This was asserted by United National Congress political leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar at the party’s public meeting on Friday night at Fyzabad Secondary School.

Persad-Bissessar told her hundreds of supporters in the hall, she received the White Paper of a Finance Bill, that is to be debated in Parliament on Wednesday, which contains provisions for an “online tax” which would negatively affect the people of Trinidad and Tobago.

“The Minister said they would have online taxing on credit card payments and so on…It is not a tax on the online items that you buy, it is a tax on anything, any item that comes in by air freight into Trinidad and Tobago. so if your family, we all have family abroad and it is Christmas time and people send gifts…even though you are not paying for it, it is a gift coming in from your relative. Online tax? Lies. It is a tax on every single thing coming in the air.” The second thing of note in the Finance Bill, according to the Persad-Bissessar, is the tax applies not just to the cost of the item, but to the freight costs and insurance as well. “So when you think it was seven percent on the cost of the items, lies,” said the former prime minister.

She also questioned the legality of the seven percent online purchase tax which was implemented on October 20.

“I got my White Paper for Parliament on Wednesday and there is a bill called the Finance Bill to debate on Wednesday in Parliament in which they are asking the Parliament to approve what they are calling an online tax, but that was announced and came into effect when? 20the of October, you all remember that?” Persad-Bissessar continued, “so have they been collecting this online tax illegally without law, because why am I being asked to come to parliament on Wednesday to vote to approve the online tax?” According to previous reports, Legal Notice No 163 covering the online purchase tax was published in Parliament on October 19 and this, it was said, made the tax fully legal. Attempts to reach Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi for clarification were unsuccessful.

The UNC is hoping to wrest the contentious Sangre Grande Regional Corporation (SGRC) from the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM), which controls five of the eight electoral districts in the corporation.

The party has offered candidates for all of the electoral districts. A scheduled of the Opposition Leader’s itinerary obtained by Sunday Newsday said Persad-Bissessar will begin her tour at the Sangre Grande Market, in the heart of the eastern district, from 10 am.

At 11.15 am, Persad-Bissessar is expected to visit the Coalmine Pentecostal Church, where she will meet with church officials and residents of the community.

This will be followed by a 12.30 pm visit to a mosque along the Cunapo Southern Main Road and half an hour later, an audience with worshippers of the sat Nagar Temple on Ojoe Road.

At 2 pm, Persad-Bissessar is expected to have lunch with some of the district’s businessmen.

However, up until news time, a venue had not been identified.

The Opposition Leader is also scheduled to visit the Sangre Grande District Hospital at 3.30 pm, following which she will then make her way to the Ganesh Vidya Centre in Coryal.

Speaking to Sunday Newsday from her hospital bed at the Eric Williams Medical Science Complex (EW MSC)in Mt Hope, Cuffie recalled that her son, Christon, wanted to visit some family on Divali night.

He was driving with his wife in the passenger seat, while Cuffie was in the back seat with her two grandchildren, ages six years and six months. They were in Las Lomas, looking at the lights when a scratch bomb flew through the back window and landed near the baby.

Cuffie grabbed for the bomb to throw it out the window but it exploded in her hands.

“It was reflex. I prefer that I get it than the children get it even though I am in so much pain. I still thank God that it was not my life and it was just my hands,” said the mother of four and grandmother of four from Talparo.

“All I was seeing was blood and I was in so much pain that I was screaming. I saw my inside flesh and bones on one hand… it was really horrific. The whole time I was thinking, ‘Oh God don’t let me lose my hand,’” she said.

She said they first went to the Las Lomas Police Station hoping to get an escort to the hospital because of the heavy traffic on the roads that night. However, she said, after being questioned, the police told them only two officers were at the station so they could not escort them to the hospital.

Instead, the police suggested she go to the nearest health centre.

She told her son to drive straight to the EW MSC, not to stop for any traffic lights, to drive on the shoulder, and to stop by any police vehicle he saw.

They met a police vehicle by the Macoya traffic lights and she was transferred to the police vehicle and taken to the hospital.

Cuffie’s daughter, who was at her bedside yesterday, said when she arrived at Accident and Emergency, her mother’s hands were wrapped but blood was dripping onto the floor. Cuffie is diabetic and some of her fingers were turning blue.

