By Raffique Shah
July 14, 2015
WE must really be a nation of “cunumunus”, one-point-one million fools (if we believe the EBC number of registered voters, which is another story) for an array of politicians, would-be and have-been, to treat us with the contempt they do.
As if it’s not bad enough to have the two main parties, in several incarnations over six decades, use us, abuse us, then woo us and win our votes time and again, we have arrived at a point where every Tim, Gary and Gerry feels emboldened to form a Jouvert band that is a mix of Ole Mas, Devils, Pierrot Grenade and bikini-clad beauties, and invade our minds with the intention of robbing us of whatever little dignity we have left.
How else does one define or explain the so-called Third Farce Movement, an overnight mutation of dropouts from the People’s Partnership (PP) that presents itself as Jah’s answer to our cries for deliverance from evil, when theirs is not the kingdom, when they have neither the power nor the glory, not now, not ever (with apologies to Matthew the Apostle)?
It was one thing to have witnessed, back in 2013, the grim resurrection of Jack of FIFA, who rode not a jackass, but on the backs of foolish people of Felicity, Charlieville and environs, in a wild orgy that saw him destroy the UNC-hands that had created him, to the acclaim of those who worshipped him.
Today, when the FIFA-messiah speaks, a dozen or so listen, and he will be lucky if half that number vote for him.
Maybe it was that epiphany-apparent that inspired Timothy Hamel-Smith, the Griffiths—Gary and Nicole, Gerald Yetming, Carson Charles and Phillip Alexander, all good Christians I imagine, to miraculously manufacture The Third Farce and present themselves as redeemers of the nation.
What they could not see was the hand of the Devil lurking right behind them as they mischievously pretended to be doing God’s work.
For behold, when the five not-so-wise men conjured their symbol, it took the form of not one finger, not two, but three fingers boldly sticking out, proclaiming what they will do to us as a nation, should they ever come close to power.
What really is the Third Farce? Keith Rowley says they are UNC wolves in sheep’s clothing. Rowley is wrong by a mile. They are sheep in wolves’ clothing, or more appropriately, collectively, an ass in a lion’s skin. In other words, they are making themselves appear to be more powerful, “badder” if you will, than they really are.
Leader Tim boasts that the Farce will win the marginal seats in the upcoming election. Really? Whatever sheep they manage to mislead to the election-slaughter will be lucky to retrieve their deposits.
Tim is eyeing the “30 per cent undecided” that several sample polls speak of—people who, I am convinced, have long decided what party they are voting for, but who are not saying so: they will use one finger to have their say on election day.
As for the 30-plus per cent who never vote, they will remain detached from a system they believe has nothing to offer them. It will take a miracle, maybe the Second Coming, for any party to persuade such persons to actually vote.
To add to their woes, the Farce has serious credibility problems. Its frontline members have been part of the UNC and/or COP from as far back as 2006, in instances from the first taste of UNC-power in 1995. They claim to have discussed “the idea” of the Farce with PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar before launching the new party.
Were they seeking permission, blessings, endorsement, funding—what? Why would you speak with the leader of any party before launching your own? Does that not reek of collusion clothed in delusion?
In fact, when confronted by the media, Carson Charles, whose stultified mind remains frozen in an NAR-era long gone, stammered as he deified the PM.
So if their hearts are buried in the UNC and what is left of the PP, why not stay there and work hard to return the coalition to power?
Do not feed us crap about procurement and party financing legislation: you were there for five years and did nothing about these issues. Regarding constitutional reform, you botched it to the point where the PP had to abandon whatever little tinkering they conjured.
The greed that seems to be in the DNA of most politicians will ensure that campaign financing remains a multi-million-dollar jungle in which the wealthiest and the greediest feast while a few honest people starve.
It’s sad to see seemingly good talent go to waste.
But as it was in the beginning of poli-trickery, so shall it be in the end. Amen.
It is traditional for those who leave the UNC/Partnership to go out immediately and form a party.
Bas started the tradition way back then when he formed CLUB 88. Hulsie left to form MUP, Ramesh followed to form Team Unity.
Then Dookeran moved to form COP, Warner moved to form the ILP in record time. The Third Force is an aberration, more like a pressure group formed to make an arse of themselves.
The UNC is now 25 years old and is an established party but it has given birth to many children who leave home and then attack from the outside. Those children are simply following their papa Bas who never fails or miss an opportunity to attack the current leader of the party.
The current PM understood the propensity of party members to backstab, form cliques and make fools of themselves. She publicly stated that members of the partnership are free to criticize the partnership in a public way. And so they did… She formed a sort of “crab in the barrel” atmosphere where there were eruptions ever so often. It appeared as though the Partnership would crumble. But the shrew PM just stood back and allowed the fermenters of dessention to evaporate, MSJ jumped ship and tried very hard to take COP. They failed. Today the critics are no longer vocal but filled with praise.
The PNM is a tribal institution founded by a member of the secret rossecusion order. As such members are sworn to secrecy and washing dirty linen in the public is a no no.
Two PNMites left and formed the DAC and ONR then morphed into the NAR and took down the PNM by the 33-3 beginning a new era.
As Eric once said the only enemy the PNM have to fear is the PNM itself.
Dear Mamoo
Washing one’s dirty linen in public, should be a no no for any political party with, political experience, political sophistication and class.
I am horrified that you could actually mention the names of Basdeo Panday and Winston Dookeran as some sort of example for what the Third force has done. Bas, as you call him and Dookeran are Statesmen, men that have made contributions to their country, have stayed true to their beliefs and at times have put country before political ambition . No politician is perfect but these two statesmen have not fallen far below the mark.
This Third force is nothing but a ploy by the current regime to split the vote.
NOW WE KNOW WHY THE PRIME MINISTER BACKED OFF OF THE RUN OFF VOTE.OBVIOUSLY SHE HAS COME TO REALIZE THAT FOR THIS ELECTION (WHICH IS GOING TO BE A CLOSE ELECTION) SHE CAN MAKE GOOD OF A THIRD PARTY SPLITTING THE VOTE. ONCE THE ELECTIONS ARE OVER, SHOULD SHE RETAIN THE GOVERNMENT, THE PRIME MINISTER WILL RESUME HER ATTEMPTS TO CORRUPT OUR CONSTITUTION AND DIS EMPOWER CERTAIN SECTIONS OF THE POPULATION.
Mamoo if you were family to me I would recommend some kind of deprogramming for you, because you have obviously been brain washed. I think one day when the truth becomes obvious to you , you will be very disillusioned.
Sally please I am not denying contributions I am simply stating facts when it comes to the two major political parties in TNT. The third force is simply going to disappear…
Lets hope they disappear before they have the chance to have any impact on the outcome of the elections.
PNM is a tribal party ?
Shah you see it one way and call it that way. I see it another way. I follow the money. And the money says that this third force appeals to NOT me or you, the losers in our society begging a month pay check BUT to the filthy rich , bourge, wanna bes, and their uncle toms and suck ups who are looking to secure ground and their filthy investments if ONLY to make good on their own selfish returns in our dying carcass of Trinidad and Tobago. They are nothing but “the corbeaux” we would see on a lonely Caroni cane road taking apart a dead carcass. It is a shame we no longer have anyone of any stature to look up to in T&T anymore. We are now a lost society. Only a complete revolution can help us now. When you read the newspaper now and you see the money trails of grease hand you realize the “have” are grabbing whatever they can, like bad arse opportunists would do. Then you read about others living in shacks, containers, rat holes etc. with children and no governance to help them. And the leaders preach about the niceties else that they can cut and paste and sell on political platforms that THEY KNOW are meaningless to our ordinary people. Why, because we simply do not have the needed infrastructure or working systems in place or even adequate enforced legislation for ANY OF THEIR COPIED IDEAS to become reality in T&T. Instead it the lies and grease hand that comes with that …that becomes difficult to accept. These so called leaders who have failed us miserably over the years keep coming back to do what….clean up an old mess or make more mess for us to fix later on. They just are shameless con artists shaped by the G8s who are the real menaces to our society over time. We have to remove the blinds and let God do the talking. We got to send a very important message come 7th September, 2015. We have to let the flunkies know that we know they flunked already and tell them to go take a hike somewhere else. We got to send a message to big business who are just plain greedy for our wealth. We got to send a message to the real racists in our society who are ruled by the foreign greed that has plagued our society for years ( USA, UK, Norway, Canada, India, China, Japan, etc.). If we want to now eat little puppies, spend all our monies on rejected vehicles, be further robbed of our oil and gas wealth, consume poisonous cancer promoting drugs, appliances that are worthless elsewhere, forever live on credit and eat poisonous processed foods from elsewhere or purchase cheap useless goods from south america etc., then by all means vote the same crap back in. We can no longer dream about migrating as we would say as ( as Skippy, the uncle tom wants us to believe ) there is no home except for second class citizenship outside T&T. Here is where we have to make it. But we must first do some weeding out. If we must stop buying papers as they own it and control what is communicated we MUST DO THAT. We must use FACEBOOK, TWITTER, LINKEDIN etc., as electronically the message reaches out. The radio stations even POWER 102 are a complete waste as they now control the presenters just as in the newspapers. History does repeat itself. They will fail just as the robots failed. I know as in OWTU they pay off the union bosses and promote them as a clone just as in EM. We must be weary of the uncle toms for they hate their own blackness. You know when you look at all the groups that promote T&T the race that stands out is the AfroTrinis or the Mixed Afro Trinis. Yet these groups are mostly dirt poor. The rich ones are plain suck ups to anything money can buy. They do not see the shame they leave behind. The HUGH WOODING LAW SCHOOl suppose to emulate the GREAT MAN but it is ruled by suck ups whose only wish is to make it. They do not care if they sully the man’s name. And you know he was a Bajan not a Trini. This saddens me BIG TIME. WE MUST CHANGE THAT. There is NO LEGAL AID functioning in Trinidad and Tobago lawless system. Legal promise is for the rich and famous only. Come on Trinis we have plenty work to do. Lets start a conversation on this. Lets strike out the wrongs and send the wrong doers packing. God will lead the way for us.
“You know when you look at all the groups that promote T&T the group that stands out is the Afro Trini or the Mixed Afro Trini”—Jerry C. Hussain
They definitely stand out, the highest murder rate, highest single mothers, highest rate of poverty. Yes they certainly do promote T&T globally.
Or course the Prime Minister don’t count because she don’t fit into that pompous category. The Chinese President came to Trinidad first time in the history of TNT. The result Chinese surgeons are performing complex brain operations amongst other complicated operations in TNT but in Jerry world that don’t count. They are building a university, hospital amongst other important structures but that don’t count. Canada gave the PM an official state welcome first in TNT history but according to Jerry C. Hussain that don’t count as promotion. The U.S. Vice President came to TNT but that is not promoting TNT. I could go on but in Jerry’s tribal world if you don’t have African blood you nuttin.
Yeah Mamoo I cannot recall one Indo-Trini making a name for T&T whether it is sport, education or otherwise.
This is what made TNT famous something you are well aware of Jerry C. Hosein. This is what people were talking about the most just a few years ago.
PNM RECORD WITH CRIMINALS
1. In the run-up to the elections of 2002, Jamaat al Muslimeen leader Imam Yasin Abu Bakr revealed that Government had started the paper work to hand over five acres of State lands adjoining the Mucurapo headquarters of the organisation to them. Manning pulled back under public pressure.
2. Meeting with known gang leader Mark Guerra at Crown Plaza
3. Meeting with known gang leader Kerwin “Fresh” Phillip at Ambassador Hotel
4. Meeting with known gang leader Meryn “Cudjoe” Allamby at Crown Plaza
5. Meeting with former murder accused David “Buffy” Millard at Ambassador Hotel
6. Secretly Meeting with known gang leaders at the Rose Foundation in St James
7. Making former murder accused David “Buffy” Millard coordinator of a $250 million NHA refurbishing project
8. Appointed Mark Guerra as national adviser to the URP
9. Patrick Manning car being sold to well know drug lord Dole Chadee
10. Meeting with Abu Bakr on more than one occasion at Balisier House
11. PNM Holds the record for highest murder rate under any administration 550 in 2008.
So far the PNM led by Rowley has voted against 5 bills that would have helped in the fight against crime:
1. Constitution (Amendment) (Capital Offences) Bill, 2011
2. The DNA Bill, 2011
3. The Electronic Monitoring Bill, 2011
4. The Defense Bill, 2013
5. The Bail (Amendment) Bill, 2013
Do you think the PNM want crime down?
Oh Mamoo
I am sure the PNM wants to get rid of crime, but not at the expense of our Democracy. This has been the problem with the PP government, they react to situations, but they don’t think of the long term impact of their actions.
All of the tentative legislation that you mentioned above has the potential to violate the basic tenant of all democratic societies, that a man is presumed innocent until proven guilty. You cannot deny a man his freedom until and unless you have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that man is guilty of the crime he stands accused of. I know in our society if they look a certain way and they live in a certain area then most likely they are guilty, but you still need to prove it.
Of all the legislation you mentioned above the defense bill is the most dangerous. If I am not mistaken this bill attempted to conscript soldiers to act with the Police. The Police are trained for civil issues and hopefully know what they are doing. The defense force is trained with a military focus, as such may find themselves in civil situations violating the rights of individuals.
