilies of the field, toil not although they surely do spin.

Natuc argues that “if the company is managed in a specific manner, it can be profitable.” And what will make it profitable? Not things like technical expertise in steel production and industry management, profit-determined wage rates, market demand and so on. No, the financial success of the steel plant, Natuc says, will rest on Trinbagonians’ “creativity, innovativeness, resilience and patriotism”. Because trade unionists want workers to be like the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet the Heavenly Father feeds them.

The economics ignorance of trade unionists could be readily dismissed, except that their demands strike a political chord which makes it even harder to extricate the country from its fiscal morass. And this becomes even more worrisome when prominent economists appear to be bolstering such ignorance through curious policy recommendations.

In an interview with Clevon Raphael in last week’s Sunday Guardian, for example, UWI economist Roger Hosein said: “If the Minister of Trade is announcing a Buy Local campaign and if we relate that argument to the agricultural sector, but yet at the same time we are deploying important parts of the labour force in make-work programmes that sector would not be able to rise to the campaign call because there are constraints for labour.”

Now, while I do not believe that fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, I do not consider myself a fool who despises wisdom and instruction. So it may be that I am misunderstanding Dr Hosein. Yet, as far as my limited knowledge of economics goes, the agricultural sector cannot be both a significant employer of labour and economically viable. Unless it is mechanised, local agricultural produce will be produced at prohibitively high prices, to the disadvantage of consumers. 

Even more worrisome is a comment made by Terrence Farrell, head of the government’s Economic Advisory Board, who in an interview with Andy Johnson in the Sunday Express suggested that, in order to get people to buy local, a price mechanism would be more effective than a public relations campaign. “It must be a policy decision that would make imported goods more prohibitive than locally produced options,” said Dr Farrell. And, while I agree that the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, economic theory as well as our own history tells us that protectionism simply does not work. All the data say that small countries can become prosperous only through open markets and by the government staying out of any commercial enterprise which is better run by the private sector. 

Unfortunately, this fundamental economics lesson hasn’t been learned even after a half-century of supposed self-governance. For what was sown among thorn, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word: and it yields nothing.

Kevin Baldeosingh is a professional writer, author of three novels, and co-author of a history textbook.

On Tuesday coming, exactly 40 years ago to the day, our Republican Constitution received its assent from the then governor-general, Sir Ellis Clarke.

That ushered in a Constitution that was a cosmetic alteration from what existed before insofar as there was little departure from the British traditions that have laid at the foundation of our system of government.

The philosophical essence of our constitutional arrangements was best captured in a speech made by Dr Eric Williams at a public meeting on July 19, 1955, in Woodford Square, Port-of-Spain, before he had entered electoral politics in which he said:

"The Colonial Office does not need to examine its second hand colonial constitutions. It has a constitution at hand which it can apply immediately to Trinidad and Tobago. That is the British Constitution. Ladies and Gentlemen, I suggest to you that the time has come when the British Constitution, suitably modified, can be applied to Trinidad and Tobago. After all, if the British Constitution is good enough for Great Britain, it should be good enough for Trinidad and Tobago." (Eric Williams, Constitution Reform in Trinidad and Tobago, Public Affairs Pamphlet No 2, Teachers' Educational and Cultural Association, Trinidad, 1955, p 30).

What we must understand here is that Williams’ advocacy of the British Constitution in a suitably modified format was his way of saying that the British constitutional formula was one that we could adopt as our own because we did not have an indigenous system of government. 

Indeed, his entire stewardship as chief minister, premier and prime minister of T&T represented a defence of the British Constitution suitably modified and when the greatest opportunity of all presented itself for constitution reform in 1971 when his People’s National Movement (PNM) won all of the seats in the general election, he adopted the approach of engaging in a further suitable modification of the existing constitution which was already a suitably modified version of the British Constitution.

Williams’ manner of thinking, when contrasted with a speech by his colleague premier in Jamaica Norman Manley that was made in the Jamaican House of Representatives in January 1962, reveals the following: 

“Let us not make the mistake of describing as colonial, institutions which are part and parcel of the heritage of this country. If we have any confidence in our own individuality and our own personality we would absorb these things and incorporate them into our being and turn them to our own use as part of the heritage we are not ashamed of.” (Norman Manley, Proceedings of the Jamaican House of Representatives 1961-62, January 24, 1962, p 766).

