The allegation of improper conduct was made during a West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) youth tournament abroad. The situation garnered tremendous national interest with the TT CB hosting a press conference to clarify the nature of the investigation.

While remaining mum on what the allegation was concerning, the TT CB insisted that it was not sexual in nature. After a preliminary investigation done by a committee which consisted of TT CB president Azim Bassarath and 2nd vice president Lalman Kowlessar, they decided to refer the matter to the TT CB National Disciplinary Committee.

Chief Executive Officer of the TT CB Suruj Ragoonath, yesterday said last night’s meeting was important for the TT CB to make a a determination on their next course of action.

The local official has been suspended pending the findings of the investigation.

Ragoonath said, “The investigating committee have submitted their report to the disciplinary committee and they had their investigation. The report was sent to us (at the TT CB), and it will go before our executive. We are going to have an executive meeting, and then the executives need to examine the situation and then take the appropriate course of action.”

The Red Force posted 215 all out in 47.5 overs, before the Volcanoes were reduced to 76/4 after 24 overs up to press time at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua. Fast bowler Shannon Gabriel was the best bowler for TT up to press time, taking two early wickets.

Earlier, Lewis top scored with 75 off 69 deliveries which comprised nine fours, and was the first to be dismissed with the score on 104.

But with hopes of a massive total, TT lost their fluency after Lewis was dismissed, limping to a modest total. Nicholas Alexis continued his solid tournament scoring 46, while Hope pitched in with 29 and Denesh Ramdin contributed 22.

Spin bowler Kavem Hodge and fast bowler Kesrick Williams both snatched three wickets, taking 3/34 and 3/47 respectively.

However, winning Panorama is not the only project on the band’s radar. Despers is also rejuvenating its youth side to carry on the band’s legacy as well as to combat “juvenile delinquency and crime”.

The band’s temporary panyard at Frederick Street, Portof- Spain, is serving as a hub for seasonal musicians, including some from Japan.

Some of them are also students who earn credits towards their courses for participating in the Panorama competition.

Some are also friends of the late Japanese pannist Asami Nagakiya.

Nagakiya, a student of Senzoku Gakuen College of Music, travelled to TT yearly to play in a number of bands for Carnival.

Unfortunately, she met her death in tragic circumstances last year on Carnival Tuesday but that hasn’t deterred her friends from wanting to play with Despers.

Amanda Maria Barnett, the band’s PRO said Despers is happy to welcome back two of its seasonal players from Japan, but it is expected that as the season progresses, more of Asami’s friends would also return.

At the band’s pan yard, Curtis Edwards, manager added: “Desperadoes Steel Orchestra is a long-standing international brand that is synonymous with quality, professionalism and innovation. You cannot talk about the roots and evolution of the instrument without referring to the name, Desperadoes.

As such, it is no surprise that our band is a hub for seasonal international musicians such as our Japanese friends.

Like other bands such as Phase II, Silver Stars and Exodus, we are fortunate to welcome a number of them annually, some of whom are students who actually earn credits towards their courses, for their participation in our National Panorama.” He also said that beyond university, it seems as though the visitors experience a lure.

“They feel compelled to return year after year just to be a part of the Panorama, if nothing else.

“Their natural gravitation towards the steelpan is growing and we see it annually, they return with more friends to learn about it. They show it in the way that they care for the instruments. In fact, some of them return home to Japan and include the use of the steelpan in their ensembles and performance groups.” Apart from the international players, Edwards said every year new faces are welcomed into the Desperadoes family.

“These persons come not only from Laventille and environs but as far as Fyzabad, Arouca and Diego Martin,” he said: This year too, the 11-time National Panorama champions is also embarking on rejuvenating its youth side after some ten years.

Edwards reasoned it’s partly for succession planning for the band, and also partly as its response to juvenile delinquency and crime that has been plaguing its community.

“The youth band is about succession planning for Desperadoes.

Ensuring that we nurture and maintain a cadre of skilled and passionate musicians and craftsmen to preserve our history and add to the band’s legacy.

What we found was happening was that a number of our youth in the area were eager to become a panman or woman because of the sense of prestige that comes with the name of Desperadoes.

The band still remains the pride of Laventille. But more so, Desperadoes is a family band.” He said Despers is generational and it is significantly evident in its membership.

“This sense of belonging is also what attracted the interest from the youth and fuelled our attempts at commissioning their own band. It is a first for us. Previously, the band only facilitated vacation camps and partnered with schools in the area from as far back as the 1980s,” Edwards said that the youth band is also the band’s response to juvenile delinquency, crime and illiteracy in all communities.

Edwards also said: “The youth band’s arrangers are our very own third generation Desperadoes UTT graduates who teach not only technique but music theory.

