General T&T, Health, Racism Watch

Demonizing Black People

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
November 25, 2020

“Me nah know how we and dem a go work this out/But someone will have to pay/for the innocent blood/that they shed every day.”

—Bob Marley, “We and Dem”

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeThere is a notion that Trinis are a happy-go-lucky people, a description that may be more applicable to African-descended people than to members of other groups of the population. Such a description may be more illustrative of those of us whose world view has been influenced by African religions and philosophies as put forth by John Mbiti in African Religion and Philosophy, Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, or Chigozie Obioma’s An Orchestra of Minorities.

Such a notion (“happy-go-lucky Trinis”) has led others to believe that we care mostly about the celebration of the flesh and other worldly pursuits as depicted in our carnival celebration. Some have even said that while their people were “beating books, we were beating pan,” a cavalier dismissal of an important aspect of our creativity and identity.

This is why we should examine the Avinash Sawh incident more carefully. Some may argue that Sawh was directing his anger at an unfortunate Black woman who was trying to better herself while others are convinced that it reveals the contempt that other groups have for us. At its worst, it signifies our deteriorating economic status and solidifies our position as the footstool of the society.

Dr. Sawh presented his wealth as one of his major attributes, while dunciness (intellectual and economic backwardness) was the defining aspect of Black people. He was contemptuous of what he saw as our non-redeeming values and non-contributors to our society. As he looked down upon us from the pinnacle of his financial wealth, all he saw was our miserableness.

Dr. Sawh never saw his medical gift (the healing of the sick) as a way of contributing to the uplift of his brothers and sisters. Nor does he see the practice of medicine as a special bond between a physician and his patient, an act of faith in which the latter places his most precious attribute (his life) into the care and keeping of the former. Too many human beings lose their lives when doctors see them merely as a means to acquire more money.

Few people are likely to place their lives into the hands of a physician or surgeon who possesses the racial views Sawh holds. When I was operated upon for prostate cancer, I placed my life into the hands of the doctors and nurses who were assembled to ensure my wellbeing. I never believed that I was given lesser or inferior care because of my race.

Dr. Sawh is a naturalized citizen who emigrated from Guyana to Trinidad several years ago. This is not and should not be an important fact under normal circumstance. However, his acceptance of Trinbagonian citizenship takes on a different dimension when one realizes that what should have been accepted as a blessing (his having prospered in his new land) was used as a machete to castigate those who offered him that blessing and made his wealth possible.

Dr. Sawh’s behavior is almost as unforgivable as that of an Afro-Trinbagonian who goes to the United States, becomes a naturalized citizen, prospers and then castigates Black Americans for not having the fortitude or intelligence to utilize the benefits that land of honey offered him. It is almost as though he forgot that the wealth and prestige he obtained arose because of the arduous and unrelenting struggles of African-Americans.

Using the color of one’s skin as the sole criterion for offering a job to someone in a multicultural society can lead to disastrous consequences. This is not a long leap from using other physical criteria to get a job in our society. In China today, certain employers in job descriptions use the height, weight, and attractiveness of women as requirements for employment. The New York Times reports: “In a 2015 job posting, Alibaba said applicants must have ‘reasonably good looks.’ Female ushers hired for the 2008 Beijing Games were told that they had to have a ‘standard body shape with good proportions,’ and only those between 5 foot 6 and 5 foot 10 were considered” (November 16).

Ethiopia is a multiethnic society. Until recently, it enjoyed a fair amount of ethnic tolerance although the Tigrayans, with just 6 percent of the population, dominated national politics. Two weeks ago, violence broke out between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front which ruled Ethiopia for 27 years and the present government installed in 2018 and led by Abiy Ahmed, a Nobel Prize-winner.

On Thursday Amnesty International said that “scores likely hundreds, of supposedly, mainly ethnically Amhara residents of southwest Tigray were stabbed or hacked to death in Mai-Kadra with machetes….The human rights group also had digitally verified gruesome photographs and video of bodies strewn across the town,” adding that the dead “had gaping wounds that appeared to have been inflicted by sharp weapons such as knives and machetes.” (FT, November 14).

These atrocities led Josep Borrell and Janez Lenarcic, officials of the European Union, to observe that “ethnically targeted measures, hate speech and allegations of atrocities occurring in Ethiopia are deeply worrying. The demonization of ethnic groups is a vicious and lethal cycle from which Ethiopia must be spared.”

