N Touch

PNM blocking cops’ efforts to arrest kidnappers

UNITED NATIONAL CONGRESS (UNC) chairman Wade Mark yesterday alleged that Government is hindering police efforts to combat kidnapping in Trinidad and Tobago by denying them access to $61 million worth of hi-tech surveillance equipment it secretly imported into the country last year. According to Mark, the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) is secretly creating a “hi-tech mongoose gang” to terrorise all who are politically opposed to them.


Mark told Newsday that the Government continues to deny police the technology needed to fight crime and particularly kidnapping. “One of the things we have to realise when it comes to kidnapping, is intelligence gathering is very important. What is happening? Why aren’t we able to get at the kidnappers?” he declared. He claimed that while the police continue to be under-resourced, the PNM secretly imported some $61 million worth of surveillance equipment from an Israeli company called Echtel Limited on September 20, 2002.


“It was ordered by the Office of the Prime Minister. VMCOTT (Vehicle Maintenance Company of Trinidad and Tobago) took charge of it. This equipment that they bought from Israel at the price of $61M is what is called an electronic monitoring surveillance system. This system is capable of analysing and intercepting voice, data and fax, email. Since September, the PNM has had this surveillance electronic system in their possession,” Mark said. He charged that the PNM has been using it against the political opposition. “Not only the UNC, trade unions as well. Lawyers, teachers and doctors,” Mark charged. Last week in the Senate, the UNC chairman claimed he had documentary evidence to support his allegations. Prime Minister Patrick Manning has said there is no truth to any of the Opposition’s claims.

Customs management meets Wednesday to deal with data entry issue

A meeting carded for last Friday between Ralph Newton, Comptroller of Customs and NUGFW official, Krishna Deonarine, with the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) Sandra Marchack as mediator was postponed at the last moment.

The meeting was called to try and settle the matter regarding the dismissal of the 40 Data Entry Operators from Customs House earlier last week. Deonarine said though, that he has since got confirmation from Newton that the latter, together with the entire Customs management will meet 2.30 pm Wednesday  at the CPO’s office. In the meantime, the Union met with their lawyers who have advised them  that they have an option to either file an injunction to stop the current action taken by Customs management or they can file an IRO (Industrial Relations Offence) in the Industrial Court against management for not meeting and treating with them. They can as well, file an IRO for wrongful dismissal of the 40 Data Entry Operators.

However, in light of Newton’s confirmation to meet with the union at the CPO’s office this week, Deonarine stated that they will hold off on any legal action pending the outcome of the meeting. “We are giving them the option to meet with us and reinstate the workers,” he said. The NUGFW official also said that certain companies who have been calling him are of the view that they are taking industrial action, but said he wanted to make it quite clear, that is not the case. “It is Customs that fired the workers,” he said. Deonarine added: “We just got information from a reliable source that Customs is negotiating with TTMA  (Trinidad & Tobago Manufacturers Association) because they want to contract out the data entry operations to the TTMA. But the union will not stand up and take that!”

Asked to respond to the charge, TTMA’s president Anthony Hosang emphatically stated: “Absolutely no truth in that. I know nothing about that”. When contacted Friday, a hurrying Newton stated that he was on his way out of the office to meet with Junior Finance Minister Conrad Enill, and as such was not in a position to say anything on the ongoing impasse. Since the sacking of the workers, the business community has been on edge. The Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA), the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Custom Brokers and clients have all expressed grave concern about the situation. They all fear severe losses with some already feeling the pinch.

PARALLEL AKS

Opposition Member of Parliament for San Juan-Barataria, Dr Fuad Khan, rather than setting up an Anti-Kidnapping (investigative) Squad parallel to the Police AKS, should instead call on his fellow Opposition MPs to support Government’s original Anti-Kidnapping Bill, whose provisions would have acted in deterring would be kidnappers.

Critical sections of the Bill, which would have required a special majority, as they would have meant an amendment to the Constitution, had to be withdrawn by the Government, when the Opposition United National Congress refused to support any Government Bill, until the administration’s plan for Caroni (1975) Limited was presented to and debated in Parliament.  The provisions called for, inter alia, the non granting of bail for persons charged with kidnapping, as well as for stiffer penalties for persons found guilty of a kidnapping offence.

Dr Khan would have served his constituency and the rest of Trinidad and Tobago better had he supported the Anti-Kidnapping Bill. It is not without irony that Dr Khan, who, along with his fellow United National Congress MPs, refused to support the Bill, is “now calling on the Prime Minister to support” his pie in the sky proposal, “and lend whatever assistance he can to see that it is a success”. While we hold that every reasonable approach should be made to ending the nightmare of kidnappings and the obscene demands for ransoms for the release of victims, yet Khan’s romanticised plan would expose participants, however unintentionally, to danger, and possibly, again inadvertently, pose a threat to the safety of those kidnapped.

The Police Service, and by extension the Ministry of National Security, would be compromising its long held position on vigilante groups, should it go along with Dr Khan’s suggestion that persons wishing to become members of his constituency-based civilian Anti-Kidnapping Squad, would first have to obtain police approval. But even if the police should jettison their long held position on vigilance groups, the proposed age of members — 15 to 18 — would reduce any police approval to an absurdity.