In 1961 when Trinidad made its first attempts at Independence the process was stalled and delayed by Capildeo. He had issues with the constitution. It was on his insistence that there be a clear separation of the defense force and the police. Capildeo saw the potential for Politicians to use the defense force to harass and intimidate civilians. Thank God he held out for that clarification.
This was what Eric Gary did in Grenada, he involved the defense force in civilian situations, pretty soon Grenadians found themselves living with a ‘mongoose gang’ that went about intimidating civilians who spoke out against Gary.
I know these principles of Democracy seem like a lot of fairy tale nonsense. However if you woke up tomorrow in a country with a government that did not have regard for these issues, at some point it will impact on the life of the individual…….. that means you mamoo.
Don’t forget the crime in Nazi Germany, under the leadership of Hitler was very low but Germans suffered terribly at the hands of a man like Hitler.
Please go back to school and learn the English Language before you continue to reply to my comments. You apparently do not understand the language and I do not talk in Hindi.
This is what they, your people MISS K and particularly you Miss K should be talking about on your political platforms:-
Billions of USD spent by who …from Petrotrin’s revenue base over the last 5 year period including who made what from the many oil spills clean ups in the last 5 years.
Whare are the Billions of USD made from all foreign owned and managed oil and gas and petrochemical plants operated in T&T (I am interested in the Yara Plants that are managed from inside Brussels)? Is the industry being run to the ground? What are the last 5 years on stream time factors in relation to profits and what percentage went into our treasury?
Where are the Billions of USD funneled out of NEC coffers? Who are the culprits? Who were fired for mismanagement? and what plans are being made so that we will never again become a true laughing stock to the entire world?
What are our quantities/rates of global warming gases in emissions to the atmosphere annually in T&T that are causing endless beach/property losses and vast seaweed productions?
Are there any listings for pre qualifiers or prescreened persons who will manage state owned enterprises, banks, ministries, IC, NGOs and other typical government run or managed institutions etc., and governments investments for the next 5 years?
Will Gated Degreed persons be in line for jobs in our country or will there be foreigners continuing to fill these jobs when locals can do better? And will they be paid fairly in keeping with world standards as in keeping with the huge leaps in our cost of living.
What are your plans for inflated priced cars, homes, schooling fees , clothes etc. in T&T that deprive our people and not just yours daily? What is your respective ministry doing about cheap foreign used vehicle market in T&T that our people does not get value in?
Will there be proper standards/laws for all our Unions to comply so that our unionised workers can get more speedy reasonable wage settlements and NO MORE RAGE SETTLEMENTS to properly care for their families?
How will our local fisher folks stop suffering with respect to earth quake driven seismic unlawful testing in our waters while the government looks the other way and what are government plans to resolve the long standing problems?
Billions of USD made by Tringen 1 and 11 that never made its way to our treasury and why over the last 5 years and more so from 1992 to now. Please do something about NEL shares they are a complete waste of time.
NP monies that only some of it, for of course propaganda reasons, only now reaching the treasury.
Billions supposedly spent for our needs in each ministry. Where did over the 400 billion in budgets really went over the last 5 years?
Billions in slush funds doled out by each Minister in infra stuctural contracts around the country starting with the south highway project, the road to Mayaro that disappeared in flood waters etc?
Billions spent in her trips abroad and what we got in return?
Billions of USD in give away projects over the last 5 years to foreigners in particularly the oil and gas industry of T&T. What did we gain?
Just like the floating Museum; is the Causeway a done deal now? Then the Carenage population should hold their heads and bawl now. I trust they now know where to place their votes.
The flooding problem which of course will continue with massive losses to our dear citizenry is no where in her plans.
The fishing depot quams/problems/issues are no where in her dreams for T&T as well over the next 5 years.
THE WASA failures are for us to bare. No more talk about clear clean water like in Barbados for all of sweet T&T. There is no money in it for her deep pockets.
No talk about the historical RED House but of course there is plenty to be made of a new multi Storied SALVATORI Location building. No talk about parking for us to enjoy our PoS city. Of course we are just the pawns who need to vote her back in power….the stupidies.
But then what about development in Tobago or Cedros or Toco or Carenage or Diego Martin or Maracus or Blancissuese etc. Of course they are all PNM territory. She does not need votes there. Sancho boy check your back…know thy enemy. As an afro trini know your real place like others like you in your party they become silent with time. When she gets tired of seeing you its high o pancho for you. The ship is no longer coming; it sank a long time ago.
What about natural gas pricing for foreign concerns? Is this still a giveaway. Can there be conversations on that like elsewhere? And of course Pheonix Park where Connoco make a killing off an ill conceived natural gas pipe distribution system that as far as I know still has endless heavy hydrocarbon liquids going into the battery limits of downstreamers that flash as it is letdown as in Pheonix Park and so whenever Pheonix Park ESDS shuts them down, and causes a country wide electrical failure from time to time and of course consequently we suffer from massive appliance failure that T&TEC says bring the proof which we of course cannot do and so we all lose. The ill designed bypass valving (to Pheonix Park facility)opens up and chokes the normal flow or passage of needful gas to the downstreamers (LIQUID AND GAS FIGHT EACH OTHER IN THE VALVE TRIMS). Is she planning to help us here or are we toast to that. But then again she sees no money in that for her deep pockets. We black people will suffer just like we are doing now from the drug gangs.
And of course the crime problem. Is there a resolve in her Manifesto for the next 5 years. The murder rate is over 210 so far and by year’s end will be over 400 with kidnappings on the rise again. But in her Philipine Hotel she is well protected with lots to drink and eat and marijuana to smoke as well. Lets hope the helicopters do not fall out of the sky while she enjoy the rides in them AT OUR COSTS. The five day weekends will continue at our expense of course.
Is this too much for Tmam and Mooomoo to reply to?
You are more stupid than I thought, I just mentioned the current PM.
Your mind is truly twisted!
Dear Mamaoo
You are a victim of the racist media of Trinidad and Tobago. The Crime is the only aspect of the Afro Trinidad experience they choose to highlight. Although Africans are not the only ones committing crime. However the media only highlights the crime committed by Africans.
I could talk about those behind the drug trafficking whose crimes go unchecked because of their wealth and the colour of their skin, but I would talk about that today.
However I want to reinforce what Jerry said. When this country of ours is promoted Internationally, it is usually by an African Trinidadian. Jerry probably did not have the time to go into details, but I am going to take that time. I believe you need exposure to those outside your immediate community and ethnic grouping.
Lets start with the Intellectuals:
Eric Williams: AFRO Trinidadian
His intellectual contribution to the international community led one member of the Queen’s envoy to describe him as ”In an instant he is Brilliant”
Eric Williams was one of the first, if not the first western leader to be invited to communist China by its President back in the 1970’s
I could go into the role he played in shaping the Caribbean Region, but that would take too much time.
CLR James: Afro Trinidadian
Author of the book The Black Jacobins. This book has been acclaimed internationally. The author gained international respect as a historian. It is alleged Eric Williams was some what afraid of him
ANR Robinson: African Tobagonian
I am one of those people that believe ANR Robinson had a very divisive influence on the politics of Trinidad and Tobago, but he made a sterling contribution to the International legal fraternity. The International Criminal Court was his brain child. This court plays a significant role in global and European legal systems.
Karl Hudson Phillips- African Trinidadian
Judge appointed to the International Criminal court. Served quite a long tenure
Desiree Bernard: Afro Trinidadian Woman
First female appointed to the high court of the Supreme court of The United States.
Geoffrey A. Henderson: Afro Trinidadian
Yet another Afro Trinidadian appointed to the International Criminal Court
Lets look at the Entertainers who promote this country internationally.As far back as the 1970s there was the duo Peaches and Herb )
Now we have artists like Machel and Bunji both of whom have gained international respect for their work.
There is also David Rudder again who’s music is respected internationally.
However you should know that are many behind the scenes abroad writing music that is performed by the more famous artists
lets look at the Sportsmen
Wilkes: Afro Trinidadian
The firt Trinidadian to win a bronz medal at the olympics in weight lifting back in either the 1940’s or 1950’s
Hasley Crawford: African Trinidadian – Gold medalist sprinter at the olympics back in the 1970’s
Atto Bolton: Afro Trinidadian- Sprinter
A four time Olympic medal winner
Then of course there are those that made their contribution to the civil rights movement in the United States, men like stokely Carimichael another African Trinidadian who earned International respectability.
Of course there is also the beauty queen Penny who is also an Afro Trinidadian
Now you may wonder why I have chosen to only highlight those who have made international contributions. The answer is simple:
Our country is at its very core an afrophobic society (Anti African) That has always been the case.
It is only when these men and women leave Trinidad and travel the world , their talents and abilities are appreciated and respected.
This is the end of the lesson for you mamoo
All outstanding citizens to be emulated and held in high regard. But for ever one of them there is over 10,000 brothers in Jail. An in the U.S. 17% black population but over 50% in of prison inmates. In TnT not have the same race element as the U.S. the African inmates are still too high…. But I am proud of those who did the nation well and thanks for the reminder.
Mamoo
For many years the African community in Trinidad was main stream Trinidad, it did in fact represent the larger section of the population in the past, so there will be larger numbers in the prison system.
However the African middle class grew in leaps and bounds between the end of colonialism in 1962 and the present. That is not a lot of time in the history of a nation. I went to school at Bishops in Port of Spain in the early 1980’s most of the people I encountered there were like myself, mainly of African descent.
Many of them like myself went on to acquire higher education both in Trinidad and abroad. These are everyday folks, but the media has no interest in the African Middle Class which represents a good chunk of the population.
Instead they choose to highlight the prison population which is in fact a minority of the total African population.
If you look at who owns the local media then it becomes easy to understand their interest in perpetuating stereo types
Notice that you are able to quote the statistics out of the United States. That is harder to do when it comes to the Caribbean, since, unfortunately Caribbean Governments do not see gathering this kind of sociological data a priority.
In fact they would prefer not to gather this kind of data since it may dispel some of the very same stereo types generally believed around the country.
The US experience is quite different to our situation here in the Caribbean. Their level of racism over the centuries was more violent and threatening to the African American.
Unlike the Caribbean, no politician sat down and created a sociological strategy that would mobilize a class of people left is dire straights after slavery/colonialism.
The African American is as you rightly said a minority. However for the violence and the subjugation that the African American has experienced on the American continent they have done remarkably well.
Again the racist media of the US only talks about the 50% of the prison population.
There is also a large African American middle class of Lawyers , Doctors Accountants etc that the media has no interest in.
They won’t tell you about the individuals that worked 2 or 3 jobs while putting themselves through university. The African American prison population still represents a minority of the Total African American population.
Statistical information has to be interpreted carefully. You have to know more about the methods of those gathering the information before you can form an opinion.
Like I said Mamoo you are a victim of the racist media both here in Trinidad and the United States
Jerry you called it as it is. People should not loose sight of whaT IS GOOD FOR THEM. What is good for them is not the UNC, what is good for them is not the Third Force!
You, many of us, recognize the importance of the African race in us. We are the ones who keep carrying the flag around the world. Trinidad and Tobago, through the many years from our colonist in the 1600s who were only interested in El Dorado, developed on the blood and sweat of the African and mixed African peoples. From our Carnival, Steelband, Soca, Calypso, football, track and field, beauty contests, education etc., we struggled for recognition but we made it. The rest only came here to deal themselves a helping hand. They were never interested in belonging to a developed T&T. Yet we are the ones who suffered the most and are still kept suffering the most. And this is still so. From way back through our french roots and even so still today many Africans or their off springs has made it worldwide in sport, education, business, as leadets etc. But every time one of us makes it in the world despite our difficult upbringing and tireless efforts there is always someone there waiting in the wings to shoot us down literally and otherwise. Even today as mirrored in the USA. I always remember Nelson Mandella, MLK, and you can go on and on with others. It is just distressing and when you talk about it the lousy critics whose peoples just took and took and are still taking from the world’s wealth with no conscious of who they leave in poverty with destroyed families. It is really real sad. As an engineer there is a dog fight over water and fertile lands, where our food comes from, with oil and gas wealth. In Trinidad as it is also elsewhere we buy endless cars and houses that are grossly overpriced …is it NOT ironic that these we cannot eat. Yet we get get harmful cheap quality high priced food from elsewhere. Our poor children grow up in confined spaces and are forced to go to the G8 countries where they become maids, waiters, cleaners and low paid workers as their skill sets are discriminately refused there. There are no forums there to deal with their discrimination as this is widely accepted. Yes all our con jobs origin there. Yes we are sidelined as second class citizens and when our children rebel they are labelled as terrorist and criminals. No attempt is ever made to find out why they turned. In your country you are refused work and left to deal with poverty and living on the good graces of others. Many families are torn as governments just simply grab onto whatever grease hand they could get from foreign entities operating in our beloved country who are busy filling their faces with our country’s wealth. Greece is a beautiful country and has no right being poor today because of this same master plan by the G8s. But time will come when God will act as our sins do come back to haunt us. So when Moomoo and Tmam blog I certainly know who they are serving and what is their intent as they are part of the corrupt system to distort the facts and win the praises of the masters they serve for a few pieces of silver. As Eric Williams said it THE RECALCITRANT MINORITY WHO CONTINUE TO ROB US OF OUR TRUE DEVELOPMENT IN RETURN FOR POWER AND A FEW PIECES OF SILVER. WE MUST REMEMBER THIS ON THE 7th SEPTEMBER 2015.