Ethnic relations, in any society, can break down within the twinkling of an eye unless we listen to the cries of those groups that are suffering from ethnic bias and do something about it. Dr. Sawh’s outburst signifies a larger problem that demands immediate attention.

Forty years ago Bob Marley warned about the consequences when such social breakdowns go unheeded. Let us learn from our prophets and do something about it.

27 thoughts on “Demonizing Black People”

  1. “DEMONIZING BLACK PEOPLE”
    But Professor… Isn’t Dr. Avinash Sawh Black? Mis-guided and Mis-educated as he is… He looks no different than some of my Ethiopian, Somalian Bredrin dem.

    Since you love Reggae, Professor… This is what ‘Raj’ (My Ethiopian Bredderin) Texted me.

    https://youtu.be/15tB6sC3JOs

  2. Selwyn started off well and then pivoted away from honestly analyzing the religion and culture of his recent political masters to talking about continental african ethnic conflict.To understand cudjoe’s betrayal, one must realize that he quoted his FAKE “BFF” Satnarayan Maharaj’s famous racist lie, without naming him, because selwyn cared more for sat’s fake friendship than the wellbeing of africans. Selwyn KNOWS that indian anti-african racism is derived from brahman-ism (Hindu-ism), and is dominant thinking and practice among even the converted “hindus” who are christians (presbyterian) or Islamists. However, because selwyn is a UNC, he can no longer criticize indian or brahman-ist “Hindu” religiously TAUGHT hatred of africans. Look at how cudjoe contradicts himself with this TRASH he wrote just before the last election

    Making a truce with reality | Columnist | trinidadexpress.com
    https://trinidadexpress.com/opinion/columnists/making-a-truce-with-reality/article_cff8d6da-c952-11ea-9aea-3f3ae0e5ca0b.html

    Traitor!!!

    1. Mr Inconvenient I really wish you would stop trying prove your point by quoting other people and share something of yourself with us.

      Racism, tribalism and slavery have existed in most societies in the world since the dawn of history. The Bible tells us that the Jewish people were enslaved first by the Egyptians and later by the Persians. Ibn Batuta, a Muslim writer from the 14th century tells us that so many slaves were taken from India during the various Muslim invasions that even the beggars in Samarkand and Baghdad had Indian Slaves. Closer to home, in South America, the Aztecs and Mayans routinely enslaved their neighbors. Black Slavery is not a unique experience. An inconvenient fact is that the majority of the African slaves sold in West Indies and the Americas were actually enslaved by Africans themselves and acquired through inter tribal wars and hunting expeditions specifically to acquire slaves.
      Now in the 21 Century most of the former enslaved peoples have moved on and see themselves as citizens of the various countries they are fortunate to inhabit.
      Only in T&T and the USA, a small minority of people seem to think that because their ancestors were formerly slaves they are somehow entitled to a life free from work, sacrifice, and responsibility. USA is a rich country and can afford to have some of its citizens not pulling their weight. Not so in T&T, even a small number of the privileged class (PNM supporters) could destroy the country in no time as we are already experiencing.

      On a more positive note, when you get to know a person you see them as a human being, like yourself, and not as a member of another race, a monster to avoid or eliminate.
      Peace, good health and happiness to all.

      1. Slavery you say?
        Meet world’s Number 1 slaveholder: India – Living News , Firstpost
        https://www.firstpost.com/living/meet-worlds-number-1-slaveholder-india-1177509.html

        An unsavoury fact: India tops global slavery index – The Hindu
        https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/an-unsavoury-fact-india-tops-global-slavery-index/article8671904.ece

        Slavery & Casteism in India: No Road to Freedom? | OHRH
        https://ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/slavery-casteism-in-india-no-road-to-freedom/

  8. Maybe it’s time to review and improve the vetting process for new immigrants to T&T.
    There are interview techniques and questionnaires to eliminate this type of applicant.
    Is there a mechanism to revoke this person’s citizenship and return him to his country of origin. This would be the best punishment and would demonstrate that this type of objectionable behavior by any citizen would not be acceptable. To those on both sides who utter these types of comments within the confines of your living rooms and kitchens, think about the effects on youth and the welfare of your country.

  9. If all the indian guyanese and other indian islanders who migrated to t&t during and post ’86/NAR were deported because of racist hatred of africans, the UNC woul lose seats!!!…If their racist offspring left as well…UNC would HEMORRHAGE seats!!

