I certainly empathise with the government as they are navigating difficult decisions in the management of the economy and society during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Yet, the issues facing the society are mostly not due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but deeper social issues that have never been properly addressed by …
Read More »The J’ouvert Rum Story: ‘What neo-colonials tout as opportunity is just exploitation with glossy packaging’
Welcome to Dimension Alpha63, a timeline that closely mirrors ours but on a more highly evolved plane. It is a place where enterprise exists solely for the purpose of mutual upliftment of as many people as possible. Because why else right? Who is perverse enough to want otherwise? You see, …
Read More »Gafoor: Sir Hilary Beckles truly is the Caribbean’s Martin Luther King Jr
“[…] I have a dream; a dream in which the University of the West Indies upholds Sir Hilary [Beckles] as the Martin Luther King Jr of the Caribbean. “A dream where his phenomenal contribution to academia, sports and reparation justice for those who endured the dehumanising shackles of slavery and …
Read More »Dear Editor: Dr Rowley must not put Fifa above our laws—even if it is foreign, white, powerful and rich
“[…] I note that in response to Mr [William] Wallace’s indication that Parliament can change our law if it wants, the prime minister responded by saying that he is willing to help wherever he can. “I trust that that help will not include an official, parliamentary setting aside of our …
Read More »Gilkes: Keep Feeding Contempt; or imagine a better world for the ‘small man’
Interesting how fried chicken could bring to light so much issues that explain what’s wrong with our society. One chicken drumstick is all it takes to expose certain realities, all of which are integrated, interlocked and in some aspects, results of deliberate actions. For one thing, this farcical episode involving …
Read More »Dr Mahabir: ‘Black power agenda’ threatens ‘national treasures’; Gilkes: Colonial monuments carry offensive symbolism
Dr Kumar Mahabir: “[…] Despite the horrendous history of Columbus, his statue represents a tangible historical link to the Europe, Africa and Asia since 1498. It is one of the few statues of Columbus in the Caribbean and is a destination site for local and foreign tourists…” Corey Gilkes: “[…] …
Read More »Dear editor: Time to re-write history! The Spanish Ambassador is out of place
In response to Spanish Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago Javier Carbajosa’s statement that ‘removing the statue of Christopher Columbus in downtown Port of Spain would not right the wrongs of the past’, I, as a descendant of the First Peoples of T&T, write to challenge his view. To begin with, …
Read More »Gilkes: Where denial meets ignorance; and where you can stuff ‘all lives matter’
Dem old people and dem does say: ‘when yuh neighbour house on fire, wet yuh own’. So I trying to wet mine, with this open rant to Lasana Liburd and my not-so-secret crush Dr Sheila Rampersad. Because we Trinis doh learn, we doh like to connect things and we love to live …
Read More »Gilkes: Thank god Raffique was a dreamer; Commissioner missed the 1970 elephant—clean
The letter penned by the Commissioner of Police condemning the valorising of the army mutineers of 1970 brought to the surface several important issues. One such issue is the fact that, even in tiny countries like this one, it is entirely possible to live in an insulated space with little …
Read More »Nakhid: ‘The streets are talking; fire next time!’ Why the political class should be afraid
Symbolic of the moral and ethical wasteland that we as a nation have become is the apparent dearth of flourishing fruits and natural habitat, which we once enjoyed and ravished with impish delight. Do mangoes, avocados, pommerac, plum and cherries grow in abundance as in days gone by? We, meaning …
Read More »Claude’s comments: Only Africans forced to deny heritage to be ‘appropriately groomed’; that must stop!
The following is the final instalment in Dr Claudius Fergus’ three part series on African textured hair: a historical, cultural and legislative perspective: Unlike what obtains in many Caribbean Commonwealth states, Trinidad and Tobago’s Education Act does not define responsibilities of students or speak to the obligations of principals toward …
Read More »Claude’s Comments: Education Ministry is allowing discrimination against African hair
One does not have to be a legal expert to recognise that hair-shaming, such as reported in the St Stephen’s College incident, is a violation of our Constitution—‘the supreme law of Trinidad and Tobago’ (Article 2). I want to submit further that the incident is also a clear violation of …
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