Well said Jerry. When the African is in power he fights for ALL OF US (all races). When the Indian forms the Government everything is wrong with what the African is doing. During the last (Manning) government, our crying shame was Manning had a prophetess; Manning built a church on the hill; Manning was a dictator; the PNM is the worst Government. Jack, in his enthusiasm to overthrow Manning presented to us, the charmer – Kamla. It was said that Panday would be too divisive, so the next best thing would be to elect the so-called, first woman prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago. So, there was joy and celebrations everywhere. But there is an old creole saying, “you know what you have but you don’t know what you going to get”, and so they elect the queen of smiles and charm. Today, our future in Trinidad and Tobago is bleak because the queen of smiles have made sure she got rid of ALL blacks in position of authority and replaced that with Indians. It would not be surprising if as a last act of desperation they get rid of Acting Commissioner Williams and replace him with Gerard Heera. That would not surprise me one bit. Because all the experienced heads of departments have been replaced with people who are unqualified for the jobs they hold, everything in the country have gone haywire. We have square pegs in round holes. The Governor of the Central bank, himself unqualified for the job, now has as his deputy another unqualified person. How do we expect to be progressive? Regression is the only way for us with those kinds of policies. Now, our good friend Mamoo, is telling us that we were not even instrumental in fighting for freedom from slavery – it was Wilberforce who did that for us. As for our Independence? again, why praise Williams? Ghandi did that for us he advises. Now, whilst Mamoo might appear to be alone in saying that, there is good reason to believe that there might be hundreds of thousands of Mamoos out there, fomenting that same belief. If we are to accept Mamoo’s theory, then it is confirmation that William’s statement that Indians represent the “recalcitrant minority” in the run off to independence. Ever since the UNC is in government there have been efforts in academia (UWI) to rewrite history. The history they would like to change is the development of how Trinidad and Tobago evolved. I have been told (I did not read this myself) that Bhoe Tewarie has been on record as telling the Chinese delegation to Trinidad that, the steelband was created by Indians, and he used as his evidence the Jit Samaroo family. While we should never deny the talents of the Jit Samaroo family and their participation in building the reputation of the steel band, it definitely is taking it too far in rewriting history to favor them as the inventors. To do so would be a continuance of denying Bertie Marshall and others of the creative and inventive roles they played, whilst residents of Laventille. In creating and developing Pan for world wide use it enjoys today, Bertie and Boogsie would be hard pressed for recognition if Bhoe was to have his history certified. In the meantime, all Kamla’s efforts to offer Bhoe Tewarie and Hamid Ghany to the international world as scholars have failed. The world needs authentic scholars not fake ones international academia do not think that this duo is ready for world class diplomacy and world class academics as yet. So, Kamla hold tight, you have roughly 49 days to promote this duo as world class materials – hope you can make it. Mamoo writes all his garbage about black and African peoples and not one Indian voice is raised in protest. But I am absolutely sure, after reading my commentary, this blog will light up with calls for my head as an African racist. They want to be the ones to call us any kind of names they wish to, tell us how successful they are and how backward we are, but we in return, must sit back and let them propagate their false superiority. No right thinking black must sit down and allow this to happen. Yoruba, I understand your spiritual restraint, but as the psalm says, “the fool have said in his heart, there is no god, corrupt are they and have done abominable iniquity”, yes, this is the nature of the Kamla Persad Bissessar administration. Through the mouths of idiots like Mamoo, we have to read those insulting and tenacious upkeep of lies just so that they can be seen and appreciated as superior. This is disgusting and should not be allowed to continue.
UWI is a place where, if a black person wants to study, liberal arts or communicqtions type of degree studies, it is ok and they would be accepted. But if they want to study medicine, law, engineering and the sciences? every excuse is made for rejecting them. This is high time this kind of stupidness must stop. See what happened to the UTT case? It was ALL about hate – no credible evidence, the intent was to relegate the one man who has been responsible for the development of the energy industries in Trinidad and Tobago – Professor Ken Julien. It is My hope that Professor Julien should now ask for $100M in compensation for the humiliation that the official government wanted to cause him and the PNM government. There is too much hate emanating from this government. Which government anywhere in the world do we know of, that as soon as something is said derogatory about them they opt and send “protocol letter”? None, this Kamla administration is the only one world wide that practices such hate. The smiles are for the birds. The man solely responsible for her advancements, is now awaiting trial to be extradited. He was the one who told protesters that their cause was not valid because there were no Indians amongst them. I am speaking of Jack Warner in defending any and promoting the so-called goodess Kamla. Now she is the one with the loudest voice supporting his extradition. If that is not EVIL – tell me what it is? The media, in its quest for election profits are doing all in their power to paint Jack as a “corruption accused Jack Warner” to win favor with Kamla. This is madness!
Of course you must do as *you* think best.
For myself, I by no means lie supine and prone in the face of such provocations, as I hope my contributions demonstrate.
But I was always taught that two wrongs don’t make a right. That’s where restraint enters.
As a batsman at cricket, one must also exercise restraint. Otherwise, one is apt to be dismissed, not only by the good ball that should be left alone, but even by the bad ball that we go too greedily after.
The wise general learns restraint too. The wise boxer, like Ali vs Foreman in Zaire, also sometimes must exercise restraint in order to overcome.
Restraint is the better part of militancy, I insist, and repeat.
Having not just read, but studied Scripture, I know exactly what and with whom we are dealing. Scripture describes them as “thou Asia”, that “art the glory of her person”. That means they are boastful about their supposed accomplishments. In the context, it is clear that the Most High does not approve. Why should we think it right to follow them in their boastfulness? If the Most High condemns the one, is He going to condone the other?
The Scripture goes on to condemn them for “following after Babylon in all her hated ways”. This is an allusion to money-grubbing, power-grabbing, and advantage-taking. They are in thrall to Mammon. Of course there are exceptions, but that is for God to sort out.
Elsewhere Scripture lets us know that there would come a time when indeed we would lay ourselves as the ground, that they might go over.
That too was not a commendation. It was an indignity that it was prophesied we would suffer, but God was signalling a condemnation of them, and a promise that he would put the cup of affliction in their hand.
“Indian time ah come” is a form of would-be oppression, as again, they “follow Babylon in all her hated ways”. Such oppression, you may be sure, God hates. Those who go along with that program will surely get their comeuppance. Sp it is written.
“O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. 6 A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this. 7 When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever” (Psalm 92:5-7)
So, again I say, keep faith, exercise restraint, do not requite hate for hate.
I do not say to lie supine in the face of provocation. But as a good batsman, boxer, or soldier must, keep your wits about you. Do not respond with vainglorious boasting that brings you down to the level that God condemns. That is the advice I follow.
I have the faith that God will do what He says. For our part, we must keep the faith, and return unto and keep the Covenant obligations.
How simple, yet how hard!
Anyway, above all, do as *you* think best. Just don’t forget to pray for guidance in all you do, that the Holy Spirit may use you to your own highest good, and even that of the enemy that has been placed before you, that you might learn some lesson.
Shalom.
You are right. They are the “Third Farce.” They are “fast” and foolish enough to think that they can hoodwink the majority of voters with their “old talk.” All these dropouts will lose their deposits and cease to exist after September 7.
Shah,almost six months ago I anticipated that “snippets” of your present column will be written.Congratulations! Apparently,the present Government,and the Peoples National Movement (to vote for)are “the lesser of two evils”
Sixty years ago the late Rt.Hon Dr.Eric Williams (a visionary)established a political party;which amongst other things delivered us form colonialism,and eventually Independence etc…..(God bless him)
In retrospect..when he “appeared” man did not walk on the moon.In the 21st century:there are “problems” in T&T..”solutions” are required.Someone/some group (foreign/local)with ideas,which embrace the millennium are urgently required.
Is there something absurd about my comment;please notify me and I will make amendments…..merci/thanks
Jerry C. Hussain, I am surprised at your comment that no Indo-Trinis have made a name for TNT in sport, education and otherwise. You are wrong about that. Do you know about Dr. Capildeo,V.S. Naiapaul,Ria Ramnarin, Inshan Ali, and Sonny Ramdahin, the first Indo-Trini to play for the West Indies? I can go on and give you more infomation on that issue but I feel that you should do your own research before you write things that are erroneous.
These names you called were good but a name like Brian Lara or for that matter C.L.R. James or Butler or George Weeks or Lord Kitchener or Boogsie or Eric Williams etc. are persons who changed the landscape of our beloved Trinidad and Tobago …or even names like the Soca Warriors or K. Pollard,Walcott, Haseley Crawford, Thompson etc. These are people we will always support for our flag and their achievements. Capildeo and Naipaul were members of a recalcitrant minority who had fellow indians under heavy manners and in a lower caste equivalent to slavery here. They were in it for self and their own fame and never had any real impact on T&T. Ali and Ramadin were members of a good team and were okay but were not stsnd outs in their own right with world records as Brian or Pollard. I believe you feel you know ….but that is just a feeling with you. You should qualify what you want to say else you begin to look very stupid. Most Indo trinis only care about self and making money. They just have not learnt from the mistakes of the mother India. Like our PM they love to kiss a foot. The only feet I kiss are the feet of my Lord and Saviour – Jesus Christ on a cross. He died for me….that I may have life and have it abundantly.
Yuh forget to add Abu to the list a man who held TNT for ransom for 7 days. He is the most popular tribal member and you discard him just like that…
How about uncle Jack Warner does he not count. A man who made TNT famous, across the world everyone know of TNT most famous son. He is in Interpol wanted listed. He made news and is making news in every media outlet globally.
I see you did not mention Manning a man who spent $2 million on a blimp to spy on citizens. Nobody wanted the blimp after….
Worthy of mention on that list is your fadder most likely from one of the islands who came here to enjoy the fat of the land and then spread hate.
As for India it has the 4 th largest economy. Place a satellite in orbit around Mars on its first try. No nation has achieved that…
The wealthiest African nation is Maurituis with a 60% Indian population….
Still no indo trini can be added to the list…WOW. And lets get the facts not your fiction JAW made MISS KAMLA…without him there was no KAMLA money wise and otherwise. As I SAID BEFORE THE RECALCITRANT GROUP HERE TO WHICH YOU AND TMAM ARE CHIEF SPOKESWOMEN ARE JUST SIMPLY BACKSTABBERS RUN AWAY FROM MOTHER INDIA.
So much hate there Jerry C. Hussain. Okay great are the Africans we owe everything to them. There! make you feel better.
These people do nothing for me but everything for you and I am happy for you. As for your descriptives it is more a reflection of you. When I was a child I used to boast to my friend on how great my father was, because it made me feel good. But as a man I don’t have to boast on anyone. By the way why is Laventille the model for you?
Abu was protecting himself from the greedy indo rats who were provoking him to strike …. remember the words …Ah coming for ya…spoken by members of the then government. Abu simply took in front. One day the truth will be revealed to all.
Robbie was so consumed by self he was not aware what the indo club 88 members of his government was up to. It is interesting that one side of the story came out in public when it was said he said take your seats and go. The NAR won the election 33 to 3 then. Club 88 had only 11 seats. Even in 2001 they were not a together government as the famous trio of Sudama, Maharaj – both Ralph and Ramesh formed their own party. UNC was never total party…simply a bunch of recalcitrant minorities coming together to raid our treasury. IT IS AMAZING THIS IS STILL SO TODAY ….MONEY DOGS. MOOMOO AND TMAM LETS BLOG ABOUT THE 200 MILLION UPFRONT MONEY GIVEN TO SIS BY GANGA/WASA EFFORTS TO PASS MONEY TO GOPAUL/KAMLA AND FOR US TO GET BOO IN A WATER SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT. IS SEWAGE THE MINISTER ALSO INVOLVED. IS THIS WHY SHE WAS HOUSED AT GOPAUL IN 2010 TO SWING THE FUNDS. TELL MEH NAH.
Third force evaporates. More than likely they had no traction and realise it is best to call it a day. The country is in very good hands.
And in time to come the UNC will fragment and disappear from T&T and ALL WILL BE HAPPY FOR THAT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcwll8xdGVY
This is what will appear if the UNC disappears. For Jerry and Kian.
The Third Force Movement pulls out
STATEMENT – Today, Timothy Hamel Smith, chairman of The Third Force Movement announced that the time frame was too tight to establish the institutional framework for a fully fledged political party in order to contest the General Elections of September 7th.
He noted with pride that TTF had made enormous strides with large crowds of enthusiastic supporters joining them at their rallies and had rattled the political establishment despite the very short time frame since its launch on July 3rd.
The Third Force Movement was created with the explicit intent of making a real difference to the politics of the country: one based upon principled governance.
Timothy Hamel Smith noted that, “the whole reason for our existence first as a lobby group and then, latterly as a political party has been based upon three key foundation principles
1. The implementation of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act, 2015;
2. The enactment of Party and Campaign Financing legislation.
3. The amendment of our Constitution so as to introduce a Fair Electoral Voting System.”
He expressed regret to the many supporters who have shown their allegiance to TFM, as a real hope for change. “But”, he said, “it is better for TFM to prepare itself on a more sound structural footing now, so as not to disappoint its followers in the future.”
This is not the end of the Third Force Movement.