Norman Manley was not speaking about importing the British Constitution and converting it into local usage in the way that Williams had advocated, but rather he was urging that the existing institutions of the colonial era, that evolved as part of Jamaica’s development, should not be regarded as colonial, but rather as indigenous.

These institutions were installed as part of the colonial evolution. Yet, Norman Manley was describing it as a “mistake” to regard these institutions as being “colonial”. He preferred to bless them as being part of the “heritage” of Jamaica.

The primary reason for my juxtaposition of these two views as expressed by two leaders who were part of the independence movement more than 50 years ago will help us to understand the difficulties being experienced today with the prospect of constitution reform.

Are we reforming constitutions that have been imported into our societies or constitutions that are indigenous to our societies? For Williams, the argument was that if it was good enough for Great Britain, it would be good enough for T&T. For Manley, it was not colonial, but rather part of the heritage of Jamaica. Somehow, they both seemed to be talking about the same thing.

The only difference was that one argument advocated that what we have belongs to us by evolution and the other argument is that what we have belongs to us by importation.

The fundamental underlying question to be asked in both cases is whether there was widespread involvement of the population in the formulation of these constitutions or whether this was an arrangement that suited local political elites as opposed to the local populations themselves.

In that context, the argument to be settled by constitutional reformers would be to find an answer to why would we want to change something that could be regarded as ours by evolution or that has been adapted to our needs after importation? 

Is it that we are wedded to the Westminster-Whitehall model of governance and any alteration may only get as far as the creation of a hybrid by importing features that are alien to our heritage of the British Constitution suitably modified or our evolved colonial institutions that are supposedly part of our heritage?

In 1976, our constitution framers chose to endorse the evolution argument by continuing along a path that had a history that is linked directly to its British traditions whose change will always be resisted.

Ryan Hadeed

Oh how the time flies. It seems like only yesterday we were in the midst of Christmas, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. And now, only four months later, here we are on Easter Sunday, the culmination of Holy Week that encompasses his death and resurrection. If there’s one positive thing about being a cosmopolitan society, it’s the abundance of religious holidays. Regardless of whether you subscribe to the supernatural mumbo jumbo that’s involved, a day off is something we can all look forward to. But while we in T&T are enjoying an exceptionally long weekend, for the worldwide Christian community this day embodies a central tenant of their faith. Just as it marks the start of the liturgical year, the promise of life after death holds the chance for new beginnings. It’s an opportunity to remind ourselves that it’s never too late to start afresh and do what’s needed to overcome the mistakes that we’ve made.

When compared to its December counterpart, Easter tends to fare a lot better when it comes to maintaining observance amongst the faithful. The ‘Man from Nazareth’ doesn’t have to share the season with a sleigh-riding fat man who dispenses gifts, and a chocolate-egg-bearing bunny can hardly be considered a worthy rival. Putting the comparison aside, I must admit to having a certain preference for Easter. As a student of classical history and archaeology, it’s an occasion where the academic and spiritual aspects of my life come together. Along with offering up extra prayers, I enrich myself with documentaries and journal articles on a multitude of topics relating to the event; from ‘Roman foreign policy in Judea’, ‘crucifixion methodology’, to ‘the true face of the Messiah’.

While the narrative focuses primarily on the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus, I find my attention drawn to the actions of his disciples Peter and Judas. If one were to ignore the before-mentioned religious and supernatural themes, their individual roles bring a profoundly human element that is easily relatable to by the common man. If we put ourselves in Christ’s shoes, we are confronted with the worst forms of betrayal from those who are supposed to serve our best interests.

Peter, who was ordained as the ‘Rock of the Church’, trice denies his association with Jesus out of fear for his own life. However, he goes on to become the most vocal of the apostles; serving as the bishop of Rome and recognised by Catholics as the first pope. Following his own ‘unique’ crucifixion, he was bestowed the sanctified honour of stewardship over heaven’s gate. Judas, who was fated to deliver his rabbi into the hands of the enemy, remains one of history’s most infamous characters, and his name has become synonymous with traitors. So vilified is he that the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, in his 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy, places Judas in the lowest level of hell where he is eternally tortured by Lucifer himself.

