Amidst a talk that wandered here and there she asked, “What is our Miss World representative going to wear for her talent piece?” “Well, supposedly something that represents Trinidad,” I replied.

“What do you mean something that represents Trinidad? Isn’t she taking herself? Isn’t that enough? I never understand these foolish things people do to ‘represent’ Trinidad.” “I understand, but you see it’s a matter of being politically correct,” I replied. “What do you mean politically correct? Nonsense! She is Trinidadian isn’t she? How much more politically correct are you going to get?” That was it. But I wonder, how many of the younger generation share her view? If so, then we are lucky.

In his column last week Sunday, Professor Ramesh Deosaran placed a question before us –”Is patriotism dead?” He was speaking about the killing and selling of the meat of the scarlet ibis, our national bird.

To continue that offering (a column is hardly a place where one can fully explore an argument. Instead we put before the public bite-sized ideas to think about), I place my own views.

The killing of the scarlet ibis is an atrocious act. My first reaction is one of annoyance–indignation at people’s disregard for the environment.

Second comes the thought about lawlessness. But that too, is about a lack of respect. Throwing garbage in the river or loud music on a quiet Sunday would rankle me because these acts represent a disregard for others. For me, it’s about responsibility and consideration for the community in which you live for your littering affects everyone.

This is another type of patriotism though, one that is too long to discuss here, but we can call it communal patriotism. In many cases, the killing of the scarlet ibis is about economic gain. And there are people who buy, as Professor Deosaran noted. So there are a couple of guilty parties, neither of which, I would surmise, has cast a thought about whether his actions are unpatriotic.

For this is not about patriotism.

It is about our understanding of civic duties and responsibility. But let’s take “civic” out of it for that too implies a sense of citizenship, which inevitably references nationalism.

So, rather than patriotism, our education should instead focus on cultivating a sense of social responsibility in future generations.

That would entail for instance, a deeper care for the space in which they live and cultivating a sense of respect for others. This education is a slow process because it will necessitate the development of a sense of belonging to the world at large. But it is worth the time. While this may be unrealistic, so is world peace, but we still try.

In a previous age when the native people’s dependence on the environment would have inspired more care for it, in contemporary times, technology and imported goods have taken over the focus on environment.

The scarlet ibis, for instance, now becomes just another aspect of state property, another “thing,” protected by law. So, over time, the bird became an abstract legal entity without a background story. Killing and selling the meat of the ibis, therefore, in a sense, represents the irrelevance of the icon to the larger population.

The question that arises is are we, in any way, emotionally connected to this idea of the national bird unless you are a nationalist or an environmentalist for instance? Because patriotism is partly emotional and people are generally loyal to something with which they feel a deep emotional connection.

To make matters worse, the world is open to us. Social media and the Internet have changed the way that we now interact. Our natural tendency is movement and as a diasporic people we have always looked outward.

So the question of patriotism to the state is a dead one. How many of us would choose to stay here should we be given the open invitation to migrate to the US or UK or Canada without the visa hassle? This discussion of patriotism runs a lot deeper than my brief outline. It requires more discussion than a single column can explore. As a diasporic people we have always been in the fluid position to script our own version of nationalism and patriotism.

So, I put before the reader some preliminary questions: How are we to define ourselves? Perhaps as that young niece asked “Isn’t her ‘self ’ enough?” Why are we still placing emphasis on terms like nationalism and patriotism? Congratulations to all on our 55th Independence anniversary! May we move from strength to strength.

The three categories of workers fall under the Students Support Services of the Ministry of Education and are responsible for the emotional well-being of students at both primary and secondary schools in the country.

The special education teachers are responsible for physically challenged children and those with learning disabilities.

The workers are calling on the Minister of Education to pat their salaries, saying they have completed their tasks.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a guidance counsellor told Newsday it would be very difficult to counsel and comfort students when they themselves are facing severe economic hardships.

One counsellor said she had four children of school age and she was unable to purchase text books for her children to go to school.