How could the police be expected to give support to the idea of persons below the age of 18 being engaged in activities, which place their lives at risk? The police would then be held both morally and legally responsible should any child taking part in “investigations”, following on a kidnapping, be attacked by kidnappers, because their questions were embarrassingly on target. The pace of police investigations into a crime may at times appear to be slow, but the police have to be careful that the wrong person is not arrested and/or that whatever evidence they may have gathered will be able to stand up in a court of law.

In kidnapping cases this is even more sensitive as any wrong moves could result in the death of the victim. In turn, very often the pace of police investigations is dictated by the willingness or unwillingness of members of the public, who may have witnessed a crime, or have information on that crime, to come forward. Dr Khan can still assist by asking his constituents to contact Crime Stoppers with any information on kidnappings or other crimes. The information given is confidential. We draw the line, however, on 15 and 18-year-olds going around San Juan and Barataria playing Sherlock Holmes. It is too dangerous.

Baghdad struggles to keep a normal routine

BAGHDAD: As he’s done for 20 years, Haji Taleb came to the city’s Shorja market yesterday to hawk packets of rat poision — never mind that US forces have penetrated the city and black-clad members of Saddam Hussein’s Feda-yeen militia were in the streets. “Why shouldn’t I?” asked the smiling Taleb. “No war will stop me from trying to earn money in an honest way.”

Tens of thousands of residents of this ancient city are fleeing. But others, despite days of relentless bombing, no electricity and the nearness of US forces, are struggling to carry on as usual. Yesterday, with the sound of explosions ringing intermittently throughout Baghdad, Taher Al-Haddad proudly declared to a visitor that he has not closed his spice store for a single day since the war began. “Business is not great, but I must come and see what I can taqtaq,” said al-Haddad, using the Iraqi Arabic vernacular for “to see if there is money to be earned.” His shop is in the covered section of Baghdad’s Shorja market, famous because one can buy anything, from television sets and stereos to clothes and kitchen utensils. “Do you have any ground cardamom?” asked a customer, dressed in the turban and robes of a Muslim cleric. “No, but maybe I’ll have it tomorrow,” replied al-Haddad.

Because coalition forces entered the capital Saturday, there were not many hawkers in the Shorja market and most stores were closed for the first time since the war began March 20. A few beggars, including children as young as five, roamed the market. The street hawkers who did show up knew exactly what would sell: cheap Chinese-made flashlights, batteries and water containers. They did a brisk business, even though prices have doubled during the war. Curiously, a shop selling lovebirds remained open. Tens of thousands of Iraqis, meanwhile, continued to flee Baghdad, heading to the north and northeast to escape what their leaders promise to be a street-to-street battle for the city. The long lines of vehicles included trucks, buses, cars and pickup trucks. With them they took blankets, mattresses, stoves, food and water. The vehicles drove past several Soviet-era tanks and armoured personnel carriers stationed in the north and northeastern sections of the capital.

Electricity went off in Baghdad, a metropolis of five million people, on Thursday evening. By yesterday, power was restored to a few areas, but most of the city remained without electricity. The outage has meant no running water, compounding the woes of the capital and giving it the feel of a city under siege. Long lines at gasoline stations underscored the sense of crisis. Already, the city’s telephones were down; the US-led air campaign took out Baghdad’s telephone exchanges. Yesterday afternoon, Red Cross workers in Baghdad reported that several hundred wounded and dozens of dead had been brought to four city hospitals since Friday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said. The ICRC could not say how many were civilians. The advancing US forces have not deterred some in Baghdad from showing defiance. A street hawker selling cigarettes from a wooden tray tucked a huge Iraqi flag into his belt, explaining: “This is my response to the American aggression.”

Tribesmen helping troops and security forces defend the city have hoisted banners bearing the names of their tribes at sandbagged positions. Many policemen and ordinary Iraqis flash the “V” for victory sign upon seeing foreign journalists. Iraqi state television remains on the air in the capital, broadcasting patriotic songs. State radio is also broadcasting, exhorting Iraqis to defend their nation. Like elsewhere in Iraq, the residents of Baghdad were handed up to six months of food rations before the war broke out. The state-run ration system gives Iraqis, among other things, wheat flour, sugar, lentils, soap, milk, beans and detergent. But most have to shop for items like vegetables and fruit, the prices of which, according to retailers, have shot up by nearly 50 percent since the war began.

“We are barely managing,” said Hussein Mohammed, a 21-year-old street hawker recently discharged from the army. He carried a shopping bag filled with potatoes and bread. “We manage with the simplest of food,” said Mohammed who, like most Iraqis, lives in a house with an extended family: his mother, three sisters, a brother-in-law and two nephews. There were signs of fear in the city yesterday. At one point, armed men ran toward an area where rumors said a coalition pilot had parachuted into the city. The gunmen’s cars screeched to a halt, Hollywood style. They jumped out of the vehicle with Kalashinkovs at the ready, and sprinted to a spot in the middle of high-rise apartment buildings. They found nothing.

