Tag Archives: society

There is a moment that catches many of us by surprise. Indeed, it arrives without warning. One day, your father is the strongest man you know. He lifts impossible things. Fixes impossible problems. Knows the answer to every question. Drives through the night without getting tired. Walks faster than everyone …

“[…] The old Caribbean fowl thief occupied a strange cultural category. He (mainly men were the culprits) was a criminal, a nuisance, folk trickster, survivalist, but rarely an existential threat. He stole chickens, your pet birds, mangoes, goat, maybe coconuts. “[…] What many people mourn today is the transition from …

There is a person living somewhere in Trinidad and Tobago who may one day save your life. You do not know their name. You may never meet them. You will never invite them to your wedding. They will never attend your birthday celebration. They will never appear in family photographs. …

“[…] Trinidadians and Tobagonians are resilient people. But what citizens rarely tolerate for long is inconsistency. Once people begin believing that there are different rules for different classes of citizens, public trust begins to erode very quickly. “That erosion of trust is becoming one of the defining features of modern …

A PEOPLE’S aspirations can never be defeated. This is the lesson of our history. I started with aspirations here to articulate my own position about regional relations within Caricom. Regardless of what governments do, an aspiration to regionality is the tidalectics of the Caribbean. We value our connectedness whether in …

I have been having a bout of angst, despair maybe; I’m not sure how to describe the wave of bleakness that has been washing over me. An optimist at heart, I am usually able to ferret out things that bring even a glimmer of hope under trying circumstances. I know …

The “well-coordinated hit with pinpoint accuracy” that felled Randall Hector was entirely predictable. The roots of this current situation started with the 2011 State of Emergency. Then, the Attorney General told us: “When the state of emergency was declared by His Excellency, it was in response to intelligence received from …

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 …

One of the characters in a tele­vision series I looked at recently is going through one of those existential crises, questioning his meaning and relevance to the world he inhabits. As he lowers himself into the abyss of despair, he asks: “Who am I to my history?” Examining his life …

In 1958, the author, John Steinbeck, wrote an essay describing San Francisco as a city with “a golden handcuff with the key thrown away”. The article was a rhapsody about life in that city. On the other hand, we watch our nation slide into a putrid abyss—never leaving but badmouthing …

As a young boy, I learnt that Buckley’s cough syrup was the cure when your cold turned into a cough that wracked your chest. It tasted awful, but it worked! The makers were making a product that cleared up your congestion and colds. They were not interested in creating a …

Straight out of the gates, on 2 January 2023, the news hit like a bucket of cold water. As though we did not know enough about the new year’s challenges, Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF managing director, predicted: “[…] 2023 will be ‘tougher’ than last year… We expect one-third of the …