“Right now I am focusing on getting some copy books, book bags, pens and pencils and shoes, just the bare necessities,” she said. “At least they have the old uniforms but textbooks will have to wait.” The counsellor said some of her colleagues were, literally, hiding from their landlords as they were unable to pay their rents.

She said a number of them had mortgages and when the salary cheques finally arrived the banks put a hold on them.

“So every month is a nightmare,” she said, adding that it was not just a one-off situation.

She said on a regular basis they had to wait for several months to get their salaries. She said they were owed for the months of June, July and August but were paid last week for June.

“But how are we expected to function?” she asked. “Is the ministry aware of the high level of delinquency and problems faced by children in schools? “Are they aware of what we face on a daily basis? Even in the primary schools, it is not easy.

“We have children who come from homes where they are being sexually molested, beaten, and subjected to all kinds of negative situations.

The distraught counsellor continued, “When we have to focus on our own problems, like how we are going to put food on the table and take care of our children, how can we focus our attention on these youngsters who desperately need help when every month is a roller-coaster ride to see whether we will be paid or not?” Calls to Minister of Education Anthony Garcia as well as Minister in the Ministry of Education Dr Lovell Francis went unanswered.

Williams, 14, who is blind passed for his first choice in the 2017 Secondary Entrance Assessment examination.

His mother Alicia Modeste beamed with pride at her son’s achievement despite being visually- impaired.

“Samuel was born completely blind but as he got older I knew he had the ability to reach far, that is why I pushed him, because he is determined,” Modeste, a domestic worker, told Sunday Newsday yesterday. Williams, who lives on Neverson Street, San Juan with his parents and siblings attended the School for the Blind, Santa Cruz and was one of the few students who sat the SE A exam.

Despite the lengthy closure of the school in the last academic year, Williams defied the odds and excelled.

His success did not go unnoticed by St Joseph MP and Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh. “When I heard of Williams’ success at the Secondary Entrance Assessment examination there was no hesitation to assist him,” said Deyalsingh at his constituency office in Mt Lambert.

Deyalsingh presented Williams with school supplies including a new laptop, braille machine, bookbag, stationery and school uniforms.

The teenager will also receive a desktop computer, DAISY Digital Talking Book programme and Kurzweil Educational Systems scanner—a scan and read software that makes printed or electronic text accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired.

“We are experiencing a delay with the other items as they are coming from the US, but rest assured Samuel will get them,” stated Deyalsingh.

Williams is eager to put his new gadgets to use in the new school term. He urged other blind children to never give up on life because, “You never know when something good will happen to you.” Williams has high hopes of becoming a meteorologist. He enjoys playing cricket with the School for the Blind and fondly remembers his attempts at playing football with his siblings. He expressed his gratitude for his school supplies and showed great interest in using his laptop.

“I pledge to continuously support him (Williams) throughout his academic life,” Deyalsingh promised.

Dead is Olajawon Collins, 27, of Perseverance Village in Couva.

According to a police report, at about 8.45 pm, Collins held up a driver at gunpoint along Milton Road, Couva, robbing him of his Toyota Axio vehicle.

A report was made to the Couva Police station and a team of officers immediately responded.

Roadblocks were carried out at strategic points throughout the area and within minutes, reports said, Collins was spotted walking along the Rivulet Road heading towards a bushy area.

On seeing police officers Collins allegedly pulled out a firearm and began shooting before running to the back of a warehouse in the area.

Reports said that while hiding behind the warehouse, Collins continued to shoot at police officers who returned fire. He slumped to the ground after he was shot and was taken to the Couva Health Facility where he died while undergoing emergency surgery. A firearm and seven rounds of ammunition were said to be recovered.

When Newsday visited Collins address at Perseverance Village, Couva, yesterday, a resident said the deceased man had not been home for “a very long time.” The stolen vehicle has not yet been recovered.

