Basdeo Panday – Politician or Actor?

Many of us in Trinidad and Tobago take for granted the ingenuity of Mr. Panday, Opposition Leader of the UNCA. This man is a stalwart in local politics. Born in 1933, Mr. Panday worked as a cane worker, teacher and civil servant prior to obtaining three degrees. Now this is where it gets interesting, Mr. Panday has degrees in Law, Economics and Drama. Who does that? Who combines those subject areas and why? Mr. Panday is a brilliant man in that he understands that politics is drama in its truest sense. Politics has been our reality TV for decades and unlike many other politicians Mr. Panday is well aware of this. Without a doubt Mr. Panday has changed the political landscape in Trinidad and Tobago simply by the strategic skits that he has played out throughout his almost thirty years as a member of the Parliament. I will take the activities of the Parliament yesterday to prove my point. The sittings which are governed by standing orders start on Fridays at 1:30 p.m. unless the House otherwise decides. Therefore Mr. Panday being a Member of Parliament since 1972 very well knows this, yet he arrived late for effect. Mr. Panday very well knew that there would be a media circus and as such for maximum effect he arrived after his opponent in the “mother of all elections” held on Sunday. In case you live under a rock the UNC-A held internal elections on Sunday and Mr. Panday and Mrs. Persad-Bissessar vied for the position of political leader, Mr. Panday lost. Upon arrival Mr. Panday theatrically offered his seat to Mrs. Persad-Bissessar, then as reported he proceeded to sit and say nothing to Mr. Warner his former cohort who was appointed as chief whip on his right and Mrs. Persad-Bissessar on his left. With Mr. Panday seated between them “KamJack” talked to each other and pass notes to each other. Well I anxiously await the next phase drama from Mr. Panday, after all the man is well trained in the field. I personally wish that Mr. Panday remains a Member of Parliament for as long as he is of sound mind to do so.


Do you think the actions of the Leader of the Opposition are deliberate? Do you appreciate the drama and theatrics brought to the Parliament by Mr. Panday?

Teen attacked in KFC

I would really like to know what is going on in our beloved country. We are all going crazy. People running into KFC to attack a 16 year old boy. Can you believe this nonsense? What can a sixteen year old do to enrage someone to attack him? Additionally I want to go back to the parents. When I was sixteen I had a clear mandate, go to school, learn, behave and go straight home after school. When I got into the house I had to call my mother to let her know that I was home. I never found out what would have happened if I did not go straight home because my mother made it abundantly clear that she was the boss and her rules were to be followed. Plus I am coward and I don’t like to get in trouble. So why was that sixteen year old in KFC at 2:45 p.m.? The news made no mention of him being a student of anywhere. We need to do something and we need to do it quickly. Additionally we as citizens need to stop waiting on the Government to find a solution. A simple start can be for us as adults to monitor the underage persons around us, provide guidance to them and act as mentors. That has nothing to do with the Government, it has to do with us being responsible citizens.

The Piss Poor Conduct of the El Do Blue Teachers

Teachers in El Do Blue don’t want to work until 3 o’clock to facilitate the Ministry of Education’s attempts to curb the violence between El Do Blue and El Do Brown. I am totally disgusted with those bastards. Teaching is no longer a profession, it has become a job, something to do during the day to get money. For many persons teaching, it was not a first choice but a last resort after trying unsuccessfully to gain employment elsewhere. These same teachers give themselves a holiday for two months during July and August, and two weeks or more during the Christmas and Easter vacation periods. How much would it hurt to work an extra half hour. The Ministry of Education should start to make deductions from their pay for not showing up to work during vacation periods.

Originally El Do Brown was a Junior Secondary and El Do Blue was a Senior Comprehensive, with the former having younger students that the latter. When news of this violence between the two schools broke I wondered whether the change to both schools having students of the same age had something to do with the violence. I remember back in the day it was said that the reason for Tunapuna Government Secondary and Hillview College being dismissed fifteen minutes apart was because there were some fights between the two schools. I always felt that was urban legend though so don’t quote me on that.