  10. Inconvenient Truths must be a lover of people from India. His knowledge along with his copy and paste behaviour reminds me of Kian. I think he should move there.

  11. Dr Sawh has lived in two countries that have experienced ethnic polarization and strife and this would have an impact on his perception of African people.It’s within his right to vent how he feels about Africans and the predominantly African police service just as many Africans use derogatory terms against Indian people.
    Many African professionals hold racist attitutes toward Indians but their conversations are not given media coverage .
    Dr.Sawh may have become enraged when the police officer came into his office and the issue about the ethnic composition and intellectual capacity of the police service was expressed in his tirade.
    To demonize Hinduism as being the root cause of racism is irresponsible as many whites who despise Africans are not Hindus.
    Race and religion continue to divide the world but a powerful elite minority cabal conquers.

    2. LIES LIES LIES!
      Indian anti-african Racism comes directly from religion (brahman-ism a.k.a. Hindu-ism) , and general indian culture which is heavily influenced by Hindu-ism! Vigorous dishonesty always goes along with indian racism, as they try to slander and demonize their VICTIMS (africans) with FABRICATED claims of the reverse. This sick behaviour has been a foundational principle of indian society for 2,500+ years til’ present day, and was purposely and maliciously imported and transplanted to T&T, Guyana, Fiji, Kenya, Uganda post the abolition of slavery, as a means of spiting africans. The Spanish, French & British knew exactly how hateful brahman-ists and indian societies are towards african skin, hair and facial features! These lies of africans ill treating indians are designed to RATIONALIZE & LEGITAMIZE INDIAN RACISM and signals an intention to continue their racism indefinitely! Blaming africans for the racist hate they receive from brahman-ists and other indians is GASLIGHTING!!!

    3. If anti-black, anti-african racism is comparable to a biological virus, brahman-ism/”Hindu-ism” and its by-product of indian socio-political culture, is the eldest and MOST VIRULENT “strain” of the virus, that this planet has EVER seen!!! European, middle eastern, asian and other racism, anti-african-ness, anti-blackness, are comparably WEAKER and more HUMAN-E!!!…Why??? brahman-ist “Hindu” scriptures DEMON-IZE black skin and other african features as SUB-HUMAN with its world IN-FAMOUS Varna/Caste/Racial hierarchy!!!

      CIAOO7 LIES!!

  14. Black people in Trinidad have savoured the fat of the land since independence. Since the 60s thousands from the islands have come to Trinidad, finding gainful employment in the oil, government, nursing and police service.
    Under systemic racism the PNM used their power and influence to exclude Indians from government service. So much so that all government institutions were up to 75% black people. I remember as a boy going with my father to pay land tax in Siparia. He was told to come back the next day. The usual thing humiliation and disrespect. As one civil servant told my friend with that name you will not get a teaching position.
    Today with the PNM in charge it is back to the good old days where a select few are benefiting from the national patrimony.
    The PNM used race in the last election and continues to do so since.
    As for land given to Indians it was the most hostile and uninhabitable land given, today those lands flood easily. Since the 1960s the PNM has distributed thousands of houses to their supporters. I remember the lottery program under Marilyn Gordon.
    For black people to claim racism in Trinidad it is an insult to the general population. Tobagonians for example are recipient of billions of dollars from the empty treasury. Many work in Port of Spain own villas in the sister isle that they rent out.
    The PNM has created a cultish following and continues to promote and practice racism. The President, Prime Minister, DPP, Army, Chief Justice are all holding positions of power for the tribal masses. With the help of the 1% and the media, the rape the treasury, sold out the energy sector, and give their friends in foreign exchange. If you are an Indian you will be hard pressed to find a government job. It is in the DNA of the PNM to promote tribe over nation.

