I am a young citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. I come from modest means but have enjoyed a relatively comfortable lifestyle and opportunities that many would possibly like to have but above all I have worked hard and been conscientious and disciplined to do and get what I have.
I have recently returned to Trinidad after brief sojourn in the UK and completing my Masters in Europe and I guess many would agree that being away from one’s native environment sometimes serve to make things clearer and to see from a different perspective.
One of the things that have been bothering me since my return is the state of dormancy in which our people seem to be. On a daily basis, people everywhere in Trinidad and Tobago complain about the extinct customer service levels in our services and business from private to public, the prices of food and other important living costs such as housing, the spread of debilitating cultural trends such as the recent importation and promotiom of ‘Passa Passa’ to our shores, the ever increasing gap between the ‘haves; and ‘have-nots’, the seeming return to colonial perceptions and attitudes such as racism and discrimination of all forms, the recent decisions to use near to slave labour for the supposed development of our infrastructure,the lack of provision of basic amenities and accurate developmental foci while we piecemeal physical development takes place to support a small elite and the list goes on.
In such an environment where at every turn, a young person is overcome by a sense of helplessness in the sea of anarchy and billowing despair it seems as if the people of my nation are all asleep. Have we never been taught that words are extremely effective but mean nothing if not founded and followed by action? We complain and curse and no one is willing to take the first step to rally like minded people together to make a stand, a statement, start an organisation, promote a cause or any such productive ventures.
If we continue as individuals to disregard the needs of the wider collective in favour of our myopic individualistic perspectives and supposed needs, this society and country is headed for a state of emergency so dire that the current children and toddlers will pay an extremely high price if it is to be restored. If as parents ,young people or just human beings with any state of consciousness and concern not only for ourselves but the generations to come, do not realise that our dormancy and lack of initiative is and will continue to be the reason for the suffering of countless generations to come, I dread to see what our beloved nation will look like in the not too distant future.
Sean Samad