An autopsy on Collin’s body is expected to be performed at the Forensic Science Centre tomorrow.

Sgt Ali of the Couva CID is investigating.

It seems no real focus has been placed on this matter and yes, the taxpayers are the ones who bear these bills.

There is also an issue whereby these illegal immigrants usually state they did not commit any crime in TT. Really? Isn’t a crime when you break a law? Did they not break our immigration laws? Yes, they may not have committed any crime of violence like murder, robbery etc but they broke our laws. However, the punishment is deportation and this we must do promptly.

Our current deportation backlog points to a much larger problem of the criminal justice system where there are long delays in investigations, trials, sentencing etc. Just look at the Remand Yard situation and you will see great similarities with some people are awaiting trials for over ten years. We need systemic changes to how things are done otherwise we will be spinning top in mud, as they say.

IAN RAMDHANIE via email

Alex Lopez (sixth minute) and Alberth Elis (16th) were the early goal-getters for Honduras to put the hosts under tremendous pressure while Joevin Jones (67th) replied for the hosts.

Also on Friday, Mexico edged Panama 1-0 while Costa Rica got the better of their hosts United States 2-0.

Currently, after seven matches, Mexico are assured of a spot in Russia with 17 points, followed by Costa Rica (14), United States and Costa Rica (eight apiece), Panama (seven) and TT (three).

With three games left, against Panama on Tuesday followed by encounters against US and Mexico, it will take a miracle for the Trinidad and Tobago team to earn a place in Russia.

“The first half we were very poor,” said Lawrence during the post-game media conference.

“It’s not what I expected. I don’t understand what happened to the boys. I don’t know if the occasion got to them but it wasn’t a first half that we expected.” He continued, “It’s no point giving away two goals and trying to get back in the second half.

We gave ourselves a mountain to climb.

“Every time that Honduras got into our box, we looked like we were going to concede.” With regular captain Kenwyne Jones out with a knee injury, goalkeeper Jan-Michael Williams wore the armband. But Lawrence was displeased with the lack of leadership and inspiration on the field of play.

“In the first half, we were looking at the senior players to grab hold of the situation, calm things down and ensure we got a hold of the situation,” said the TT coach.

“It was just poor in the first 45 minutes.” Looking ahead to the Panama game he said, “We all need to have a look at ourselves and try and see if we can correct this quickly.” The game was played in front of a crowd estimated at a mere 5,000, showing there was no need for the temporary bleachers present, while the lights on the south-eastern pylon were non-functional.

This game was moved from the customary Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo as a means to having a sold-out crowd and better atmosphere which failed to materialise.

“Lawrence, however, made it clear that “the venue was not an issue. The performance of our team, that was an issue.” The ex-national defender also hinted at changes within the team, following the Panama fixture.

“At the moment we’ve got a squad to go into the next game.

When that is over, (the technical staff) will continue to look at the local players to see if there is any available to make the squad. I’ll continue to look at the foreign players, the players that have not represented Trinidad and Tobago but hold a Trinidad and Tobago passport because we need to improve, we need to start developing players to understand what we require of them.” Joevin’s younger brother Alvin was a half-time replacement for Aubrey David, but was sent off by referee Fernando Guerrero of Mexico for a hard tackle on midfielder Alfredo Mejia in the 57th.

Explaining the switch in personnel, the TT coach said, “(It) was a tactical substitution. I felt they were getting too much joy on that side so I brought Alvin on to see if he could stop (that).”

Unfortunately, in pointing out that there are things that represent the country and nation, such as the flag, national anthem the national bird, Deosaran inadvertently overlooked the individual and the citizen/s.

This is of extreme importance because if there are individuals/citizens who represent TT with distinction — Deosaran is himself indeed one of them — then the answer to the question is patriotism dead is quite obviously a resounding no.