She said she spoke to a doctor, who refused to check on Cuffie, and who told her the emergency doctor would see her whenever he returned.

Cuffie noted there were more than ten persons with hand and face injuries due to sc ratch bombs.

In Cuffie’s case, the top of her index and middle fingers were blown off, and there were burns along the rest of her fingers on her right hand. On her left hand, the skin on her index finger was ripped off from finger tip to mid-palm, down to the bone, and the top of her thumb was missing.

She said the doctors stitched what they could and dresses her hands every day. She is also on antibiotics and painkillers. In addition, because she is diabetic, the doctors want to wait and see how she heals before a decision can be made on amputation of her fingers, having skin grafts done, and reconstructive surgery.

However, there have been slight improvements because yesterday some of the bandages on the more minor burns were removed.

Cuffie said she realised she had to be strong for her children and so she tries to be brave. “When I think about how I can’t eat for myself, I have to wait on somebody to come to clean me, I have to wear adult diapers, which are expensive…

I am a Christmas person, I look forward to buying nice things but now I have to just be there, doing nothing…

I am accustomed being an independent person and being up and about. It’s frustrating.

When I’m by myself I cry,” she said as tears ran down her face.

However, Cuffie thanked the nurses for their kindness and care, and for allowing her husband to stay and help her even after visiting hours were over.

Police officers accompanied court marshals and a bailiff to the home of Rennie Dumas at about 5 am yesterday and served Dumas with the documents to vacate the premises.

While details at this time remains sketchy, the figure being tossed around indicates that Dumas owes as much as $1.2 million in mortgage payments to the Trinidad and Tobago Mortgage Finance Company.

Newsday Tobago learnt Dumas complied with the order made through a High Court judgment and with the help of family and friends, he moved the furniture and appliances to what is believed to be his mother’s home.

When contacted yesterday afternoon, Dumas, while he did not confirm or deny the eviction, said he would not be making any comments on the matter at this time.

Dumas served as the Tobago East representative from 2007-2010. In June, he was also one of the contenders who vied for the leadership of the Tobago Council of the PNM, in which he was unsuccessful.

She was speaking yesterday at the annual Canadian Embassy College Fair held at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of- Spain. Boyce told Sunday Newsday that they issue about 600 students visas a year for the Caribbean but there are a lot of students that are dual national “so we don’t really know how many”.

“But anecdotally in the two years I have been here I meet so many people that have studied in the US or have connections with Canadian institutions.

So I think we’ve developed over the years some really, really strong ties and academic ties (and) people ties from people who have gone to Canada to study,” she said.

Asked about the benefits of studying in Canada she responded “the quality of education is consistently high across the board”. She continued: “Among the G20 countries we spend among the top amount of cash on our schools”.

She also said that students can select from a wide range of experiences, whether big campus or small university, and from a cultural perspective Canada is “warm people, warm welcome”.

“We have a multicultural, safe, clean environment for people to come study where they can experience our fabulous nature, our cities, our museum, arts, culture, festivals. It is just a really incredible experience for students to come to Canada,” she added.

She also pointed out that “right now, from an economic perspective, it is very cost affordable”.

She explained that the fair is an annual event that is co-hosted with the United States.

She reported they had 23 Canadian schools, many from Ontario but also some from British Columbia, Quebec and East Coast.

She said they were very excited to have some of their premiere universities notably University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, Western, York and Concordia from Montreal.

She added they also had a lot of smaller colleges and the benefit is a huge range of institutions that offer “almost any kind of course imaginable”.

Sarah Braun, admissions counselor at Wagner College, Staten Island, New York City, said they are participating because “we would love to get our international numbers up.

That’s why we’re very happy to be here in Trinidad”. She explained that the offer different scholarships for their students including one international full tuition scholarship. Scores of young people attended yesterday, the last day of the two day event, and visited the various booths.

Pavan Ramkissoon, 17, from Rio Claro, told Sunday Newsday he was interested in pursuing business management.

He said there were a lot of colleges to choose from and he was looking at Canada but the US was “fine too”.

Leasel Lord, 18, from Santa Flora, said she was looking for the best schools that facilitate law as she wants to study family or corporate law.