Yet, despite their contrasting destinies, the Christian emphasis on ‘turning the other cheek’ means that both men, despite the nature of their crimes, deserve to be forgiven. The gospels tell us that they were remorseful for what they had done, with Judas’ guilt being so extreme that, according to the Book of Matthew, he committed suicide. Their examples should encourage us to entertain the vice versa notion that there can be no forgiveness without a show of humility, and no humility without knowing forgiveness awaits.

It would appear that now more than ever, our nation is beset by self-righteous leaders who lack any measure of contrition. Whether they be teachers berating their students, politicians who engage in nepotism, or religious authorities who are disconnected from their parishioners. Their failures are disappointing to say the least, and deeply wound the faith that we place in their ability to execute the duties entrusted to them. For once, I would like any one of them caught ‘in flagrante delicto’ (Latin: in blazing offence) to apologise—to say, “I’m sorry.” It by no means absolves them. But in order to restore the public’s confidence, they must abandon the practice of spewing golden-tongued speeches filled with falsities and misdirection. Holding on to bitterness accomplishes nothing. And I sincerely believe that Trinbagonians, in keeping with our easy-going nature, are more willing to choose clemency over condemnation. No one is perfect, and it’s futile to throw stones when we are all living in the same glass house.

The Bible teaches that Jesus, even after enduring mental and physical anguish from his captors, asked that they be forgiven. But while they knew ‘not what they did’, our leaders can’t claim the same ignorance for their wrongdoing. For any reconciliation to occur—yes, they must first take responsibility, but then we need to be magnanimous as well. Forgiveness and humility cannot exist without each other, and in these uncertain times we can all use a bit of both. Happy Easter T&T, and may you be blessed and kept safe.

H E Fernando Schmidt

Ambassador of Chile
​

Periods of economic slowdown can also provide opportunities for a country. First, there is no doubt that crises do not last indefinitely. In addition, it is the role of the authorities to overcome difficulties creatively and with determination. Finally, not all countries are affected by the period of adjustment in the same way; several Latin American nations, for example, are still experiencing sustained growth.

Is this not the time to shift our attention towards our region? Is it not the time for T&T to look towards Latin America, and to do so strategically? Why not use this period of crisis to negotiate outstanding trade instruments so that we can be ready when the new cycle of growth comes? Why not break away from the agenda that focuses on few issues and products by looking at successful public policies in Latin America and the Caribbean that can now serve to reform the State and diversify the trade matrix? Is it possible having a limited knowledge about Latin American countries when they represent 62 per cent of current LNG exports? Have investment opportunities in Latin America been properly explored so as to bring them to T&T through a strategy designed for that purpose? Has the time not come for dynamic Caribbean entrepreneurs to set their eyes on our region and put aside largely imagined "language barrier?" Have we thought of how to make this country become part of the integration movement in the area of electric power which is ongoing in countries in South America?

We ask ourselves these questions daily because we would like integration to become more than a word used in speeches, but rather an actual system of networks that link this country to a continent located just about ten kilometres away.

At the Embassy of Chile in T&T, we are taking all the steps to unite our distant countries so that they engage with each other. We are working on starting negotiations on a partial scope agreement and an agreement on air services. In addition, we have begun or are poised to promote dialogue among our technical institutions in diverse fields such as digital government, intellectual property, statistical services, co-operation agencies, transparency, etc. We have also increased the number of scholarships, courses, seminars, workshops and volunteer initiatives so as to work together and create networks. Last year, 12 courses were offered. This year, we have already completed four and we are only in the first quarter.

If we combine this effort with offers by other Latin American and Caribbean embassies in Port-of-Spain, we are going to create a significant educational and training opportunity in developing these links which, sadly, have not been fully explored.

Latin American or Spanish-speaking embassies accredited to Port-of-Spain represent more than half of the local diplomatic corps. In other words, there are few countries in our hemisphere which are not represented in T&T. This is an invaluable tool that we must use in order to design the reciprocal strategy required in these times.