The Arctic Avenger strikes!

Mas lovers who were at the Savannah on Carnival Monday would have been amused by the  robber talk they were getting from the “very accented” Midnight Robber coming from —of all places, Alaska. Ray Funk is a regular visitor to TT Carnival for many years. He has played  Jouvert mas and this year he donned robber costume and took to the  streets of Port-of-Spain. Here he relates the experience.


I’m back in Alaska where a moose walked through our yard last week and [it was minus 20] a few days ago.  But it’s now a balmy ten above as I recall the warmth of my 2003 Carnival experiences in Trinidad and my first time as a Midnight Robber. I first came to love calypso several years ago, which resulted in my first trip to Trinidad. But once I saw Carnival for myself, couldn’t just watch and not play mas, first joining the Blue Devils of St Clair for Jouvert, and during the last few trips playing Jouvert with 3 Canal. But that wasn’t enough! I loved the fancy sailors and played in one of Jason Griffith’s last bands and then was a stoker with De Boss from Belmont in 2001. But I always wanted to play robber! Every year I had heard and seen Brian Honore and his crew, the Mystery Raiders, at Vie La Cou or Victoria Square on Carnival Sunday or on the Road on Carnival Tuesday.  I really liked the speeches, the costumes, the poses, and the whistles. Yes, this was for me.

The first time that midnight robbers really caught my attention was during one of my first trips to Carnival five or six years ago. Steve Stuempfle was in Trinidad with his wife Denise for the launch of his book, The Steelband Movement. Denise wanted to stop by her alma mater, Bishop Anstey, and while we waited I caught the school’s midnight robber competition.  I  was utterly enchanted with the impassioned speeches. I remember a couple of girls gave rather gruesome details regarding what they would do to their younger brothers, who no doubt drove them crazy.  I felt privileged to attend and  observe a part of Carnival that very few tourists get to see.

When tourists come during Carnival, they seem to just focus on the big events, such as the calypso tents, Panorama, Dimanche Gras, and Parade of the Bands. But for me, Carnival is not only that but so much more. It’s all the events that aren’t well-publicised, like the company calypso competitions (I once attended one of these at the Harvard Club and it was thoroughly delightful), school carnivals and competitions, and so many other things that are going on during Carnival.  It’s those events that let you feel the whole country is alive with Carnival. This year during the week before Carnival I just chanced upon the prisoners’ calypso competition, which was being held in Woodford Square. It was quite entertaining, even hilarious in spots, and very much a delightful part of Carnival. If you don’t catch those kinds of events you really miss the spirit of Carnival. 

But I digress. It’s time to blow my whistle and get back to Midnight Robbers. I’d been fascinated by the traditions associated with robbers and how they had infiltrated the Trinidad consciousness. I had read the article that the late Daniel Crowley wrote in the mid-Fifties when there were dozens of robbers out during Carnival and he recorded their speeches. America’s premier folklorist Alan Lomax [had] recorded a couple robber speeches in 1962 and one was issued on the excellent collection, entitled Caribbean Voyage: Trinidad Carnival Roots (Rounder 1725).  For an excellent review and copy of the speech go to http://www.mustrad.org.uk/reviews/trinidad.htm

I was intrigued by the ways that the midnight robber had continued to have a life. There’s the newspaper ads with the image of the robber threatening to disconnect utilities to a great science fiction novel by Canadian Nalo Hopkinson, daughter of leading Caribbean dramatist Slade Hopkinson, and more recently the two Terror of the Midnight Robber comic books by Trinidadian Chris Riley. Hopkinson’s Midnight Robber imagines a whole planet where carnival is the central focus and a young woman gets exiled to another planet filled with danger who must become a Midnight Robber Queen to survive and overcome the abuse she has suffered. Riley’s Terror of  the Midnight Robber comics (www.electro-arc.com) features his re-workings of the robber as a rescuing superhero set in Trinidad and the second issue has a story with a soucouyant.

But whatever literary uses, it was the robbers themselves that attracted my primary interest. So few photos survive of early Robber bands – in the great new book on Renegades  there is a rare glimpse of a 1946 batch of robbers, the Black Legion from Basilon Street. I had read about the robbers in Brian Honore’s article in TDR The Midnight Robber: Master of Metaphor, Baron of Bombast(http://mitpress.mit.edu/journals/DRAM/42-3/honore.html) I’d been accused of the latter, never the former. Brian had told me of Puggie Joseph who had gotten him into being a robber and whose legacy he tried to carry on. So I had boldly dared to go where no Alaskan had gone before and gotten permission -if I measured up – in terms of bombast to join the Mystery Raiders.

Early on I came up with my sobriquet, the Arctic Avenger. I also had the name of my yet-to-be-recruited mas band of Alaskan compatriots that I still hope to bring for 2005, the Mystic Marauders of the Midnight Sun. I had a name but not a costume. I started work on my costume a few months ago when I picked material and had pants and a tunic made here by a local tailor. My friend Elaine Ponchione who makes costumes for local theatre productions was recruited to make the cape and hat at the last minute. She did a great job but we didn’t have anything to make the hat stiff and so I folded it up in my suitcase and waited to complete things when I came down.

