By Raffique Shah
October 31, 2026

It doesn’t take much convincing these days to realise that if ever the world was under threat from brain-eating amoebae/bacteria, just let them loose at a gathering for world leaders, and just like that the microscopic buggers would starve to death and the crisis would be averted. A few good men and women would be sacrificed for the greater evil.

Listening to the news daily, both local and foreign, no longer elicits shocked responses, gasps or any real emotions, even when it involves homicide. We have become so desensitised to the actions of our fellow men that we no longer feel involved. Gone are the days of media sensationalism, because there is no headline they can put out there anymore that will shock an already deeply disturbed nation.

I look at the leader of the so-called free world, and granted, in the past I have wondered what sort of fool would vote for a man of his standing. Now, I just accept the fact that at least half of the world’s population is “learned evil” because there is no other way to describe racists, misogynists, narcissists, sycophants, and the likes ­thereof.

Try as I might, I will never understand the origins of racism and why several centuries ago, people thought it was a good idea to enslave people of different tribes, countries, cultures, based on the colour of their skin, or economic background, or just on the way they looked or sounded. What or who gave anyone the right to enslave other human beings?

The fallout from slavery brought on many of the other ills we now face globally. Apartheid, genocide, religious wars, you name it; as a world we have seen it all and done it all. Or have we?

My only question now is: can it get any worse than what we have all seen and read about in our history books? This is what bothers me most.

We are already facing the consequences of our actions and inactions, as weather patterns change globally, something over which we do have significant control, but which will not serve the interests of the wealthy in society, nor motivate unscrupulous politicians to do something about it.

So, nothing is done. There are so many changes that can make this world a better place for future generations, but there are too many evil people out there working hard at doing the opposite.

Fidel Castro and Ernesto “Che” Guevara alongside other revolutionaries and guerrilla movements worked assiduously to oust then-president Batista from Cuba because its economy had collapsed, and its people were suffering at the hands of a right-wing dictator who they saw as showing no mercy to the Cuban people. There are some curiosities that occur when revolutionaries pursue the overthrow of incumbent rulers with the population at large remaining inured to their “rescuers”.

Since then, Cuba has come a long way making strides in agriculture and medicine, and their sugar industry today still prospers and accounts for a large part of their revenue.

While mismanagement of monies by governments will account for many a problem nations face, even we in Trinidad are accustomed to losing state funds as they pass through various ministries and politicians who seem unable to resist theft. And other than that, they are convinced that their system of governance is right; as such, their spending or looting, depending on your point of view, is justified.

It is almost a widely known fact that today’s Cuba wouldn’t be the way it is had it not been for the several restrictions on trade, etc, placed on it by then-US president John F Kennedy back in the 1960s following the Cuban Missile Crisis—a crisis that never was. But the mere boldness of Fidel to conduct talks, trade, and accept military assistance from the Soviet Union government back then is what ruffled America’s feathers.

There was no imminent threat to the stability of the region back then, just as there is no imminent threat coming from Cuba today. But the big bully in the north, the same one our leader and her Cabinet today deifies, sees it fit to keep Cuba in a state of siege, defying all international agencies’ calls for all trade embargoes to be lifted.

I am not sure which is more stupid—the fact that we voted against the lifting of the embargoes, or the reason the Cabinet gave for the decision to go against.

Imagine standing in Parliament and arguing this ridiculous stance, telling the nation that the voting at the UN assembly doesn’t count, yet you are present for every debate you are invited to. Remember your actions, because God forbid they ever come back to haunt you. This is our regional relative and what this Government has done is the height of stupidity and outright hypocrisy.

Steups!