My entire point here is that I am disappointed with the El Do Blue teachers who don’t want to give half hour of their time, which I am sure they are already being paid for. I think that the Ministry of Education has responded relatively well and the Teachers are now sabotaging the efforts of the Ministry.

What do you think about the El Do Blue Teachers? What do you think about the Ministry of Education’s response to the incidents between the two schools?

No More Illegal Immigrants in Prison

The government is doing some good work and I want to give them kudos for it. Finally in Trinidad and Tobago we can boast of having an Immigration Detention Centre. Previously persons who violated our immigration laws were held in prison like common criminals, when it should only be the ones who also violate criminal laws that should be held in prison. The Government had been under fire for some time because this is a faux pas. Immigration offenders are not criminals. In many instances they are simply persons running away from their depressed lives in one country and looking for better opportunities in another. They only thing they are guilty of is illegally entering the country and other Immigration type offences.

Thanks to the hosting of the Commonwealth Heads of government meeting in a few weeks this much needed facility has been opened, obviously because the government does not want the bad publicity that would have come as a result of the imprisoned illegal immigrants. Especially since a number of the persons held for immigration offences are from African commonwealth countries such as Ghana.

The government has come under a lot of criticism for the hosting of the Summit of Americas and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, however with all things in life there would be good and there would be bad. The Immigration Detention Centre is a good thing and it is a legacy item that would be here to stay for some time. This would be one less thing for Trinidad and Tobago to be blacklisted for by international human rights organizations and NGOs. So I don’t care why or how we got it the important thing is that we got it and it is something to make us look good.

The Trinidad and Tobago Flag

Today’s Express Online has an article outlining the cost for the flag and pole at the Stadium. The first amusing part of the story is that the Honourable Gary Hunt finds support for the flag on Facebook. I have a problem right there, as I cannot tell you the last time I went on Facebook because I have been so busy of late. Therefore as Minster of Sport and Youth Affairs he should have no time to be on Facebook.

The cost of the flag and pole was approximately two million dollars. This is no problem to the Minister because he obviously has a stock pile of money somewhere so that is small money to him. My concern is the maintenance cost for the flag. I am probably very cheap but if it cost two million in the initial stage then I think it should not need anything for the next three years. It should just stand there tall and erect billowing in the wind. However the flag would need to be replaced approximately every six months at a cost of 18,112.15. Thankfully they bought three replacement flags (not included in the two million) so for the next two years no more money should be spent on this flag. I just thought though that if they bought four flags they could have gotten a discount or something. Then there is consideration that this flag being replaced every six months would cost approximately 724,486.00 over the next twenty years. I am not sure whether I agree it is worth it.

The next thing is that I am confused as to the significance of hoisting the flag at this time. These days I really don’t have time to follow these people. So I am not sure if it was revealed previously. I would have thought Independence Day would have been a better time.

As far as I am concerned the real scamp in this thing is Fire One. When Fire One erected their flag in Macoya I wondered why a private company would want to do something like that. I wanted to know what profit they would get from doing something like that. Now I realize it was a ploy to chain up the government to do the same thing and possibly produce returns on their original investment. So I understand now. But why didn’t Fire One as great corporate citizens offer to erect the flag in the stadim in the first place.

Finally I remember growing up I always saw security officers lowering the flag at 6:00 p.m. I realize now that when we have big flag it does not come down. Flag Etiquette: Rules and Regulations Governing the National Flag of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago states: The National Flag should not be flown after sunset, except inside a building. However, on important ceremonial occasions the Flag may be displayed in the open after sunset when it should be floodlit if possible.

What do you think about this flag issue?

More Money More Problems

Yesterday the Newsday carried a story of a boat crashing off Monos Island. This is quite tragic as one person died in the accident. I did not even realize that a boat accident could be so fatal. But I guess when not securely fastened to a seat the body could be pitched whichever way on impact causing injury.


This is why when you see people living a certain type of life or with certain possessions don’t be jealous. Just think about it as one less way for you to die. The more money you have is the more things you acquire and the greater chance of something going wrong, whether it is a flat tire, or your fancy automatic gate malfunctioning. So I am taking this opportunity to thank God for what he has given me because he knows why he has not given me more than what I have.