Gerald Yetming, member of the leadership council thoroughly endorsed Mr. Hamel Smith’s actions and noted that the driving ambition of TFM: to influence change in the present way of governance, remains unchanged. “The desire to effect change, the desire to drive for more honest, transparent and principled governance, no matter which party is in power, remains” he said. “We will now simply regroup to identify which channels of action can best be activated to continue to influence how our country is governed”
The Third Force Movement will no longer seek to participate in the General Elections leading to September 7th, but this does not preclude any of the groups or individuals associated with it from contesting these elections in their individual party names
He also announced that the scheduled political meeting to take place tonight in the Croisee has been cancelled
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20150715/news/the-third-force-movement-pulls-out
Well thank God they decided to do the right thing.
If one is to acknowledge its rightful place in society, then established rules and regulations must indeed be observed by those who profess to be the watch towers of the fourth estate. I am speaking about the new designation of Mr Jack Austin Warner.
The Express has designated Mr Warner as “corruption-accused Warner”. Every Monday morning there are charges of corruption by the Kamla Persad Bissessar administration, but I am yet to see or read on the papers or any media where Kamla is so addressed. Why is this so? It is true that Mr. Warner has been accused by the United States of corruption whilst an official in FIFA but that in itself is not reason to show disrespect and indignity to a member of Parliament. It is in fact a subtle form of racial discrimination when under an Indian government all kinds of criminal activities occur and no one is held accountable. Let’s start with the $US110M drug bust of illegal drugs emanating from manufacturing in Trinidad and Tobago entering into the port in Virginia U.S.A. How can a government allow that to happen? What about the case of our manufacturing beverage that caused the death of British citizen? How about the case of frozen chickens at Point Lisas? There are many and profound atrocities that can be attributed to at least a lack of government supervision but the media did not come out and call them “corruption accused”. IN Jack’s case, it has been said that he stole the $US10M from South Africa. South Africa has been on record as saying that the $10M US was NOT A BRIBE, yet the accusation persists. The United States do have some of the best prosecuting attorneys in the world and I’m sure that if and when the time comes they will be well placed to deal with these charges. I do have confidence that they do know what they are doing and unlike the mauvis langue that passes for coverage in Trinidad media, they will sort out credible evidence to deal with crimes that they are affected by. Kim Boodram and Anna Ramdass of the Express appear to be most comfortable in perpetuating this kind of reporting and since no court or jurisdiction has convicted Mr Warner of these atrocities, they should discontinue this practice, if they cannot apply it to others who are so accused as well.
It is in fact a subtle form of racial discrimination when under an Indian government all kinds of criminal activities occur and no one is held accountable. (KIAN)
Your incorrect and racist reference to the government of T&T as an “Indian” government has eroded any credibility which you have remaining.It is a government of T&T consisting of a coalition of parties and ethnicities.
The Express has designated Mr Warner as “corruption-accused Warner”(KIAN)
This is the correct designation for someone who has been indicted by the US on several charges and is awaiting extradition and conviction.Your new found admiration of Jack fits your racist agenda.
It is in fact a subtle form of racial discrimination when under an Indian government all kinds of criminal activities occur and no one is held accountable. (KIAN)
The Leader of the Opposition and the PNM have attempted to brand the PP government as corrupt as part of their campaign and reelection strategy. The PM has responded appropriately whenever illegal practices occur. The problem with the PNM is that they throw out wild accusations without evidence in a futile attempt to perpetuate an unfavorable stereotype of the PM and her government.
The PNM has been the architects of corruption in T&T since the fifties. IT is not necessary to list the names of PNM members and legislators who have been accused, charged or absconded to foreign jurisdictions.
The present regime continues in the tradition with absurdities like emailgate, one of the most cowardly,atrocious and destructive acts of blatant corruption ever perpetuated in any Parliament.It is even more alarming to listen to the PNM and its illiterate supporters holding out hope that some sinister plot by the PP will vindicate Rowley on emailgate, in spite of the denials of Google and the US attorneys…..shades of the cocaine placed in Sadique’s water tank by PNM agents, still an open police file after all these years.
No amount of talk to the contrary can obliterate facts that in the public domain. Evil always seem to conquer good temporarily and that is where we are with the PP currently. Kamla’s performance speaks for itself, no amount of defence can change that. When racists find it convenient to call other people racist, it is their own deeds that they are trying to camouflage, especially when they belong to racists groups like that which Sat Maharaj commands. Like I always say, my comments are for my people, not you, but feel free to say what you want as long as my people get what I am saying that is all that matters. Racists will always be racists. If everything I write, no matter how truthful, appears racist to you, then you must be racist.
Oh! by the way TMan. Twenty years from now, your comments will always be exactly what they are today. Your mind NEVER wavers from the DNA escribed in your head.
That of Indian superiority. But if it makes you feel empowered, keep repeating yourself. Oh! I forgot repetition is what makes you tick!
Dear T Man
You are right when you say that There is no Indian Government of Trinidad and Tobago only the government of Trinidad and Tobago.
Kamla won 70% of the vote in an election year where the turn out was over 70 %. That is phenomenal given the the fact that the voter turn out in T& T is usually 40 % or less. Those figures indicate that Kamla made significant inroads into the African Vote.
However Kian is also right in his/her perception of Kamla’s administration being an Indian Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
Actions speak Louder than words. Even though Kamla got a good chunk of the African vote, her administration only served one section of the population . In other words she has squandered the opportunity to bring the racial politics in this country to an end.
This is not the first time in our political History that the people gave the leader an opportunity to end the racial politics, and the leader failed the people.
In 1986 when the NAR was elected under the one love theme, it was the first time both African and Indians voted for the same political party. That was a golden opportunity to end the racial politics. What did Mr. Robinson do once he realized that the party had won even better than they expected.? He told Mr. Panday to ”Take his 10 and go” Once again the people were betrayed.
I guess it is not in the interest of the Politicians to end the racial voting. If they did they would be judged on performance on election day, and as far as I am concerned both parties have under performed. If someone is voting for you because you are Indian or African you don’t need to perform.
This back and forth about which party is better for the country, Indian or African is silly.
Trinidad has the most wealth in the region yet countries like Barbados can offer there citizens a far better quality of life.
Just something to think about.
I feel uncomfortable with racial boasting, even when the accomplishments boasted of are indeed worthy of praise and high honor.
The Most High commanded us in the second commandment not to make any graven image of anything in heaven above, or on the earth beneath, or in the water beneath the earth, to bow down to and worship. So we need to be careful about venerating idols, including kinsman ancestors and heroes. Honor them certainly, but the building of monuments to them is against the Word of God.
Thankfully, we in T&T are not much given to hero worship. What statues do we have of our heroes? Eric Williams? No, and it is testimony to his wisdom that he left instructions to do no such thing.
Brian Lara? Yes, and such honor seems to have been a poisoned chalice … his name is now associated with a cancer clinic that killed patients, and a stadium that remains an unfinished waste. God does not like monuments to vanity, whether of our own making or not.
I’ve said before and say it again… what other people get away with, we the “Negro” scattered to the West, children of Israel, cannot and do not get away with. There is a biblical reason: we have a Covenant relationship with the Most High that other people do not. He blesses us abundantly with our talents, yes, that is there manifest for all to see. (That is why we are an “astonishment”… as was prophesied in Scripture we would be. We are at once both a blessed and an accursed people.) But He demands that we carry our gifts with modesty.
Not false modesty, mind. But the kind of modesty certainly, that refrains from vainglorious racial boasting. Why? Because *all* accomplishment is a gift of God. To Him therefore is due all the glory and all the praise. I could cite chapter and verse, but I refrain except to say read the story in Daniel about Nebuchadnezzar’s fall and rise. There is also instruction in the story of Balaam’s ass.
Eric Williams was right: “To me make no monuments”, he said. Like he was right about “Together we aspire, together we achieve”.
He even was right, although tragically misunderstood, to rebuke our Indo brethren for being a recalcitrant minority, and yes, for requiting hate for love. That is not to their credit, and we must rebuke them for it. God requires it, even as He required Jonah to prophesy doom upon Nineveh. Just recognize that the messenger is only a messenger. It is God that disposes.
We must be careful not to descend into any sort of hate. God’s Word on that is clear. “Do not oppress the stranger, for thou wast a stranger in Egypt, and knowest the heart of a stranger”. And this: “Do not abhor (hate) Esau, for he is thy brother”. Elsewhere the Most High makes it abundantly clear that Esau is our enemy, even that He, God, “hates” Esau. But we, his children, are nevertheless admonished not to hate Esau. Mathematical conclusion: we are not to hate even an enemy. Real and certainly not merely perceived.
Yeshua gave us the example to follow, as did Moses: “Father, forgive them, fof they know not what they do”.
Eric Williams again was right. “Let the jackass bray!” In other words, leave the would-be enemy to their own folly. Let us not join them in it. Neither requite hate for hate.
Then there was the 1970 matter involving Raffique Shah, Rex Lasalle and others. Again Eric Williams exercised a wise restraint. They were young, and hot-headed, as 24-year-olds tend to be. Raffique Shah today certainly displays some wisdom of his own that I look forward to reading from week to week. He is no longer a hot-head, but the militant tendency to trenchant commentary comes through all the time. He is unafraid to speak truth to power, and I am grateful for that, and we as a society are better off for it. So Williams again gives us the example of wise restraint. Let us honor him by following his example.
So, please let us have no more of facial boasting. It diminishes us more than it ennobles us. And in inviting comparison intended to belittle the other, it incites to hatred rather than to comity. Let us not requite hate for hate, even if it is a historical fact here in T&T that they have requited hate for our love.
The simple Biblical fact of the matter is that the Most High certainly is in control. We the “Negro”, children of Israel in fact, have been chastised lo these over 2,500 years, precisely because our ancestors were guilty of disobeying our Covenant obligations to God. So let us accept with grace the manifold indignities He has made us to suffer. It is a school-room, and like Williams, we should learn our lessons well. By all means let us honor our kinsman ancestors for their gifts and accomplishments, but let us not do so with the intention of diminishing the other by odious comparison.
Shalom.
Wise words from a credible source.Let’s end it here.
Hope we are all reading and listening.
Thank you Yoruba
Pray for miracles, you all need them, 1.1 million of you!
Yoruba thanks for the thoughts expressed! You sound like a thorough christian brother and may god bless you for that. You are true to the bible teachings and whilst it might go over well with some of us, it will not be the same with all of us. Which is exactly what you are saying. It is the kind of things that I always mention. I use this blog to learn, even though arguments might be heated at times, it allow me to get a better sense of the types of thinking out there and what motivates thought. It is for this reason that there are times when commendation is due. There are also times when chastisement is necessary. There are times when we need to spread joy and certainly there are times when we need to reprimand hate. It is nice to say ‘God is Love’, and it is certainly so but in the world in which we live evil is preponderant and is all around us, no matter how much we try to the contrary. But we have to endure and fight for what is right even when we are outnumbered. Thanks for your wise counsel.
I hate persons whose only aim is to use the bible to brainwash others like you do. The fact is some in our T&T carry us into the world wisely and this gives us worth as a tiny nation. For instance, the Soca Warriors gave us a berth in the world cup stage. Nobody particularly me disputes this is all the work of Almighty God. You cannot be addressing me or my contribution as your Allah does not encourage me to strike no other human being or animal. But more importantly you missed the fact that God gave all of us a free will, to choose Him in putting out the best in the talents he gave us or burying those talents for our own efforts or simply using His talents for our selfish gains. And this is the point that our patriotism shows as in Brian Lara and the others I CAN BOAST ABOUT. Perhaps you should go back to your country to do your preaching there and uplift your people there. Here I am only trying to weed out the evil doers here who have gotten me real fed up of the shit they are bringing my country to bare.
“I hate persons whose only aim is to use the bible to brainwash others like you do.” Your question is a good one and I am happy to reply. Jerry, I do admire most of what you write and have on occasions made that known. We are, for the most part products of our environment. While we can make a general observation that we serve our gods by way of Jehovah, God, Allah, Shiva and what ever dieties we see and know as Most High. We are most conditioned by the manner of service we pay to those deities. I recently posted a video about the caste system in India, where the dalits were conditioned by what was taught by their high priests on how to conduct themselves when they interact with members of a higher caste. Many saw my mention of it as racist which was far away from the point I was trying to make. The video showed that children of a higher (If I may be allowed to use the term) caste, laughing and scorning and adult woman of a dalit caste, when asked by the producer why they were scorning her, they (the children) said that they did not want to be contaminated. I submit to you that this, was not just a false reply but was the true feelings of the children, because of the conditioning they got from birth.
The dalits, on the other hand, believed themselves to be ‘inferior’ because they too, were conditioned to believe in that so-called inferiority. On this blog, many of us look at the same situations and arrive at different conclusions. In applying appreciations, most of use education, our environmental knowledge of self and kindred and knowledge of the subject matter to conclude. In my summations, I distinguish these differences. If that makes you uncomfortable then I guess that you and I have a lot more to talk about because you use God, christianity and many spiritual feelings to express yourself aND I SEE NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT. Glad that you mention Brian Lara as an example. Brian was employed by UTT as a coach. While you and I might agree that he was an exemplary character for the job, the government of the day fired him because, they thought that because the PNM hired him something MUST be wrong with him. Just wanted to add my piece to your observations.
Er… I was born and raised in T&T, and live here now, although I spent many, many years overseas. I speak as a son of the soil, grateful at the very least for the wise restraint of the “Father of the Nation”, Eric Eustace Williams. I owe him at the very least for the fine secular education I received, as btw do Kamla and Keith.
As discretion is the better part of valour, so restraint is the better part of militancy. That, in a nutshell, was the point I was trying to make.
