By Stephen Kangal
March 10, 2007
First let me offer on behalf of all patriotic cricket lovers congratulations to Darren Ganga and his Soca Chutney Cricketers for once again running away with the Carib Regional and KFC One day Championships. The Team presents the PNM Government with another opportunity to allow it to compensate and make it up to this team for the shabby treatment that meted it to them for an outstanding similar achievement in 2006. Government awarded the pittance of $1million to sixteen cricketers and technical officials while doling out over $35m alone in prize money to the Soca Warriors losers.
What parade/Civic Reception have we organised to honour our young and talented team of giant killers? Who can explain away this discrimination even in sports when we were told to rally around the Soca Warriors who extracted every ounce of goodwill and are in courts for more.
After defeating the Windward Islands in a thriller no Government official met the team at Piarco upon their arrival. Hitherto all we have had was a verbose statement issued by an acting Sports Minister after the stunning demolition of the Bajans at Guaracara. We cannot afford by statal bungling and discrimination to communicate to all young cricketing aspirants that they will be treated as second class sportsmen irrespective of their prowess and contribution to national pride and solidarity.
This Manning Administration, unwilling and almost impossible though it may be, must break out from the shackles of its discrimination-configured DNA in treating with matters relating to the welfare of non-African nationals. Witness the plight and trauma of cane farmers and former Caroni workers today.
Government knows that cricket is the most expensive spectator sport to play. To boast that it was awarding to the women cricketers the same $1m that it gave to our Senior Championship cricketers is downright stupid and an example of discrimination in sports. But then this Government is an exponent in the art of rationalising discrimination.
Why is the PNM government not acting with an even hand with our cricketers and decanting millions to football? Is it because there are too many Indo-Trinboganians in the victorious cricket team and the Soca Warriors had the politically correct ethnic mix?
I stand for justice and equality in plural T&T.
Blah blah blah. Unless Manning and every African Leader in the Caribbean adopt a genuflecting “stepping fletcher” posture before Indians in the Caribbean Kangal will continue to scream discrimination. It is not equality he seeks, for Indians do not lag economically behind any group in the Caribbean. He seeks indian domination of every social sphere of human activity, so that he could feel ego fulfillment in accordance with the caste structure that continues to inform his thinking of how things ought to be.
” Blah blah blah. ”
Is this the way you respond in an international forum? to a professionl writer seeking to publish his views?
“Unless Manning and every African Leader in the Caribbean adopt a genuflecting “stepping fletcher” posture before Indians in the Caribbean Kangal will continue to scream discrimination.”
You are not The Creator Who knows the knowledge of the unseen. Dont pretend to try to tell the future, simply because you are not qualified to do so. You can say…in my limited view such and such…
“It is not equality he seeks, for Indians do not lag economically behind any group in the Caribbean”
Stephen Kangal said:
I stand for justice and equality in plural T&T.
If you think otherwise, you are summoned to bring your evidence. If you live in south Trinidad then you should be able to see the other side of the economic status of Indians.
By the way, you failed to address the two main issues being outlined.
1- What was the reason for the difference in proportion of the wealth for both sports
2- The plight and trauma of cane farmers.
It seems Kangal is just making these bogus race arguments in an attempt to be more appealing to the Indian community to advance his C.O.P. political agenda.
“Why is the PNM government not acting with an even hand with our cricketers and decanting millions to football? Is it because there are too many Indo-Trinboganians in the victorious cricket team and the Soca Warriors had the politically correct ethnic mix?”
Where and when has the government demonstrated a greater likeness for football than cricket? I mean, besides rewarding the footballers for qualifying for the World Cup, the government has not demonstrated that they are really interested in any particular sport. They are interested in the political mileage they get. This race-twisting angle by Kangal is just a load of crap.