Independence Weekend Accident

So apparently something was going on by the Gasparillo stretch of the Solomon Hochoy Highway, because there were four separate accidents in that area on Sunday, this is according to the Trinidad and Tobago’s Newsday Online. The most disturbing of the stories is one in which a one year old baby who was being held by her mother in the front passenger seat of the vehicle died. The story even indicates that the couple has a ten year old son and prayed for this second child who was born prematurely and spent one month in an incubator in the hospital. Now, how much of a front seat “ho” do you have to be to want to sit in the front seat with your one year old? First off one year olds are active and should not be so close to the driver because they can be a distraction. These distractions could be very simple from singing to making cute baby noises to throwing a toy so they should really be in the back seat especially if the two parents are in the car together. A child sitting in the front passenger seat is something that we in Trinidad love to do quite comfortably. Some parents even say the child don’t like to sit in the back. First off the child don’t pay no damn car loan and is therefore in no position to decide where they want to sit in the car. Something is probably wrong with my parents because I did not have a choice. The back seat was mine, I could not sit in the front, and as a matter of fact I sat in the back seat until secondary school. And the thing is that I did not venture to the front seat on my own I was told that I could now begin sitting in the front seat. I don’t remember ever crying to sit in the front seat because it was just one of those things that was not negotiable like bedtime and homework before tv, my tears would have been wasted. I have to remember to thank my parents for being “bad” and making me sit in the back.

These same children who cry to sit in car seats or in the back seat take them to America and the parents would force them to sit in the car seat because it is the law. In the US they don’t even allow you to take the baby out of the hospital without of a car seat. They have an option where they loan you a car seat until you are able to obtain your own. But Trinis watless no ass and just do whatever they want. I have no sympathy for Shamila Lolita Ramjit (dead) and Ivan Ramjit (hospitalised) because they were irresponsible parents. It is amazing that their first child lived to ten. They had foresight to put the cake for the baby’s birthday on the back seat but not the baby. Now the mother and the baby could have been sitting in the back and died the same way who knows, but the right thing would have been to sit in the back with the baby. I am waiting to see how Trinis would somehow choose to blame the government by possibly saying that a law should be passed to make car seats for children mandatory. That is shit in my opinion because there are several other personal safety laws that we Trinis don’t obey for example the speed limit, seat belts, drinking and driving and several others. Trinbagonians are just lawless and like to do our own think and avoid accepting responsibility for our actions. The constitution gives people the right to have children but that doesn’t give everybody the right to be parents. Hopefully other parents would see this and learn from the example but I somehow doubt it because baby Nevi was not the first and would definitely not be the last.

Ms. Emris goes to St. Anns

Today’s Trinidad Express Online reports that Ms. Emris would be sent to St. Anns for a psychiatric evaluation. But the Trini in me want to know what is this unforgivable sin that she committed that caused her to jump off a moving vessel. Thankfully she is getting the help that she needs.

Woman Jumps off Ferry

So I reading the Trinidad Express Online again because I refuse to pay Two Trinidad and Tobago Dollars for a document that would become outdated in less than twenty four hours. There is an interesting story of a woman Emris Simon jumping off the T&T Spirit because she allegedly committed some unforgivable sin. First off the story indicates that the vessel left Tobago one hour and twenty-five minutes late. So that means Ms. Emris had that much time to pray and ask for forgiveness or at least come up with a better suicide plan, one that would not inconvenience others. For someone to seriously attempt suicide they must be in some sort of personal turmoil battling with their inner demons. But I do not care what any psychiatrist or psychologist says but I think suicide is selfish, especially when it is a failed attempt that costs other people time and money. Can you imagine feeling so bad about life that suicide is the only way out then to wake up and realise that not even that you could do properly. i know i would feel like a turd.

