By Raffique Shah
September 14, 2008
I am often guilty of making a fool of myself, although those who know me well would agree that I readily admit to my stupidity. There I was last Sunday, pontificating on American politics and politicians, their weaknesses and hypocrisy, when in my own country our politicians are making fools of us all. It’s bad enough millions of Americans see salvation in Sarah Palin, a woman whose thinking is archaic and unimpressive, to say the least. Now, trapped in this Mickey Mouse country where clowns rule or aspire to rule, I find myself falling flat on my backside, ashamed of being a Trini.
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Citizens of T&T must now awake. Let us discard our politically partisan lenses with which we have viewed and assessed the recent conduct of governance by PM Manning. We must demand immediate answers from him on what is going on with the defence of the integrity and continuing ownership of our abundant, rich-yielding maritime patrimony from the creeping encroachment of Barbados.
Dharti Mata’s rich productive plains of Central Trinidad have suffered from yet another devastating blow to its hard earned agri- based patrimony. This follows upon the ill-advised and politically motivated cruel closure of the sugar industry of Caroni Ltd just when enviro-friendly sugar-cane -based ethanol emerged as the lucrative renewable fuel of the future.
Immigration in the new global economy is a fact of life as wars, restlessness, employment and investment opportunities make it necessary for people to move. Attracted mainly by its new found wealth, T&T has become a particularly attractive destination for immigrants from across the globe. Evidence suggests that most of these immigrants are doing exceptionally well, establishing businesses and accessing supports from government and financial institutions that traditionally deny similar services to locals. As an immigrant myself, it is nice to feel welcome in your adopted home and be able to take advantage of the opportunities provided. What troubles me however, is that native born Trinbagonians on the lowest rung of the socio/economic ladder, continue to scrape the bottom of the barrel for opportunities while living in festering ghettos, not far removed from the days of slavery and indentureship.
July 19th 2008, I sit in the International Convention Centre in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. I listen intently to the keynote speaker ten year old, university student Anfani Okosun. He speaks to issues of human rights and social justice, about putting an end to human suffering, and preserving the dignity of the person. He challenges us to remember those who perished under bad regimes and the impunity afforded their victimizers. He is scandalized by the usurping of the world’s resources by a few and implores us to work towards the dismantling of oppressive systems and structures. The positive traditions in our histories he says must be used to battle against the enormous challenges we face.
The government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and of most other Caricom countries has indicated that it is ready to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU). Initialling of the agreement took place on December 16th 2007. Citizens of Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean need to know the disturbing circumstances surrounding the negotiation and initialling of the agreement in the context of international law i.e. the Law of Treaties.