Food for thought

“As Trinidad and Tobago commemorates its 44th Anniversary of Independence, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions and NGOs (FITUN) expresses its concern about the kind of nation that is being built. True, we have undoubtedly made strides in a number of areas in the past 44 years. We can point to many more citizens having secondary and tertiary education; to more persons being home-owners today than before; to a general improvement in the standard of living as evidenced by the acquisition of material comforts; to a level of national ownership of firms that is greater than that which existed in 1962 and to an economy that is far more industrialised than at Independence.

On the other hand, however, there are many negatives. Negatives that go to the heart of what nation-building is about. Thus, we have a wider and growing gap between the rich and poor with terrible poverty in the midst of obscene affluence. There has been a general deterioration in the relations between people as evidenced by a range of behaviours from the loss of simple courtesies and respect for others to road rage to an unprecedented violence against the person, be it domestic violence or gang killings. Even our much vaunted form of social interaction — liming has been devalued from the intrinsic expression of happiness to an activity that is necessary for “image.”

At another level, we seem to have no sense of vision or purpose as a nation, whereas in 1962 there was indeed a belief that we were beginning an important journey into self-hood and responsibility for our destiny. This absence of collective vision and purpose has been replaced by sectoral fragmentation as race, religion and other factors of differentiation are manipulated by opportunistic politicians and other opinion leaders (for example some talk-show hosts, religious and/or cultural organisations) for their own interests.

On the other hand we have lost the sense of collective and of solidarity, instead seeking to adopt the new alphabet “a for apple, b for bat, c for yourself.” Little wonder then that we have a breakdown in community — be it the community of the family or the community of the geographical location. Without these communities there can be no nation.

Successive governments have abandoned, and the private sector conveniently pretended that they never knew, the values and objectives set out for the nation in the Preamble to Constitution which states, inter alia — “We the people of Trinidad and Tobago respect the principles of social justice and therefore believe that the operation of the economic system should result in the material resources of the community being so distributed as to subserve the common good, that there should be adequate means of livelihood for all, that labour should not be exploited or forced by economic necessity to operate in inhumane conditions but that there should be opportunity for advancement on the basis of recognition of merit, ability and integrity.”

As a consequence of this abandonment we are building a nation on the shifting sands of injustice, inequity, violence and the rejection of policies of sustainable development. This is evident in the fact that we have persistent poverty in spite of us enjoying the largest revenues ever from oil and gas; and the total disconnect between “development” and the needs of people. Thus we are constructing skyscrapers in Port-of-Spain even as the city floods each time it rains.

At another level our sense of identity is superficial. So we wave our flags and jump for joy at the success of our Soca Warriors, yet on the other hand we consume foreign goods at a rate that exceeded by far what we did 44 years ago. So our passion about Germany 2006 becomes just a “feel good thing” as our true passion is for foreign fast food restaurants and our taste in music is defined by BET or Bollywood and not by our indigenous calypso and chutney. Can we say with confidence that we are building a truly national identity, can we assert that our citizens know who we are and where we have come from?

Our national politics, institutions and governance arrangements are also in crisis. At Independence we adapted what was in essence the old colonial institutions — legislative, judicial and executive — together with the colonial culture of maximum leadership. These institutions and the political culture were never designed for popular participation or to serve the interests of the ordinary citizen. As a result we have a judiciary that if not in reality then certainly in popular perception dispenses unequal justice, and a system of government that excludes all but the few. This is unsustainable and is in contradiction with the people’s aspirations and rights. We are equally concerned that our political independence is being compromised by the decisions of the powerful nations and the United States in particular. In its drive for world supremacy the US seeks through economic agencies (World Trade Organisation, Free Trade Area of the Americas, bilateral treaties), so-called security arrangements (US laws re: Homeland Security, new international aviation and shipping regulations), military co-operation (Shiprider agreement) to impose its will on the rest of the world thereby at best compromising and at worst making a mockery of the concept of national sovereignty. And the European Union is not far behind in seeking its own interests thus making the globalisation project one of re-colonisation.

As we commemorate our 44th Anniversary of Independence FITUN urges all citizens not only to celebrate our achievements as a nation and give recognition to the outward trappings of independence, but to reflect on the question — what kind of nation are we building? If we fail to do so then we will contribute to the process, already underway of building a nation that will not endure.”

Of course the views expressed in the statement describe the dominant thinking and the policies and priorities of the ruling elite. I am heartened by the fact that there do exist other views, other voices in the society and I believe that these are in fact growing in both number and in the volume of their dissent. The next few years will see a major struggle between the two positions. By our 50th Anniversary of Independence we should know which one prevailed.