Tag Archives: societal change

The autocratic nature of our politics is most memorably captured in the sordid 1962 episode featuring Dr Patrick Solomon, minister of Home Affairs in the People’s National Movement (PNM) government—with responsibility for the police service. His stepson was arrested and incarcerated for throwing missiles in a public space. Solomon allegedly …

“Across the region, approximately 11% of the survey respondents of both sexes reported experience with domestic violence,” the report noted. For Trinidad and Tobago, the rate was 8.3%. Across the seven Caribbean countries surveyed, the average injury rate for men was 6.7% and 10.7% for women. Domestic or spousal abuse …

What do the 1937 riots, the 1970 Black Power revolution, the 1990 attempted coup, and the current crime wave have in common? They are all eruptions of dissatisfaction over the distribution of the national income earned from our energy sector. We will continue to have these episodes until we reset …

“Maybe our forefathers and foremothers all came to this great land in different ships, but we’re all in the same boat now…” A Philip Randolph, organiser of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. We do not have the political leaders we need. At a time of overlapping …

“[…] The sight of public officials indulging in alcohol sends mixed messages, particularly to younger generations, who are often told to avoid drinking. “The transformation of Trinidad and Tobago will only occur when we start making conscious decisions that reflect the values we want to promote…” The following Letter to …

“[…] It is my view therefore that a decision to alter the Coat of Arms should not have been made by the political directorate at its party convention taking into account the implications for such a change, which is not the responsibility of any political party, but a responsibility of …

“If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.” Late US president John F Kennedy. This quote comes from Kennedy’s inaugural 1961 address. He had been gripped by the poverty he saw while campaigning. In his first official act, he …

“[…] We don’t see here as part of Trinidad. We see here [as] a diseased part that we wish would go away. I tell people if your left kidney is cancerous and you ignore it, it will kill you. “If you focus on the parts of your body that are …

It has been about 30 years since Vicki-Ann Assevero put down her bucket in the land of her father’s birth. She didn’t come back because of some ancestral pull to Victor’s homeland—it was because she had met and fallen in love with another Trinidadian, the then-minister of finance, Wendell Mottley, …

I suggested that people might not be offering their views on constitutional reform because they do not know what is contained in the country’s Constitution. I may be familiar with its nitty-gritty, but I can’t say I have a total grasp of what it covers. And that’s a point I …

This week, we witnessed the funeral of Ezekiel Paria, who was shot while riding a bicycle in his village. It was tragic. His dreams and his mother’s hopes were snuffed out through indiscriminate shooting on a main road. But have we thought for a moment about the young woman, 15 …

“[…] This feeling of always being uneducated influenced me when I became prime minister. There were always about 6,000 children thrown on the social dump heap because they failed their Common Entrance exam. “I realised the Common Entrance was not to determine who went to school but who wouldn’t… If …