Latin Americans have not had a cohesive and collective spirit for action in T&T. We have often been victims of our own pressing concerns or interests, or our vision has been self-serving, or even we have been discouraged by the lack of response to our offers or proposals. In fact, we have lacked unity. This is precisely why we are committed, together with Spain, to the screening of our films at the next Bocas Lit Festival. It is important that this year as we celebrate 400 years of the death of Cervantes and Shakespeare–icons of world literature—we can appreciate with an open mind the opportunities for dialogue and tremendous creativity that come from our languages and our countries.

Through various mechanisms, Latin American countries are creating tools for integration. Some of these mechanisms seek to integrate ourselves in global markets, as in the case of Mercosur with the EU, or some countries of the Pacific Alliance with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Similarly, we have created mechanisms for political dialogue with countries or groups of countries which are influential in world decision-making. Therefore, although the Association of Caribbean States, ECLAC or the OAS have done commendable work in their fields, I believe that this political dialogue between T&T and Latin America is more critical than ever, and that current economic circumstances must not be an excuse but rather an incentive to look to us in a way that will be long-term, strategic and not simply circumstantial.

What does globalisation mean for the Caribbean? Though globalisation is inevitable, it has its advantages and disadvantages. For the Caribbean, I believe the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. 

This multifaceted region that many foreigners visit because of its lovely beaches and warm people, is a victim of bullying (by the Global North). I view globalisation as a weapon used by the Global North (American/Europe) to subliminally enforce their culture on ours. Firstly, for example in T&T, we are seeing the trend of Halloween parties, Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday sales. If my memory serves me correct, there was never an affinity for these things in the Caribbean—particularly in T&T. Sooner or later these activities will spread throughout the Caribbean. 

Secondly, most of our television channels are of the Global North and help to perpetuate their music, fashion and ideas. Children who are growing up have an affinity for things of the Global North than the Caribbean. Recently, I heard a little boy speaking in an American accent. When I asked the parents why he spoke like that, without concern they said it was the Disney channel shows he watched. As time progresses the Caribbean is quickly changing. We, as Caribbean people, need to be cognisant of what is happening around us before it is too late.

Zane Johnson

Arima

Most citizens are horrified at the unrelenting and seemingly escalating spate of murders engulfing the land. Though being neither sociologists nor psychiatrists, some speculate whether this could be a possible case of bottled-up rage being channelled through extreme violence. And if so, what’s the underlying cause(s). 

It is clear that "… society's cultural control system has disintegrated.” The country is peopled with some individuals who are unconcerned about social norms and values and are easily given to rage. They are dismissive of society and harbour anger towards those whom they consider “the better-off.” They seem unhappy with everyone and everything. Moreover, wherever they find an outlet and opportunity to exhibit violence, they demonstrate it in the most daringly outrageous and obscenely inhuman manner. Sadly too, they care little about their own lives, less so about the lives of others.

Why are so many on the edge these days? Is this pent-up fury possible reaction against what they perceive to be an unfair system? To what extent rising social and economic inequities contribute to a negative state of mind among those unable to taste a slice of “the good life" enjoyed by the privileged minority? Let it be understood that, in posing these questions, the intent is not to rationalise or romanticise deviant social behaviour but rather to seek understanding and explanations underlying behaviours which so fundamentally violate social norms and warrant disapproval of the majority of society. And on this basis to guide meaningful corrective action!

There is sufficient evidence to indicate that a significant proportion of our youth are unemployed because they don't have the qualifications to be absorbed in today's market system. Additionally, many do not or cannot take up employment because they are too maladjusted to work in any organisation; there are those who just do not know how to work! The foregoing may instance failures in the education system. Current economic circumstances are likely to make matters worse, heightening the urgency for wise, informed interventions based on societal consensus, much beyond the traditional law and order approach.

There are other considerations as well. The absence of positive role models in our society, particularly male role models, could also be a contributing factor. Further socio-political observations suggest that, increasingly, the criminal justice system fails to serve as effective deterrence to crime and criminal behaviour. Not only do many perpetrators of gratuitous violence get away. In a situation of rampant corruption, the movers and shakers and political entrepreneurs in society continue to prosper with apparent impunity. Possible banner advertisement for “crime does pay”!

