Environment

Congratulations to the Ministry of Legal Affairs (MLA). I received my digital marriage certificate in four days without leaving my home. Unfortunately, we have to start the process all over because there’s an error. The name of one of the witnesses is incorrectly spelt. Having gone through the application process I was …

In November 2022, part of the Manzanilla-Mayaro road—the once scenic route along the east coast “through the coconuts”—collapsed.  Part of it reportedly collapsed before, in 2014. In that same year, a commentary by Rajiv Jalim, described as a climate change advocate from Trinidad and Tobago, analysed coastal erosion on that …

A friend messaged me a couple of days ago to say that her doctor had put her on anti-anxiety meds and it makes her feel so exhausted. It reminded me that after I got Covid, I had experienced a quickness to exhaustion myself—a general fogginess and a funk. I deduced …

As a people, we have dreamed that our lives would be better than those of our parents—and that our children would live even better lives. The harsh reality was exposed with the 2017 MFO Economic Sentiment Report. It showed a decline from three-quarters of our people who felt that life …

A long time ago, I had a discussion—maybe an argument—with a newspaper editor about what constituted “soft” news. He thought that issues affecting women were soft, and should be relegated to pages headed by labels that suggested they were for women only. Instinctively, I rejected that. It seemed to me …

Forty years ago, while I was pregnant, I fell into a pothole. Fortunately, the fall did not terminate my pregnancy, but I still have the scar on my foot as a reminder. Forty years later our country continues to be haunted by potholes, despite owning the Pitch Lake and producing bitumen …

“For any developing economy dependent on a single export commodity, powerful economic and political forces, both domestic and external, qualify the choices open to governments and structure their incentives. “[…] It is tempting to put the blame on poor leadership and examples of questionable public policy. In the end, governments …

“[…] The (rescue) divers were geared up and were ready, only to be prevented on Paria’s instructions, by Paria’s armed private police and the armed Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard. “[…] Paria had evidence that four human beings were alive, asking for help, suffering in a confined space and Paria …

In Afghanistan, under such bitterly cold conditions that more than a hundred have perished, the Taliban has kept its focus sharply on repressing women. The economy has shrunk, but the forces are hell bent on keeping women restricted from public activities. No to education; no to certain jobs, no to …

Bob is dismantling the house where he grew up. These past few weeks, there have been sounds of construction—not the loud noises that come from my unconscionable neighbour’s welding business, but the muted clatter of galvanized sheets, and hammering. Before he began, Bob put a letter in the mailbox of …

“[…] Decreased airfare is one way to stimulate intra-regional travel for both business and leisure. “Studies show that increased visitor arrivals lead to increased economic activity—more tax collection, increased employment, and general stimulation of economies…” The following Letter to the Editor on the disproportionately high airfares within the Caribbean was …

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines la-la land as “a euphoric, dreamlike mental state detached from the harsher realities of life”. In our version, leaders and followers are allergic to facts—inconvenient truths. They look at life through red and yellow-tinted glasses that allow them to possess selective memories. The citizens of La-La …