I too am a militant, which is why I do not mince words. But I have no warrant to seek to establish any sort of Islamic-State caliphate. That craziness too was prophesied:
“And he (referring to Ishmael, father of the Arabs/Muslims) will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” (Genesis 16:12)
I am no Ishmaelite; I am rather an *Israelite* of the seed, as are my “Negro” brethren in these parts.
The so-called Bible actually calls itself the “Book of Yahweh”: It admonishes us, the Israelite, and therefore us, the “Negro”:
“Seek ye out of the Book of Yahweh and read…” (Isaiah 34:16).
It will not brainwash you, rather render you immune from brainwashing.
I am not too proud to confess that as an engineering Ph.D., I had been brainwashed into thinking that the Bible was a book of mere fairy-tales, that in particular had nothing to offer the “black man”. How wrong I was!
We the “Negro” are Israelites of the Bible, in Covenant relationship with the Most High. That is a truth I am proud to be called to teach and preach. Without any sort of apology or dissimulation, I seek to get all my brethren — we the “Negro” scattered to the former British colonies of the West — to open up that book and read. It is the only way for us to understand our condition as a people. Everything else is some or other kind of idolatry — the worship of this or that idol or -ism — which is the real brainwashing, calculated by Satan to prevent us from remembering who really we are.
Everything about the “astonishment” we are as a people, including the facts about which you seek to boast, will be found explained in that book. “And thou shalt become an *astonishment*, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the Lord shall lead thee.” (Deuteronomy 28:37)
Racial boasting such as you seek to advance certainly will generate far more heat than light. The only light that might emanate from that is the light given off by a racial conflagration. I don’t think we want to go there. Do you?
So let us follow the fine example of Williams’ restraint, and leave that well alone.
In the meantime, Yeshua prophesied simply: “And ye *shall* know the truth, and the truth *shall* make you free.” (emphasis added) The fulfillment of that prophecy — and prophecy it is — requires that we open up the Book of Yahweh and read.
It is incumbent upon all those that seek to lead, or otherwise influence, our people, to do so. That includes politicians, religious leaders (of whatever stripe), and mere bloggers like you and me.
You seek to stand in the gap for our people. I applaud that. I do too. But in order to do that you must be found worthy. That means to depart from the “wild man” way of Ishmael, and adopt the way of the Covenant, and the obedience demanded by it. That means we must exercise restraint in dealing with the stranger in our midst.
Btw, that we would be abused by such strangers was prophesied:
“The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.” (Deu 28:43)
A redemption out of it is prophesied:
“But I will put it (the cup of affliction) into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over.” (Isa 51:23)
So, doh hu’t yuh head. We’ve got to fulfill the Book.
Shalom.
“And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” (Ezekiel 22:30)
Idiot the Indo trini has contributed little to our progress as a nation. And they seldom share what they take through exploitation even of their own. As they said in 2010 “It is our time now”. AND THEY BOAST. But I am neither a fence sitter nor am I an opportunist and your PHD… is it not a boast? You are simply a fool confused by the words of others that you clearly do not understand. Interpretation is very often abused to suit one’s intent.
Please I DO NOT NEED YOUR ADVICE.
Quite the opposite. I was trying to respond to your point about brainwashing. How those with a “scientific” education are brainwashed into rejecting the Book of Yahweh that lets us know who we are and who the enemy is.
Gentile Xtianity continues the brainwashing, so that we, the “Negro”, who are under Covenant obligation, and the real heirs to the promise, find ourselves rejecting the very Truth that “shall” make us free.
Absolutely do not take my word for it. Open up the Book and read!
You might learn something.
And btw, knowing who the enemy is, does not thereby provide a mandate to hate.
I remember when the Hindu Credit Union went bust, and many lost their life savings. One fellow, irate, was reported to have said: “tell me who to kill!”.
Much of what passes for cultural and racial ideology really boils down to that. Tell me who to hate/kill.
Williams understood that, implicitly. That is why he gave us the national watchwords and mythology that sought to keep us from going down that path. “Discipline.” Not hot-headednesss. “Production”. Not mere consumption of the national patrimony. “Tolerance.” Not racial hate, or even intolerance. “Here every creed and race…”. Not all the spoils to my friend, family, and my race.
That is what saved T&T from going the way of a failed state, consumed by inter-ethnic and inter-tribal civil war.
Our Indo brethren have not well understood this, exccept for a few. Such as Sat Maharaj preach a racial ideology telling his Indo brethren, “who to hate/kill”. That indeed is T&T’s biggest problem. We don’t need to match hate for hate. My call is for restraint, not to close one’s eyes to what is going on.
The irony is you couldn’t pay such as Sat to go back to India. And the further irony is that if he went back to India, he would be laughed at as soon as he said his name was “Maharaj”. That word means “great king” and so is a title, never a family name. It is a name that was assumed to make one of his forebears what our Indo brethren themselves call “Brahmin by boat”. But there is a low-caste (Dalit) caste-name, “Mahar”. So we can imagine the true caste status of that forebear of Sat that came to Trinidad.
My brother, to know an infuriating truth, yet decline to yield to hate, does not make one an idiot. “Tell me who to hate” is not the cry of one who would lead. The true leader must exercise restraint. It is because, at the founding, Williams exercised restraint, that this country is not the failed state that it otherwise might be, destroyed from within by internecine conflict. The only threat to that relative peace and calm, is the racial hot-head.
That said, in no way do I espouse silent accommodation to the egregious excesses committed under this false notion that some of our Indo brethren have, that “Indian time ah come”, and they can destroy the house that Williams built. That license they do not have, and we must continue to agitate against it. But we do not have to hate.
Shalom.
Perhaps you should go in your Mosque and preach to your own to NOT STRIKE AGAINST YOUR FELLOW MAN. You are better suited for that job than to blog what you do not live yourself.
Let me repeat: I am not an Ishmaelite. I attend no mosque. I do not pray to Allah. I do not have a Muslim name, nor Muslim ancestry. I do not incite hate. I preach Truth, which to some will seem an incitement to hate… Truth sometimes has that effect.
I am an Israelite of the seed. I am called to teach and preach to my brethren, we the Negro scattered to the West. Contrary to many preachers and would-be leaders, I preach out of the Book. I do not make things up. Yes, that’s a hard row to hoe, and I would be the first to admit that in my weakness I have not always lived up to that which the Covenant requires. But Yeshua is always there, I find, to substitute His strength for my weakness, to pick me up when I’m down.
That in itself teaches humility. Because I’m so much in need of forgiveness for myself, it is easier to understand Scriptural teaching to be ready to forgive, and to refrain from hate, even toward one’s enemy.
A soldier or warrior is more likely to understand the admonition not to hate one’s enemy. It doesn’t make the soldier a fence-sitter, nor less formidable an opponent. Quite the opposite I find. Emotion diminishes the warrior.
Anyway, do what *you* think is right. I quite appreciate some of your contributions. You most certainly may ignore mine. I won’t be offended.
Shalom.
I do share similar sentiments and thank you for the emptiness (racial boasting) that tend to manifest itself quite often from some bloggers on this site. You’re quite right that nothing is to be achieved by comparing ourselves with others based on ethnic background. In fact, the Lord said to love Him is to love your fellow beings. We see that quite often in a hospital environment when a an emergency case comes through the doors, the team of professionals get the job done by trying to save lives rather than selecting who to save based on skin colour.
“Billions supposedly spent for our needs in each ministry. Where did over the 400 billion in budgets really went over the last 5 years?”–Jerry
PNM LIES AND PROPAGANDA.
All of the PNM propagandists including Faris Al Rawi (PNM PRO) have been lying about the amount of money spent by the PP govt during their term in office . They have been quoting wildly that about 400 Billion dollars were being spent .The figures quoted below are the actual budget statistics from the Ministry of Finance .
FISCAL YEAR EXPENDITURE
2011 $ 49 Billion
2012 $54.6 Billion
2013 $ 58Billion
2014 $61 Billion
2015 $ 66.4 Billion
Total $289 Billion
The total realized budget deficits for these years were $21billion .
This data proves that the PNM propagandist figure of $400 billion spent is wrong.
Where de money gorn…
Every minister under the PNM recorded a deficit. People like Jerry are always looking to make assumptions instead of dealing with facts such is the slave/massa world.
This is what the PNM left the PP to deal with:
Here are some examples:
CLICO $25 BILLION
Ministry of Housing $8 BILLION
WASA $4 BILLION
Outstanding VAT $2 BILLION
Owed Contractors $2 BILLION
Loan for Waterfront $2.7 BILLION
Outstanding Fuel Subsidy $6 BILLION
Loan for Tarouba Stadium $500 MILLION
Loan for RACKET RAIL $500 MILLION
Outstanding Wage Negotiations $9 BILLION
Almost $60 BILLION in outstanding debts and that’s just a fraction, so when PNM and the so-called economists asking where the money going, they must speak the TRUTH.
Mamoo! don’t forget you all built 91 schools (even though we may not be able to find them).
Did kiss the foot Kamla brought anybody before the courts to answer the charges you are insinuating here? PLEASE DO NOT ANSWER THIS AS I DO NOT EXPECT A FOOL LIKE YOU TO KNOW HOW A NATION IS LED.
I WILL NOT BE DETERRED BY THOSE WHO WANT TO DETRACT FROM WHAT I AM SAYING. I will defend someone, not matter how branded they might be by popular opinions, if in the eyes of justice, they are being unfairly attacked. Jack Warner is not being accused of taking one penny from the Treasury of Trinidad and Tobago. Do I agree with his political track record? Absolutely NOT and my comments throughout the years bear that out. I view and weigh my comments based emphatically on principles. The Press prides itself on being the watch towers of the fourth estate. By so doing there are principles that they will speedily bring to your attention if you ask them to contravene. From what we are being fed by the media, corruption by this government is a staple of the day. For example; all previous governments spend approximately $25M to $30M in the office of the Attorney General. This current one has spent close to $400M without any convictions to show for it. If that is not corruption then we do not know what CORRUPTION is. They have already spent $45M is lawyers fees to go after $11M without even having credible evidence to substantiate what they claim is evidence. Is that CORRUPTION! INCOMPETENCE! WASTEFULNESS! GIVEAWAYS! OR JUST PLAIN TAKING CARE OF THEIR FRIENDS! NO amount of appeasement to the contrary can change those facts. Calling me a racist does not change it. Saying that it isn’t so can’t change it. To say that it is a lie can’t change it. It might be all that I have mentioned and more. Paid propagandists CANNOT change FACTS. Facts are what they are and we are not fools. So keep you propaganda to yourself, the people on this site are more sensible than that.
The information which you use to frame your arguments are erroneous. It is akin to the fake emails which Rowley used to weave his conspiracy theories.
Your indignation seems sincere; however, most , if not all of the statistics which you quote to frame your arguments are false. You need to fact check your figures before pronouncing. They are all incorrect. Quit relying on PNM propaganda and go to more reliable sources for information.
On the occasion of Jack Warner exposing the Prime Minister, Kamla Persad Bissessar as being complicit in the non-extradition to the United States of Steve and Ish, in the Section 34 fiasco, she is not just complicit but accepting $8.3M in bribes from them as well. According to Jack, it took placed at the home of her friends (the Gopauls). With this in the public domain, there is a noticeable campaign, the news media included, to silence Jack and his expose’ of what happened between himself and the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister has stated that she will put the matter in the hands of her lawyers, and I suspect that that is where it will remain. There is absolutely no chance of that being heard in a court of law, none! nada!. For very obvious reasons we will never see nor hear the PM contesting Jack’s accusations. The country knows that Jack was her ‘best performing minister’, that is no secret. As a senior minister, Jack could do no wrong. He was point man in silencing the PNM and the UNC loved that. Now that the relationship has soured, we are being encouraged to not listen to Jack. The media lessens their interests in what he has to say and now we are being told that Jack is a “corruption accused”. The dictionary explains the word corruption as ” having or showing a willingness to act dishonestly in return for money or personal gain”. Is this what the media is telling us about Jack? If so, then there are many many instances of this government acting and behaving in the same manner. In normal times, the UNC asked for and got the resignation of Ken Gordon as Integrity Commission Chairman. They requested and got who they wanted for the position as the new Chairman, Zainool Hosein. They also got what they wanted, people of integrity as Judge Ventour off the commission. They got the replacement they wanted, Rajiv Persad(?) and whoever else. The only problem is that the Integrity Commission is no longer as it’s name suggests – the Integrity Commission. It can more accurately be described as the Instrument of Corruption. Their rulings on the emailgate affairs has cemented this perception and it will remain that way until the idea of the Integrity Commission is replaced or the whole of its current staffers are replaced. President Carmona in his insistence as an ‘upholder of the law’ or whatever that might mean has seen to it that the IC (Instrument of Corruption) is more concerned about doing Kamla’s bidding than allowing the public a proper forum to address wrong doings. So, it is not by chance that Kamla advised Jack to take his concerns to the IC (Instrument of Corruption), it is by design, because she knows that nobody can ever win her there. She is Boss. The Police cannot and will not indict her, the IC will not find her wanting nor will the judiciary. She is always right and everybody else is always wrong. She can tell no lie. She is infallible. The longest rope has an end and Kamla’s rule of lies, terror, PR, wantoness and materialism WILL come to an end. Evil must be subdued and evil will end. My only hope is to see the media do what they they themselves keep telling us that they are supposed to do. Just report the news they way it is. Following the dictates of Kamla will not cut it. Social Media is strong, so if the Press fails, social media will bring it to the fore.