Apart from the involvement of the senior band members at the executive level, the youth band also has many parents and community activists who are continuously involved.” And where will the band be relocating after Carnival? Edwards said the band is awaiting the completion of its refurbished pan theatre “on the hill”. He then emphatically stated: “Any rumours of the band not returning on the hill are erroneous.

At the end of the day, Laventille is Desperadoes and Desperadoes is Laventille.” He added: “Desperadoes has never left Laventille. We been in the city and environs for approximately seven years only for the Carnival season. After that we return home Ash Wednesday. This has become necessary because of building repairs, parking, fear of players and pan lovers to get to us.

He said the area constructed too small for the band.

“Unless they demolish and rebuild, that’s the only way to accommodate the Carnival band in Laventille. Talk to the contractors maybe the press would get answers,” he said.

Edwards said: “This is the fist time that the band has spent 24 months away from home. This was due to promises made by East Port-of- Spain Development Company, that we would get our building in March last year. But after many disappointments of the same promises, we are moving in right after Carnival finish or not.” With just a few days of practice before the semi-finals, Despers “Trinidad Good Morning” written by Jovan James and sung by Peter Ram and arranged by Carlton Alexander has had aficionados joyfully singing and dancing to a fantastic performance before the judges in the preliminary round of competition.

With a full complement of 120 players, Despers is expected to up its game come Sunday. “We are also fortunate to have a committed group of both local and foreign based seasonal players,” Edwards said. “We are the only large conventional band in the history of steelpan globally, to capture the national title 11 times.” And that indeed they did beginning in 1966 when they captured their first title with “Obeah Wedding” by Sparrow, arranged by Beverly Griffith. After winning with “Picture on my Wall” in 2000, it took the band some 16 years to return to winner’s row, after a vintage display of “Desperadoism” last year with “A Different Me”, by 5Star Akil and arranged for the first time for the band, by Carlton Alexander.

Meanwhile, the band has released a double CD featuring the Best of Bradley plus all the other arrangers who worked with the band.

PHOTOS COURTESY MARIA NUNES

I am grateful to everyone who has helped me to obtain this ranking through the pre-ordering of this book. I look forward to your continued support while I provide you with tips on how to maintain a healthy hair and scalp. More info can be obtained by visiting http:// bit.ly/2jFsEnP.

This week I will continue focus on another type of cicatricial alopecia called the pseudopelade of Brocq.

For those who have not been following the articles, cicatrical alopecia is also known as scarring alopecia which falls under the category of autoimmune disorders.

Autoimmune disorders can affect every part of your body and what’s more difficult is that these cases have no absolute cure and can only be managed.

If you are one of the few who suffer from these conditions, especially those who are manifesting the scarring type of alopecia, then this article, pseudopelade of Brocq (PPB) can help you understand why it happens and how you should handle it.

Pseudopelade of Brocq is a very rare form of cicatrical alopecia that occurs usually in middle-aged white women. The name pseudopelade was derived from the French term “pelade” which means alopecia and the major proponent for the discovery of the disease is Louis-Anne Brocq. Thus, the medical term – “pseudopelade of Brocq”.

The cause of PPB remains unknown, but studies have firmly linked it to autoimmune diseases.

When your body’s resistance is down, its autoresponse is to activate its remaining defences.

But it does not necessarily mean that when you feel weak, a foreign body has already compromised your immune system. You might just be experiencing temporary fatigue or stress, but when you have an autoimmune disorder – your body automatically perceives it as a threat.

Now, when your immune system is hypertriggered, it will attack everything on its way including the healthy cells. In the case of PPB, the stem cells and sebaceous glands of your scalp are the ones being damaged, and like the other types of scarring alopecia, the affected areas will produce scar tissue that will impede the growth of your hair follicles.

The unique physical symptoms of PPB is that the flesh becomes pink in colour. There are also irregular patches that follow the pattern of a moth. The hair loss commonly starts in clusters around your head that eventually blends with the other patches causing extensive balding.

Dealing with PPB or any form of alopecia is tough, especially for working women. But you need not hide yourself from society because of this condition. In fact, you have to step up and prove that this health status does not define who you are.

You can always seek the help of a trichologist or a dermatologist to alleviate the discomfort brought about by the itching and the burning sensation. But the more important thing that you have to consider is to follow the therapeutic regimen prescribed by your physician especially if the real underlying cause of PPB is a specific autoimmune disease.

Apart from medical assistance, there are many stylish ways to cope up with hair loss. I have shared some of the easy tips in my previous articles.

You can also check online.

Just remember that in order for you to overcome this health problem you must have the will to get through all the necessary treatment as well as the confidence to face this judgmental society.

