How can an ‘Indian award’ be national?

THE EDITOR:  This morning I looked at the world news via the Internet and my blood crawled when I came across  Reuter’s slide show of the bloody climax of the Beslan school hostage crisis. For those of us with half of a brain and our  hearts in the right place, we can see clearly that our so- called “race” problem here is non-existent. Our real problem is stupidity. That a man can spend years of his life in school, university and achieve great learning and still not be educated really baffles me. How can  Devant P Maharaj, Anand Ramlogan and company really justify their racist ranting and raving? What is this moribund GOPIO “national awards” about? Listen, common sense dictates that one does not full a hole by digging another hole. How can an “Indian Award” be national in scope? If one group in this society feels  discriminated by the present  award system, cannot this system be challenged in a court of law, eh Anand?

It is absurd to think that one can correct a so-called biased award system by inventing another that excludes all other races, and call it “national.” If GOPIO wants to honour achievers of East Indian descent, then nothing is wrong with that, but how can GOPIO give a national award? Who elected GOPIO? Is it not the Government that bestows these awards on behalf of the nation of Trinidad and Tobago? Who does GOPIO represent? Who are its members, in what other countries can we find GOPIO, and what organisations are they affiliated to, United Nations, Nation of Islam, Janjaweed Party? Some time ago an old Indian friend and myself were discussing the situation in this country. He told me of an accident that occurred by the old iron bridge on the Eastern Main Road in St Joseph many years ago.

Apparently, the  top of a tractor being transported on a trailer got stuck in the overhead trusses of the iron bridge causing major traffic jam for miles. (The bridge was single lane) The Ministry of Works brought out all different kinds of  men, from the university, engineers etc. They concluded after much  debate that the bridge had to be cut to release the tractor and trailer and ease the traffic jam. While they were organising the acetylene torch to cut  the bridge, a drunken old farmer on his way home from the rum shop stopped and observed what was going on. He simply went up to the man in charge and told  him to deflate the massive tractor tyres, reverse the trailer and continue  driving. That in essence, is what is wrong with this country.

DANE   CHRISTMAS
D’Abadie