“On the occasion of Jack Warner exposing the Prime Minister, Kamla Persad Bissessar as being complicit in the non-extradition to the United States of Steve and Ish, in the Section 34 fiasco, she is not just complicit but accepting $8.3M in bribes”—Kian.
It is a sad day when you can believe everything Jack Warner says and even go so far to pronounce on the Prime Minister in that regard. Pnmites due to tribalism has become alien to the truth.
Here are the facts:
1. For 7 years no PNM AG signed the extradition order for Ish and Steve. Why tribalist Kian? Answer that one…
2. It was AG Anand Ramlogan who signed the extradition letter. Ish and Steve was kept in jail for a year. A letter signed by former PNM AG John Jeremie was used by Ish and Steve lawyers to get them out.
3. Section 34 received a 100% support from the PNM parliamentarians. In fact the Hansard shows that Colm Imbert wanted the time reduced for those whose cases that has not reached trial from 10 years to 7 years.
4. Once the P.M. found out about the legal loophole within 24 hours section 34 was repeal. Does that sound like someone who was paid $8 million? Please explain Kian.
5. The Prime Minister went ahead and fired the line Minister Herbert Volney for not conveying the concerns of the DPP. Does that sound like someone who received $8 million Kian?
6. Volney later came forward and claimed full responsibility for Section 34. This after Anand Ramlogan sue him.
7.http://unctt.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Sec-34-appeal-jdmt-full.pdf read the section 34 judgment for yourself.
Kian your tribalistic world view must be tempered by the truth. Because the “truth shall set you free” unfortunately you and Jerry Hussain prefer to believe and propagate lies. How sad!
Mamoo, you will never recognize TRUTH even if it is emblazoned on your bed head.
Yuh boss have a problem with the truth and so do you Kian. You both peddle lies.
Here is a small example of lies he told:
1. He claims he has 2 daughters officially leaving out his 1st born son Garth. It is in his bio, if he can’t acknowledge his own son???? Who are you Kian?
2. Lied on Manning and Calder Hart and brought down his own PNM government.
3. Took fake emails to the parliament to bring down current government!The biggest lie he ever told to a nation. Of course u believe him Kian, you have no choice years of brainwashing.
4. Lied on the President on appointment of new Integrity Commission members, he would later apologise!
5. Lied about the elections writs for the EBC!
6. Lied about his ownership of an apartment at One Woodbrook Place.
7. Lied about Landate where material from the Tobago Hospital was stolen and siphoned to his private project!! Yes the $7 million lie still abandoned in Tobago…
8. He lied about Las Alturas housing scandal saying he wasn’t the line Minister!!
9. LIED about the speaker not approving a question, Parliament records shows the question was approved and answered.
10. Lied about the former AG Anand Ramlogan being at the US mission in New York. The AG was never there later he apologize.
11. Waved a Pizza delivery slip in parliament as evidence of the PM receiving files from the SSA.
12. LIED about giving the President a petition with 25,000 signatures.
13. Lied about Lennox Grant being the general secretary of Tapia.
14. He said that it was the PNM which put in freedom of the press as a constitutional right. History, however, records that that initiative was taken by Lionel Seukeran, Tajmool Hosein and Rudranath Capildeo in the Marlborough House consultation in 1962.
15. LIED about discussing the President housing allowance during a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC)
16. Said a new government coming into office will face a lawsuit from Sural for stopping the smelter plant, when in fact the current government already won the Arbitration over Sural for stopping the smelter
Mamoo, unlike you I think for myself. I need no one to dictate to me right from wrong, good from bad, evil deeds from good deeds. My ethical and moral capacity equipped me for that. When Jack was in your political favor he could do no wrong. I chided him for his political and moral stands and I still do. Is he still ethically and morally bankrupt in my opinion? Yes. But I will NOT lie on him to favor a political bias. My commentaries are based on what is known of him, not what I think of him. It happened that I totally agreed when Dr. Rowley stated that it was unethical to have him in the Cabinet of Trinidad and Tobago when he was under surveillance for his activities in the FIFA scandals. That turned out to be the right call and you and others support of him then was the wrong call. If that does not sit well with you then so be it. You and I obviously do not share the same ethical and moral standards because we are the products of different environments. That is why our appreciations are so vastly different. That is the way it is – take it or leave it!
All got points, Mr. Shah has again proven his points and all Low information Voters (LIV) should take heed. You can delete this, ignore like you did this morning and join the Community Organisers for action. AS ABOVE SO BELOW…
Jerry all the Trinis you mentioned are Afro-Trinis. Are suggesting that Chinse-Trinis, and White-Trinis made no contributions to TNT? I know that people of all racial ancestries have contributed to TNT.
I DID SAY “MOST”. But since you do bring up a good point name some from those races you mentioned nah. Enlighten me! And please do me a favour let me know which of the races made billions over the years and gave back little.
Dear Chong sing
All of the races have made contributions in their own way. However the way our history went, the indentured labour that arrived in later periods, i.e. Indian, chineese, Portuguese and others, remained isolated and among themselves. Their contributions have been made in areas such as Business,Agriculture and other fields.Such contributions do form part of the development of a nation
However the Nation building was essentially ( Not exclusively) done by the African.
By nation building I mean :
1)The struggle to end slavery. (The abolitionist in London were not the only ones in the struggle)Bringing a slave society to an end does not only benefit the enslaved, it paves the way for new social order and economic systems.
2)The struggle for Independence
3)Framing the constitution of an emerging nation
4)The black power riots that Identified the fact that all of the local citizenry was still not reaping the benefits of Independence. The Black power riots might have been waged essentially but not exclusively by Africans, but all of the other races benefited.
This is evidenced by jobs of all kinds being made available to people of all races in the country. Prior to these riots the colonialist were replaced by the local white Trinidadian and the other races still found themselves on the outside looking in. The banking establishment was most guilty of perpetuating this kind of scenario.
5)The creation of infrastructure that allowed all races to participate in upward social mobility. E.g Free Tertiary level Education that all races took advantage of.
The things I have mentioned above do not necessarily bring financial rewards to those that have contributed to their existence. In fact more personal sacrifices were made in order to establish this social order, that now provides a quality of life that all can share and participate in and that we take for granted as a country
I personally am fed up with a media that refuses to acknowledge the contributions made by the African Trinidadian.
It would seem acknowledging the contributions of the African element of our society leads one to be called a racist or is taken as offence by others.
One thing is very clear from all of the blogs I have read , our secondary students need to be taught more about the History of Trinidad & Tobago.
I think it would go a long way towards creating a better understanding among the races.
1)The struggle to end slavery. (The abolitionist in London were not the only ones in the struggle)Bringing a slave society to an end does not only benefit the enslaved, it paves the way for new social order and economic systems.
–Give thanks to Wilberforce, he was the man instrumental in ending slavery.
2)The struggle for Independence
–Give thanks to Gandhi after the British realise he meant business they release the colonies. What struggle for Independence did TnT experienced when most Caribbean nations were made Independent around the same time
3)Framing the constitution of an emerging nation
Clark just copied the other ones that was there. He admitted the Constitution needs to be changed.
4)The black power riots .
–Yes that is perhaps the most important thing that black folks did they riot. Something they do rather well.
5)The creation of infrastructure that allowed all races to participate in upward social mobility. E.g Free Tertiary level Education that all races took advantage of.
—All Caribbean nation at the time was doing this that is how UWI was formed. Trinidad was not doing anything unique. Secondary schools was built across the Caribbean around the same time.
Mamoo
I think it would be pointless for me to go through your points and correct your errors. Since they are not really errors . It is really more a matter of you seeing things the way you want to see it.
Re-writing the History in a manner that suits you and creates a role for your ancestry that simply did not exist. Your ancestry did play a significant role in Global History. But you are trying to create a role in West Indian History for them that never happened.
I guess the old adage is true. ”If a man feel he is a king so be it”
Yes MOOMOO and the Indo Trini made no significant contribution in over 500 years….QED
Except of course they raided our treasury in 1995-2002 and provoked Abu in 1990 and plans to do so again, copycat to what is done in UK, France, and USA with other Muslim groups and now the intent is to denigrate the Afro population here and light the fuse for another uprising before the 7th September, 2015. Norowley has begun. Lets not forget how many they unlawfully incarcerated a few years ago. Our children will suffer but I hope Kamla burns in hell.
This is huge. Jack Warner’s statement in this matter confirms what should already have been evident at the time of the Section 34 matter. To any balanced and fair-minded, if unflinching, reading of the evidence, it appeared then that the Prime Minister usurped the Cabinet and the Parliament for the private purpose of allowing Ish and Steve to walk free.
In this she succeeded, and to all appearances, the way a criminal syndicate might succeed in some nefarious endeavour. The designated fall-guy, Volney, duly fell, with dangling fingers of blame pointing in his direction, and carefully away from the Prime Minister. And such a perfect fall-guy!: sufficiently implicated, his silence was assured, despite the shabbiness of the way in which he was dismissed.
Meantime, the Parliament itself was made to do necessary clean-up. The entire bill of which Section 34 was a part was quickly repealed… but not before Ish and Steve, armed with the necessary advance knowledge, had rushed to court to avail of its provisions. The deed was done, the quid pro quo was met.
Ish and Steve had succeeded, in a prima facie reading of the evidence, in suborning a whole Cabinet, a whole Parliament, and indeed the President, in whose name the bill had to be proclaimed, and who was easily duped into giving his assent.
The scheme was breath-taking in its criminal audacity.
That much was already evident, on a prima facie reading of the evidence, at the time the deed was done. And it was already evident then, in the fullness of the evidentiary picture, that only the Prime Minister could have commanded this outcome. And only the Prime Minister could have engineered the necessary fig-leaf of deniability, and make it stick.
Now we know, from Jack Warner’s sworn affidavit as a witness to some of these events, that the usurpation of the highest offices of the State — Cabinet, Parliament, and President — came at a bribe price. Now we even know the exact figure: $8.3 million. (I wonder what today in TT dollars would be the equivalent of 30 pieces of silver. But TT$8.3 million seems a shockingly low price to buy and sell a whole Government.)
Does anyone seriously doubt that Jack is telling the truth in this matter?
Kian is right that this testimony will likely never be tested in a court of law. But in the court of public opinion, the matter seems clear. The fig-leaf of deniability is a little too flimsy to cover this up. And the thick smoke of distraction and denial will only, too late, cover up what has already been exposed.
Her supporters will of course take comfort in her denial. On this occasion, the Prime Minister, known for clever prevarications, gives an absolute and categorical denial. She has been cornered. This time the clever prevarication will not suffice; she must deny absolutely and categorically.
On the reading of all the evidence, including Jack’s sworn affidavit, the denial is an absolute and categorical lie.
So now, before God, she is putting her eternal soul in jeopardy.
But God is not mocked. The wicked have been exposed in this matter. Some of the wicked may be redeemed out of their misdeeds, as children of God entitled to His mercy. The price of that mercy is of course repentance and confession.
Others of the wicked will find no redemption, being children of perdition.
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44)
Like Judas, a “son of perdition” (John 17:12), those wicked who are children of the Devil, the father of lies, will go into perdition with the one who long ago, from the foundation of the world, led a rebellion against the Most High, and took one-third of heaven with him. Having committed the unpardonable sin, his lot was decided long ago: hence the man of “perdition”, the lost one. His spiritual children will go with him into perdition.
So our sister Kamla must introspect, as all of us must. Does she stand with God, or does she stand with the Devil? “My hands are clean and my heart is pure”, she always says. Those words sound hollow now.
Be that as it may, it is the Most High that disposes. If she is a child of God and not of the father of lies, I pray she find her way back.
In any case, may the wicked continue to be exposed in these matters. Let the children of God so exposed, repent, confess, seek and obtain the Most High’s mercy. As to the children of perdition, well, we know what happened to Judas and his 30 pieces of silver…
Shalom.
No one believes Jack’s assertion regarding the 8.3 million.
No one believes anything Jack says. All of his “revelations” have been dismissed in the court of public opinion.
Jack has no credibility left. Those who surround him are deceitful types conveniently accepting his money or should I say, FIFA’s money.
“One thing is very clear from all of the blogs I have read , our secondary students need to be taught more about the History of Trinidad & Tobago.
I think it would go a long way towards creating a better understanding among the races.”…………………………..
Sally, that statement struck a nerve. I am amazed by the quality of reasoning and analysis that appear on this blog and in the media in general. Many a times I felt compelled to comment on the writings of media personnel, whose diction and prose leave a lot to be desired for mass media consumption. And this is the main media press that we depend on to inform us. Gone are the days when we were required to speak the Queen’s English. Today, even our own colloquialism is misunderstood and written out of context. The recent brouhaha about Dr. Rowley’s figure of speech “you kill my dog I kill your cat” caused much undue understanding and political extremism about nothing. It was taken out of context and had meanings applied to it that was never intended by the saying. Such is the nature of discourse when the practitioners mis-apply terms that others know to mean something other than the given interpretation. I am a product of the quality of education offered by people like Wilfred D. Best, author of The Student’s Companion, C.L.R. James, Eric Williams and other notables in the annals of our recent history. As a student of history, even though Raleigh, Hawkins and Columbus were emphasized as “our” history, they were definitely not the ideals that we sought. Theirs were the furtherance of European superiority and the undermining of how we should accept our roles under colonialism. The great men that we should be celebrating in Trinidad and Tobago are men and women like Learie Constantine, C.L.R James, Audrey Jeffers, Lloyd Best and our great teacher Dr. Eric Williams all were inspired by the exploits of people like Toussaint L’Overture and Henri Christophe. In our society today, even the most learned do not exhibit prose with the command of forethought and prudence. As a matter of fact we don’t even know what is excellence nor do we care to ensure that it remain in our pursuit. There is none in the public domain, whether education, politics, sociology, entertainment, sciences or arts that stand out as an exemplar worthy of commendation. The only one worthy of mention is The Mighty Sparrow. His exploits in the field of calypso has given Trinidad and Tobago a foothold in the entertainment field. So much so that all the Caribbean countries want to claim him as their own. That is commendable.