Later, Nassar Khan who has been helping with research on the cricket calypso project that Dmitri Subotsky and I had been doing for the last few years offered his help. He is the general manager at Samaroo’s and let me literally use his staff to help get my big hat all fixed up and extra decorations added to the cape at the last minute as a million folks were invading his store for the latest additions to their costumes. But I still wasn’t done. On Carnival Sunday morning just hours before my first appearance in Victoria Square, I was off to my friend Bobby Lee’s house where he was adding his own touches to some Minshall’s sailor costume. He helped me make the cape more elaborate and outline the flaming eyes on the thighs of my pants that my daughter had designed. Still not up to Trini standards but a fun costume never the less.

The first Sunday I assembled with the Mystery Raiders at Brian Honore’s house to meet the motley crew of extroverts. Brian himself, cultural activist and librarian, who has appeared in Rawle Gibbon’s Sing the Chorus and many other theatre productions, who had taken the mantle from Puggie Joseph to keep a rugged but right band of Mystery Raiders on the streets every year. With him was a hard core of robbers, Johnny Stollmeyer, a visual artist, the corbeau with his magnificent costume with the realistic moving feathers, Anthony Collymore, a teacher who is transformed each year into the Melancholy Marauder, Sitting Bull, a long time calypsonian from years ago who wanted to play robber and did for the first time this year, and Anand Phillip, the Virus Killer among others. Narrie Aproo who had often played robber but was playing fireman and Indian this year joined us for the meeting though this year he played Indian and fireman in a sailor band. The pioneer, Esau Millington, the Midnight Killer, was our mentor and gave us strength as he walked the streets and gave his speech.

At the first meeting, Brian played for us the music that we would feature on the road from our big sound truck, well ok, small cart – Andre Tanker’s latest, “Food Fight.” This great musician would die a few days later and we were proud to offer his music on the road for Carnival. At the meeting I first gave my speech and took suggestions on how to improve it and further prepare my costume. I had toiled over my speech to come up with doggerel bombast with just the right tone. Some people said I looked like Santa Claus – chubby, white beard, lives close to the North Pole, I had to play on that
 
I ain’t no Jolly Ho-Ho
Bringing pretty gifts from the North Po’
I ain’t no Santa Claus
I’m here to bring women menopause!
 
Then I thought I had to make a bold threat of devastation from the Frozen North   so I had a verse
 
Now a secret I will tell thee
The Alaskan Pipeline you will see
Is dug under the ocean and soon will be
Secretly sucking all the oil from La Trinity
No longer will it be quaintly known as the Land of Calypso
But soon only the southern home of the eagle and the Eskimo
 
While my robber speech was to be one of mirth and merriment, others in the band had more serious social commentary themes to address as the Virus Killer told of the ravages of aids and HIV and Brian himself echoed concern over the impending war and the blocking of Marli Street. A variety of styles and independent opinions were voiced in our small band. We were joined by students from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma and Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut who had also come to play Robber. We took to the road on Carnival Monday with thunder and boisterousness and through the streets Monday and Tuesday we went, small but mighty. It was fun to give our speeches at various judging points. It was more fun to respond to various people on the streets that I knew or those who would call me over and ask for a bit of robber talk. It was fun to play off trading lines with other robbers. Too quickly it was over.

Now I have vowed to work with Brian to help research and document the rich history of Midnight Robbers. I am hoping to help him create an exhibit of art and artifacts on Robbers and maybe get Alaskan artists and a gallery up here interested in having a cross-cultural exhibit with traditional robbers and Alaskan re-visionings of Robbers. Maybe talk a band of Alaskans to join me in abandoning the cold cold Februarys for the warm and joy of Carnival in Trinidad and play robber. Maybe in a year or two or three, the Mystic Marauders of the Midnight Sun will be a reality bringing its own variety of chilling merriment and frozen mirth to Carnival! Already I am starting to think of my costume for next year and wondering what new speech I will give. So for a last time this year I proclaim,
 
Down, down I say surrender,
I am your worst fear, the Arctic Avenger
You cannot hide, you cannot run
From a Mystic Marauder of the Midnight Sun
You may be Trini to the bone
But tomorrow you’ll be my breakfast scone
 
Ray Funk can be reached at rfunk@ptialaska.net. He will shortly be reviving his Kaiso newsletter (http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/kaiso.htm)  and welcomes contact with anyone who wants to receive it by e-mail. Also, he is very interested to hear from anyone who has stories, speeches, recordings or photos of Midnight Robbers over the last several decades. More photos of the Arctic Avenger and the Mystery Raiders on Carnival Tuesday in the Savannah are at marlistreet.com.

Shiraz designs a hit in Miami

His work appears in several magazines in the United States; his unique style indicative of the creative mind of this young man. Now the third largest manufacturer of customised home theatre wall units in Florida, Shiraz Ali, 31, is founder and chief executive officer of Miami Design Center Inc, with offices in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. As CEO, his portfolio also includes design engineering, architectural planning, financial projection and overall project management.

