It is not surprising to hear Bob Marley’s Redemption Song around the time of our Emancipation Day celebrations. The lyrics rouse us to free ourselves from ‘mental slavery’, as advocated by Marcus Garvey. Some of us may not know that Marley knew his time on earth was limited while writing …

Over the last ten days, I missed BC Pires. He would understand how to explain what has been going on in my beloved country. Vidia Naipaul is also not here, so he cannot update his famed The Mimic Men. Here is one of his quotes from that novel: “[…] We, …

On 4 April 2025, then Caricom head Mia Mottley, in discussing the global crises as they impacted the Caribbean, said: “Our world is in crisis. I will not sugarcoat it. These are among the most challenging of times for our region since the majority of our members gained their independence. …

This last week, those of us who follow cricket witnessed a South African batsman and stand-in captain refuse to chase Brian Lara’s world record. Wiaan Mulder was batting against Zimbabwe, a much weaker side. He explained his decision in these words: “Lara got 401 or whatever it is (400) against …

As Trinbagonians, we have an aspiration expressed in the phrase ‘all ah we is one family’. Lord Nelson, as a Tobago son, articulated it in song: Family! /Mama tell me since a baby/Doh pass people just so when you in Tobago/ Doh play proudy, tell dem howdy/ Ah say, What’s …

It is usual for all attention to be put on Tubal Uriah Butler on Labour Day. This year, however, my thoughts were on CLR James, who is arguably our outstanding contribution to political philosophy. In 1962, he wrote an insightful piece called Party Politics in the West Indies, in which …

“There are two things that are important in politics,” said Mark Hanna, a 19th-century businessman and political kingmaker in Cleveland, Ohio. “The first is money, and I can’t remember what the second one is.” Pete W Moore, the MA Hanna associate professor of politics at Case Western Reserve University in …

In the run-up to our General Elections, I indicated how the world’s events impact our country and how our method of selecting candidates operates. The notion of a rentier economy (one in which a significant portion of income is derived from owning assets like land, natural resources or financial instruments, …

Over the past few weeks, Kitchener’s 1961 calypso Take yuh meat out of meh rice kept ringing in my ears. The calypso tells an amusing story about two hungry people, one a Bajan and the other a Trinidadian, who concocted a plan to satisfy their hunger. “A Bajan and a …

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way it treats its children.” Nelson Mandela, May 1995. Ezekiel Ramdialsingh’s murder on 15 April received wide coverage in our newspapers. One even had it as a front-page story. But the description given to him was “an aspiring …

We live in an odd and unbelievable world. Nothing seems normal, and distinguishing the truth from lies is an increasing challenge. The news is like a five-alarm fire. It rages and feeds on our concerns and fears. How do we escape the information ecosystem that pours like a fire hose, …

I do not believe that the Dragon Field initiative is dead. The rumours of its end are greatly exaggerated. For context, I advance this quotation from the influential US Politico newsletter. It was written about the tariff situation of last week, but it can easily fit our situation. “He likes …