By Suszanna Clarke
Tuesday, August 19 2008
newsday.co.tt
Back when I had decided I had grown tired of having straight hair, I’d cut it all off, leaving just an inch or two of my own naturally curly hair remaining.
I had loved it — the ability to wash it everyday, not having to worry about the wind messing it up and not having to buy any styling products other than a bottle of gel. The reaction of others was different; some loved it, others hated it. It also had the unpredicted benefit of getting rid of an ex who had been hovering hopefully in the background for years. Later he told me the first time he saw it he’d swore I had a male twin. My boyfriend at the time loved it. It reminded him of Maracas. He’d said. All the waves.
One of my co-workers at the time was upset when he saw my new haircut. Oh God Clarke, I hate it, he informed me. He also told me that I’d made a big mistake. Before, when my hair was long and straight I could have passed, he’d said. Now I couldn’t. When I’d asked him what he’d meant he’d said with my hair the way it was before I could have fitted in to any crowd – Chinese, whites, Indian, mixed. Now, he informed me, I looked like I was from behind the bridge. Then he promptly ended the aggressive/passive track he’d been putting down for a couple of years.
A few weeks after this he’d come up behind me and pulled my hair. “But Suszanna”, he’d said, “You have good hair! Not as good as mine of course but it real soft. I didn’t think that was your natural hair at all.” I didn’t see him for about a year after this incident; I guess my vociferous reaction to this comment may have been part of the reason why. With my hair back at an acceptable length and my ability to “pass” restored (since my hair was still curly but apparently a “good” curly), his interest in me rekindled. He was once again eager to be seen with me in public. I however, remained unimpressed.
Years before this incident and at a different place of work, another co-worker – a woman this time – had stood watching a woman and a little girl walking past our office one afternoon. The little girl’s hair was done up in little plaits and on each plait was a bubble with a clip on the end. After they had walked out of sight my then co-worker turned to me and asked why do black people put so many things in their children’s hair. Very young and at that time too polite to answer her in the manner that she deserved I’d told her I don’t know. Oh I’m sorry, she’d responded, I didn’t realise you were Indian. And she’d laughed hysterically. She’d then went on to talk, once again, about the straightness of her sister’s hair, that she never had to comb it, that clips fell right out of it. It was a source of great pride for her, which I hadn’t been able to understand then, and a topic she brought up often, together with the fairness of the sister’s husband.
Recently a girl I know was called into the manager’s office at the bank where she worked. When she had been looking for a job before she’d been advised to relax her hair as it would make her more “acceptable” to potential employers. When she started her new job she’d gone back natural after a few months. The manager had called her in to tell her that she had to relax her hair in order to keep her job. Hers was not the look the bank was trying to portray. They moved her away from customer services until her hairstyle was more “satisfactory”. When she refused to change her hair they declared her position redundant and fired her.
Racial prejudice takes many different forms. There’s the overt – the Spanish Basketball Federation picture that showed the national team pulling back their eyes to make them look Chinese and the London mayor’s description of black children as “picaninnies” with watermelon smiles. Then there’s the covert. I had a co-worker who only spoke to me when she realised my dad was black. She thought my father was Indian and she refused to have anything to do with “those people”.
The irony of all that was she was terribly proud of her thick, black hair, the result of a grandmother who was part Indian.
The worse thing about racial prejudice is how much it narrows us and how it stunts what we are and what we can become. When we see someone in only stereotyped terms, we deny ourselves the chance to know that person as they really are. If we expect someone to be good in something, bad at others, to eat certain foods or be a certain way because of their race, that narrows both us and them. The sad thing is, the very nature of racial prejudice is that most times, we’re not even aware of what we’re doing and what we’re perpetuating and so we pass it on, for another generation to continue the cycle.
http://www.newsday.co.tt/commentary/0,84682.html
It is unacceptable that racism in the workplace is so prevalent but unfortunately our standards of professionalism are a joke. Has the equal opportunities commission even been set up yet?
I have found it extremely difficult to be a career woman in Trinidad and to work for a Government office, and have had a much better experience working for private companies. I have experienced and heard too many stories of the racism in the public service. An Indian friend of mine graduated from university in Canada three years ago and decided she wanted to return to Trinidad to become a teacher to help improve the education of our nation’s kids. She’s a smart girl, having graduated from one of Trinidad’s prestigious 7-yr Catholic high schools, followed by graduating from a well respected university in Canada. Well she dressed professionally, prepared and went to her interview. After sitting in the waiting area for a few minutes two African ladies walked out to meet her. She smiled, extended her hand for a handshake and greeted the ladies. Neither of them smiled at her, neither bothered to shake her hand and simply asked her to follow them to the interview. My friend was stunned at their hostility – having lived abroad for so many years she had forgotten how hostile and racist some people in Trinidad can be for no reason at all. Well you can imagine how the interview went. My friend has since emigrated to Canada and a few more of my friends and relatives are now following her, contributing to the nation’s brain drain. It is all very unfortunate.
