Ten minus One Equals Nine

The heartless, baseless and utterly stupid comments of Kamla Persad-Bissessar in response to the devastation wreaked upon other Caribbean islands by Hurricane Tomas have almost left us”small islanders” in fits of almost epileptic quantums. That a leader of an island, that a leader of a sister Caribbean island at that, who is poised to take a leading role in the integration of the region should boldly blurt out in the aftermath of an humanitarian crisis, in the fashion of a tactless undiplomatic ignoramus, that any aid delivered to the islands would be contingent on some benefit to Trinidad and Tobago, proves to me, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that some individuals, whilst claiming to be educated, are actually dumb as shit. I take no prisoners- Kamla is a jackass of the higher order.

I was angry, on a deeper level, because this is Trinidad. This was the Trinidad of Eric Williams who was a beacon of Pan Africanism and regionalism, a forebearer of the Caribbean integrationist movement, the godfather of the Maurice Bishops and the petit frère of the Castros. This was the Trinidad and Tobago of the Spanish settlers who had no experience in tilling the land and where the slaves of Grenada and St. Vincent were exported to till the huge canefields of Curepe. This was the Trinidad and Tobago that many islanders migrated to in the early 1940’s around the period of war and who settled in Fyzabad and in other neighbouring districts to build Trinidad’s infrastructure. This was the Triniadad we Grenadians bestowed our greatest exports upon: Uriah Buzz Butler, the blueprint for Caribbean trade unionists and the Mighty Sparrow, Calypso King of the World. We even gave the island of Trinidad carnival. Prior to the French Grenadian settlers on the island, Trinidad had no Carnival. That is a documented fact.

On a more personal level, this was the Trinidad that I ate, drank and lived everyday. I watched Gayelle TV with Uncle Fabien in the evenings. My Ipod is filled with the latest tracks from Machel Montano, Lord Kitchener and Faye Ann Lyons. I just purchased a ticket to see Destra and Saucy Wow tomorrow. This was the Trinidad into which I pumped thousands of dollars into the local economy to jump up in the heat for two days on the road in a cheaply bedecked pair of panties and a bra. I paid for the discomfort. Trinidad was ever omniscient in the Dixee and Crix crackers on which I was weaned, the Fruta, Trinidad Orange Juice and Orchard that I begged my mum to buy me in place of the sweet Swivel oranges laden on the trees outside, and the Mackeson and Stag that I now drink in place of our own local Carib. We feature Trinidadian artists in our local carnivals, we patronise Trinidad brands, we even read Trinidadian tabloids like the Punch. The CIA Factbook shows that the Caribbean purchases hundreds of millions of products from Trinidad and Tobago. Sure, the United States , Spain and Germany are amongst its biggest trading partners, but our contributions are certainly not minimal. The net gain of our generational straddling of the twin island Republic is that the economy is thriving and its people are a colourful amalgam crossing cultures and race, so much so that its President takes this for granted.

I am not upset in the manner of a petulant naive teen oblivious to the fact that deals are made via the back door on international aid projects. However, these are often on projects which have long term ramifications, never the initial response to a cry for help. There is a reason why the world help has only four letters, it is not meant to rebound to the donor. I strongly believe that an offer of conditional help to a country on its knees in times of crisis is not actual help at all. I am also annoyed by the silence of Trinidadians on the issue, as they should know better and in their refusal to speak out on Kamla’s misdemeanour, they tacitly agree. Quelle fuckerie. It is as if they really believe in the propaganda, that the other islands are the perpetual buskers in the underground of CSME and the OECS. This is very far from the truth. Whilst we are small, the islands do not survive by the largesse of Trinidad and Tobago, nor do we consider it to be an ATM machine. St. Lucia, Barbados, Jamaica and even the smaller islands of Anguilla, St. Kitts and Antigua do exceedingly well from the tourist markets. In contrast, Trinidad has been allowed to benefit from and exploit Grenada’s maritime resources for a number of years.

Kamla’s approach smacks of someone who has only had the benefit of learning and not an education; it is not a wonder to me that she was only able to soar to the dizzy heights of Norwood Technical College in SE27, an institution that was later scrapped. It is also ironic that she herself benefited from the regionalism that she seems to deplore. After receiving her teaching certificate, she was graciously accepted by St. Andrew’s High School in Jamaica as a lecturer, and later by the Jamaica College of Insurance.