    1. Mamoo is LIAR!…and typical….notice how he acknowledges the facts, but downplays them with LIES! The indian farmers of today are NOT farming ‘ancestral’ indentureship land…That is a common LIE!!! Indian famers today (99%) are farming on STOLEN (squatting) lands post 1975, when white overseers ceased being “D boss” and the PNM bought Tate & Lyle’s land and converted it to Caroni 1975 ltd. in order to absorb it’s INDIAN workers. If caroni employed almost exclusively indian workers from inception in 1975 by the PNM Government….isn’t is a BOLD FACED LIE to say only africans were employed by PNM and indians were excluded? LIAR! Most indentureship land were sold to the government and made wealthy indian families (e.g. point lisas), or were sold to syrian/white/etc business interests, converted to wealthy, anti-african gated communities, indian owned, staffed and vendored malls, markets etc. The entirety of trinidad’s landscape is littered with proof of this reality. Mamoo and racists like him, will never offer or reference any proof or facts to substanciate their malicious, anti-african LIES, hidden fig-leafly behind political rivalry by slandering the PNM. The indian community’s racism embodied in their political religious, educational and other grassroots leaders & representatives since the 1940’s up until present day, is primarily resposnsible for ALL issues of racism between indians and african communities….THEY ARE ANCESTRALLY, RELIGIOUSLY, IDEOLOGICALLY COMMUNALLY ANTI-BLACK & ANTI-AFRICAN !!!

      Observe their motherland and learn!
      “It is White Modi Versus Black People”: Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd on the Government’s Demonetisation Policy
      https://caravanmagazine.in/vantage/white-modi-versus-black-people-kancha-ilaiah-shepherd-governments-demonetisation-policy

      1. Trinidad has been a haven for black people. That is a fact. The reason why some black youths are not succeeding is simply because when the islanders came they flooded Laventille. Many uneducated youths without parents gravitated towards gangs. But other than that black folks have done very well in Trinidad. The Oil industry was and is one of the highest paying industries dominated with black people. Government services could have easily put a sign “Indians need not apply”. I saw how Indian children were treated at Service Commission. Black people have ruled TnT for over 48 years out of 58 years of governance, inconvenient truth is an example of the uneducated PNM supporter filled with this strange malady that black people are being oppressed.

        Much of what inconvenient truth is “parlying” about Indians is fictional. When Indians left India they left behind the caste system. The caste system became irrelevant because they were in Trinidad to work the sugar plantations. They did not have the time or the energy to practice such a system that unfortunately still exist in India today.

        22% of Trinis are of Indo/Afro heritage, if Inconvenient truth was correct it should have been 0%. But in the theatre of his mind his psychosis is ignorant, belligerent hatred born in the sewer line of human depravity. It is his kind that manufacture a wicked evil brainless unsubstantiated ideas that he chew on like a dog eating fecal matter. Inconvenient please throw off the shackles of ignorance and celebrate your people.

        1. Kangal- “22% of trinis are of Indo/Afro heritage…”
          FALSE

          22% of Trinidadians are CLASSIFIED as ” Mixed”…
          …Of that 22%, 8% are CLASSIFIED as Afro/Indo mixed….
          Who are the 14% left?

          African/European/Indigenous a.k.a. “Caribs” /Venezuelans
          African/European who identify as “Mixed” (Kes,Carmona)
          African/European who “pass” for white (Denise Plummer)
          African/Chinese (Lee-Sing, Tim Kee, etc)
          etc etc etc
          Interestingly any of the above that are products of any of the above and indians, are also identified as mixed but OMIT their african ancestry. Many indians identify as indian even though a grandparent may is mulatto, african chinese etc. Kangal pretends that africans and indians have the same history. As stated in earlier posts, african trinidadian documented history goes back at LEAST to the late 1400’s early 1500s. Indian trinidadian history started in 1845….AFTER The indigenous, chinese,portugese and europeans had already begun “mixing” with africans. Most of the “chinese” , portugese” and “whites” that indians intermarry with already have african blood! Sorry Kangal!

          Let’s break Kangal’s “Doogala” heart with FACTS…

          Meet the first Indians while they are still around – The Economic Times
          https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/science/andamans-and-its-tribals-meet-the-first-indians-while-they-are-still-around/articleshow/51663756.cms

          All “Indians” are “Doogalas” (BLACK African Ancestry)

  15. Representation by population would put Afros in Opposition since the Indian population is the largest minority in T&T. The exclusion of Tobago would further erode Black dominance and control of every prominent administrative position in Trinidad for decades. Regardless of Inconvenient Truth’s sick obsession with everything Indian, successive Africans governments have dominated the political landscape and decision making. If the situation related to population statistics and power were reversed, the country would be faced with a Black revolution.
    I am surprised that this Blog site permits an apparent psychologically disturbed individual like Inconvenient Truth to post so many divisive, hate fallacies so frequently.
    Are you sure that this site uses Akismet to reduce spam?

