Resurrecting Trinidad and Tobago

As we plunge deeper and deeper into the depths of despair, we must realise that there is a way to rise again. Like the early Christians, we will learn that the task will not be easy, and it can only be accomplished through faith and hard work. Religion aside, we can look at the agony the early Christians endured for the sake of staying the course. They sacrificed much.

Many Christians sacrificed their lives for their beliefs, but they never gave up their faith.

We lament the crime situation in Trinidad and Tobago. Whenever we think we have reached rock bottom, we find a new low to experience.

And it seems we remain in that dreaded space just passively waiting for the next low. So many people have become cynical and given up hope.

If there is any lesson beyond religion that Good Friday teaches us it is that even on the darkest day, there is hope. But we have to work towards a plan. Each and every person must find a way to turn this country around. Government must cease its useless rhetoric-like talk of hanging people as a deterrent to crime and seize opportunities to tackle problems at their roots. Government should inspire everyone to work harder for the sake of building this nation.

Government offices are stagnant places trapped in neo-colonialism, an endless bureaucratic cycle of incompetence where nothing works and no one functions. There’s a psychological go-slow left over from colonialism when thwarting anyone’s good efforts manifested rebellion. But we’re not a colonial country any longer.

We’re an independent nation in charge of our destiny, and we should care about an honest day’s work, productivity and pride in our country because it is ours to shape however we want.

Crime does not belong to the criminals or the police. It is a problem we all share — from the driver who runs the red light to the employee who cheats his boss out of a good day’s work to the business that engages in price gouging or the individual who gives a 14-year-old a cigarette to smoke.

If we were our brother’s keeper, we would not only pull up those around us who are not pulling their weight, we would model positive behaviour that reflects pride in our country. Public servants would answer the phone courteously and serve people with the intention of helping them instead of putting them off so that we are all stuck on an endless treadmill of democracy.

We would raise our children to be responsible citizens who conserve resources, recycle, and give to others. We would find meaningful ways to help the poor, which includes providing alternative methods of learning skills that can offer meaningful work.

Our schools would look much different because they would not centre on subjects. Instead, children would learn about empathy and tolerance. Community service would be a major part of the school curriculum for all schools. Students would come out of school knowing what it means to be a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago.

On this Good Friday, I am filled with hope because I believe in resurrection.

In our case, it will take a whole new way of envisioning our culture.