Each respondent to this blog could ltheir own stories of hair and skin colour and people’s attitudes. The stories have a richer patina when there are Africans, Indians and whites in the same family in one generation. Try to imagine the conversational constraints when some of each is in the room. Life is rich, and if people work zealously to treat people as people, magical things can happen. Because of past problems, people in my famiy do not compare hair at all, nor skin colour or eye colour, although I have one nephew for whom a girl “wanted to have a baby” because of his beautifulgrey-green eyes. She got her wish, the baby’s eyes are dark, like his paternal great-grandfather’s. Life’s rich ironies.
Lisa said:
Yes, in Trinidad there is racism, but Africans are the most accommodating people on the planet. Your story rings hollow and if it is true it does not necessarily show racism. That is the interpretation you gave to your story. In that story, the unwillingness to shake hands could simply be a case of bad manners, or the people there being used to interviewees trying to suck up were not pandering to it. We do not know how your friend in the story was coming over to the people there – possibly with an air of superiority – and they were not interested in being friendly with her. Anyhow you take it, your story does not automatically make a case for racism because some people did not want to shake hands. Also, you are giving the impression that racism does not exist in Canada and other countries. Racism is rampant in Canada, the US as well as all other countries that I am familiar with.
Chaguans has become one of the busiest places in Trinidad and Yobago. Commuters come from all directions, but those who dseire to go to McBean, Couva, California–any point further than St Mary’s junction–are usually in a bind at all times for treansport.
The fact that the taxis especially make only short runs disenfranchises a vast number of persons who wich to travel to points beyond St. Mary’s junction. Persons of African descent in this category of travellers are further disadvantaged when taxi drivers of East Indian descent who might be going to Couva regularly bypass them for passengers of East Indian descent, especially when rain falls.
It works like this: there are a number of passengers standing in a line along the side of the road. The person of African descent is approached first as the taxi drives by, and when the driver is asked if he is going to Couva he either indicates no or does not answer. A few metres up the line persons of East Indian descent would ask the same question, and that same driver who just said no or gave no indication takes them up.
Persons of African descent who travel along the Southern Main Road to points further than St. Mary’s junction bear the brunt of racist behaviour on a daily basis.
While I am on this subject, whenever racism in Trinidad & Tobago is being discussed with East Indians getting the messy end of the stick, the issue is raised in all quarters ant at all levels. The favourite mantra of discrimination and aliennation is even cited in the courts to gain them relief. As soon as a person of African descent raises the issue of being racially disadvantaged, East Indians usually describe it as a perception, and the idea is quicky dismissed.
Some time ago I was listening to a radio talk show, and the subject of East Indian/African achievement was being discussed. One caller stated that one of the factors which contribute to African underachievement is the fact that many teachers of East Indian descent try their best not to interact with children of African descent even at the Infant level, and she was quickly dismissed nuder the guise of the programme not descending into a racial quagmire.
According to Heru “Yes, in Trinidad there is racism, but Africans are the most accommodating people on the planet.” We are discriminated against but we do not make a public hue and cry about it.
I close by giving a personal experience which occurred when the taxi stand to Chaguanas was once located at the corner of Henry Street and Independence Square North, just opposite to where Church’s Chicken now stands. The taxi I approached needed one passenger, and the driver of East Indian descent vehemently ordered me not to sit in his taxi. I complied, and a few minutes later he took up a passenger of similar ilk as himself. Up to today I do not travel with that taxi driver. I rest my case.
Twenty years ago, I wrote a memo to the Ministry of Education about a “racial situation” in BArataria Senior Comprehensive School. I do not know that anything was ever done about it. My sister, the AMrs. Jestina Edwards Guerra, taught there. She taught Beauty Culture. One of the math teachers was Indian, and he divided the class down the middle, and called one side Africa, and the other side India. He taught math from the Indian side of the room. He said the Africans had to learn to behave before they could learn anything. He did not do behaviour modification teachniques or intervention, however.Their “math” consisted of being sent out of the classroom to coulnt the number of toilets in the building, and to count the number of bricks on the outside wall of a classroom. The children, not seeing anything wrong with this, gladly went outside. My sister saw them hanging around th beauty shop trying to chat up the girls with their new hairdo, asked hthem inside and got the story.