She reported that so far Canada was not looking as the best option as she was only seeing masters in law and not undergraduate programmes and she would more likely go to the US.

This is according to Budd and Stew who told Sunday Newsday at a reception held aboard the RFA Wave Knight on Friday evening at the Port of Port-of-Spain that they held talks with National Security Minister Edmund Dillon, Chief of Defence Staff of Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force, and Tobago House of Assembly Chief Secretary Orville London while in Trinidad and Tobago.

They both noted, however, the TT defence authorities and the British security services already enjoy good relationships.

Apart from providing disaster relief, Budd said their presence in the region has had some measure of success in drug interdiction.

Their one week sojourn in Tobago included repairs and painting of two schools, and the office of the Child Welfare League.

“We did a simulated a real life disaster relief exercise with TEMA (Tobago Emergency Management Agency),” Budd said to ensure maximum operability in and after a disaster, the timely dissemination of information, and that relief meets those who need them as quickly as possible. “I think it was successful,” he said.

In addition five cadets of the TT Coast Guard were given some time aboard the vessel and they also travelled to Trinidad with the Wave Knight crew.

On Friday, some members of the 100 crew on board took part in maintenance works on an orphanage in Trinidad.

Up to a few days ago, he said that a crew from the US Coast Guard law enforcement detachment, with which they cooperate on drug interdiction operations, were on board. They are due to rejoin the vessel shortly, he said.

Asked about any recent success in terms of drug interdiction during the current term of duty, Budd said, “I can’t say anything now.” However, on the sister ship RAF Wave Ruler on which he served between 2008 and 2010, he said, “We captured about nine tons of cocaine over a three-year period.” He said, “We have had a considerable amount of success in drug interdiction while cooperating with other national authorities out there. We all cooperate to try to prevent the scourge of drug spreading in and out of the region.” The vessel which has been in Caribbean waters since July, will remain until February next year. It is part of the Royal Navy’s presence in the region to provide emergency assistance in the time of natural disasters to British overseas territories.

“We also help out any other island that needs help after a disaster,” Budd said.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, he said the Wave Knight went to the Bahamas which was badly hit. Though they helped in cleaning up and recovery in Nassau, he said, their focus was on North Andros Island where many houses had been flattened.

The helicopter aboard the vessel which has the capacity to carry men and cargo, he said, took food and water and other disaster relief to the island. In addition, the helicopter flew senior government officials to survey the damage among other islands.

Last year, Wave Knight also gave assistance to Dominica after Tropical Storm Erica wreaked havoc on the island.

Wave Knight will leave Trinidad tomorrow. The crew is hoping to take part in the Memorial Day Parade in Montserrat next Sunday in honour of those who died in World Wars I and II.

On Friday afternoon High Court judge, Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh had granted an injunction temporarily barring the deportation of Saint-Herve to his homeland. Saint-Herve had been ordered to leave the country by the Chief Immigration Officer by yesterday. He was due to leave at 6.25 am. The matter came up before Justice Boodoosingh, who granted an ex parte injunction based on the submissions filed by a team of lawyers, Friday afternoon at the Hall of Justice, Portof- Spain. The team, led by Gregory Delzin of Trinity Chambers, filed the injunction to stop the Chief Immigration Officer from deporting Saint-Herve earlier in the day. Saint-Herve will have to appear in the San Fernando court tomorrow where the matter will be heard.

Kambon, who penned a letter to the Chief Immigration Officer Charmaine Ghandi-Andrews seeking to stop Saint-Herve from being sent back home, told Sunday Newsday yesterday that tomorrow is going to be “a very important day”.

He said it will be interesting to hear in the court how the immigration officials are going to respond.

He also said the judgment will be very important regarding the protection of other students as well.

Kambon reported that he was not in contact with Saint-Herve who resided somewhere in East Trinidad.

He said the student has a good legal team and a solid case.

On October 25, Saint-Herve was told by an officer at the Immigration Office that his application for a student visa had been denied and he was told to return with his ticket on October 28 and to leave the country by November 5.

He returned with the ticket on October 28. No reasons were given for the denial at the time.

In response to subsequent queries, immigration officials raised issues about the number of courses he was studying, the quality of his English and his financial status.