As a people, we must decide that we want differently. In this regard, we need to persist with informed citizen action and vigilance, applying appropriate pressure for instituting participatory governance as a basis for prudent, evidence-based, consensual interventions to resolve the twin dilemmas of possible economic and societal disintegration. 

Winston R Rudder

Petit Valley

It is not adequate to say that our nation today is in a ‘crisis’, a term made all too popular in recent times by many a social commentator. It is without a doubt that there has been a strong narrative of progressive degeneration, however, it was made only more visible given the shattering—as I like to call it—of the oil veil, the resource that kept the politicians, since our birth as a nation in 1962, in a relative bubble. With its popping and the all-round decline in economic conditions, money can no longer be thrown at issues as was the tradition in past times as the nightmare of facing them head on becomes a reality.

Current issues such as ineffective crime policy, the dependency and victim mentality it creates from specialised treatment to certain areas, underachievement and violence in schools, and dysfunctional economic policies that continue dependency and unbalanced growth rather than stable development, is uncovered. Central to this is Vision 2020, a model, project and deadline that has become part of the problem not the solution. 

Aside from not meeting most of the measures outlined, it relies on ignoring a vast amount of areas that sees the economic given emphasis over the social and profit over people. This development path: goals, initiatives and means, are taken directly from developed nations and applied in a hard and fast context to our realities. That mass consumption societies, high rise buildings and multimillion-dollar infrastructures represent the be all-end all in societal perfection. But just why does development entail such a narrow scope? Why must the societal ideal resemble the conditions of our former colonisers? Why does this vision resemble an American reality and consciousness only for a Trinbagonian landscape? Why are alternative paths often ignored or even considered in the development project?

It is not that this vision as problem in itself but because it paraded as an ‘ultimate destiny’, that any criticism or move away from this framework means one is irrational or impractical. That in our bid to adopt a development pattern that was created in a particular time, place and certain conditions mean we actively ignore our own reality, history and consciousness. 

The hard and fast means by which it is employed in policy and initiatives usually accounts for it resounding failure for any meaningful ‘development’ to take place. That failing crime, education and economic policy is only further exacerbated by a faulty understanding that leads to irrelevant solutions. 

A lack of historical understanding of the ‘weight of history’, to know that the problems we face today are not recent but come from the larger colonial legacy that sixty something years of independence has yet to address. Until we understand that this scheme is not neutral and objective but authored by a particular group, which given our history and current conditions does not permit at least to the degree aspired, a viable goal. 

That though we should take note of certain concepts, the wholesale adoption of strategies is to our own detriment. That our development plans should be at the intersection of social, economic, cultural and historical variables rooted in out local consciousness and not some foreign one should be the true goal.

Regretfully however, because of the ignorance and indifference of our history (colonialism merely viewed as a ‘period’ in time) and the conditioning and desensitising of Western media that sees us adopt norms, values and behaviours that give credence to this single ‘Vision’, the myth from a distant society continues to limit, distort and blind us to any meaningful alternatives, all the while we march on unquestioningly in hopes of gaining First World status while engulfed in Third world problems.

ROMON ATWELL

Student, Sociology Major 

AMERY BROWNE

Several years ago I met a Parliamentary colleague from Nicaragua whilst attending a conference in Turkey. Besides having a unique sense of style complete with straw hat and wayfarer sunglasses, this gentleman was lacking several fingers on his left hand. 

It turns out that in his youth he had been a combatant in the Nicaraguan Revolution and had subsequently been a decorated soldier leading Sandinista troops into battle against the Contra rebels. 

At the age of 18 years his hand had been shattered in a fierce gun battle in the rainforest; fighting, as he describes it, for his country and against inequality and poverty. Today he remains a leftist and is proud of his patriotism and military service, but with tens of thousands of his countrymen slain and an economy and society that remain deeply wounded to this day he surely must pause and consider in his quiet moments...was it really worth it?   

My conversations with our regional comrade led me to think of the stark reality back here in T&T. We also have teenagers engaged in violent struggle, getting shot on a daily basis, losing limbs, screaming in agony in emergency rooms and leaving bloodstains on pavements, on hospital trolleys and in car trunks. Like the youth of Central America our young men are being supplied with weapons and encouraged to kill. But instead of the steamy rainforest they have been taking and losing lives in streets, drains, houses and business places across this land.    

