Guest Columns

Why would a person willingly give up their family, job and community to embark on an illegal, dangerous journey to another country?   In the case of the Venezuelans, it’s because they are generally running away from unbearable, life-threatening circumstances. Our leaders are publicly pretending not to know that conditions in …

A long time ago I had this dream of opening a café of sorts. A place where I could serve small dishes made with local ingredients; where the food and drink were simple, tasty and fresh. I wanted the quality to be outstanding, but I also imagined it to be …

The efforts needed to coordinate the necessary actions to combat Covid-19 should induce wide-scale collaboration. A government cannot act on its own but must bring along the wider society. Polarised positions negatively impact the effective societal response.  When there are difficult new situations, and the media is the prominent news provider, …

So the dream of Splice Studios is no more. If Abigail Hadeed—with her brand recognition, contacts, creativity, and privilege, could not navigate to save her business during this pandemic—then tell me who can. Just reading her post was painful: ‘Thank you all who have shared, supported or created at Splice …

It was January 2001 when then President ANR Robinson addressed the nation and quoted his mother as saying: ‘Bad habits are gathered at slow degrees, as streams running into rivers, and rivers into seas.’ This statement was subsequently modified by a friend who reminded me that: ‘it begins with raindrops’. That’s what crossed …

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley called a state of emergency yesterday afternoon based on the health catastrophe that is the Covid-19 pandemic. The people who were not at his side to explain how we arrived at that momentous decision and what comes next were: the chief medical officer, the attorney …

“[…] Not content with this massive assault on Palestinians’ rights to self-determination, the state of Israel has been continuously expanding its land and reducing the areas in which Palestinians have been living.  “[…] On top of this has been the systematic oppression of Palestinians whose economy and even water supply …

Here we go again!  In the Business Guardian of Thursday 8 April 2021, Joel Julien reports on the virtual Demas/Rampersad Seminar Series under the aegis of The UWI St Augustine Department of Economics. ‘Foreign Exchange Challenges in Trinidad and Tobago: What are the real implications?’ the title asks. Let us …

An official in another country laughed when I presented my driver’s permit because it was a simple laminated card which could be made at any print shop.  That was about 15 years ago and things have only improved slightly.   I thought of this when I received my vaccine card which …

‘Dislike of an individual is material in politics. Someone with an unlikeable persona may be unelectable in a diverse national contest… by contrast, good governance requires honest treatment of the business issues…’ (Martin Daly, November 2020). This Daly quote is relevant when considering the recent cabinet reshuffle in the light …

How does one step back from the bold misogynistic claim of being ‘The Man’s Beer’? Do you flip the script and position yourself as being anti-violence against women?   Do you attempt to engage womenfolk and position yourself as our protector by communicating repeated images of male power and strength smashing glasses …

“[…] With the declaration of the SOE on Tuesday 21 April 1970, [Makandal] Daaga and other members of the NJAC leadership, were detained on Nelson Island and at the Royal Jail.  “In the ensuing months, a reign of terror was released on the population. A dusk to dawn curfew was …