I am more concerned however by what some say this aggressive and isolationist statement means for the Caribbean, for Caricom in terms of the integrationist movement in the Caribbean. The Caribbean Court of Justice is meant to be housed in Trinidad and Tobago. The very principle of neighbourliness seems to have been lost on TNT and it seems that the people there (based on the ignorant comments in the Trinidad Express) are vehement that they do not wish to be their brothers’ keepers, particularly when the islands are down and out, handicapped or crippled. It is a damning indictment of the short sightedness of the region’s leaders when even Europe the economic powerhouse that it is, is creating and strengthening alliances among its Member States, and in India and China. Instead, small Caribbean countries, which in the grand scheme of things, play  miniscule roles in the global economic landscape, have a puffed up sense of their own importance and start conditioning their measly dollars on vacuous ideas like benefit. Dollars which I may remind Trinidad and Tobago is so devalued compared to the EC dollar that they can keep it! We doh want it! What hubris! However, I am not convinced that this says anymore than  display Trinidad’s immaturity in its refusal to enter the spirit of the regional effort, and unlike Williams, I think this time we are not willing to let one spoilt petulant child spoil the family. I say let's march ahead without Trinidad. Jamaica has learnt its lesson- yes, its economy has advanced but it has ate humble pie and has realised that it needs its neighbours.

To Kamla, I have only eight words : “the consciousness of well doing is ample reward”. This was said very often by the Grenadian Principal of my school, who was sent to rescue a Trinidad Convent, no less.

Will you be rolling up the tassa, Bissessar?

My memories of Trinidad are undoubtedly gastronomic.
Trinidadian food is hot- pepper of the scotch bonnet variety is a basic ingredient, and condiments and dishes all have big bold flavours. Kutchela, Anchar and “Mother in Law’ pepper sauce all find their way to my London cupboard. Among the dishes that I love, which include the delectable compactness of a zesty chicken roti and the colourful cacophony of meat and rice that constitute a pelau, there are two dishes in particular that would have me chomping at the bit in a sensory bud orgasm- doubles and souse.

Doubles has been referred to (unaffectionately) by Trinidadian doyenne Rachel Price as “fried flour” but the reality is more subtle. It is essentially a fried sweet bread that is turmeric flavoured, filled with piquant channa (chick peas or garbanzo beans) and tasty dhal (split peas). It is served best topped with chutneys of mango, cucumber and tamarind with a dash of "slight" pepper. Souse, as its name reveals, is a much more robust dish. The unwanted parts of a pig or cow or a chicken (usually their feet or skins or bellies) would be boiled and then pickled in a mixture of wine vinegar or lime juice,  seasoned in salt, garlic and thyme then garnished with peppers and cucumbers and left to marinate. It does not sound it but it is very yummy.

It is often assumed that Doubles evolved from the Indian Dish Chole bhature, Chole (Chana masala) which is cooked spicy chick peas and the Bhature (Poori) being a fried puffy bread, a dish commonly eaten in north India. Souse is an undoubtedly African inspired slave dish; its manner of preparation is very similar to Southern cuisine and it is typical of the curing techniques used on the plantation. Souse is therefore creole or afro in origin and doubles is East Indian. An interesting fact about souse and doubles is that they are each nice on their own, but they do not go together. Likewise, the story of Indian and African cohabitation in the small island of Trinidad is complex.

When slavery was abolished in 1833, almost 200,000 Indians were brought in to Trinidad to service the plantations under a system of legalised indentured labour. Historians such as Hugh Tinker called it a new system of slavery but I would vehemently oppose this categorisation- even if for a pittance, the dignity of working to earn (laborare est orare) already gave the Indian population a head start over the Africans who were by then idle and displaced and left with an aversion for labour. The Afro population were already by then also dispossessed of their language, culture, religions and customs. The Indian population, by contrast, were left culturally intact, and segments of the Indo Trinidadian grouping were sometimes awarded portions of land in lieu of a return passage, to encourage settlement. This led to some uneasiness and resentment on the part of the old Afro population.Indo Trinidadians are now the largest ethnic group- they now make up approximately 40% of the population. Afro Trinidadians make up 37.5%. There are about 40,000 European settlers- smaller groups of Chinese, Lebanese and Arabs and 20% of the population would describe themselves as mixed race (often dougla- the particular mix of Afro and Indian).