She confronted the teacher, who threatened to beat her up. She took it to the Principal, who was the drinking buddy of the math teacher.
I reported it to the ministry on her bahalf, because if you report such a thing, your job could be the one in danger.
Nothing s far as we know, was ever done.
When Barataria Senior Comp. began to explode in violence about five years ago, I wrote to the papers about this, supplying a picture of my late sister, and her class of students of both races and the mixtures in between.
For all I know, that teacher may still be there if he has not yet died of alcohol poisoning.Poisoning the minds of children by failure to teach them, by encouraging lackadaisical behaviour and by creating racial divisions in his classroom, was his modus operandi.
Did he file and follow lesson plans? was he a member of the Teachers’Union? Was he even certified as ateacher?
If this was an isolated case, it would be bad enough iT is not. Cudjoe’s intervention for some children in the Williamsville area a few years back, shows that it is not.
Every time I read in the Express, of another murder in the Laventille area I think of this teacher, this school, and the waste of the state’s time and children’s time.
Every child has a right to equal treatment within the classroom. We are daily, daily, reaping fruits of bitter seed, sown by racial prejudice within classrooms that cowardly administrators leave untouched.
If parents knew how their children were being savaged, there would be such an explosion of anger… Sometimes too, the prejudice takes the form of putdowns of poor children who won places at so-called prestige schools. More than a hundred years ago, the school uniform policy was meant to reduce and remove that. Progress seems like rolling a stone upwards, with one’s nose, in the mud.
aS WE GO ABOUT BEGINNING A NEW SCHOOL YEAR, i WANT TO ASK WHAT ARE WE AS A NATION, PREPARED TO DO TO CHANGE THINGS.
Let’s collectively applaud the writer for bringing up this often neglected topic. One senses that she too might still be in dire need of Freudian psychological help and could be suffering similar afflictions that affected the likes of the King of Pop Michael Jackson, with his permanently bleached skin, and Pecola Breedlove from Nobel Writer Toni Morrison’s novel, ‘Bluest Eyes.’ There is absolutely nothing worst than to suffer a severe case of inferiority complex. This frequently occurs when one unfortunately falls prey to the idiotic notion long into adulthood, that another race, ethnicity, or human being is more beautiful, intelligent, and greater than yours. I take that back, it is even sadder when succeeding generations or offspring from such a person are inclined to also inculcate such a distorted view. In like manner it is equally foolish for one group or individual to assume some form of cultural or innate superiority mindset without reappraisal as to social and historical factors that enabled successes. Thank goodness I said to myself, that this excellent writer had produced these glorious examples of situations and people she knew or heard about that originated from Burkina Faso, Lahore Pakistan, or Bihar India, and not beautiful T&T.
I then started to read the responses from a few that gave different versions of their perceptions of prejudice and racism, and said, this is something I can chime in on with a version of my own- or rather, became familiar with like the writer did. A young police Officer I so happened to know related the story, so hopefully I‘ll be spared the accusation of raising confusion and such finger pointing innuendos. His story affected me as well in such a profound way , that I too developed a hatred ‘only for my country,’ to the extent that I too later packed my bags , unearthed my ‘navel string’ from where it was buried ,and ran for more pristine quarters abroad at the doors of Northern big brother – never to look back. This young Officer was a Traffic Cop, apparently back when the boys in blue wore short pants, carried batons, and got absolutely no respect from any member of the public- be they ‘Tom , Dick or Ramkisoon.’
He was of African decent and one of his many bosses was East Indian. Of course there is absolutely nothing wrong with that picture, as most of you can agree. One day, he was busy near Chacon or did he say Abercrombie Street handing out tickets to illegally parked cars in the vicinity. An East Indian woman ran up and told him to give her a chance by not continuing to issue the ticket he had almost completed writing. He indicated that this was impossible, and she should simply accept the ticket – as is the custom- go to Court and plead her matter if she had a problem with it. She then said to him, “but how can you allow those other drivers to get away while you are writing me up?”- pointing to various cars several feet away, whose drivers wisely responded to the presence of the Officer and escaped his possible future actions. Obviously dumfounded, he mumbled some unsatisfactory response. “Then I am going to report you to your boss and say that you cussed me out,” was her final exasperated lamentation when all had failed. Thirty or so minutes after this young Officer returned to his department, he was summoned into the office of his East Indian boss and berated relentlessly, for talking to the aggrieved woman- and apparent close friend of the boss- in question while working. From what I was reliably informed, this accused officer indicated – in over a decade of diligent service-never used an obscene language in his life either to a fellow colleague, or member of the public in any capacity.