In this specific instance the vessel had to be stopped, members of the crew had to disembark in a life raft, possibly putting their own lives at risk to save someone who obviously did not want to be saved. The vessel which was already behind schedule was made even later and I can well imagine how pissed the Trinbagonians onboard were. Upon arrival in Trinidad there was an ambulance waiting for Ms. Emris to take her to hospital to receive treatment. So imagine somebody somewhere calling for an ambulance and not getting assistance because an ambulance park up on the port waiting on Ms. Emris. Not to mention somebody gone to the Port of Spain General Hospital to receive treatment because they value their life and want to live and has to wait or be turned away because there are no beds available because Ms. Emris resting comfortably in a satisfactory condition. I was expecting in the story that she would have been taken to St. Anns to be evaluated. This is exactly why in some countries suicide, attempted suicide or assisted suicide is treated as a criminal matter. In ancient times many societies frowned upon suicide and the person’s estate was confiscated by the state or the person was not afforded a regular burial. Obviously if a person is successful they would be beyond the boundary of the law.

This raises the issue of mental health care in Trinidad and Tobago. This is an area of health care that is surrounded by stigma and discrimination. Trinis have a thing that a person has to be crazy to see a psychiatrist or psychologist. These and other myths about mental illness make members of the public scorn persons they perceive to be suffering from a mental illness. I am also guilty of ignorance when it comes to the issue of mental illness. The Canadian Mental Health Association has some interesting easy to read information that could shed some light on this matter. Hopefully Ms. Emris would get the mental health care that she needs to help her to recover.

Police Car Tief

So I minding my own business reading the Trinidad Express Online and I was really trying not to say anything about this but the Trini in me I have to say my piece. How is it that a young seemingly sane man could pick up the government vehicle and go joy riding with it. I would really like to know what he was thinking. Did he think that he would not get caught? Well it really was that he simply did not think. Four months into a job you still green in most organizations people would still be on probation so they don’t even want to mash ants. This nut tief the vehicle and gone joy riding. He should not even be on suspension he should just be unemployed under some sort of twenty-four hour evaluation watch in St. Ann hospital because he is obviously a crazy man. i confused. I dont even know what else to say but I love my Sweet TnT.

Twelve Year Old Raped by Sixteen Year Old

So this morning on the news (red 96.7 and corroborated by a similar story on Express Online) there was a report of a 16 year old boy raping and sodomizing a 12 year old girl. I don’t even know where to start. Let me start with the ages 16 and 12. Where did this 16 year old boy get the thought in his head to rape somebody? When I was sixteen, I will admit sex was on my mind but I certainly wasn’t bold face enough to demand or take it from somebody who did not want to give it to me. What are we coming to? Now I always have to bring things back to my life as it is the one that I know best. This exact time of the year when I was sixteen I was anxiously awaiting CXC results, working my first job and begging to go out occasionally. Don’t be fooled to go out I have to answer, who, where, to do what, why, for how long, where the other children’s parents, and what their parents do for a living. Sometimes after the interrogation to leave the house I tired and just want to go and sleep.

I have to ask the obvious, where were the parents? These were obviously two unsupervised children. At twelve I went nowhere by myself unless it was to the toilet and I could not even stay long because there would be a knock on the door to ask what I doing so long. So I ask where were the parents of the 12 year old? However I put no blame on them as yet, because something about the story sketchy I believe some details are missing.

Now I believe the mind of a rapist is a very sick and demented one and for a 16 year old to rape someone it says a lot about him and his environment. It tells us that he as little or no respect for women or girls. It tells us that he does not have God in him life, whether Jesus, Allah, Jehovah etc. It also tells us that he has too much idle time on his hands to become obsessed with sex or rape fantasies. It also tells us that his parents did not instill the fear of God in him that they would buss his tail if he embarrasses them or the family. It also tells us that the young man himself could have been the victim of some form of abuse himself and is just acting out what was done to him.

All we can do is pray that this young woman overcomes this turbulent time in her life and receives the required counseling that would help her to readjust to become a teenager (because she is not one yet) and later contribute positively to society. We also have to pray for the young man and hope that he could be rehabilitated. Those of us with children, make a call to find out where they are, what they are doing and who they are with because things don’t seem to be as nice as they used to be.