Dear readers,
some of the Trin posse were having a debate about that Brian MacFarlane piece during the Summit of the Americas and the conversation inevitably turned to the topic of common misconceptions trinis have about what makes a true trini.
Below is a review of the MacFarlane's production: http://www.keithfrancis.net/2009/04/5th-summit-of-americas-ego-vs-cuba-vs.html
We want to clear something up for you sweet not-wanting-to-offend-anyone trinis: there is no one single definition of what constitutes a true trini.
In every developed country in the world (nearby examples being the USA and Canada) diversity is honestly respected by both those in power and by ordinary citizens. For example people are never expected to have to choose between being either African or American or being either Indian or Canadian - developed nations never makes such a nonsensical racist request to its citizens that in order to fit in you must assimilate and abandon your heritage. Citizens are not discriminated against in the workplace because of religion, name or ethnic group. Being a citizen of a developed country never has and never will require that you think of your religion or heritage as a burden to society or a handicap to your career.
However in Trinidad and Tobago too many fools in high places say things like "you are a trini and you need to forget your heritage and your motherland in order to be a true trini, or you need to date and marry interracially to be a true trini, or if you want to keep your traditions alive you don't belong in Trinidad go back to your motherland or you don't deserve a job in the public service". Try telling that BS to any American and watch them laugh at you. And believe us we have experienced the racist brainwashing going down in the Trinidad and Tobago Government service to this very day - it should just be renamed the Government's Eric Williams concentration camps for the kind of oppression and daily harassment we have witnessed in there against poor people just trying to defend their beliefs!
A little history and modern day perspective for you - that ideology was coined by PNM founding father Eric Williams, who back in the day was sniffing too much fairy dust and decided those who abandon their heritage would be considered the real trinis and everybody else didn't belong - those who tried to maintain their religious and or cultural traditions were somehow doing a disservice to our country. Granted he was pioneering a new nation and had a few ludicrous ideas about how to develop this new nation so we at Trin have forgiven him for his lunatic racist ideas - pioneering is hard work! Also this way of thinking has since been classified as misguided and also as oppressive by educated people. Wikipedia defines oppression as follows:
Oppression is the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. It can also be defined as an act or instance of oppressing, the state of being oppressed, and the feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, and anxiety.
However as TnT strives for 2020 developed country status it seems, incredibly, that this way of thinking is still pervasive almost as if we are experiencing an Eric Williams revival. It seems the institutional racism in state enterprises is becoming more and more prevalent based on the job hunting experiences of some of our friends who have returned to Trinidad from the US over the last couple of years with valuable foreign work experience thinking they would be able to find jobs after 3-6 months of job hunting. These friends wanted to return home to make a difference...now some scratching dey head and wondering if it's time to just go back to USA because there's too much discrimination when trying to find a job in Trinidad.People all over the world immigrate to the US and Canada because they are persecuted in their homelands and experience discrimination for just wanting to keep their traditions alive, for just wanting to be who they are - and Trinidad is still one of those oppressive countries that people want to flee - people are fleeing. So we have a brain drain and the spiral continues...
You should all question how diverse countries like the US and Canada manage to not just function but grow and prosper despite the presence of many large thriving religious groups such as Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and other faiths, and then ask yourself if your ways of thinking and the way you treat other trinis is contributing to Trinidad remaining a 3rd world oppressive country forever. It is about time trinis realize there is no one single type of person - be it a person of a specific race, a person of a specific mix of races or a person from one religion that is the true "Trini" person and certainly Brian MacFarlane's representation of what constitutes a trini is by no means an authoritative definition.
Sure there is - the country is beautiful, many many people are good live-and-let-live people, but in a country with free education so many people should still be so ignorant! I'll post something happy next so I can cheer up my readers :)
Posted by: Trin | November 01, 2009 at 18:07
Your blog is depressing. I'm sure what you are saying is true but wow there has to be something nice about TT!
Posted by: Renee | October 28, 2009 at 09:51