The definition of a true trini

 
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. We want to make our stance clear to you sweet not-wanting-to-offend-anyone trinis: there is no one single definition of what constitutes a true trini. Our diveristy is what makes our country wonderful and rich.

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. 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 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 if you want to keep your traditions alive you don't belong in Trinidad go back to your motherland". If the political leaders in Canada or America told that nonesense to any Italian American, African American, Chinese Canadian or any other immigrant that has settled in one of these first world countries, they would not be as passive as Trinidadians when it comes to protecting their rights and freedoms at work and at school from the onslaught of both religious and ethnic intolerance found in too many Trinidadian work and school environments.

A little history and modern day perspective for you  - that ideology of abandoning the motherland in order to be Trinidadian was conceived 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 should not 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 most educated people. Was big daddy's idea oppressive? You bet. 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.

As TnT strives for 2020 developed country status it seems, incredibly, that this way of thinking is still pervasive - and 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. 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. They submitted their CVs to a few very well known recruitment agencies in Port of Spain and our friends may have had more contact for interviews if they threw their resumes into a trash can. Unexplainable maybe not, but certainly eyebrow-raising.

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 be who they are. Trinidad is still one of those oppressive countries that people want to flee - people are fleeing. So we have a brain drain and the ignorance spiral continues...

We believe it is important for you to 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. Ask yourself if your ways of thinking and the way you treat other trinis at work and at school contributes to Trinidad remaining a 3rd world oppressive country. 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 more trini than any other person living here.

Comments

[iblink]

your racism must eat you alive at night

[Trin]

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 :)

[Renee]

Your blog is depressing. I'm sure what you are saying is true but wow there has to be something nice about TT!