Society

For the fast growing number of us who have been “privileged” with the phenomenon of more than one” blood line “running through our arteries,  an ethnic eclipse is near.

Contrary to those citizens of diversified Trinidad and Tobago who still harbour real fears of one race overtaking the others, there’s an amorphous wave of people of motley colour, crew and religion which is about to not just overwhelm but morph into an invisible force which we will feel but not hear coming like the proverbial thief in the night.

This is the chilling question that keeps crystallizing in the trembling heart and breathless voice of many parents holding their bellies and bawling out loud to a God who cannot hear as the news reverberates about yet another young person, a mere child really, whose life has been cut short in the arena of pettiness  and pure “bad-mind” at the hands of their siblings or in questionable clashes with the Police.

It’s just been a year ago, but the grief and pain caused by the police killings of three young men of the Morvant area still reverberates in the area, as newsmen who visited and interviewed families have reported.

According to official reports in 2020 :Forty-five women and two girls have been murdered so far. With the murder count presently at 362, females represent 13 per cent of the homicides to date.

In a sudden turn of events,  one of Trinidad and Tobago’s iconic cultural landmarks was rescued from the jaws of international embarrassment by a  man named Michael Jordan – no relative of his famous basketball namesake or the late moon-walking singer

That’s because what came through – even on Social Media –  was the expression of genuine love for brethren by one who could have easily walked away after long years of effort invested in this chronically troublesome cell block. 

Different administrations drilling dry holes in areas such as the Beetham, Sea Lots and Laventille, have watched in awe as these kids with machine guns tucked in their Quorans wait for further orders. 

Like water off a black duck’s back, “Fitzie”, who is personally well-grounded in his native roots, provides the living example of what is possible for anyone in any hidden corner who understands the power of the dream.

“Ambition should be made of sterner stuff”, was the way Shakespeare put it (Julius Caesar). 

In a few days, when the sun soars to its highest point in the Northern Hemisphere, Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley will also be in ascension as he navigates the sharpest turn on the face of the earth.

Poised on his chariot of fire, Rowley shall complete surfing those harsh cold waves of anger which had been crashing in on the vulnerable shores of his splintered little twin-island home upon which many citizens seem to curiously wish destruction.

On Sunday, June 23, the world will also celebrate Father’s Day in acknowledgment of the protective role played by the fathers of children, families, communities and nations – in the same way, Father Keith will be soaking in sweet satisfaction after a grueling trial in the Caribbean wilderness.

A number of news stories lately appearing in the Trinidad and Tobago media have brought special attention to one of this country’s two major ethnic groups, namely the Indians – or “Trini-Indians” -as some people here like to describe these first generation Trinidadians and their children of Indian descent.

Since their arrival in the mid-1800s to replace slaves liberated from the cane fields, this group has progressed at a  rate that is fast enough to raise the alarm among their Afro-Trinidadian compatriots. 

For while the Africans command the definitely major advantage in important spheres such as social presence, politics and education, they have never been able to put their finger on that mysterious formula which certain groups of men have been known to secretly employ for the purpose of mentally dominating other groups.

No one would admit it, but this might be a real case of the proverbial Indian wolf in democratic sheep’s clothing stealthily engulfing their African brothers in economic matters while allowing them to take control of the commanding heights of empty control.

Already on a collision course with citizens who are battle-weary over the crime situation here, the Dr. Keith Rowley-led government also suffered a small embarrassment when sexual charges were laid against  84-year old Emile Elias at around the same time that protesters were gathering for another round of confrontation in central Trinidad.

Elias, a big-league Caribbean contractor of substantial means is also Chairman of the Family Planning Association and an outstanding member of the One Per Cent privileged community that’s whispered about as the real controllers of the local economy.

He has been awarded a number of huge contracts over the years, before and during the  Rowley administration, including the construction of the new headquarters for the Ministry of Health which is led by Minister Terrence Deyalsingh. 

Elias has been long publicly identified as having a healthy working relationship with Rowley, the PNM government and previous similar bodies.

Andrea, Sean and  Ashanti : these are just three of the names behind the numerous fading photos of young people who lost their lives to rapists and murderers who continue to “escape on foot”  after the dastardly crime.

The irony is that the wicked pattern continues despite numerous initiatives by various administrations to improve the system for delivering justice to a populace already battered into near submission in their barely-recognizable  “Sweet T+T”. 

 As cries for help plaintively resonate from the ghosts of those who were snatched out of their innocent comfort zones, no one hears the grief of those left behind to flounder along in empty spaces where the scent of fresh human blood still pervades.

Among the numerous stories about young women being abducted here as part of an on-going drama played out on television and social media, not one has stood out so starkly on the broken landscape like the case of Andrea Bharatt, the court worker who saw something and said nothing.

There has probably never been a worse horror story. In this this age of virtual living where every your move is monitored, it befuddles the mind that  an apparently spontaneous ride in an  Arima taxi could result in death after  work one fateful Friday afternoon.

What’s at the heart of this demonic force resonating from our young people?

The announcement that Brian Manning would be marrying Shelly Dass was simple enough as a news item in the San Fernando rumour mill. Far less notable but much more eventful is the massive turn of events which started with a great family back on the upswing in TT politics and society in general.

Brian Manning is no ordinary citizen in Trinidad and Tobago. Actually, he’s the son of former Prime Minister Patrick Manning  who dared to undertake the challenge of changing the mind-set of a most stubborn people who took all his bleeding heart could offer before crucifying him on a balisier cross built by saints like judas-of -mason -hall- keith, run-from-sea-lots –water hinds,

bridge-over-house-water- george and big mouth darian- of- radio- drive-by fame.