Dear Kian
Words in place, well spoken.
Sally, it would be more conducive for me to speak about matters that are more objective in terms of how our small country should be developed and shaped for the next generation of Trinbagonians, but those guys will not allow us to focus on nation building. Their only concentration and consumption is RACE. To them the three letters P-N-M is poison to their sights and ears. Similarly the words African, black and black thoughts appears to send them crazy. The only description I have for such behavior is HATE! I have no problem discussing issues where my points are being opposed objectively. I do have enough knowledge to debate any matter to which I subscribe to, so I am not afraid of any such arguments, but the incessant talk about race and the Indian advancement and success is nauseating and cannot advance real commonality of purpose.
Jerry tells real stories of experience, failures, positioning and disappointments. Those are stories that all (regardless of race) can learn from. I see you making it your duty to edify those other guys to no avail. Their minds are stuck into their beliefs and no amount of edification will change that. I applaud you for the patience and effort you put into such explanations. Yoruba speak with wisdom, intelligence and spirituality to lend calmness and objectivity into the conversations. They still do no listen but instead introduce their own ‘truths’ – whatever that might mean. Rodwell advances intelligent facts that can be used for ongoing conversations but that too is rejected. Neal – god bless his soul, has made many and varied contributions to elevate and sustain truths and they still don’t get it. What they seek is for us all to agree to, accept and be in confirmation of the lies and untruths they tell. Even there is no basis for the tales they tell, they would have us believe we are in fact the liars and they are telling the truth. They have the unmitigated gall to tell us that we are in fact the liars when they submit such outlandish stupidness. It would appear that we just have to stand our ground and keep telling truths as they are – not as they want it. While we don’t expect any conversions from them, it is my hope that those who read our commentaries would be edified by what we ascribe to.
We got good advice from Chong Sing, so let us keep him and others happy.
They are the “glory of their person”. So it is written, and so it is.
That is why they celebrate Indian *arrival*. It takes a certain gall to require every other group to celebrate, as a national holiday, their singular arrival.
That is why, objectively speaking, they are recalcitrant — the calc-like element that will not go into, nor stay in “solution”.
All other groups are more or less happy to be part of the creole callaloo. They, in contrast, see it as their destiny to triumph over all others, and most especially over the scattered Israelites (we the “Negro”, misnomered “African”) in these parts.
Selwyn Ryan, in one of his Sunday Express columns, gave us this crucial bit of history:
Those are the words of an Indian, speaking to an Indian agenda. That fixed idea has not changed. The agenda, and the behaviour, was set a long time ago.
Note that FEM Hosein was speaking for the “East Indian National Congress“, clearly the ethnic forerunner to the United National Congress. Under the UNC, the ethnic agenda remains well in train. But given its fundamental disloyalty to the nation, it must be camouflaged with a window dressing of inclusiveness. It fools a lot of people, most especially the “useful idiots” of other ethnicities. They even fooled Jack Warner for a while.
So none of what we witness on this blog from the likes of Mamoo and Tman, should come as any surprise. If you know your history, all the dots are there for us to connect. And if you know your Scripture, all of it was written. We must open up the Book and read!
Shalom.
This words were uttered by Hosein over 150 years ago. I personally reject this type of thinking and I am quite confident that the PM and members of her government also reject these reactionary words.
T&T has come too far as a peaceful, cooperative, integrated and multicultural society to submit to this divisive language. The African community in T&T is too successful and still dominates many sectors of occupational and intellectual life to be “fooled” by anyone.
The successful future of T&T depends on the success and harmony between all races and sectors of society.
Hi Kian
Unfortunately you are right. It would seem that minds are closed when hearts are full of hate. It is hard to believe that level of hate exists in Trinidad. Compared to the rest of the world I have always felt we had a kind of innocence here.
I think some politicians are working hard at encouraging the hate.
I hope that we will survive it as a nation.
Hi Sally, I endorce every word you wrote. Truly, Afro-Trinis were in the forefront of nation building in TNT. The isolation of the Chinese, Indians, et al, was a plot by the the British to divided and conquer.
Thank you, Jerry, for responding to me and for raising the issue of who contributed to TNT’s development. Evidence of its importance can be guaged by the excellent responces from Sally and Kian.
I will answer your questions soon. Meanwhile, Sally and Kian, let us continue to share on this topic. It is important for the youths of TNT.
Dear Chong Sing
British colonialism is very much responsible for racial and tribal tensions all over the world.
They did in fact isolate the indentured labour in Trinidad in an effort to keep some measure of control as a colonial power, over the new social order that was emerging in the Trinidad and the Caribbean in General.
The British did not isolate the Chinese, Indian et al. The British treated with the Chinese, Indian et al in a manner they did not with their those they formerly enslaved. They saw the Chinese, Indians at al as complimentary to their numbers and cultural ideology with respect to Africans. They saw in these groups a shared belief about black people.
If the British did not think like that, they would not have brought Indians in such numbers. I believe it would be idiotic for anyone to contend that emancipation equated to any willingness by the British to surrender power over the Colonies, or that they were so dumb that they question of how the introduction of Indians into the Population mix would impact on or affect their hold and retention of power in the colony.
You can say a lot of things about the British, but absent a capacity for being cunning, they were not. Other wise a little island of 93,000 square miles would have never been able to exercise such power over the world.
So the proposition that the British isolated Indians, Chinese et al does not jell with any deep and cogent examination of the Issue. What the British engaged in, and in all of the Colonies, was an attempt to isolate those who they formerly had in chains, not only as a means of retaining power, but also as a strategy of self preservation. The British, like many other groups who oppressed African, were in no doubt about what they would do to those who oppressed them if they were in the situation of Africans. So they kind of always expect us to feel the same way.
Africans gravitated to Military and Para Military, and public service occupational areas because they were the most likely to be institutions with greater practices in meritocracy. And because institutions like the Military and para military had enforced communal boarding and sleeping conditions, many Indian parents refused to allow their kids to join because then they would have to rub shoulders with “dem untouchables”. You see, it it did not take long for those who left a caste system where they were at the bottom, to mentally elevate themselves to the top after they arrived in another society and encountered people who were more qualified, in their eyes, for the status they were classified as before they left.
Sally, Jerry and Kian I commend you for your intelligent responses to Mamoo and others who have a racial agenda. It is refreshing how you expose their lies and twisted logic. Continue to stand up for truth.
Hi Jerry I am back. I will give you the names of White-Trinis who contributed to our development. Andrew Arthur Cipriani who Dr. Williams pays tribute to by writing: “Cipriani, Butler and Solomon – these three will go down in our history as the great trinity in our movement for self-government.” (History of the People of Trinidad and Tobago, p. 242) To learn more about him read Life of Captain Cipriani by C.L.R. James.
Here are some others: Wilfred D. West contributed to education. He was the author of The Students’ Companion.( He was my School Master at Point Fortin EC School)
Jerry Pantin started Servol. Pat Castagne wrote our anthem. Albert Gomes contributed to the development of West Indian Literature along with C.L.R. James. Peter Minshall contributed to the development of our culture.
I will deal with Chines and Indo-Trinis next time.
Chong Sing these persons you mention here gave good timely interventions in our history but they do not stand out or left any dents in our beings. Cipriani was simply an opportunists. Butler was a fighter (black) who worked for proper labor laws. Was McLeod an exemplar …NO Weeks was. Who the hell was Solomon …was he not the guy who went to the jail and freed his son from a pending criminal charge? Who Wilfred taught that put any of us on the map…you know? Jerry Pantin was a good useful internal social worker trying to turn around poor people made so by the state. I for one applauded his work but in the production of exemplars like C.L.R. James who produced Eric Williams or in achievement methods of training for poor youths …I do not know of any systems he left in place that is producing remarkable results do you? Pat Castagne wrote a poem …some argue it ranks among the top anthems in the world but it is meaningless to trinis as even up to today ….every creed and race do not find an equal place here where racism, nepotism, biasness etc. are significantly rampant in our society. We were never forging for the love of liberty as in the least our poor is still very much enslaved or deprived. The fires of hope and prayer outed a long time ago. When you go to church you do see some young children but mostly old people. Most adults in T&T feel church is boo. Albert Gomes and Norman Tang and others like them never worked a day in their life. Peter Minshall was good but was very much self struck. Give me some more names nah. Do you know my grandfather was the only non-white Chief Overseer in T&T in his time until his Brits peers did him in, through plain envy. Do you know my father Ralph Hussain and his brothers built the first concrete house in St James (PoS) – the whole of St. James celebrated that but you would not find that in any history book. Over 60 years old is a retired Health Office building that stands next to the St James Police Station built by Ralph Hussain. I will be accused by Shalom of boasting but I am proud. I am also proud of using my God given engineering talent to preventing the three plants at Fedchem Savonetta from utter destruction and installing vast improvements to make them viable during my employment there for near 30 years. But I was never given any recognition or compensation in any way as I was mixed black, unrepresented in T&T, and not a french creole. But I am proud of my achievements before Almighty God who knows the truth and is the only true Judge I know. And that is all that matters.
@ Tman:
First of all, FEM Hosein was elected to the Legislative Council in 1928; that is only 87 years ago; that is only seven years after my father was born. So there would be people alive today who would have known FEM Hosein. This is by no means history so ancient as to no longer still to be relevant.
In any case, as always, it is a matter of looking unflinchingly at fact and truth.
On such an examination, it is clear that today there is an agenda of Indo, and moreso Hindu, domination at work in the society. I will not detail the evidence. I will only mention
Sat
that fellow at the Chaguaramas Development Authority, the one that talked about “gullible ni**ers”, which elsewhere I term “useful idiots”
ethnic purges at state enterprises including UTT (recently alluded to on this blog in the mention of Brian Lara), Petrotrin (I have a brother that was affected, so I know personally), and elsewhere
ethnic witch-hunts targeting Ken Julien, Malcolm Jones and the other giants whose contributions (Pt. Lisas, NGC and LNG, Petrotrin) we rely upon today for the revenues that the UNC crooks are busily stealing from the Treasury,
naked discrimination in admissions to UWI, especially the Medical School
Common Entrance fraud (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCLMoiXVaG8) which has morphed into SEA fraud. Appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, your people are simply not that bright, to where they dominate the placings so comprehensively every year
etc.
The point is that FEM Hosein, an Indian, was 87 years ago drawing attention to the fact that the Indian was “full of racial prejudice”. So that what we are seeing, is not a mere series of unrelated events, but the evidence of a coherent plan for Trinidad to be “maintained and owned by the Indian in the field, the office and the shop.” Mamoo points to Mauritius where that has already been achieved. Rodwell would point us to Guyana, Fiji, and other places where the same at the very least has been or is being attempted.
It will be a challenge to T&T going forward, how to deal with a large disloyal minority (yes, the Indo is still a demographic minority in creole T&T) in its midst.
It is a complicated question, which I will not address, except to say that the Most High will rub our noses in it until we come to “know the truth that shall make us free”. (Hint for my co-ethnics: the answer will not come out of the ethnic nonsense that masquerades under the rubric of “African” emancipation).
Shalom.
There have bee
n other ethnic purges at well involving state enterprises
There are many of us who advocate for the rights of the Indian in T&T and view some of these appointments as some sort of affirmative action after years of being deprived of opportunities and no one can deny this discrimination, as there have even been Privy Council cases won by claimants.
Any massive attempt by the Hindu population to advance the cause of Indians only will not be supported. Fortunately the 20 to 28 % of mixed race peoples as well as Christian and Muslim Indians will not stand for any Indians only movement.
I still believe that our geographic closeness in T&T make us different from societies where the ethnic groups are totally separated. We are too intertwined culturally, geographically and socially for any domination to occur by any group.
Another reality in T&T is that the Black population has to recapture the thirst for learning and advancement which characterized its people in the past, particularly among Port of Spain families. In short, graduate more professionals to remain competitive in society. I do not believe that any pro-Indian only agenda will succeed. It is possible to be a strong advocate without being a racist or an agent of discrimination of others.It is also possible to celebrate your success without rubbing anybody’s nose in it.
So you admit to the incoming UNC administration carrying out ethnic purges. Thank you.
But then you seek to justify them based on Privy Council cases? Is that what the Privy Council ordered as proper restitution? I don’t think so.
Did the Privy Council find a pattern and practice of anti-Indian discrimination leading to the Indian becoming an oppressed group in T&T?
Where is the evidence that the Indian as a group were disadvantaged under PNM rule? Show me the comparative incomes, the comparative indicia of wealth, the comparative levels of unemployment, the comparative school entrances, the comparative admissions to tertiary education…
These objective indicia will show what we all know, which is that the Indian prospered under PNM rule. Here eve’ry creed and race was not mere rhetoric.