What does this have to do with the subject at hand you might be asking? The incident if I can recall took place 26 years ago, but if I can remember it so vividly, then so too might that Officer who today might now be an Executive officer in charge of Chaguanas ,or Barrackpore, or El Socorro. That lying scoundrel of a woman along with the officer’s boss- one can be certain- had children and obviously passed on similar values to them that are possibly manifested today in Trinidad, Canada Europe or the USA. It can well be that dishonesty pays, the clan, ethnic group, or race is everything; accepting responsibility is not a worthwhile option.
To the writer, what can one say in admonition? It is sometimes difficult to totally eradicate prejudice, hatred, and racism, simply via legislation, as people are prone to love, hate and discriminate particular groups of individuals and people for all sorts of reasons. A word of caution, ‘always pay attention to where power lies.’ Often it is not always in government and its various institutions, as you might be misled to believe. You can love your self, and teach your own children the correct behaviors. In addition, you can be a catalyst for change in terms of respecting differences and providing opportunities outside the clan when it falls within your particular purview.
I am not in agreement with the title of the article “As Racism Wanes, Colorism Persists” but the article is worth reading. It adds to the body of information that shows colorism to be an issue that does not get enough attention. Even Africans do not like looking at their color prejudiced conduct. I think racism is not really waning. In most cases it is more covert and therefore difficult to prove but nonetheless still of major concern.
–Heru
As Racism Wanes, Colorism Persists
By Brent Staples
August 22, 2008
A few years ago, I sat down to read Back Then: Two Literary Lives in 1950’s New York, by the novelist Anne Bernays and her husband, the biographer Justin Kaplan.
I was cruising along, as calmly as you please, when I came to an eye-opening passage about the once-famous New York lunch-counter chain, “Chock full o’ Nuts.”
The passage read: “The owner of Chock full o’ Nuts, a white man named William Black, advertised in the tabloids for ‘light colored counter help,’ an example of nth-degree discrimination.”
I knew that employers had once ruled out black applicants with ads that listed whiteness as a job qualification. I knew from growing up in a black community during the 1950’s and 60’s that my lighter-skinned neighbors (and even one of my relatives) got jobs at dress shops and other businesses that turned away darker-skinned applicants.
Continue reading here
The fact that the taxis especially make only short runs disenfranchises a vast number of persons who wich to travel to points beyond St. Mary’s junction. Persons of African descent in this category of travellers are further disadvantaged when taxi drivers of East Indian descent who might be going to Couva regularly bypass them for passengers of East Indian descent, especially when rain falls
The distination of the Indian Passengers was not stated. Are the Taxi Drivers refusing passengers because of their ethnicity or because of their destination? Not that the latter is right, but the possibility that it might be the operant for refusal to pick up a passenger makes a conclusion of racial or ethnic prejudice somwwhat tenuous.
To Heru – “Anyhow you take it, your story does not automatically make a case for racism because some people did not want to shake hands.”
I am amused that you think my story rings hollow. Doesn’t professionalism require courtesy? A handshake is a symbol of professional courtesy all over the entire English speaking business world. Where does a handshake at an interview mean we are now best buddies or that I am trying to suck up to you? Incredible that you would make excuses for the unacceptable behavior of these women. In Trinidad racism in the workplace is very subtle – a disapproving look, a lack of manners and respect because of someone’s race, an inability to show basic courtesy, a general hostility making it an unhappy place to work. Perhaps it was because my friend had a foreign degree or maybe she was too “fair” for an Indian. I do not know, but I know she would not have gone there with an air of superiority. As I said in my first post, she wanted to help when she moved back home. In the US and Canada they understand that you keep your bias out of the workplace as far as I have heard and you do not have to put up with other people’s prejudices as much when you are at work.
To Ruel Daniels
In your reaction to my contribution re “Continuing racial prejudice cycle” you stated that “The distination of the Indian Passengers was not stated. Are the Taxi Drivers refusing passengers because of their ethnicity or because of their destination? Not that the latter is right, but the possibility that it might be the operant for refusal to pick up a passenger makes a conclusion of racial or ethnic prejudice somwwhat tenuous.
