The National Archives attracts many

When I searched the first document of my ancestors’ arrival it was in a dingy cellar room at the Red House wherein lay countless registers, newspapers, dispatches etc all in a very haphazard way. Fortunately much has been done since that 1972 encounter. Today a new building with a fire-proof vault has been constructed on upper St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain. Father of the Nation, Hon Dr Eric Williams, a frequent user of these documents for his many scholarly works, would have been justifiably proud to see our history so well appreciated.

And with good reason. A visit to the Archives can lead to an encounter with many locals and internationals from as far away as Australia checking the records for an ancestor who was born here in TT and left a generation or two with us; or Trini-Canadians/Amer-icans/Britons searching their ancestry.

Students are seen, too, busy gathering valuable advice and data for their many School Based Assessment topics required for CXC and now CAPE examinations. The general public appreciates the open access to these documents or their micro-film.

Here also you meet noted researchers/writers like Michael An-thony, Bridget Brereton, and Father De Verteil; even Government Ministers. The Archivist and staff are always willing to assist.

Never have I encountered or seen any reluctance from them to assist and advise.

In a recent International Congress on Archives in Geneva, TT Government Archivist Mrs Helena Leonce presented a paper on "Sharing the Inheritance" and was so overwhelmed by the chances of filling in many of the missing documents.

I have always lamented on these including arrivals of all our peoples from all over the world, and the ship registers missing for East Indian genealogy, the area where I have conducted most of my research.

So much has been done but so much more needs to be done as well.

Further attempts to get those missing documents from all over the Caribbean and the world at large should be pursued . . . There seems to have been a standstill in procurements.

The Government needs to advertise the Archives internationally. Research tourism is a definite possibility; my visits to St Kitts, Nevis, St Lucia, Martinique and Jamaica were for that purpose, not for beaches or birds.

The Archives should vary their opening hours to accommodate more students and workers from all over TT; how about a 7 pm closing two days a week?

But most importantly is that the site should remain where it is; its quiet ambiance away from the city centre, its ample parking and now its air-conditioned facilities all ensure comfort to researchers, and longevity to the invaluable documents now safely housed in their fire-proof vault.

SHAMSHU DEEN
Genealogist/Teacher/Author