Saint-Herve arrived in TT on August 16, after he was accepted to pursue an associate degree at Cipriani College of Labour and Cooperative Studies (CCLCS).

He was accepted to pursue studies in project management. Being a French speaker, he was required to pursue two developmental courses including one in English.

A TT national also undertook to sponsor his expenses in the country while he studied. Saint- Herve began studies at CCLCS on August 22, while undergoing the formalities to obtain a student visa. He provided original transcripts in French of his qualifications which were translated to English and notarised as requested.

In a release yesterday from CAJO it was reported that the charity run 5k is entitled “Run for Haiti: Kouri ? Haiti”.

Appeal Court judge and Vice-Chairman of CAJO Justice of Appeal Charmaine Pemberton said, “the hard working, resilient and embracing attitude of the Haitian people” together with her encounter with a delegation of women judges “who were eager to engage and build networks with their Caribbean counterparts” was the impetus for the initiative.

The theme of the run is “To Whom Much is Given Much is Required”.

At the launch, president of the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago (LATT) Reginald Armour SC reminded the audience of how closely related we are in the Caribbean and that LATT embraced the opportunity to be associated with the reconstruction efforts.

The main sponsor of the event is the Unit Trust Corporation and at the launch executive director Ian Chinapoo said, “compassion and prayers for Haiti are not enough” and that “in such dire circumstances we need to act if we are to effect meaningful change and make a tangible difference in people’s lives”.

My personal view is that no one has the right to limit an artist’s reading of particular periods in history, as much as no one has a right to limit and dictate the audiences’ reactions. I do however firmly believe that situations of conflict should encourage dialogue with an attempt to arrive at a viable compromise rather than attempts to prove our individual rightness. I offered some questions to the comments on my Facebook page in this effort: How is the pain of slavery perpetuated in modern Trinidad that we are continuously reminded of the trauma? What memories did the Mac Farlane portrayal elicit? Why the issue with the image in question? Is it the hashtag ‘knowyourplace’? How then should Mac Farlane have represented his take on the era? Some persons agreed that the portrayal was a great idea, but perhaps it was politically wrong in its set up. The majority didn’t address the questions but continued on a tirade about pain and trauma. On a national scale, apart from Emancipation Support Committee Chairman Khafra Kambon, who indicated that the hashtag #knowyourplace#, together with the image was offensive, a view with which I can agree, other opposing voices offered similar statements about trauma as the Facebook users.

Professor Patricia Mohammed, whose ‘Imaging the Caribbean’, is a cutting-edge work on how our Caribbean sensibilities have been shaped by the region’s iconography and how we have also used that iconography to tell the story of our experience, agreed that the hashtag coupled with the composition of the image was unfortunate and perhaps an ill-informed decision.

However, this issue as she noted, should force us to think about Mac Farlane’s motivation behind this particular presentation of the work. Mas, she further notes, ‘presents a perfect site for the interplay between the arts and the kinds of catharsis that art has allowed in other societies’.

And maybe, as we both agreed, it’s time that iconic mas men, engage the public in debate and learn about the sensitivities within the society as Mac Farlane himself acknowledged when he stated that there is still a lot for him ‘to explore, to learn and to unlearn.’ As far as some people’s view of Cazabon as a painter who glorified the slaves goes, Professor Selwyn Cudjoe’s ‘Beyond Boundaries’ presents the perspective that the mid- 1800s was a world in which the artist sought to reconcile ‘the social with the economical, the fading grandeur of an “aristocratic class” with the rise of a newly emancipated peasant class.’ So, while Cazabon’s images are idealized they can also be read as an artist’s attempt at giving dignity (in the way he saw dignity), to a class of people previously treated with less respect.

That goes for both Africans and East Indians whom he portrayed in idealized ways. This perspective also offers an alternative reading to the Mac Farlane mas.

We can safely agree that Mac Farlane’s intentions were not malicious.

His apology (though some people feel that it was just another way of sweeping abuse under the carpet while still abusing subversively) represents an attempt at that sensitivity. The mas and the images were intended to portray the dress and architecture of the era. While art glorifies, it is also escapist. The act of looking at art is an activity that gives us respite and allows for some release of hidden feelings.

The masquerade has traditionally been, in the history of Carnival, enactments of behaviours that, on a daily basis, are controlled, contained and in some cases denied.