In the paragraph following I wrote: “It works like this: there are a number of passengers standing in a line along the side of the road. The person of African descent is approached first as the taxi drives by, and when the driver is asked if he is going to Couva he either indicates no or does not answer. A few metres up the line persons of East Indian descent would ask the same question, and that same driver who just said no or gave no indication takes them up.
To assert that “…the possibility that it might be the operant for refusal to pick up a passenger makes a conclusion of racial or ethnic prejudice somewhat tenuous” is a gross misrepresentation of the facts.
I agree, I should have perused your post more carefully.
Lisa, please cease forthwith with your phony story as it rings hollow as others claimed. We were prepared to allow you to continue to insult our collective intelligence for a while, but I for one cannot allow this charade to continue due to your so call outraged at this stage. Your “friend have foreign degree”, and “is fair for an Indian?” How would you know for certain that your fictitious friend “would not have gone there with an air of superiority?” If you want to help when you come back home , you do not have to run to a government job, as I am sure you never had one while in Canada or America , where you erroneously claimed have no workplace bias or prejudice.
Why this fixation on governmental jobs by returning educated Trinidadians is totally beyond me. I applaud all those who feel inclined to be subjected to such bureaucracy and difficulties to achieve anything? Why don’t we hear a little bit about our business class dominated by our various ethnic groups including East Indians, in our country that put up their rigid glass ceilings to keep people particularly of African decent out at all cost irrespective of their educational achievements? At least you get an interview in the public sector, I am not sure if the same courtesies are being offered to all our citizens by our extremely selfish and greedy private sector along with their many elites children. Many simply see higher governmental post as positioning for power- especially if it is areas as the NHA and Election and Boundaries, correct Lisa?
These frauds care noting about racisms in our society. They would feign outrage by any slight by Afro Trinidadians, but deafening silence and apologist sentiments when you highlight the obvious racist, bias, prejudicial, and even corrupting influential acts by others on the opposite side of the divide.
I am surprised at the reception and accusations of lying I have recieved on this blog. Your comments remind me of why our country is headed for the gutter. I was not fixating on anything, just sharing a story in an article about racism. Even if you do not share the view that what those women did was racist, it does not make it a lie. I will not be returning to read or comment at this blog and I will be sure to share this experience with my other “friends” about the reception at this blog.
Ftr I have worked both in the US and Canada, probably where I learnt some manners. Also I’d like to point out than in the free market anyone of any ethnic group is allowed to open a business, one ethnic group cannot prevent another from following through with an innovative business idea and being a successful entrepreneur.
Lisa said:
What kind of reception were ones supposed to give you other than their honest opinions. Just because you shared a story implying racism on the part of Africans, people were supposed to just accept it even when the story does not automatically make your argument? I am used to Indians trying to make claims of racism at the hands of Africans that are just unfounded. Often, this is done to project on to Africans a conduct that is typical of others. I have exposed several such cases. If you are going to give a story to make a claim of racism, you would have to present a more convincing story and I have very good reasons to doubt that your story was about racism.
About you not returning to this blog and sharing your experience on this blog with your friends: what in heavens name is that supposed to mean to posters here? Taking that aspect of your response in conjunction with the story you tried to peddle to make a case of racism, I feel you have some real problems which may also include a superiority complex too.
Lisa said:
It is interesting that you had to work in the U.S. and Canada to probably learn some manners. It seems that you may have also had some poor parenting. If that is how you got some manners, then why complain about Trinidadians who may not have had the opportunity to work in the U.S. and Canada to learn manners like you? Why try to claim this lack of manners was racism?
You would need to examine the history of racism that denied Africans access to lands (unlike Indians) that they could have developed agriculture and, like some Indians, sell off to get capital to go into other businesses. You would need to examine the history of banking where Africans were denied loans. Even on the African continent in Uganda under colonial rule, Indians were allowed loans to start businesses and Africans were not. You may need to examine how Africans were removed from culture, including languages, which also impeded their social development in many ways. Indians retained what they had for culture before leaving India that also included their dowry system that acted as a starter for young couples. There is so much more to this story of the underdevelopment of many Africans than some of the simplistic and racist explanations I hear all the time. These bogus explanations usually come from folks who are ignorant of history and have a poor concept of development which is usually measured by the acquisition and hording of money and other material resources.
Lisa I have already made some reassessments of my previous hash comments, and recognize that I was a bit out of line. I reiterate that you are free to place your opinions on this board if you desire, especially if you buy into the notion that black people in our country are faring much better than their East Indian counterparts , and somehow the PNM government have some conspiratorial role in the process since 1956 at it inception. I do not totally share the view after living 29 years of my life in the country, in some of the more neglected areas that were directly under their jurisdiction. You also insult the thousand of East Indians that have succeeded within various sectors of the public service through the years. In like manner you have to try and explain away the political successes of the PNM in a country where the two races/ ethnic groups are divided almost equally.