His humble beginnings were in Trinidad where Shiraz attended the Tunapuna Government Secondary School. It was here, he said, “I had the best teacher one could possibly have for technical drawing. Mr Tull inspired and taught me a lot. It was in his class that I developed a passion for drawing and designing and I knew from that point that I wanted to be an architect.” Later on, armed with a degree in architecture from Mobile, Alabama, Shiraz answered an advertisement from one of the largest cabinet manufacturers in Florida. During a three-year stint with this company, he realised the potential of the industry and decided to embark on his own.

“In 1995, I started from my bedroom, rented a small warehouse, hired three guys and went into the business of cabinet making using my own designs and engineering background. It was not easy at first but very soon, I was contracted by Sears to do exclusive kitchen remodelling for them. This was no easy feat. I was the first West Indian to be sub-contracted by a Fortune 500 company as large and renowned as Sears. My work was channelled through the counties of Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. I took a risk and it paid off!”

Although he gave up his contract with Sears in 1999, Shiraz still does consultation work for them when requested. “At this point, I had good financial investments and felt I wanted to do even more. In January 2000, I decided to embark upon a new venture. I saw the need for the personal touch in home theatre decor, so I launched off into custom designing of home theatre wall units: a home theatre unit comprises of a big screen or plasma TV, electronic components, surround-sound speakers, lighting effects and storage facilities. I was able to offer very competitive prices for my custom-designed units; this remains so today.”

His factory in Miami is just 3,000 sq ft and sub-contracts eight other cabinet shops to handle the volume of work. Product offerings comprises of 12 species of wood in addition to customised colouring via specialised computer programming. To do this, he scans the object that needs to be matched and develops a formula to manufacture a stain of that exact colour. Each unit is individually designed to the customer’s taste with material selected to suit one’s particular decor. Design enthusiasts can access his website at www.miamidesigns.com and preview a sample of his work.

Born in New York to Trinidadian parents, Shiraz visits TT about five times a year. He looks forward to these short visits, the most recent being a mere month ago. He says he feels invigorated by these family reunions. All his childhood memories are in Trinidad where he lived, while his mother, a graduate in psychology, business management and media broadcasting, was studying in New York. Sadly, his parents passed away while he was still in high school and so “home” for him was with relatives in Trinidad. After successfully completing CXC examinations, he returned to the United States and took up residence with an aunt in Alabama.

A normal day for this single, very eligible and enterprising entrepreneur starts at 5 am. An hour later, he is already headed to the factory where he spends maybe an hour supervising current work, and then he is off to meet with clients. As designer, accountant, salesman, engineer and production manager, Shiraz is on the go until late evening. “My office is in my home. I find it more convenient than an office in some business complex. I respond to all e-mails, phone calls and faxes. Customer satisfaction is my number one priority.  I have learnt never to misjudge a client.”

As a member of various societies, among them the TT/USA Chamber of Commerce, Shiraz is constantly busy. He is an avid racing car enthusiast and collects exotic salt-water fish. He is one of the sponsors of the USA Mastana Bahar annual show, Miami Carnival, other West Indian events and activities in three Miami mosques. “I must say that it has been difficult to survive successfully in the United States because of my Muslim name and culture, not only for me but for other professionals, even students. Especially since September 11, it has not been easy. It’s a constant battle but I am proud of my heritage; I have survived and advanced.”

Shiraz has considered opening a production facility in Trinidad but concluded that because of the freight costs involved, this would not be feasible; in addition, the market is too small here. He is driven by the element of competition in the US and credits his success partially to this. Very excited about his most recent accomplishment, he talks at length about an agreement with Sound Advice, the largest retailer of high-end electronics in the US. Sound Advice supplies and supports Miami Design Center at all their home shows and events. This benefits both parties tremendously, since a whole package is offered, including advice on electrical installation. These events are held three times a year at large convention centres in Florida, attracting over 500,000 local and international visitors every time. His company is one of about 200 participating in these displays. Apart from this exposure, Miami Design Center advertises in the Florida Design, Parklander and Interior Design magazines as well as local Miami newspapers.

Shiraz has his vision set on becoming the premier home theatre company in the US. With the business acumen that he so obviously possesses, there is no reason why this young man would not achieve the goal he has set himself. His advice to anyone contemplating a career is to “get into something you either love or like a lot. Success comes by virtue of hard work. If you like what you are doing, you will be driven to spend long hours, sometimes seven days a week, towards attaining your goal.”

Singing Soldier

Former President Arthur NR Robinson requested to have a word with recruit soldier Tessa Richardson. She almost went weak at the knees.

The occasion was the Farewell Ceremonial Parade for the outgoing Head of State and Tessa had just given her goodbyes to her Commander-in-Chief in song. With the words to “Go Light Your Candle” she said, “my message to him was to light up wherever he is, wherever he’s going…it’s not the end.” In kind, a very enthused Robinson relayed the words: “Oh my gosh, you have a wonderful voice!” The recruit soldier beamed from head to toe. Her brilliant smile couldn’t outdo the shine on her boots and buckle on her belt. Her white kit — long sleeved jacket and skirt complemented that moment of virtuosity. The former President continued: “I want you to expand yourself. Go to a singing school. That was a wonderful song…the words went deep,” bestowing other commendatory words along that line.