Germaine Williams Beckles is a doctor of trichology (DT) and nutrition consultant (NC), https:// www.germainewilliamsbeckles.com, 627-4659. Email us your questions at info@drgees.com

ISSUES relating to discrimination and social exclusion dominated the agenda for the conference “The Power Within: Love Your Body, Love You” held recently at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business.

All presenters including Harnaam Kaur, motivational speaker articulated on critical factors which contribute to occurrences of discrimination, bullying, suicide and depression, stereotyping and other issues.

Presenting on “I Am Human – Different But Equal”, Dr Jacqueline Huggins, manager, Student Life and Development at the University of the West Indies (UWI), addressed key areas that impact the co-existence of people living with disabilities.

Huggins said, “People are not disabled but rather they are people living with a disability; the stigma about disabled persons must stop.” She challenged participants to change their mindset of thinking negatively about people who are living with disabilities, and instead think positively.

Huggins issued a strong call for respect for all humans even if they’re different.

Head of the Institute for Gender and Development Studies at UWI, Dr Gabrielle Hosein spoke on “Gender Equality and Gender Expression”, w covering the gamut of issues that negatively affect women including economic inequalities, discrimination and differences in role. She also spoke on abortion which is still viewed as shameful despite the circumstances which affected women may be subjected to.

Violence against women was also a major area of focus. “The state needs to look at abuse against women more seriously,” she said. Hosein spoke extensively on the challenges which usually impede the progress of women including stereotyping.

She referenced differences in domestic roles and wages, coupled with the burden of working and having to take care of children.

She advocated for change which requires collective organisation.

“Rising to The Challenges of Bullying, Depression and Suicide” was the theme of Professor Gerard Hutchinson’s presentation. The head of the Clinical Medical Sciences Department at UWI and Head of Psychiatric Services at the North Central Regional Authority said: “Power and control are at the core of the minds of bullies; their power is felt through the pain they inflict on others; attacking and destroying others in order to feel powerful and ultimately becoming powerful through others’ grief.” Hutchinson also lamented on the psychological and behavioural effects caused by bullying which include depression and suicide.

Looking at “Pre-Conceived Notions and Overcoming Stigma”, head of the Citizen Security Programme (Ministry of National Security) and youth activist, Gregory Sloane-Seale noted that gender roles in the family and in relationships must be clearly defined and that men need to be continually working within themselves and their families in an effort to bring about positive changes. Kaur, who is body shaming activist shared the experiences of the struggles she endured through bullying due to her medical condition.

Kaur admits “bullying falls on deaf ears at times from the people who ought to protect us from bullying.” She issued a public plea to stop self-blame, live with love and faith, celebrate yourself and your life, and most importantly, thank your bullies for breaking you because they made you stronger! Professor Rhoda Reddock, Deputy Principal of the UWI chaired the closing panel of the conference.

A major outcome of this event is the preparation of a working document intended to serve as a blueprint for treating with discrimination and social exclusion for submission to regional heads for review prior to public disclosure.

Sandrine Rattan is a communications/branding consultant, author and president of the International Women’s Resource Network (IWRN), thecorporatesuitett@ gmail.com or intlwomensresourcenetwork@ gmail.

com

They couldn’t find anyone to beat him on the track.

They couldn’t find anything wrong with his blood/ urine samples.

So they decided to pursue him via a teammate, Nesta Carter, more than eight years after Jamaica’s 4 x 100 relay victory at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.

I for one find this whole scenario with Carter very fishy. Who can forget the attempts by the American- dominated media to cast aspersions on Jamaica’s athletes in the lead-up to the Rio Olympics? It generally went like this: how can such a small country dominate men’s and women’s sprinting unless they were cheating? If Carter had used the banned substance, why didn’t it show up before? Why did it take eight years? Oh, yes, new analytic techniques have been developed, so they say; conveniently, I might add.

It is oh so easy to get someone to come up with “findings” that you like.

Who can guarantee the state of a sample after an unlimited time? Surely, there must be some statute of limitation on how long after an event you can disqualify an athlete. If not, I suggest the authorities go back and test all the samples from Florence Griffith- Joyner.

After all, in the 28 years since she set the world record of 10.49 in the 100-metre heats of the US 1988 Olympic trials, no one has come anywhere close to that.

Her US teammates were stunned since her best time going into the trials was 10.96.

The official version of her extraordinary time has been “probably strongly-wind assisted, but recognised as a world record.” Perhaps now we can determine if she was “assisted” in other ways as well?

A Charles Mt Hope

The fact that bullying continues unabated over many years, suggests that successive governments have failed the people.