I believe that the two occasions when the UNC was successful it was prepared to deviate from traditional sectarian politics in full recognition that our country was blessed by different peoples. So today to only limit blame for failures at the polls to electoral
irregularities are spurious at best. The politics of hate must cease, and both people must recognize that they are afflicted by the same problems.
Finally, you should be careful in painting too rosy a picture of life in the developed Metropolitan countries, as some of us are quite familiar of other realities. Your opinions might unfortunately sway others to look negatively at their own country and glare longingly at what might be a pipe dream.
This is an excellent post by Heru as he continues to attempt to be a rational voice for the powerless not only in our country, but for others across the globe. For this, not only myself, but I am sure many others that also care about, peace, security, justice, equality and development are most grateful.
Lisa, try not to be too scared of divergent and sometimes forceful views. Respect the role of history in shaping a people and country, regardless of how you feel the outcome should be. It did not take too much to dismiss your entire nation to one heading for the gutter I saw. You are not the only one that went abroad, acquired what you perceive to be a sound education, and felt that you wanted to come home and make your country into an instantaneous superpower. It does not work like that however, but takes time, patience, effort, hiccups along the way, and most importantly- honest dialogue on critical social issues.
This is how you build as a people, and a nation. These are the sort of things some of us should have learned via higher education in UWI, and other glorified global institutions. Remember when your Professor gave you a project to complete with twelve other students -you probably despised – all with different agendas, and you were forced through expedience to work together so as to acquire that grade you desired- if you aimed to get on the elusive Honor Role? Now you are expected to translate that experience also to real world scenarios, by not being unfairly contemptuous of others, especially the ones stuck in the deep recesses of middle or low level governmental bureaucracy- like perhaps a few you might encounter on past job searching and similar endeavors at home. You should know by now that quite a few can see right through any projected or thinly disguised façade whether at Denver, Quebec, Pretoria, or Suva Fiji.
I have experienced “disregard by perceived political association” whilst at WASA. Note that I didn’t say discrimination or racism. What I mean is that I was passed over for promotion or recognition, simply because it was perceived by WASA elite that I was a UNC supporter. I don’t what hurt more…being passed over after hard work…or being taken for a UNC-ite.
I think that this is more common in T&T than not, and shouldn’t confuse be with racism, rather than as a consequence of the overiding political culture. I think that Lisa’s friend probably experienced the same.
It was the same, and even worse under the UNC. I know that Afro-Trinis at WASA suffered during that period. The brass then was vindictive, brash, hard-drinking types out to prove political points. Having just arrived from Jamaica (Jamaican of Trini parentage), and jumping straight into WASA’s political culture, it was truly a culture-shock for me from many angles …
I have since moved to Canada, where I have had to adapt to another culture and way of life. So far, its been good, but I still reflect on my vastly positive experiences in T&T and Jamaica.
Yes Heru we know africans are treated so bad and all the short comings of the african community in Trinidad is down to everyone else but themselves. Look the whole race thing is wrong, no-one can suffer it worse than one party racism is racism if one person suffers it then it is bad, those who want to be african go back to africa those who want to be indian go back to india, you are in trinidad be a trini first second and last. Come on people change the record this whole race thing is boring now teach the kids something better.
In Trinidad I believe, it’s not so much to do with racism but a measure of INTOLERANCE toward each other. Some Africans can’t tolerate seeing some indo-Trini’s because of their socio-economic status in the community. A big house, nice car, well groomed children, a hefty bank account and lots of “Bling’ on the hands and neck. Then the Indo-Trini’s can’t stand African-Trini’s because of their strong arm approach in general. Truthfully as well as factfully, take for instance the kidnapping problem in T$T; I’m yet to see an African National kidnapped by an Indo, but evidence is unsurmountable in the opposite of that example. Now, I’m not running for any office, nor do I have anyone that’s been kidnapped nor do I have anything to gain by my example. I know some people will get offended by my remark, but i’m not here to be politically correct; it’s just a mere observation backed up with facts; take it with a grain of salt.
