Tag Archives: Selwyn R. Cudjoe

Court, Crime in T&T, General T&T, Law, Media, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, Racism Watch, Security, Violence

Sandy Must Stay!

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
October 04, 2011

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeI hate to be on Keith Rowley’s case but Rowley (and by extension the PNM) is really missing the pulse of the people and, in the process, failing to take the lead politically in the society. A serious party must be the elevated consciousness of a people. The leadership of the PNM has not shown such leadership in this crisis. We are following rather than leading the masses and that is not good for the party. It speaks volumes about Rowley’s leadership abilities.
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Culture, General T&T, International, Passed on, PNM, Politics, Race and Identity

Celebrating the Centenary of Dr. Williams’ Birth

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 28, 2011

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoePerhaps it is one of those crazy though explicable Trinbagonian things. Dr. Eric Williams is undoubtedly one of the most distinguished citizens ever to have bestridden our country over the last two hundred years. Yet, there was not one official ceremony in Trinidad and Tobago to celebrate the centenary of his birth. I say, “one of the most distinguished citizens” because over its long history there have been many distinguished Trinbagonian men and women such a J. J. Thomas, Maxwell Philip, Captain Arthur Cipriani, Colon Adrian Renzi, Lionel Sukeran, Audrey Jeffers, Mother Gerald and Mac Donald Bailey. Sadly none of these names ever come to mind when we think of our achievements, access our social and cultural capital, and determine are our civic and spiritual values.
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Africa, Court, Crime in T&T, General T&T, Law, People's Partnership, PNM, Police, Politics, Security

The CJ’s Wisdom

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 20, 2011

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeSooner or later it had to happen. Amidst the chaos and head-in-the-sand posture, a mature voice had to rise up and address the implications of the state of emergency (SOE) that was declared by the government. While so many of my fellow citizens, buoyed by the apparent calm of the society welcomed the suspension of many of our civil liberties, it took a brave voice to remind us that a constitution cannot suspend itself and that the declaration of a SOE does not automatically abrogate all of our right as citizens.
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Africa, Court, Crime in T&T, Culture, General T&T, India, Law, People's Partnership, Police, Politics, Race and Identity, Racism Watch, Security, Violence

Fulfilling Prophecy

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 14, 2011

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeWilliam Hardin Burnley was the biggest slave holder in Trinidad and Tobago. In 1813 Sir Ralph Woodford arrived in the island as the governor. One of his first tasks was to secure sufficient laborers for the island, Trinidad being notorious for not having sufficient laborers to till its soil. One year after he arrived he asked each member of his Board of Council to come up with suggestions to induce laborers to settle in the country.
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Court, Crime in T&T, Culture, General T&T, India, Law, People's Partnership, Politics, Race and Identity, Racism Watch, Security, Violence

Jack Wept

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 06, 2011

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeAnd Jack wept just as Peter wept after he betrayed Christ. Brigadier John Sandy bemoaned: “We must recognize that it is people looking like me who are being murdered, mothers like my mother, God rest her soul, who are out there weeping more than any other race.” There is no doubt that Brigadier Sandy loves black women. He is married to an Indian woman.
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, India, Law, Opposition Party, People's Partnership, PNM, Police, Politics, Race and Identity, Racism Watch, Security, Violence

Rejecting the State of Emergency

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
August 30, 2011

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIs either I stupidly or Anand and dem know many things I don’t know. But I didn’t know that one had to declare a state of emergency to capture some gang leaders and charge them with possession of marijuana or cocaine. I didn’t know that the only way to solve the crime problem was to declare a state of emergency and arrest about five hundred young people (call them gang members) from Black areas in order to solve the crime problem. If so, the PNM was more than stupid to hold its hands until the PP discovered that it takes a state of emergency to capture all these black people so easily.
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Culture, Features, General T&T, Religion

The Writerly Pursuit

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
August 22, 2011

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeA writer does not write in isolation nor does he always know for whom he writes. A socially-conscious writer, as I see myself, always writes with a purpose. Sometimes it’s to entertain; mostly, it is meant to educate oneself and his public. From that mix one cannot remove the sheer bliss that one finds in writing and yes, even the pleasure of seeing one’s name in print.
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Caribbean, Culture, General T&T, Haiti, International, Race and Identity, Religion

Messengers of the Invisible

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
August 16, 2011

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeAugust and anyone who is anyone has left Paris (and other Europeans cities) for the country for vacation. As one looks at the shuttered apartment windows, the empty streets (except for places such as Champs Elysees Avenue) and the barely-filed cafes that inundate the city and its sidewalks one realizes that everything will remain in abeyance until September when Parisians return to work and attend to their business again.
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England, General T&T, International, Protest, Security

Riots in London

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
August 09, 2011

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeI am in London, a few miles away from where the riots are taking place. Here in central London, one feels untouched by these riots and only knows its effects from what one reads in the newspapers. As I write, the riots continue to take Britain by surprise. It started in Tottenham, then spread to Brixton and Enfield; there from to Walthamstow and Hackney. London’s Independent newspaper described them as “London’s worst rioting in more than 25 years” (August 9). Although business seems to be going on as usual there is an eerie feeling that the police have little control of over what is taking place.
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Africa, General T&T, People's Partnership, Politics, Race and Identity, Racism Watch

With Respect to All

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
August 03, 2011

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIf one opened the dailies the day after Emancipation Day one could not miss the photographs of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Arts and Multiculturalism sitting proudly in their African threads on either side of Kafra Kambon (Express, August 2nd) with a headline that proclaimed: “PM: No more last minute funding.” Just to reinforce her concerns, she cooed: “As a testimony to the recognition in the Emancipation Support Committee, I have requested a convening of an inter—ministerial team charged with the review of all festival—based commemoration to ensure matters of funding and production will no longer be matters of last minute intervention. We stand committed to the success of this intervention and the Minister of Multiculturalism Winston ‘Gypsy’ Peters will head this very special committee to ensure that you get the funding and support you need at the appropriate time.”
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