Crime in T&T, Culture, General T&T, Law, Media

Another lose, lose situation

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Newsday Editorial
January 6 2011 – newsday.co.tt

Maxi TaxiThe current dispute between the operators of maxi taxis and the Government, represented by Minister of Works and Transport Jack Warner, will have no winners. Even if the maxi taxi operators prevail, and prevent in some way, the proposed “regularisation” of PH taxis, the travelling public will end up losing a form of transport upon which many people depend. The operators will have lost their earnings for Wednesday, and for any other days which they decide to withdraw their services. PH drivers, many of whom are honest (outside of their “PH breach”) hard-working individuals, may lose the opportunity to become a legitimate part of the economy. And the travelling public is suffering.
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Business, corruption, Crime in T&T, General T&T, Law, Politics

A year pregnant with possibilities

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By Raffique Shah
January 02, 2011

Raffique ShahBARRING being victims of unpredictable natural disasters or another global economic “meltdown”, Trinidad and Tobago seems set to enjoy an encouraging 2011. There will be no boom similar to what we wallowed in from 2005 to 2007. The crime rate will not drop precipitously because of a change of heart among heartless criminals (surely an oxymoron), or a significant improvement in the policing and justice systems. Poverty will not disappear. The nation’s roads won’t be transformed into highways to heaven.
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Culture, General T&T, India, PNM, Race and Identity

Home Bound

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
December 30, 2010

Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe[This essay was written by Joy Clarke, a student at Wellesley College. I thought I would share it with my readers. It has been edited for purposes of length]

If literature is a signification of the emotional conscious of a people then V.S. Naipaul’s A House for Mr. Biswas is a literary masterpiece. It traces the life of Mohun Biswas, a man of East Indian descent living in Trinidad following the end of Indian indentured servitude. Mr. Biswas’ life is one of struggle, pain and his longing to find a place to call home. The reader is taken on a journey to locate home on several levels. On the surface is Mr. Biswas’s profound desire to own a home while the subtext suggests that a search for a national homeland for a people who were removed from their natal homeland of India.
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General T&T, Opposition Party, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, UNC

Mewey Cwismas, Trinis

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By Raffique Shah
December 26, 2010

Raffique ShahI WAS reluctant writing this column on the eve of Christmas, knowing it will appear in print on Boxing Day, that it would probably upset some people. Then it occurred to me that a significant number of adults would crawl out of their beds or wherever they may have slept last night, feeling like faecal matter of one kind or other. So, if anything, my thoughts would blend nicely with whatever brand of antacid they pour down their hatches in preparation for another day of overindulgence. Mewey Cwismas, people!
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General T&T, International, USA

Time to reject “Black Friday” concept

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By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
December 22, 2010

1900 Campaign poster for the Republican PartyAccording to long-standing societal acceptable norms, the Friday after Thanksgiving Day in the United States is regarded as “Black Friday.”

Indeed, one would have thought that with the anomalous election of America’s first African-American/Black President that the race-relations gap in this country has narrowed considerably. One would have assumed also that as a result of this presidential first that the need to colour any national event would have been relegated to the ash heap of America’s racial-cultural history.
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General T&T, India, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, Race and Identity, Religion

Standing Firm in Our Nation’s Faith

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
December 22, 2010

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeThe steeple of St. Mary’s Anglican Church is the first landmark that greets anyone who enters the village of Tacarigua from its western side. Although the present building was constructed in 1901, this architectural splendor has been a part of the village landscape since 1843. On August 22, 1901, the Mirror reported that “the old parish Church of St. Mary’s is now leveled to the ground with the exception of the western wall, which it is believed will form part of the new St. Mary’s.” Directly across the Eastern Main Road is the St. Mary’s Children Home. Its first building was constructed in 1857 to accommodate East Indian children whose parents were lost during the long crossing from India to Trinidad.
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, Parliament, Politics

Politics of distraction in T&T

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By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
December 19, 2010

ParliamentTo all intent and purposes, a new genre of politics has become the norm in T&T. And this new political modus operandi is the politics of distraction.

For while the country is burning, the murder rate (445 as of this writing) has surpassed Brian Lara’s 400 highest test score and is feverishly and uncontrollable heading to surpass his 500 highest county cricket score also.
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Business, Complaints, General T&T, Law, Politics

A nation of unrealised potential

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By Raffique Shah
December 19, 2010

Raffique Shah“Gobar in de mansions, gobar on de ground

“Gobar in de country, gobar in de town…”

(David Rudder, “The Savagery”, 1998)

SOME people who have the power to effect change and the courage to pursue noble goals with great enthusiasm, often find themselves stumped by the savagery they encounter when they tackle seemingly intractable problems. Trinidadians (more so than Tobagonians) are a strange people. We are mostly warm, friendly, helpful, and sometimes generous to a fault.
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