My God-Father is one of the blackest, ugliest African Trinidadian I’ve ever seen; at the same token, he’s one of the finest national’s i’ve had the priviledge of knowing. Some may say it’s stigmatizing or stereotyping, but as we all know, people from our corner of the world don’t know what that means. They base their opinions on experience. I believe, if it was indeed racism, Trinidad would’ve been a totally different country altogether. So I tie up the whole thing to mean INTOLERANCE is what the division is all about.
This one is for Felix: why did you think it necessacy to include in your description of your god-father the terms “blackest” and especially “ugliest?”
Trinis are neither intolerant nor racists.Both races make assumptions regarding political affiliation related to race. I prefer to describe the society as competitive. Each “side” going after the spoils and each “side’ considering itself as being disadvantaged. People of East Indian heritage are particularly disenchanted nowadays because a government perceived as African is in power and because Indians consider themselves in the majority.However, on close examination,the PMN cabinet is comprised of people of all races and I believe the prime minister is trying to strike a balance to satisfy the people of T&T.One would have thought that with the passing of time people would have become more TRinidadian, but it seems that they are gravitating towards and trying to reclaim Indian and African roots, by parading around in their respective ethnic, imported costumes and “culture”.Why not emphasize what we have in common rather than what separates us?
My dear Felix the Loveless,
I have just finished reading Ras Teyehimba’s interview with the leader of the Ugandan Dance Troupe that was sent here by their president for Emancipation. I do not know what the group leaders qualifications are, but that was a PHD dissertation of an interview. I suggest you read it. trinidad shares a colobnial past with Uganda, whose president visited us for Emancipation in 2007. I am not sureif it will hold the attention of shallow people (I am not throwing boulders here, believe me) for the length of the article, which runs to eight pages.
What I am glad of is that teachers in Trinidad and Tobago, who have the guts and the determination, can make that piece of reading a classic for our upcoming youth. Read it Felix, please read it. If any of you know Gypsy, the calypsonian, suggest in my name, that he reads it too. I was ofended by his recent singing of Little Black Boy, but my letter to the editor has already been published by Newsday.
Most people would’ve done the opposite of what I did, regardless true or false. My chosen adjective reflex my objectivity on the discussion. Its like everywoman who has a child refers to it as ” the most beautiful baby in the world” and i’m sure you’ll agree,most babies are far from pretty or gorgeous, but factly down right “ugly.” But you can’t tell that to the mother or family. Most “indo-Trini” who have a disllike for an Afro-Trini, do so because of their physical features and not by their other traits such as , kindness, gentlness, thoughtfulness etc. My judgement is not clouded by looks but by deeds. I hope that explaination meets to your satisfaction.
Most “indo-Trini” who have a disllike for an Afro-Trini, do so because of their physical features and not by their other traits such as , kindness, gentlness, thoughtfulness etc. My judgement is not clouded by looks but by deeds. I hope that explaination meets to your satisfaction
This is one of the most racist and ignorant statements I have ever read. The physical features of African descendants are replicated tens of millions of times over among Indians. You are making a statement on a presumtion that the physical features of African descendants are not attractive so you go deeper to find something that is. This kind of suffocating and facetious reasoning is the core operant that funnels anti African prejudice. And you excpect people to see you as some kind of color blind Jesus. Boy, what a bunch of crock.
Ah, Felix, every time you comment, you did a bigger hole for you to fall in. Should I presume that my dark Indian brother-in-law, last named Baboolal, married my sister, who is very fair skinned because A. they would make pretty babies together- they did, his dark skin is completely obliterated in the beautiful children, and because she had a government job, which allowed his lazy arse to dream of being a businessman and contribute nothing to the upkeep of his children? No, I would like to think, that for some brief moment, the flame of love flared between them, before it was obliterated by the reality of his small mind.I am glad that they did not get his beak of a nose- would have been hard to marry girls with a nose like that. Silly man- that’s you, Felix.
You all can bob and weave as much as you want, like the ol’ saying goes, straight talk gets no seat in the house. Bark and howl as much as you want to, i’m also Trini just lilke the bunch of you, and if you think your opinion is the only opinion that makes it to the top, you should think again. Not because that is the way you might like it to be, it should ultimately end up being.
Colour blind is such an understatement perhaps you should take a minute to revise. Like i’ve said in my previous posts, Im not one to be or try to be politically correct, if the shoe fits wear it. Oh! and linda, lets not talk about small mind, please. You berate your brother-in-law, if there is one, about his “lazy arse” and the success of your sister,isnt that descrimination because of socio-econominc status? Really now! the must of had “something” that she loved to marry him; and if my guess is right then she wasn’t all that either; seeing that she had to “pay for it.” If you catch my drift.