If we accept that the Nicaraguan bloodshed occurred on a geopolitical chessboard with knobs being pushed by the USA and the Soviet Union, we might do well to pause and consider whether we have done enough here at home to define the shadowy interests that might be benefiting and yes profiting from the sacrifice of those that are treated like pawns.     

As a nation we coolly report our life expectancy to international organisations whilst carefully avoiding this stark reality: for young men in too many of our communities it is less issue of life expectancy and more a case of death expectancy. One can’t help but wax a bit philosophical: if a pawn awakes to the reality that he is being played as a pawn, on the basis of that awakening has he ceased to be a pawn? 

When you add an inconsolable mother to a crying orphan, and you multiply by the number of dying communities, and you subtract the total from the value of a lost soul, what are you really left with my friends...and is it really worth it?

We have all seen beautiful and loving families torn apart by battles over property and inheritance. Often the greedy deterioration results in relatives not speaking to other relatives, lawyers of course would get richer and someone would have at least contemplated using a cutlass to reduce the size of the dispute.

The materialistic struggle often continues beyond the grave and sometimes arranges itself into an epic intergenerational saga, right and wrong twisting themselves together like a perverse double helix designed to squeeze the love out of life. And at the end of the day, in pursuit of the indivisible and unattainable we sacrifice the only thing of lasting value that we had all along. It certainly isn't worth it.

The unnecessary discharge of blood and hostility plays across in our landscape and lives in so many ways, yet we tend to accept it with a sense of inevitability that closely resembles nonchalance.    

Any basic analysis would reveal the virtual absence of critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, and conflict prevention and resolution skills in the wider population. Any rapid assessment would reveal far too many of our adults suffering from the inability to make considered decisions and to weigh options judiciously with the aim of achieving best possible outcomes and making the best possible choices. Instead, we have “devolved” into a society headlined by knee jerks, of hostile reactors and hasty actors.     

My friends, we spend billions every year to fill the hours of our schoolchildren with algebra and geography and to immerse them in a system of undiluted competition, but if we change our priorities in the school and the home to target the deficiencies in our society we would spend far more time imparting to them the skills that we need our future adults to have. Or alternatively we could just huddle down and continue to engage in the national pastime of whining to the ground and below.

The agriculture sector in T&T has been in relative decline for several decades and the seriousness of this is now becoming a problem in 2016. The decline has been attributed to external factors identified as economic structural transformation, “Dutch disease,” and changes in the global trading environment. Domestic constraints have been identified as weak research, weak extension and marketing systems, inadequate area under irrigation, flooding and praedial larceny. 

This has left the island vulnerable and dependant on foreign imports on which billions are spent each year with this having a negative implications on GDP. In order for us to survive without oil and natural gas we need to redevelop the agricultural sector and make it attractive to local citizens and remove the misconception that agricultural is demeaning in status. 

There needs to be increased productivity, profitability and competitiveness through, (a) adoption of improved technologies, varieties and new commodities, (b) improving efficiency and effectiveness of marketing and agricultural health and food safety systems, and (c) linkages with agro-industry. 

The core strategy is complemented by efforts to reduce constraints of infrastructure, land tenure, credit and production risk. This needs to be supported by proper governmental policy that will assist local farmers in their plight to produce local products. 

Both fiscal and monetary measures need to be implanted in order for this process to be successful. Low interest loans from the ADB are critical in boosting this agenda as it would provide farmers with an incentive to produce more. 

The lending policy of the ADB needs to be reviewed and this is vital to give local farmers, big or small, a fair chance to compete domestically with readily available foreign goods and services. For example, subsidies should be given not only to the purchasing of new equipment and machinery, but also second-hand items. 

This will give smaller farmers a more level playing field and would encourage new ones to enter into the industry. The long term implications is that this would significantly slash the import bill and can eventually lead to more competitive local produce that can compete with the so-called “better” foreign produce of First World nations. Agricultural diversification can then boost GDP and provide long-term employment as opposed to oil and natural gas which can be seasonal or dependent on the state of the global economy. 

