Slipping and sliding

The lines indeed defined our current reality. I was transported to my growing up years in Laventille when the "boys" in the neighbourhood gathered on the back of a parked flatbed truck and beat out their tunes and sang whatever inspired them at that moment. At various times the group included "Hon Young" or "Hun Min," "Hiploy," "Sugars" and "Nanan." At other times, they simply gambled.

My parents and their friends talked about the old days of gang warfare when a "bad john" would storm your house and hide under your bed from Police and enemy as well.

Laventille will continue to be the "Achilles heel" of the PNM and every other administration. Seasoned as well as "just come" politicians pose as social commentators identifying what Laventille needs.

AUTHORITY ON ‘DE HILL’

My authority to join the commentary is derived from the fact the first 18 years of my life were spent "on de hill" having attended "Teacher Sybil" private school, Rose Hill RC and Nelson Street Girls RC. Indeed, I contend that Laventille is a migrant community and cannot be described as a homogeneous unit of bandits and beggars.

There are proud Laventillians who simply want to continue working hard every day, earning an honest living. A number of them work in the kitchens and homes of our middle class.

It may take a family 20 years to move out of the community but invariably families move out. Of the 25 or so families I can remember growing up amongst, three of them remain in the neighbourhood.

Several of the original families are abroad while others have moved to other communities throughout Trinidad and Tobago. Some like my mother chose to remain in Laventille. Her excuse: "Ah know de bandits and deh know me, ah cyah learn no new bandits at dis stage of meh life." I had to respect that view.

Recently a "semi-vagrant" said "Hi D" as he passed me. Surprised, I stared him down and under the layers of dirt I saw a childhood friend.

SINGLE SOLUTIONS?

Like all other dispossessed communities, there is no single solution to the problems. One type of solution lies in systematically addressing the evils, from drugs and guns to poor self-esteem. But at the heart of low achievement is the issue of indiscipline.

If we honestly examine sweet TT, we can only conclude that the crisis we currently face has its genesis in a lack of discipline. From captain to cook, the lack of discipline which pervades our society is unbelievable. Even more incredible is a sense that there is a reluctance to bring wrong doers to justice. At some point, the Government must ensure that the necessary action is taken even at the cost of unpopularity. The public must see those "sacred cows" taken to the butcher’s shop because it is the right thing to do. Indeed we must feel that there is the discipline to just do what is right.

There is a pattern of accommodation which is detrimental to our society. We accommodate one highway vender and this multiplies to a sidewalk flower shop, art gallery and now vehicle repair shop.

This "multi-purpose, rent-free, informal mall-shanty" sprang up in the last 15 months outside of West Mall and nothing has been done to date. The demonstration effect is "you can do whatever you want; there are no consequences." This is replicated throughout our society.

I remember when "Bangladesh" (St Joseph) was just one squatter, it now has 90 families with running water and electricity from the utility providers.

After the abolition of the trains, train line communities sprang up and today they are legitimate. More than once, the original "Shanty Town" has been transformed to now Beetham Gardens or is it East Moorings? Dotting the landscape are physical manifestations of our lack of discipline and a tolerant administration. We shall continue to suffer the consequences as citizens seize the opportunities to push the envelope.

Without consequences the society will continue a quick descent to a state of barbarism where might is right and the dominant view of "I’ll trample your rights in order to express my own."

TOO LATE ?

IT IS NOT TOO LATE to awaken from our slumber and take a disciplined approach to "shaking-down" the pushers; sending "special" officers back to the blocks to ensure that children are in school or relevant institutions and pulling over those mobile boom boxes which appear to be cars. The administration must embrace and act out the notions of fiscal responsibility, accountability, transparency and fairness. When we take the appropriate action in all communities — Laventille, Big Yard, parts of Marabella and Mon Repos, the schemes in Couva and similar communities, then the population will fall in line and function with the discipline that will take us to 20/20.

The views expressed in this column are not necessarily those of Guardian Life.

You are invited to send your comments to guardianlife@ghl.co.tt