Tessa felt great. “I felt lifted. I wish I could have taped him,” she said. “It was an honour, like whey boy! I know it wasn’t the peak but the beginning.” She also felt relieved. That was one down, one more to go. The former Amalgamated security officer, who was sought after to hold the post of specialist vocalist with the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force band was again requested to sing at the inauguration of the new President His Excellency George Maxwell Richards. Her rendition of Psalm 121 “My Help Comes From The Lord” had the Editorial staff of our office in a buzz. Who was that girl with the beautiful voice?

I got to find out. She’s the humble, 24-year-old from Princes Town, the third to last of eight children (two girls and six boys) who discovered her natural singing talent from “childhood, singing in the Pentecostal church” and vowed to go wherever the music would take her. She described it (singing) as “a love and part of me, part of my career”. Her mother’s side of the family is musically inclined. Her uncle Cerwin Callender is a musician/singer and a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service. Tessa confided that if she had known the trials she would eventually endure, the terrain she would literally climb to get to where she’s at now, to pursue that “love”, she would’ve retired there and then.

Discipline. That’s a powerful word in her vocabulary. Her parents (Eileen and Vernon Richardson) are to a large extent responsible for that, but following orders took on a whole new meaning when she signed up with the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) a few years ago.  “My parents taught me the Bible, how I should speak, how to approach people, to respect them, to show love and go to school and make the best of what I do,” Tessa said. But there was a leaning towards having her “own way” at times, like when her mother wanted her to wear a particular dress and she would wear what she liked. “I was my own individual,” she said. “But I learned a lot more about discipline in the ‘Corp’ (CCC). Military discipline is about following instructions.” She explained: “At home when you break the rules, you get licks, you break it again you get licks until you decide for yourself that you’re going to follow instructions but at CCC you do what you’re told. You learn how to take orders.” She was “fed-up with cooking” after putting her Food and Nutrition skills (learned at Princes Town Senior Comprehensive) to use, operating her own catering service. So, when a friend of the family Cpt Sherwin Stevenson highlighted the CCC, suggesting it was a good opportunity to further her singing, she signed up immediately.

Tessa’s three months of survival training was extended to nine months and at the end of the course she stood the chance of being “drafted into the army”. Instead, Tessa joined Amalgamated Security Services, formed the band “Matrix”, which no longer exists, still keeping in touch with members of her batch at the CCC. Then, that life-altering call came. It was Commanding Officer Col Peter Joseph on the line extending the offer to join the Defence Force. She was happy. Her parents were overjoyed. “They said if that’s what you want, go for it! It was another opportunity to climb,” said Tessa. And climb she did! The rigorous training she underwent was “hard”. A typical day of recruit training began at 4.30 am. “You had to be up by 3.30 am to clean the room and from 4.30 it was intense running, push ups, sit ups. Ration (break) was at 6 am,” she winced as she was reminded of the sausage or tuna sandwiches served with juice at breakfast. “At nights we had the shining parade at 10 or 10.30. Your kit (uniform) had to be well put together and after that we would have the battle order where they would tell you to run into the sea or run up the hegie (hill)… Everyday you feel you want to die, leave, all kind ah t’ing. You want to leave up until the day you pass out. I never thought I could do all those things. If I had an insight before, I would never go into it,” said a relieved Tessa, a year and three months later. “Now I have an appreciation for it. In training you learn that nothing is impossible. A soldier could never go hungry; he will always make what he has do.”

Tessa passed out as having completed her training as a recruit on December 12, 2002. Now she, one of two females, functions out of the 33-member Defence Force band of the Support and Service Battalion at Teteron Barracks, Chaguaramas. She still has to undergo physical training (referred to as PT on the camp), a personal routine required by each soldier. Tessa’s also learning to play the flute and piano, the latter on her own time. She’s also required to perform “guard duty”, bearing arms and all, when called upon. She’s still recuperating from all the training, though. She related: “When I came out, I was damaged…marching when you come out of a car in public. I was talking to my aunt at home and I was saying ‘Ma’m’ and ‘No Ma’m’. I was asking Auntie ‘permission to go to the toilet Ma’m’. You does be jumpy.” Tessa lost weight too! On entrance at Teteron she weighed 183 lbs and passed out at 141 lbs. Any chance she gets, when she returns home on evenings, is spent relaxing, sleeping and going to church. She’s now more disciplined, determined, stronger and still modest Tessa. Her future, should she decide to leave the Defence Force, she said: “I’m not thinking about it right now…but my future is definitely music.”

Magic fingers Rishi

Keyboardist Rishi Guyadeen looks like a character who walked out off a Bollywood film, with vibrant brown eyes that capture attention everywhere he goes.