Research conducted on behalf of the Citizen Security Programme of the Ministry of Education by Randy Seepersad, in 2014, reported that of the 1,248 students (Std 2-Std 5) surveyed: * Across all schools, 98.4 percent of students indicated that they had experienced one or more forms of bullying or victimisation within the last term.

* Some 40.4 percent reported that bullies had tried to take money from them, making 48.7 percent of them frightened.

* Some 75.2 percent of males and 55.4 percent of females reported that children kicked each other.

Certainly, this is a situation where bullying in schools has reached epidemic proportions, and it appears reasonable to conclude that the present scourge of lawlessness in TT could very well have its genesis in the school system. Bullying has been nurtured in schools because of the reluctance of some principals to report incidents of extortion and bloodshed to the police, in misguided attempts to shield their schools from negative publicity.

This situation indicates gross mismanagement and supervision of our school.

However, I will not hesitate to add that the present Director of School Supervision in the ministry has the professional competence to bring about a much-needed reversal of this untenable situation. I would like to suggest that consideration be given to the following policies and guidelines: 1. The police should be brought in to deal with any infractions of the law among students.

2. The school supervisors should manage research annually, reporting findings to the public on the effectiveness of instruction and the quality of the social climate for all schools under their purview.

3. Orientation of new students should clarify what constitutes bullying, and outline procedures for anonymous reporting of bullying incidents.

4. Drama should be used as a vehicle for helping students to understand the nature of bullying and to help students handle bullying effectively.

5. The principal, staff, ancillary staff, and students must be assigned roles to combat bullying.

6. The school curricula should be revised to teach mutual consideration and respect for all.

7. Field trips should be arranged to take students to the Youth Training Centre, and the regulations should be amended to allow students to visit the courts where they can witness the outcome of aggressive behaviour.

8. Principals should be held responsible for bullying in their schools.

David Subran via email

Whatever became of that place? Where did the morals and culture scamper away to? Every day citizens wake up to an increased murder toll. The latest victim could be your sister, your brother, your best friend, your teacher. One can never tell who would be next.

What are we citizens doing to make this place into the paradise it once was? Instead of playing the blame game, why aren’t we doing something? People can preach, people can write, people can cry, but unless action is taken, lives will continue to be taken.

People, rise up. Citizens, wake up. Let your voices be heard. Do not sit in silence while others are unwillingly silenced. Protect your brothers and sisters. Protect your children. Let us forget all our differences in this crucial time and work as a family to deal with the virus sweeping the nation. Help others to help yourself. Make a change.

Sundaree Kissoon

In 2016, US-based multinational energy company Exxon Mobil Corp. announced an oil discovery in the Liza field, some 193 kilometres just off the coast of Guyana, which may hold as much as 1.4 billion barrels of crude.

In a media release, Petrotrin said the company was open to the possibility of “further developing business relations with fellow energy companies in neighbouring Guyana” and, as if to emphasise its experience in the oil industry, noted that the company had accumulated “significant experience and expertise in the refining business in the Caribbean as its Pointea- Pierre refinery this year celebrates its 100th anniversary.” “Following the completion of the Gasoline Optimisation Programme (GOP) at the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery in 2015, the refinery has resumed high throughput operations consistent with its capacity of 168,000 bpd (barrels per day),” Petrotrin said.

Petrotrin also cited the construction of an Ultra-Low Sulphur Diesel Plant which would “further improve the quality of products at the refinery” and was expected to be completed in 2020. “While Petrotrin is confident that it can explore several avenues for improved relations with the Guyanese energy industry, our capacity to process the crude discovered in the Stabroek Block can only be determined after the quality of this crude has been ascertained,” Petrotrin stated, adding, “In this regard, Petrotrin will be further guided by the ongoing discussions with the Guyanese government.”

When he laid the report in the House last Friday, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said, “We leave the report open for the signatures of the Opposition.” Imbert, is also the chairman of this JSC.

The other members are Attorney General Faris Al Rawi, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young, Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon, Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat, Caroni East MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh, Caroni Central MP Dr Bhoe Tewarie, Opposition Senator Gerald Ramdeen and Independent Senators Hugh Russell Ian Roach and Taurel Shrikissoon. Once the House approves the motion to adopt the JSC’s report on the bill, it will debate the bill again.

The bill requires a three-fifths majority for passage in both Houses of Parliament.

In the House, this equates to 25 votes.

This means that three of the 18 Opposition MPs must vote with the 23 Government MPs for the bill to pass in the House.

Last year, the Opposition walked out of debate on the bill twice and boycotted the debate on another occasion. On January 6, Government bowed to the Opposition’s request to send the bill to a JSC.

Last week, the Parliament issued a statement inviting the public to comment on the bill.