    1. Tman’s, like Mamoo are a sociopathic racists. They enjoy routinely telling blatant ahistorical, bad faith lies about african-indian trinidadian/guyanese relations while faking outrage when there is fact based, honest, historically accurate rebuking of their malice. Notice how they expect the right to use this forum to harm african people publically but question the right of another to defend against their attacks? THAT is referred to as the “Caste Mind”!! They believe in a warped logic moral code that says that whatever they do against those they deem inferior(africans) is an inherent, justified RIGHT…and this obnoxious belief that any resistance or defense is inherently WRONG and unjustified! This is the essence of their belief system….apartheid morality!This authoritarian, dishonest, inequity based morality has penetrated and degraded trinidad and guyana’s judicial, Health Care, education, business, social and other systems in the past 30-35 years. THAT is the true “SICK OBSESSION” with enacting racial injustice against africans.
      Isn’t anyone curious why, Tman & Mamoo, do not ever earnestly critique the wealth of relevant educational sources that i provide to validate my arguments, but rather they try to DEFLECT to dubious ad-hominem attacks???
      Kangal, like many others is a cosmetically ‘converted’ brahman-ist “Hindu”, who’s christianity is merely a “CLOAK”.
      Siewdath is poopse!

      Watch, listen & learn about their mentality and it’s origin/source

      Dalit: The Black “Untouchables” of India-Dr. Velu Annamalai
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRmkJh4P4bg

      India Untouched: Stories of a People Apart (Documentary)
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvke6ycgkL4

      What type of SICK morality would enslave female children to clean their elementary school’s WATERLESS toilets and sweep the premises BEFORE class daily, because the religion deems them GENETICALLY inferior to their other classmates!!!!?????????

      1. I guess you are stuck on the caste system let me clean the mess out of your head inconvenient truth.
        (1) 23% of the Indian population in Trinidad are Hindus. Out of about 39%. (+/-)
        (2) The caste system died when Indians left India. If a man have a good job comes from a decent family he can marry anyone. My uncle was considered Chamar but he married a Brahmin.
        (3) About 18-22% of Trinis claim parents from Indian and African family.
        (4) African people rule Trinidad for about 48 years out of 58 years of independence. Housing, government jobs, oil workers etc saws increased financial mobility for black folks. Even when the UNC was in charge they benefitted the most.

        Most of your comments inconvenient truth is based on ignorance. Sorry to say.

        1. Lol….Kangal… Chamar+Boat Brahmin, still=Chamar! Sorry!

          ” The caste system died when indians left india…” LIES!!!
          Brahman-ism=”Hindu-ism” = “The Caste System”

          To appreciate the ridiculousness of this dubious lie, imagine indian trinidadian muslims claiming that when their forefathers left india, that the ” No Pork, No Alcohol system” died…but that they are still muslims obeying the quor’an…Ridiculous!! “The caste system” is western terminology and classification of the observed WHITE-SUPREMIST RACIST HIRARCHY of India’s darling a.k.a
          Brahman-ism’s/Hindu-ism’s RELIGIOUS DOCTRINE EMANATING FROM SACRED TEXTS! Has the Baghavad Gita been secretly replaced? What about the annual ramleela, celebrating rawan (black) losing his head in flames? THAT IS “the caste system” and is ironically diavowed by Dalit (untouchables) as racist propagadizement of indian history!

          Round Table India – This Diwali, think why we celebrate death
          https://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7025:this-diwali-think-why-we-celebrate-death&catid=118:thought&Itemid=131

          Also, globally, it is well known that indian muslims and indian christians, as descendents of converted brahman-ists/”hindus”, practice and adhere to “the caste system”/Varnashramadharma (anti-black, anti-african white supreme-ist racism)

          FACTS:
          India Untouched: Stories of a People Apart – YouTube
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvke6ycgkL4

  16. I think sometimes we give these people too much privilege to display their ignorance. If we look around there are thousands of Dr. Sawhs among us. So are we going to keep addressing their vile hypocrisy and hatred for Black people every time one of them barks? No. I have come to believe that the best way is to rise above them and if the Law is broken let the authorities deal with it. Not that I am unhappy to read this Mr. Cudjoe but as the old people say, I have to take things into my own hands. I will not be disrespected by anyone of any creed or race especially those of White or Indian descent. If you disrespect me expect a disrespect in return right there and then, be it in the Pope sanctuary. So you will be better off respecting me and I will do the same in return. I’m all about a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye. Don’t expect me to turn the other cheek!

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