But the tall, muscular musician broke into laughter on hearing comments that he resembled Bollywood star Arjun Ramphal. As leader of one of the top Indian orchestras, the TTEC Gayatones of Ste Madeline, Princes Town, Rishi provides scintillating music for leading artistes with his magical fingers on the keyboard. While he noted that everyone has a sad story, Rishi said he is enjoying success through sheer determination. He has accomplished his goals to fulfil his father’s wish to continue providing good music for the south-based artistes.  The orchestra has also entertained crowds in England, Canada, Miami, New York, Holland, Florida and the Caribbean.   

At the band room in Princes Town, he revealed that his musical life goes back to his family roots.  “My father was the leader of the orchestra over 20 years ago. Obviously I would accompany him to many shows as a child. Being the eldest of three sons, I was expected to learn music. I never regretted playing music. It has opened a world that is filled with excitement and fulfilment,” he said. Rishi lost his mother to cancer when he was just eight years old and he became the support for his father Capil Guyadeen. “I had to be there for my father. It was not a matter of my father being there for us but moreso I had to be there for him. I guess I lost myself in the music. It was like the mother that I didn’t have. And I made my father forget the pain by learning and playing the notes for him,” he said, looking away in the distance over the hills at the sugarcane fields.

That memory stirred his emotions and he quickly stood up and walked away to collect his thoughts before continuing the interview. “Music has filled an empty spot in my life and I am glad that I was pushed in this direction by my father,” he said. His other siblings Videsh, plays the bass guitar and Donny, the rhythm machine. Music keeps the family close. Videsh and Donny look up to Rishi as leader and guide while their father has been the stabilising force behind the orchestra. “Many times, while dealing with people and money and so on, I would make a bad decision. My father would quickly intervene to put it right. Sometimes I am not entirely happy with him but I have to humble myself because I trust him 100 percent,” he said.

Apart from playing music, Rishi loves playing football with his friends from the village. He also loves to play cricket with all the villagers cheering on. However, nothing beats playing music. He gets on the keyboard and 12 hours go by in a flash. “Creating the suitable rhythms for local composition is a difficult task but once the music starts, the notes come one after the other and then the formation of a tune is right in the palm of my hands,” he explained. Presently there is a demand for only soca music but he has also been practising popular Bollywood songs. Among the recording artistes, Lata Mangeshwar is his favourite. “Her voice is like the voice of the dive Goddess Mother Saraswatie. Now I am not saying that I am a religious human being but one must pray in order to have some order in one’s life. Lata’s voice can never be emulated. She is unique and different from any female singer I have ever heard,” he said with passion.

Unlike other musicians, Rishi has not taken up singing because “oh my God I would send everybody home”. “That will not be nice,” he joked. Of his recent experience with the Chutney Tent, he said it was a pleasure creating the music for the artistes who really enjoyed a successful carnival this year. Following the success of the Gayatones’ recent CD, Touchdown, the band toured the Caribbean performing in Guyana, Suriname and Barbados. The CD is doing well on the foreign market. Rishi’s other CDs include Mashing up the Place, Blast Off, Carnival Hits ‘3’, Badder than before and Touchdown. He is now preparing to launch his newest addition entitled Chutney Alliance.

Like his dad, Rishi would like to marry and have sons to take over the music, but for the time being he is enjoying the bachelor life. He also spoke highly of the band’s sponsor T&TEC and expressed his gratitude for the support the company has given the band since 1986. “I think I have been able to deliver the best for my sponsors and they in return have given the band the support that is needed for continuous support,” he ended.

Cheryl gives them ‘bois’ in London

WHEN biochemist and entrepreneur Cheryl Bowles packed her bags on Thursday to head to “Natural Products Europe” trade show in London, England, April 6 and 7, she had to make room among her essentials for samples of a few raw materials — aloe vera, lemon (fever) grass, ratchette, coconut oil and bois bande.

“Bois bande!” As I heard the words Gillo’s (St Lucia) semi-smut calypso came to mind and before I could ask my follow-up question, Cheryl had already studied my train of thought. She explained its use as a natural astringent incorporated in her line of men’s products. She will also take along a few hair, skin and body products of her popular Cher-Mere line to give a first-time expos? on such a large scale before an expected 7,000 attendees among some 400 exhibitors.

Cheryl was selected to represent Trinidad and Tobago by the Centre for Development Enterprises, under the umbrella “Treasures of the Caribbean” after making a “good impression” with trade show consultants at the recent “Caribbean Herbal Forum” in Jamaica. “I feel proud,” said the founder of The Herbarium Ltd, her own company. She was interviewed on BBC Clothes television show where her products were featured. So, she’s had some familiarity with the UK market. “To go to these shows is so costly, so I am going to capitalise on that. It’s an opportunity to learn, attend some of the workshops and see what is marketed internationally. I would also look for opportunities from a business point of view. Packaging is an area we may have to adjust as we have to somehow, in our imagery of our product, capture the ‘Caribbeanness’,” Cheryl said, “so I’m going to look at that.” She also looked forward to gaining “more international exposure” which she hoped will transform into export possibilities.

