Guest Columns

As I contemplated the best way to express my thoughts for this blog I came to only one conclusion. This will perhaps be the most unpopular piece that I have ever written. If I asked the average employer in Trinidad and Tobago whether they would endorse slavery the answer would …

The following is the third in a four part series by historian Dr Claudius Fergus on the enduring—and arguably unjustifiable—heroic standing of Christopher Columbus in modern society: The attempted ecclesiastical resurrection of Christopher Columbus did not extend beyond the Spanish American Empire or beyond the walls of the church of …

“During Christopher Columbus’ second voyage, reports of his conduct raised serious questions in Spain about his character. In 1500, during his third voyage, his reputation hit rock bottom. “Columbus, together with his brothers Bartholomew and Diego, was arrested by royal commissioner Francisco de Bobadilla, sent back to Spain in chains …

On October 12, the Cross Rhodes Freedom Project (CRFP), in collaboration with the Warao and Partners for First Peoples’ Development, staged a protest march against Port of Spain Mayor Joel Martinez’s vacillation on convening a forum for national dialogue on the CRFP’s call for the removal of Christopher Columbus’ statue …

A video of a young man removing a barrier strategically placed across the road in a community somewhere in west Trinidad raised some serious concerns. Initially he was thought to be villain. It turns out that the barriers were illegally placed across the roadways. It also became apparent that the …

Brace yourself for heightened aggression from the police! That’s the message I received from the recent television interview with Commissioner of Police (CoP) Gary Griffith about the police killing of five young men in Laventille. To paraphrase this very powerful citizen, anyone who objects to his approach either has not …

“Being poor or even living in Laventille does not cause one to engage in crime or any other behaviour, but they make certain lines of conduct easier or more difficult. When poverty or unemployment is treated within the context of strong families and an active socialising church, crime and vandalism …

In the King James Version of the Holy Bible, Job 42:12-15 reads as follows: So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning. […] He had also seven sons and three daughters, and he called the name of the first Jemima, and the name of the …

As much as we may wish it to be otherwise, Gary Griffith is not the answer to our prayers but the symptom of our problems. In our greatest moment of fear, we have manifested and brought him to life as protection against the very forces we have created. Like Phoenix, …

“[CoP] Gary Griffith’s penchant for engaging mouth before putting brain in gear will erode the goodwill we all have in store for him. He must understand that thinking more, talking less, empathising more and roughing up less, will help overall to soothe a nation in crisis and pain.” In the …

As the homage continues, your pores raise as the senses are met with the incomprehensible but instantly recognisable “Ah be a ya-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya wha-wha-wha.” Who else but Winston Bailey could open a tune with his own blend of words and letters as a melody, to float upon the one he has …

“Come here Winston. Go there Winston. Dey always pushing me around,” sang the late iconic calypsonian, Winston “Shadow” Bailey. For that reason, I always called him Winston. I considered him my friend. He was complex and self assured about his music. I once begged him to allow me to compile a …