Tag Archives: societal change

In a Field Guide to Getting Lost (2005), Rebecca Solnit wrote of the places in which one’s life is lived: “They become the tangible landscape of memory, the places that made you, and in some way you too become them. They are what you can possess and, in the end, …

The following is part two of an interview with FC Santa Rosa founder and head coach and ex-Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) technical committee chairman Keith Look Loy interview: Clubs no longer have roots in their communities. This uprooting leaves room for other institutions, like gangs, to attract young …

Natasha Wilson’s words came to me while reflecting on my interview with Keith Look Loy. In significant ways, her calypso summed up Keith’s sentiments: Sweet T&T, is my country/ I want you to know that I love you/ Every creed and race, have an equal place/ So let’s work together …

Little things add up. Irritants that are not, of themselves, enough to make you feel besieged. Combined and constant, they are damaging to the psyche—the way water dripping away for years can erode rocks. Feral cats and stray dogs prowling the neighbourhood, stripping garbage bags and shredding the contents. Garbage …

We begin 2025 with the shocking reports of a teen being murdered by his ‘best friend’. The reality that gangs are everywhere causes us to pause. We are struggling to get food on our tables. Life is closing in on us. We are living in grim times. We can no longer …

Today, we face a myriad of problems. It seems as though there is a cascading chain of events that seeks to deaden our response. We do not finish dealing with one thing before another arises. How, then, will we run our country? How will we manage to survive? Which course …

Imagine that you could have every single thing your heart desires. No restrictions. Do you think you could envisage it all at once? I mean, do you believe that on any given day you know precisely what it would take to make you absolutely content? Unlikely, I’d say at first, …

“[…] The Prime Minister’s Pension Act […] allows high-ranking public servants to secure pensions at the peak of their earnings—an advantage unavailable to the average citizen, whose pensions are typically calculated on lower salary scales and subject to strict caps. “This is a system that has been kept out of the …

“[…] Arresting and imprisoning individuals removes them from society, preventing them from committing more crimes while incarcerated. But there are hundreds more to take their place, who are likely to never face arrest or imprisonment. “Research shows that while punitive measures can temporarily reduce crime, they often fail to address …

Responses to the declaration of a state of emergency have predictably been draped in political flags. As usual, everyone knows what should be done, and just as in West Indies cricket, everyone knows where the blame falls. What continues to be apparent is that it is not politically expedient to …

“[…] Our deepest issue is the inequality of our education system. Despite calls for reform, we’re stuck with a system that often doesn’t prepare young people for a changing world. “The prestige schools have better facilities, better managed teachers, and more opportunities compared to schools in rural or poor areas. …

The final visit from the trio of Christmas ghosts takes Ebenezer Scrooge to a future—his possible future if he maintains his current pattern of behaviour. While Charles Dickens depicts this particular spectre as the most dreadful of the lot, it is actually the one who really represents the most hopeful …