The natural market, she informed, was one of the fastest growing markets in the world, and her products, manufactured in Trinidad were being sought after since “Caribbean people tend to look younger”. Customers, firstly, are drawn to her products because of their natural components, all the materials used are indigenous to Trinidad and Tobago. Secondly, that she’s a biochemist manufacturing everything she markets, “and they say I want my skin to look like yours”. Cheryl’s her own “guinea pig” as she explained, she must try her product first; “I must endorse what I use.” Nevertheless, she can proudly boast of fresh, smooth skin save for a few freckles on her face. The “African texture” is more durable. “We tend to look younger and that’s because of our genetic make-up. African skin is thicker skin as opposed to Caucasians and East Indians so our skin has a greater level of protection. Our skin tends to be oilier too, so that helps keep us looking younger.”

All her products are approved for the US, Canada and the UK — the latter, where she now exports. Within upcoming months, The Herbarium Ltd will embark upon e-commerce, and she intimated introducing two new products for Mothers’ Day. At three of her four locations in Trincity (Trincity Mall), Chaguanas, Woodbrook and St James (Long Circular Mall) she operates spa services (facials, massage/body therapy) and gives over-the-counter advice and beauty tips. Products from her line (Cher-Mere gentle body butter, her latest)  not attainable at local stores can also be obtained at her shops. Cheryl paused. She conjured up a scene when she and an employee (one of 24) were reminiscing not too long ago, on  the early years of the business — the one drum of oil compared to the number of drums she now possesses.

That was 16 years ago when her co-workers at Nestle where she was biochemist, thought “I was crazy leaving this top job. I was scared to leave food to go into cosmetics.” But, it was part of the puzzle in piecing together her dream. As a child, growing up in Woodbrook, she envisioned working in a lab. “I always had this white-coat syndrome,” Cheryl related. When she pursued sciences at St James Secondary after developing a fondness for chemistry it meant coming an inch closer to satisfying her desire. She pursued her studies at Sir George Williams University in Montreal, Canada, and after spending ten years at Nestle, she branched off on her own. “I started herbal teas, went in to manufacturing and distributing and then skin care shops and spas,” which are quickly growing in number, she said. “A lot of people are going to the spas now, stealing time for themselves, taking an hour or two to manicure and pedicure (men inclusive). We are in the ageless era, a mix of people, male and female, are coming in even people in their 70s come in for monthly treatment from priests, to doctors and teachers. It’s about feeling and looking good. When you get up in the morning and your hair looks good this gives you impetus to do what you have to,” Cheryl said.

Currently, The Herbarium Ltd is working on a special SEA package aimed at “de-stressing” teachers, students and parents at the end of exams. Cheryl was privileged in being incorporated in the CXC syllabus under Social Sciences where first-form students are asked to profile a scientist while fourth and fifth-form students incorporate a similar project under Business studies. Cheryl was gladdened by her achievement. She told People:  “One parent stopped me in the road and said ‘Girl my daughter did you and she got an A’.” She had more cause for joy when Maggie, a Canadian woman, who had undergone chemotherapy, lauded her products. After the treatment, Maggie’s hair lost its former texture and the Cher-Mere product helped to reduce its brittle appearance. “Maggie recommended the product to other persons in her group and that alone, for me, added strength to the product,” Cheryl said.

While there are loads of competition in the hair and body care market Cheryl views that as “healthy because it fine tunes you.” The advantage, she noted, is “we have a direct interaction with the customer when they can’t find products on the shelf they come in to us.” The average Trinidad market, she said, can be skeptical but “your spirituality—your sense of self keeps you”. The Herbarium Ltd has also collaborated with the University of the West Indies whereby money is funded so that basic research, analysis of stability of (natural) products can be conducted by final year students.

Ganga gets WI call

The West Indies selectors dropped a bombshell yesterday, leaving out opener Chris Gayle from the 14-man side for the opening Test against Australia, presumably because of issues related to the eligibility rule. 

Just moments after saying Gayle could be in breach of the eligibility rules, the selectors announced the squad without his name, a team that includes three newcomers in Devon Smith, Carlton Baugh Jr., and David Bernard Jr. he decision to drop Gayle is sure to set off a legal squabble since Gayle is currently in St Lucia representing the West Indies in the Double-Wicket World Cup, which has been sanctioned by the WICB and the ICC.

The board’s stance is that Gayle never received formal permission from the JCA but because it  was the WICB’s decision to delay the Carib Beer finals forcing a clash with the Double-Wicket tournament, there is sure to be a public outcry over the decision to drop Gayle. Gayle’s misfortune is great news for Grenadian opener Devon Smith, who will likely open the batting with Wavell Hinds, who has been retained. Trinidadian captain Daren Ganga was also named in the side and could be used as Gayle’s replacement in the Test match, scheduled to begin on April 10 in Guyana. Vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan, who is injured, was not picked. Ex-captain Carl Hooper has made himself available and was picked.

1st Test 14-man squad: Brian Lara (captain), Carlton Baugh, Jr, David Bernard, Jr, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Pedro Collins, Vasbert Drakes, Mervyn Dillon, Daren Ganga, Wavell Hinds, Carl Hooper, Ridley Jacobs, Jermaine Lawson, Marlon Samuels, Devon Smith.