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, …
Read More »Vaneisa: Inside the Labyrinth; how art can help save lives in T&T
On 16 May, the Central Bank Museum launched an exhibition of the late Glen Roopchand’s art. Roopchand, whose work is perhaps most publicly visible in his rendition of Carlisle Chang’s The Inherent Nobility of Man, which is on display at the Piarco International Airport, died in July 2022. The collection …
Read More »Noble: Dr Picou’s galling treatment and auditor general impasse reveals T&T’s darkening mood
“It is hardly possible to build anything if frustration, bitterness, and a mood of helplessness prevail.” Lech Walesa, 1983 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. As a country, we are becoming more shameless. The scant regard that the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) staff displayed to Dr David Picou is galling. …
Read More »Vaneisa: Clutter of the mind—why I’m not a hoarder
Life has a way of setting you adrift; sometimes on a rough sea, sometimes with such gentle currents that you barely notice how far you have travelled. Knowing that during my period of research and writing, I had sunk even deeper into my naturally reclusive state, I felt that the …
Read More »Dear Editor: Women’s groups should lead push to improve neonatal wards
“[…] Women are the ones most directly involved. They bear most of the physical and psychological trauma of parent/motherhood during pregnancy—unlike the male who has the option to opt out at any time. “[…] Does this tragedy not expose the lack of attention given to a most vulnerable group charged …
Read More »Daly Bread: Defining public healthcare management
Regrettably, sharp comment is invited by the recent verbal tactics that the Minister of Health deployed in response to the deaths of seven babies at the Port of Spain General Hospital between 4 and 7 April, connected with a bacterial outbreak there. Perhaps the Minister is not aware that there …
Read More »Daly Bread: Accuracy of fact regarding NICU deaths
In the gloom of last Sunday, generated by the deaths of seven babies in less than a week at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in the Port of Spain General Hospital this month, I took heart from the offerings of fellow columnists Raffique Shah and Noble Phillip. During the …
Read More »Daly Bread: 30 years of ducking blame; as deaths continue in our hospitals and streets
Eleven babies have died in the space of a three-month period in the Neo Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in the Port of Spain General Hospital (POS General). Seven of these eleven deaths took place in less than a week during this month, reportedly the result of “an outbreak” of …
Read More »Noble: The beauty of living with a grateful heart
When we witness injustice and the brutal acts that plague our nation, it is not easy to be grateful. We groan under the weight of many human failings, and our first reaction is not gratitude. Indeed, difficult times and circumstances are handy excuses to be disgruntled and ungrateful. We become …
Read More »Early Bird: A WASA mouthful for Marvellous Marvin to munch on
“On a hill far away,” Paul burst into mournful fo’daymorning song as he caught up with us, “stands a new water tank, the emblem of suffering and shame…” Taken completely by surprise, Bobby and I looked blankly at each other. “Who side you on?” Paul asked. Scores of people, mainly …
Read More »Early Bird: Can Minister Marvin punch above his weight in wasteful WASA?
“What’s really going on with this WASA water tank?” Bobby inquired, in the middle of our walk last Wednesday morning. In the area to the west of the tank, there was heavy machinery, a tractor and a front-end loader. I know that put Bobby’s mind at ease. He is a …
Read More »Noble: Battling for our nation’s soul—T&T cannot continue like this
Each day, we are assaulted with new stories about our crime situation. It appears that the front pages of our daily newspaper will soon be unable to shock us. We are growing numb to the suffering spread across the land. Everywhere we turn, we are confronted by violence. Stunning pictures …
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