True. The gov’t does not give sports the support it deserves. They are good at using sports for prompting their political agenda as was the case with the National Football Team. But it was Jack Warner who pushed and orchestrated the ultimate result of our guys – not the gov’t (and he did it for his love of the game more than political milage – funny how people forget how much Mr. Warner has supported the Soca Warriors in the past). They jumped on the bandwagon like a flock of corbeaux as though they deserved the credit.
What amazes me is that certain people will attack Mr. Kangal but not offer any solid rebuttal other than he is seeking “indian domination”. Mr. Kangal should apologize to such people for speaking out when he perceives an inequity as he does not know that that only works in one direction. Just because “indians” are not economically laggung does not mean they are treated equally. The government did give them the money they have – they, like everyone else worked for what they have.
Furthermore, the same people who attack Mr. Kangal for his perceived racist undertones, are guilty of the very same thing. One writer was up in arms over the Cheif Justice incident a few months ago, talking anout “indians” in Trinidad and Guyans (don’t ask me why he mentioned Guyana bc the issue was only related to Trinidad) thinking they are abouve the law. Now we are not hearing a squeak out of him with the Chief magistrate and PM comming under fire. (I still have no opinion of that matter by the way, because not enough accurate information is availible for any intelligent person to draw an unbiased conclusion).
Heru, I agree with you 99% of the time but you asked a question in your comment above that is clearly answered in Mr. Kangal’s article. As we say, “Yuh asking answers man!”
Heru:
This race-twisting angle by Kangal is just a load of crap.
I dont think anyone will disagree with you, but as much as we will like to pretend that it doesnt exist, doesnt mean that it doesnt, nor does it give us the right to criticise those who are blatant about the facts.
Riaz:
Heru, I agree with you 99% of the time but you asked a question in your comment above that is clearly answered in Mr. Kangal’s article.
Anyone could see the answer, its too vivid. What we have to remember is that we have to look at it in terms of its proportion.
Where and when has the government demonstrated a greater likeness for football over cricket?
Instead of saying that the answer is in the article, or obvious, spell out when and where has the PNM government demonstrated a greater likeness for football over cricket. Also, Kangal is trying to make it appear that the disparity in resources allocated to rewarding cricket and football players is largely due to race. This is utter hogwash.
Daren Ganga, The Next Brian Lara… Be proud people..
Mr. Kangal seems to turn a blind eye to the fact that Indo-Trinidadians historically did not see sport and music as a career. And neither did the wider society for that matter. Not even in any of the schools catered for Indos, there is a popular desire for football among the youth attending their schools. The sciences and certain humanities continue to dominate in many of the minds of most Indo-Trinidadians. It is this and not the govt’s supposed deferrence to his co-ethnics in sport which has by and large determined Indos ability and culture in sport.
The logic behind Mr. Kangal’s conflation of a mere regional competition, which Trinidad conquers most of the time, due to its lack of good players and is of no major significance to the WICB selection, for which Darren Ganga and his co-players have yet to prove themselves worthy of vying and another competiton which, since its inception, was able to capture the minds and hearts of over ONE QUARTER OF THE WORLD’s POPULATION every-time it comes around due to the caliber of top class atlhletes and which a small, unprepared, ill-staffed, ill-financed team like ours, which also received poor-financing from the govt, was able to hold the 16th best TEAM IN THE WORLD to a DRAW, having never played or ever dreaming to play any team of that caliber (since it was THE VERY FIRST TIME that our team was ever to play at such an event) is confusing, wrongheaded, short-sighted and reeks nastily of ethno-political bias. It also displays Mr. Kangal’s innocence and ignorance of why Indos are sport-underachievers and his lack of cultural awaness and understanding of the culture of sport.
Some time ago, I said I never read anything Mr. Kangal writes, because he is so blinded by racial biases that he cannot see a fort ahead of his silly notions of PNM government neglect. I stick to that agenda, and watch others become verbally apoplectic responding to his distribes. I do read the comments, but whatever he writes, I write off. Some others may want to take this advice.