The road therefore becomes a public performance space for citizens, an idea, that has been explored in academic literature. If the Cazabon mas has evoked such vehement opposition from some quarters, it is a telling sign of issues that are yet to be expunged. That the white/black juxtaposition can still evoke anger, speaks of a society that is, unlike our description, not the glorified melting pot we persist in describing it as.

Mac Farlane’s section “La Belle Dame and Gar?on de la Maison” – The Pretty Lady and the House Boy”, offers us an opportunity for healthy dialogue about our race relationships, the responsibility of art and its use in creating versions of the past and current history of the society. It also allows us to confront ourselves, and examine the hurt and anger of the past and the present, and should inspire us to ask ourselves the questions: Why is there this persistence of pain? Are we at all interested in resolving the trauma? If, so, how do we address it to move forward?

Every day it feels as though our citizenry is being underestimated, undervalued and taken for granted.

For any independent, intelligent, progressive-thinking Trinbagonian, trying to cope with the daily folly of living in this democratic dictatorship is beyond frustrating.

I love my country, but I have lost all respect for the people in charge (I refuse to call them leaders). Specifically, the President, the Prime Minister, the Opposition Leader, the Attorney General, several government ministers and many others who sit in our parliament can no longer get me to support them or, for that matter, even get me listen to the nonsense that escapes their lips.

Because of this lack of respect for the people in charge, I now question the meaning and purpose of our flag, our anthem, our watchwords and our motto.

‘Patriotism’ to many Trinbagonians is unconditional, unconsidered cheerleading for everything ‘Trini’, so anyone who speaks up and out about the failures plaguing “sweet T&T” is liable to be burnt at the stake for heresy. Being labelled as unpatriotic is a risk I’m willing to take because on November 11, 2016 when Trinidad and Tobago takes on Costa Rica at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, I will be sitting during the national anthem.

As usual, I’ll be in the covered stands in front of all the government officials and their financiers, so they’ll have a front-row seat to the dissidence. I cannot and will not recite words or show respect to a country that is run by people who do not regard or show an ounce of respect to its citizens; nor will I stand “side by side” with those compatriots who care little to nothing about their “native land”.

It’s an ambivalent feeling because I have not missed a Soca Warriors home game for many years, and since inception, I have always gone out in full national colours at every Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel/ Knight Riders CPLT20 match at the Queen’s Park Oval. I play neither sport (I play basketball), but I’ll be damned if I miss an opportunity to support our national teams in the flesh. But I will also not miss an opportunity to send a powerful message, even though I’m alone.

There’s no love or liberty because racial hatred is nurtured by politicians for votes, while criminals keep us locked away in self-constructed prisons with our families.

We’ve tried hope and prayer, but without common sense and political will, those activities continue to be an exercise in futility.

Every creed and race may eventually find a place when people like Satnarayan Maharaj are no longer given a voice in the media.

So how can we expect God to bless our nation when we have not done our part nor kept our promises? At the Independence youth rally in the Queen’s Park Oval on August 30, 1962, the citizenry was told that our national anthem was to be a code of everyday behaviour, whilst our watchwords: discipline, production and tolerance were proffered as ideals. Well, it has been decades since those words had any meaning. And when you wonder why we cannot achieve anything together, it’s because everyone has their own selfish aspirations.

Nevertheless, I will be sitting down during the anthem in my full national colours because I believe that my values embody our flag’s symbolism: courage to do something like this, dedication to a better Trinbago and a continued resolve for purity and equality from Icacos to Charlotteville.

This is not a waste of time. Sitting down to take a stand against corruption and the abject failure of every institution in this country is just as important as the national impact of when Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks refused to give up their seats on buses in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955.

Sitting down to take a stand against the re-introduction of hubristic politicians who unabashedly engaged in the most disturbing levels of thievery is no less significant than the four black college students who sat down at a “whites only” lunch counter at a Woolworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina, and refused to leave after being denied service. It’s about starting a movement like Colin Kaepernick who continues to sit/ kneel at his NFL games in order to take a stand against the same type of ungovernable, anarchistic criminals in uniform who terrorise our countries.

My only regret going into this is that there aren’t more public events where I could sit out the anthem.