That said, Rueil, take as much of a offence as you like about my statement, but at the end of the day its as True as the sky is blue! You’ve probably never heard it, but as a Trini who grew up in the most “Coolie” neighbourhoods in the east, i’ve heard just about all the reasons.
Felix said:
You do not see how you have a warped perception of beauty that is based on a racist conditioning. Therefore, you were just being condescending when you added that your godfather is one of the finest nationals… You are thoroughly exposed there.
Felix said:
I do not know what you are trying to say here. But if, as you claim, most Indians dislike Africans because of their physical features, then you are simply saying that most Indians are racist.
Felix said:
I have never heard Africans claim to dislike Indians because they have money and big houses etc. I have not seen any attitude among the Africans that I know to substantiate that statement. I believe this claim of envy cannot be substantiated to the point of a generalization. This line is overly simplistic and obfuscates obvious reasons for distrust.
1) Most Africans in Trinidad and Tobago are Christians and, as such, they distrust people who are not Christians. As a result of Slavery and colonization, they even distrust other Africans who reclaim their African identity.
2) Many Africans are ignorant about Indian cultural practices and that contributes to distrust.
3) Many Africans have heard racist comments from Indians – comments that are tied to some Indians’ feeling of superiority over Africans – based on their caste system mentality. On the radio, Indian pundits used to preach that Africans came about when Ram (their god) burnt Rawan (the devil).
4) While Africans readily protest the PNM and would openly chastise other Africans, as well as anyone else for perceived wrongdoings, we do not see Indians being openly critical of their leaders.
These are some of the reasons for the distrust, which, to any sensible reader, should be more plausible than envy.
There are reasons for the distrust that exists from the side of Indians but it is largely based on ignorance of African and Indian history and of course, many Indians view Africans through their culture of the caste system. So for that reason, many Indians are racist. If Indians were properly educated about their own history and culture they would know that much of what is presented as a long history of Indian culture, has many African cultural practices that initially went to India with the early Africans who migrated there, and subsequently developed with close ties with Africa. Of course, much of these cultural practices evolved over time, but in essence, they originated among Africans.
Also, as a result of the long reign of the PNM in political leadership, Indians tend to feel that they were excluded from holding the highest levels of political power in the country. They blame this on the fact that most Africans voted for PNM, as if Indians in general were much different in their ongoing support for the Opposition and other Indian based organizations.
I could easily replace “Indian” for “African” in just about every line in the last post and the result would be the same. The argument would easily apply to either group. This debate will go on forever. For example:
1) Most Indians in Trinidad and Tobago are Hindus and, as such, they distrust people who are not Hindus. As a result of Indentureship and colonization, they even distrust other Indians who converted to Christianity.
2) Many Indians are ignorant about African cultural practices and that contributes to distrust.
3) Many Indians have heard racist comments from Africans – comments that are tied to some Africans’ feeling of superiority over Indians – based on their assimilation and adoption of many aspects of white culture and Christian principles. . .
4) While Indians readily protest the UNC and would openly chastise other Indians, as well as anyone else for perceived wrongdoings, we do not see Africans being openly critical of their leaders. The African base supports and has loyally supported the PNM at the polls for generations. The Indians have a history of splintering into a host of political parties over the years.
These are some of the reasons for the distrust, which, to any sensible reader, should be more plausible than envy.
I rest my case.
It seems that there is much ignorance, and mistrust on both sides of the racial divide!If a national consensus was premised solely on the respondents to this posting, then one could assume that Trinidad is in for serious ethic struggle, and even warfare.
However, based on my overwhelmingly positive experiences in T&T over eleven years (1994 – 2005), I thank God that this is far from the case. I am an optimist, but I sincerely believe that if each of us could simply learn to expand our mindset outside of own narrow experience, them we would all coexist a little more peacefully.
Having been brought up ouside of T&T, I accept that I tend to have a more liberal, less harsh view of the prevailing politics than those presented here. I believe that if we could simply take off our racially tinted glasses, then it might be possible to demand better governance fron the PNM..or UNC…or whoever is running the country. Until then, we will continue to have governance by default.
There is much more to worry about in life than our racial differences and perceptions of each other! We have been coexisting for over 150 years now so it’s really time to get over it, and simply move on…
I’ve read a lot of contributions on this topic; and i must say, some of the stories advanced in defending or clearifying or justifying one’s stance or belief is somewhat farfetched to say the least. While i respect the right of each opinion and references, i realize i have to put on the rhetorical cap and disearn the difference between a ‘story” and truth.