Trinidad, like mainland Guyana, has experienced some degree of conflict between its primary ethnic groups. Despite its motto "Together we Aspire Together we Achieve", class structure and political systems are often organised along ethnic lines (Professor Moses Seenarine, Introduction to Caribbean History). This is because, according to Professor Seenarine, racial stereotypes developed early in the two colonies. British planters characterized Africans as physically strong but lazy and irresponsible. East Indians were stereotyped as industrious but clannish and greedy. He notes that these views that are still present today. To feel sleepy after eating is referred to in and around the Caribbean as having "niggeritis", a direct allusion to the laziness of Africans. To some extent, these stereotypes were accepted by the immigrant groups themselves. The stereotypes provided a false explanation of behaviour and justified competition among groups. Africans were described as indolent when they refused to work for low wages or make long-term contracts with the plantations as the Indians had. East Indians were considered selfish when they minimized their expenses to acquire wealth.

This is illustrated, for example,  in the very popular politically incorrect playground ditty "Coolie coolie run for roti all the roti done. Ah nigger man pick up a machine gun an all de coolie run" (coolie being the derogatory word for Indian). My Trinidadian friend confirms that their version went - "coolie man come for roti, roti dun, mash potato, mash potato, half past one, when the nigger pull the trigger, ole man coolie run". Out of the mouths of babes. The stereotype of the violent destructive Afro islander vs the curry-eating greedy Indo islander perpetuated the status quo. Meanwhile, whilst many of the Afro population were becoming “saga boys” laughing at the Indians working on the plantations, many Indo Trinidadians were savvy and astute and established themselves commercially. As a result, many of the land owning Indians were, and still are outperforming their Afro counterparts in business, economic endeavours and education, still inspiring some latent resentment.

In much the same way, support for political parties appear to fall along ethnic lines with the PNM consistently obtaining a majority Afro-Trinidadian vote, and the UNC  gaining a majority of Indo-Trinidadian support. There has, in the past, been a deep racialisation of political consciousness. It first began with the split from the Butler Party (Butler was Afro-Trinidadian) when the PDP (majority Indian) formed their own political organisation. The African populace was fearful of this new Indian formation and Eric Williams then formed the People's National Movement (the PNM) which ruled Trinidad from 1956 to 1986.

Racial issues continued to obfuscate and destroy any lower class solidarity. This continued well into the twenty first century. In fact, Patrick Manning, former Prime Minister, ascribed his 1995 defeat to the rising Indian consciousness stimulated by the 150th anniversary of Indian Arrival. Manning even argued that he had lost support because it was felt that it was time for an Indian Prime Minister. Afro Trinidadians continued to document through calypso and in newspaper columns, Basdeo Panday's hugely charged racial encounters. Under the UNC, it was alleged that black CEOs of companies were routinely fired and replaced with Indian supporters and there was a perceptible Indianization of the public service (Professor Anton Allahar, UWI). Vice versa charges have been fired away at Patrick Manning’s administration. There have been several allegations of anti Indian discrimination.

Therefore it is a bittersweet, nervous occasion for me. On one hand, I am happy that the Trinidad & Tobago electorate saw it fit to elect a woman. I whole heartedly congratulate Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, particularly as she was able to rise above the unfair stereotypes targeted at women which would never be used as an indictment against men. The fact that she liked a drink or two (a woman after my own heart, bless) made her a drunk (a man would be deemed merely sociable) and her sympathetic nature was interpreted as vulnerability (a man would be called sensitive). With her victory on Monday, Ms Kamla Persad-Bissessar has now successfully laid a salutary stone in the edifice of female political leadership ably commenced by Dame Eugenia Charles of Dominica and Portia Simpson Miller of Jamaica.

On the other hand, I am wondering if the UNC can really make a definite inroad in healing the racial divide after Patrick Manning did much to exacerbate it. This process had already commenced with its now very fashionable idea of a coalition. It was heartening to see that in these elections it has been reported that persons actually voted across the manufactured lines of race, class and ethnicity. It is a good start. Maybe one day when I go to a certain Trini fete in London, I won’t see a paucity of black people featured in the photos. Maybe I wouldn’t hear comments next time I am in Trinidad that it was surprising to see Indo Trinidadians mixing with the Afro population.

Maybe, just maybe, Kamla will be different.

(Pic compliments guardian.co.tt)