The investment in agriculture will allow citizens to enjoy a better standard of living and this can come in the form of better irrigation systems than will reduce flooding and better roads and infrastructure that would stimulate investments. In the long run this will lead to economic growth, curb inflation, reduce cost of living and improve the Human Development Index (HDI). 

When the needs of the domestic market are met, excess supply can be sold to the international market and this will lead to a favourable balance of trade which will be beneficial to the local economy. However, in order for these plans to be efficient and effective, all stakeholders have to come together and it requires sound management, hard work and a mindset that is geared towards development. 

Locals need to become serious by consuming and producing locally-grown crops. If not, the long-term effects can be devastating in times of crisis when food is in short supply and the real panic begins. It would seem that agricultural production is the way forward, for many smaller countries that have readily available fertile land, to compete in a market dominated by large capitalist nations that are superior in technology, infrastructure and financing. 

Students at all levels of education should be taught about food security as opposed to basing a school curriculum and our future on non renewable resources such as oil and natural gas. 

Trevis Singh

Keith Campbell, of the St Joseph Forestry Division, reportedly died at hospital from burns he sustained while being trapped and overcome by the flames he was fighting yesterday on Lady Chancellor Road. My heart feels so, so heavy as I send my sincere condolences to his family and loved ones for their terrible loss. Three other colleagues of his were injured—one is still hospitalised with severe burns. 

I want to publicly thank them for responding to the call out—particularly on a public holiday—and for their hard work and bravery. I also want to say thank you to our little Chancellor Crew, Renny Reynos, his son Mark, and Tony. 

Before the Fire Services arrived, Renny and The Boys used a 100-gallon, refillable tank on the back of their van and our small, portable motor pump to prevent the flames from crossing Lady Chancellor Road and spreading up into the hills and out of the range of any fire appliance. (Over the years they have prevented the spread of many potential fires in the area.) 

Yesterday, they also played a pivotal role in the rescue attempts of the trapped forestry men by using the pump’s hose to try and help them climb out of the gully. Renny then rushed the other badly burnt forestry worker (who will survive) to the hospital in his vehicle. A thousand thanks, guys.

This particular fire began in the backyard of a Hutton Road resident who was fully cognisant of the illegality and dangers of burning in the dry season. 

Earlier that morning I had driven past yet another fire on Hutton Road, which had been lit by three men who were sitting on the side of the road. I stopped to let them know that they were breaking the law and reminded them of the fire risks, only to be met with blank stares followed by a request from one for rum, beers and chasers. The only reason that particular fire did not spread out of control as well was that it was still early in the morning and the seasonal winds had not picked up.

The tragedy of this story is that it was all completely preventable, (as are the vast majority of fires that decimate our environment every single year), only this time a life has been lost and other lives changed forever. 

Will it make one jot of difference? Will anyone be prosecuted? Fined? It’s $200 if you “get ketch” causing a fire—and how often does that happen? Isn’t it a $1,000 fine for using one’s hose? Madness! 

I despair at the stultifying ignorance and lethargy of the average Trinidadian who gazes passively and unseeingly on the burning hills and valleys, believing it to be a natural process. I despair as everyone parties blindly while this beauteous, blessed island quietly dies under clouds of smoke, pollutants and oceans of trash. 

Let us not allow Keith Campbell’s death to be in vain. Let us put in place some genuine, workable strategies to protect us and our land. 

Let us have a public forum where those of us who care have the opportunity to offer up strategies and ideas. Give us that chance. We have to do more.

Barbara Jardine
Lady Chancellor Road,
Port-of-Spain

The Internet has become a double-edged sword. How so? Well, even though it is a very useful tool in accessing information, the quality of my education is often compromised by social media. I am sure there are countless students who could relate to this. 

Everyday our brains are flooded with information. If you are pursuing a degree or any other form of tertiary level education, like myself, you understand the long hours on Google and YouTube, the tedious visits to the university library, negotiating, nagging and even begging your lecturer to make the information more easily accessibly to you, and the constant battle to remain focused—to get off your phone, off Facebook, off Instagram, Twitter, Tumbler, What’s app, SnapChat and other distracting forms of social media. 