Therefore it is a damnable lie, which the God in heaven will condemn, to argue from one or two Privy Council cases (probably Sat’s radio license and what else?) to conclude some broad and widespread agenda of PNM discrimination.
We all know that in fact, Indians rose under PNM policies that sought consciously to give opportunity to all — even the recalcitrant minority — and did.
If you obtained your secondary education in the 1960s, it is the PNM that you have to thank. If Motilal Moonan, Sriram Brothers, Ram Kirpalani, the Gopauls and others became millionaires under PNM rule, it was because PNM policy allowed and encouraged it.
They had an advantage over even the most educated, and money-chasing, “Negro”, because they had capital. Under the PNM, this society still favoured free-enterprise capitalism, and guaranteed property rights to everyone, over the ideological objections of the few Marxists in its midst such as CLR James.
The PNM, possibly to its discredit, did not try to reverse the fundamental inequity of the Cedula de Poblacion (1783) under which the “Negro” could own no land as enslaved property. The PNM, possibly to their discredit, did not try to take away from the Indian indentureds, the land they acquired that arguably was owed to the slaves whom they replaced essentially as scab labour.
Therefore, the Indian, although the Johnny-come-lately in Trinidad, became advantaged over the “Negro” in terms of property and capital, although it was “Negro” labour that built the plantations, and the ports, long before Indian arrival, and the oilfields after it.
So that under PNM policy, the Indian was far better placed to parlay land and capital into individual and indeed community wealth.
The claims of Indian disadvantage under PNM rule are lies, supported only by a laundry list of anecdotes that prove nothing objectively. Subjectively, they are nothing but psychological projection of Indian racial prejudice onto the “Negro”.
The admissions are there. FEM Hosein let that cat out of the bag though I’m sure it will never be found in a school history book. And now you admit to these ethnic purges, which in any case are there objectively to be examined.
The fact is that there is a coherent plan of Indian ethnic domination whereby Trinidad would be “maintained and owned by the Indian in the field, the office and the shop.” The plan is going forward “by any means necessary”.
The objective evidence is there. And the subjective hate and prejudice which fuels the behaviour, likewise are admitted. (But I readily admit, and I acknowledge that many Indos disassociate themselves from this kind of “beggar thy neighbour” behaviour.)
As against that, you are throwing up Sat’s radio license, a matter that certainly may be argued as a public policy issue, given Sat’s pursuit of an agenda of Indian ethnic domination, and anti-“Negro” prejudice. You and I both know that what Sat preaches would be illegal in Singapore, and no Indian in Singapore would be allowed to preach there what Sat now freely preaches here.
My point is that there was a case there that could legitimately be argued, and that the outcome did not prove “Negro” animus against the Indian as such, far less a pattern and practice of discrimination that left the Indian disadvantaged on objective measures.
Quite the contrary now, it is the ugly Indian ethnic agenda that is out in the open, for all to see. Yes there is a thick smoke of distraction and denial to cover it up, plus pointing fingers at the victim, the “Negro”, and accusing him of the very crimes that the Indian is very much engaged in advancing.
How it will turn out we shall see. But I take comfort from the fact that it has all been written.
We the “Negro” are not an amorphously “African” or “black” people. We are specifically, the people of the Book, the sons of Jacob. We were scattered into Africa, and there selectively kidnapped and enslaved by black Hebrew Ishmaelites (Arabs/Muslims), black Hebrew Edomites, and various black Hamitic tribes, and sold onto the merchant ships run by white Hebrew Edomites (so-called Jews). These distinctions are critical as we the “Negro” seek to know the truth that shall make us free.
The key truth is the truth about our identity: we the “Negro” are in fact Israelites of the Book, under a Covenant relationship with the Most High, which Covenant we broke, hence our suffering. That is why talk of amorphous “African” emancipation will get us nowhere.
There is a larger story, as the same Scriptural and ethnic dynamic applies also to places as far afield as Fiji. The native Fijians also are Israelites of the Book, and our “Negro” brethren, although their forefathers never passed through nor sojourned in Africa as we did. Their scattering took them down the Euphrates and out to a land “where never man dwelt” (2 Esdras 13), in their case the South Pacific.
Scripture lets us know exactly how it will play itself out.
The truth *shall* make us free.
On the other side, the sons of perdition will reveal themselves by the lies that they tell, and the deception that they practice.
Shalom.
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44)
You are transparent under your cloak of religion. Your message transmits implicit signals of hatred, poignant hatred and convenient accusations to rationalize your state of being and to defend your politics. Any attempt to provide the details and evidence of my statements will be fruitless.
Good luck.
To speak truth is not to imply hatred. It is only those whose misdeeds are exposed to the light of truth who are likely to see hatred where the better characterization would be righteous indignation.
Yes, I admit to righteous indignation, but not to hatred. The former is sometimes required of one under God’s Holy Writ; the latter is forbidden.
“Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.” (Leviticus 19:17)
“Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.” (Luke 17:3)
Obviously, few of us readily accept rebuke. Nevertheless, that is what is required sometimes, if neighbours are to get along, and if grievances are not to fester and erupt into sectarian violence and hatred.
So I’m grateful that at least you have admitted that the UNC/PP government carried out ethnic/political purges at state enterprises upon assumption of office. That is an objective fact, for which your admission was not strictly required.
But what is revealing is the justification advanced: “affirmative action” to redress PNM discrimination, as evidenced by one or two Privy Council cases.
Clearly, such justification cannot bear scrutiny. Otherwise you would hasten to offer it, rather than run away in a huff.
And what also is admitted is that program that was revealed 87 years ago by FEM Hosein, namely the Indian plan to “own Trinidad”. Part of the motivation lies in the Indian’s “racial prejudice”, most especially against the “African”, which FEM Hosein also put frankly on the table.
These are facts. Ugly facts. Obviously most of us would rather shy away from them … as you now demonstrate. What was the saying? If facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, argue the facts. If both are against you, call the other guy names. That is exactly what you have done, accusing me of racism, hatred, and political motivation, while of course turning tail and running away.
But facts are stubborn things. Truth is even more stubborn. And Holy Writ is forever.
Therefore, as it is written, so shall it be.
May the Most High continue to expose the wicked, and protect the innocent.
Shalom.
“Is not my word like as a fire? saith Yahweh; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29)
”There are many of us who advocate for the rights of the Indian in T&T and view some of these appointments as some sort of affirmative action after years of being deprived of opportunities and no one can deny this discrimination, as there have even been Privy Council cases won by claimants.”
Dear Tman
In the context of colonialism all the races of colour in Trinidad & Tobago have faced discrimination.
However whether you are a PNM person or not, one has to admit that the PNM are largely responsible for implementing the infrastructure that served everyone and made racial discrimination harder (maybe not impossible ) to employ.
I look around Trinidad and I see that 95% of the doctors are Indian. This did not happen in the last 5 years. For most of my life (and I would not describe myself as young) a Large percentage of the Doctors have been Indian.
There are many successful Indian Business that have been around since before I was born (Again I am no spring chicken)
I do agree that the PNM mainly stocked the civil service with Africans, That cannot be denied. However TMAN if you are honest you would admit among the Indian population there is a cultural preference for working for yourself. This made the civil service and the Police Force especially, largely unattractive to the Indian population.
I would really like yourself and mamoo to sit down with an African and Indian from South African, who grew up in South Africa before 1990, and then I think you would understand the true meaning of being deprived of opportunities.
The truth is Politicians may or may not have personal racial bias. However it does not matter if the infrastructure is there that prevents them from bringing that racial bias to bear while representing the people of the nation.
So while you may feel that the PNM discriminated against the Indian population, you have to admit the infrastructure was there that allowed both the Indian and African to become socially and upwardly mobile since 1962.
Once there is free education you cannot pick and choose which race or which complexion can avail themselves of that free education. You have to go by the standard x amount of CXC passes or A’ Levels in order to enter the University.
However when a groups of politicians tell you that you have been disadvantaged in order to make it OK to appoint on the basis of race that is just pure evil.
The united states needed affirmative action, because they did not have the advance thinking that we did in the Caribbean. They did not put in place the infrastructure that would allow all to benefit. Instead they pay huge fees to go to the University of their choice. I believe Barack and Michelle only cleared their student loans shortly before entering the white House.
We really just have one measure left here in the region, that would improve the democratic process of opportunities for all and that is the Equal Opportunities Act. I am not sure how far along in the process this act is in Trinidad. It seems to be long in coming. If I am not mistaken it was yet another Trinidad Giant that first talked about this legislation, when he was attorney General. Of course I am speaking of Ramesh Lawrence Maraj. This act would certainly make it more difficult to hire on the basis of race
So TMAN there really is no affirmative action happening in Trinidad under the PPP Government.
The only thing they are doing with the help of CNC3 and the Guardian, is trying to make the African invisible in a country that he has made all of the sacrifices for.
The Equal Opportunities Act is a vehicle that can be used by anyone who is a victim of discrimination by an employer. It is in place and should be used by Africans who feel discriminated against. There is no question that the number of Indians being appointed to positions is quite noticeable.There are huge signs everywhere advertising this Act.
It must be admitted however that Africans are doing a good job making themselves invisible. There was a time when Africans were most prominent in all the professions and dominating in intellectual and professional circles.Although I have no empirical evidence, it seems that this scenario has changed. The community needs to examine itself to discover the reasons for this perceived change. Although the population distribution has changed somewhat in favor of Indians, the decrease of African professionals seem disproportional. T&T cannot succeed without equality and the success of all groups. We are dependent on each other.
Dear TMAN
I don’t have the statistics but I am positive there is no decrease in the number of African professionals. They are simply not being hired during this time of the PPP. Many of them have had to leave Trinidad in order to find work.
The fact of the matter is because the PPP is hiring solely on the basis of race and not on the basis of professional experience, the level of service to the community and infrastructure, is on the decline. They boast about the number of roads they have done and that so many more are getting water, but that is the kind of thing that can be done regardless of who is in power.
Once upon a time the media would use the skills of any professional(African or Indian) when researching various issues. Now it seems stations like CNC 3 only call on the Indian professional when they are doing research.
The African Technocrats are just as plentiful as they have always been, they are deliberately not being used by either the government or the media.
Where the Equal opportunities Act is concerned. I see plenty of adverts about the Equal Opportunities Commission. However there is a great deal of Infrastructure that needs to be put in place before the act can be effective. The Commission is the first step.
You are right, we are dependent upon each other.
Racism strangles the potential and growth of small societies like ours.
Racism is a dysfunction anywhere in the world, but the negative effects are multiplied in the developing world.
Jerry your words:” …they did not stand out or left dents on our being.” makes me understand more clerly how you view contributors to our development. Looking at it from that standpoint I agree.
You wrote that: “Ciprani was an opportunist.” Tell me more. My oponion of him was formed from what my deceased mother told me about him and from what I read.
I know about Butler. As a child growing up in Point Fortin I had the honor of meeting him and hearingg him speak. This dignified Black man lived on the same street as my uncle.
Chong Sing, it is a shame that our democracy is showing so many signs of de-linkage. As I have mentioned so many times on this blog, facts will always be facts. It is true that we see today facts being distorted and being replaced with things that look like facts. Re-writting of history should be avoided at all costs and when seemingly intelligent people like Bhoe Tewarie and Hamid Ghany allow themselves to be used in those re-writing projects, they do more harm than good. Facts should always be allowed to remain. No story is singular with only the principals. There must be a supporting cast and in so doing there might be need to include people like Cola Rienzi and Captain Cipriani. History becomes twisted when the principals become the subordinate and subordinates become the principals. And that is exactly what is taking place under the PP regime regarding the re-writing of history. What they are betting on is that if they were to keep repeating themselves with the same information continuously, it would shape their versions as authentic. Captain Cipriani was a white Trinidadian just as John Humphrey or Stephen Cadiz. As we know, under colonialism the whites in Trinidad were afforded most of the privileges afforded the European whites of the day. So, Cipriani enjoyed such privileges in Trinidad but on his mission to serve the British in the second world war, he received treatment from the European whites that was less than parallel as a Trinidadian white. So, having been on the receiving end of prejudice in Europe by whites, on returning to Trinidad, he decided to fight the European colonials on the treatment of the locals (Trinidadians). Butler wanted him to lead the fight for the oil workers, who were being ill-treated (my father included) by the oil companies. Cipriani was not prepared to go that far by being opposed to the white masters of that time. That is when Butler took up the mantle of leadership and decided to use his own lieutenants (black) against the white masters to get a better deal for the local workers. Butler was persecuted (the same way Rowley is being treated today by Kamla), but kept on his message that the colonialists were insistent on doing them wrong. He was jailed, persecuted, bad-talked, called names and ostracized from the rest of society. But that never stopped Butler from fighting for the workers. He persisted and eventually began getting some better working conditions for the workers. That in a nutshell is how the fight for workers rights began under the tutelage of the honorable Tubal Uriah Buzz Butler. It is also the reason why he is a genuine hero of the labor movement. People like Rienzi were bit players who fought for the sugar workers but there is no doubt that they took the lead from Butler. It is not meant to diminish Rienzi’s role but he by no means was a pioneer in that respect.
Thank you Kian. I must commend you for the high standard you maintain in contributing to these discussions. I always look forward to your refreshing and enlightening comments. It is such a contrast to the trash and misinformation that some commentators contribute. Continue to stand up for truth.