It is preached constantly that one’s education is extremely important, however, one’s social needs could become a very big distraction. The Internet becomes your life as a student—a safe heaven for both work and play. 

The 21st century has become an era of technological and media enhancement. 

This indeed could be viewed positively for many economic, social and cultural reasons. But the flip side of this is that one is constantly bombarded by copious amounts of information, emanating from developed countries which have at times overshadowed local issues here in our society. 

To make things worse, even within your academic websites, with pure intentions of being relevant to your studies, there are a links to Facebook, a pop up to Twitter, etc, so one cannot truly get away.  

To deal with this students should make social media work for them by sharing, liking and commenting on Facebook issues relevant to their degrees, creating what’s app groups with people from their classes for additional help in studies, sharing pictures on their Instagram that will stir up meaningful discussion. 

Use the Internet wisely and always keep in my mind that this is a love-hate relationship.

V Johnson

In retrospection to the current issues facing the economy and the current cost of living, it may be wise for the Government to review its current course of action for getting out of this financial predicament. It may not be to further take out of citizen’s pockets what they barely have, as the majority of the population currently work for an amount close to that of the minimum wage. 

With the ever-growing issue of globalisation and the aid of technological advancements we can tackle the issue of the economy from a different angle. Instead of focusing on more taxes why not make globalisation work for us? Tourism may be the next best thing for rectifying the situation.

There is no doubt that current situations may have an effect on this however, but these situations are not beyond remedy. Take crime for instance—if crime was to actually be seriously tackled it could be reduced. Students graduating with social science degrees can be put to work and study crime not from foreign models but local models  to fit our society.

Secondly,  if emphasis was actually put on developing our tourism industry to make our beaches more appealing, we could attract foreigners to our country, to where they will pay top dollar to experience our culture, beaches, cuisine etc.

Thirdly, if we were to use technology to our advantage to promote our tourist industry on a global scale, for example, social media, documentaries and so forth, we can make our country more known to those who are looking for places for vacation.

This can also create a lot of jobs for citizens as today’s unemployment level is ever increasing. T&T is indeed a fortunate country to have so many things going for it. 

Oil has sustained us thus far but with the ever-decreasing prices, it is time the Government take a different approach to increase wealth and provide new jobs for citizens who are losing theirs on a daily basis.

Dane Ramsajan

The Criminal Justice System of T&T is suffering under the burden of enforcing obsolete laws that contribute little to the welfare and safety of our nation. While murder and violence paint our streets red with blood, police and prison officers are wasting precious time arresting and imprisoning people for trivialities like obscene language and the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

In a speech given by the Chief Justice, it was said that the monthly cost of keeping someone in prison is $13,000. This most likely does not take into account the administrative costs of arresting them or the time spent in court dealing with their case. 

We can safely infer that millions of dollars are spent annually, incarcerating people for offences that cause no serious harm to society. These wasted resources should be spent expanding the budget of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), which would speed up the prosecution of more serious crimes. 

The DPP himself Mr Roger Gaspard SC has recently stated that the limited budget for his department is one of the reasons for delays in the criminal justice system. 

Israel Khan SC, Chairman of the Legal Aid and Advisory Authority, was quoted by the Newsday on March 22, as saying “The Criminal Justice system is about to collapse” citing 10-year delays in dealing with the 700 indictments for murder presently before the courts.

Instead of ludicrous promises like “We bringing back hanging” politicians should come up with practical ways to improve the justice system. The Pratt and Morgan ruling by the Privy Council only stops hanging if there is a delay of more than five years between sentencing and hanging. Our justice system is simply too inefficient to implement the death penalty in accordance with the Pratt and Morgan decision.

In order to cut costs and increase the efficiency of our Justice System, I propose that legislation be tabled to remove the penalty of imprisonment for as many petty crimes as possible. 

Instead, make them ticketable offences and impose fines. This would generate income for the state while simultaneously deterring crimes. Fines would also serve as a good compromise to assuage the more conservative members of society, who fear moral decay if these laws are changed.

When the court system is no longer drowning in backlog due to minor crimes, resources could be better employed to deal with serious crimes, such as murder and rape. 

Jonathan Bhagan
Attorney