Interestingly enough, however, your other columnist, Jamille Broome, in his extremely sarcastic “What it means to be ‘ah Trini’,” chose to focus on the behavioural side while Deosaran placed emphasis on the “symbolic.” I most respectfully advance to your readers that the greater hope for us having a more enlightened and purposed appreciation of the concepts of patriot and patriotism resides with us having a clear, focused, engaged and active appreciation of the achievements of our countrymen and women.

What do I mean by this? Let’s take for example the idea of the establishment of a maritime industry in TT .

Anyone with vision examining a world map would recognise the extremely valuable strategic maritime and even geopolitical location of TT , particularly in the context of the Central America/South America shipping lanes. (Raleigh clearly did not stop in La Brea by accident.) Yet, though some 44 years (1973 -2017) have elapsed since Harold and Kwailan La Borde circumnavigated the globe, not once but twice, on a self-made 40-foot ketch, we have failed to actualise that wellspring of patriotism and national pride — against such masterful accomplishments — so as to foster the requisite sense of industry, maritime purpose and destiny bounded in faith.

Today, there is nowhere on the horizon the La Borde line of barge, pirogue, schooner, ketch, boat, yacht or ship. This despite the fact that we clearly do indeed have the requisite expertise, as Harold La Borde himself so effectively demonstrated.

In the 15th century, with the prospects of reaching Asia by sea, those monarchs with vision called their best navigators, mathematicians, geographers, architects, scientists, weapons experts and shipbuilders together to launch enterprise. The rest is history.

(For us in TT the word enterprise unfortunately tends to be associated with crime.) When the people of TT rally they are capable of accomplishing great things but it all has to do with how we seek to conceptualise and contextualise the word patriot and, more importantly, how we seek to actualise such an understanding on the basis of who we are and the intrinsic value our accomplishments.

DAVID MOWLAH-BAKSH Vistabella

It is bumpy, wavy and dangerous.

The UNC must be blamed for this dilapidated road, which is a main road to get to Bejucal Village.

This road has been in disrepair for decades.

I am now appealing to the Government to expand and pitch this road for light and heavy vehicles and drivers.

It is unfortunate that the UNC neglected this particular road.

I believe that before Christmas Warren Road will be fixed.

AHAMAD KHAYYAM Curepe

That changed two weekends ago when I had a guest, and we decided to rediscover this natural treasure. What a wonderful experience it was.

As we drove into the Store Bay car park, we were approached by a young man who politely enquired if we would like to visit the reef.

The other touts did not descend upon us as I had expected, and in no time we completed our transaction.

It would seem the Division of Tourism has been doing some training of our young entrepreneurs and they are to be complimented for that. I certainly complimented the young man on his cordial manner.

Our boat was scheduled to leave at 2.30 pm and with some time on our hands, I decided to take my friend to Fort Bennett in Black Rock. She had never been there, and she was as delighted as I was at the serene beauty of this little fort.

Again, kudos to the division for a very well-kept site and pleasant staff manning the security booth.

Soon we were back at Store Bay and at the designated time, we clambered eagerly aboard. It was plain sailing out to the reef under the expert guidance of captain Wendell and his crew — no travel woes here. The rains of the previous days made the waters slightly turbid but, nonetheless, we were able to see a lot of the flora and fauna. Of course, there were not as many fish as in former times, but I was relieved that there was still some life on the reef. I even spotted a small manta ray.

The highlight of the trip, however, was undoubtedly Nylon Pool.

I don’t know where else in the world one can bathe safely “in the middle of the ocean” but here we were, young and old, splashing happily in water that was warm and no more than three feet deep.

We adults took turns using the coarse sand on one another to exfoliate necks, arms and legs, and I was very touched that some of the crew even assisted the older people.

And yes, I can’t forget the music.

As soon as we left the boat to have our swim, the music began in earnest and even the little ones joined in the chorus of “take a bathe” and “we jammin’ still.” No one could resist. All too soon it was back on board, and after a brief stop at No Man’s Land, we were on the return trip to Store Bay. The three-hour outing was truly wonderful and I believe we got good value for our money.

I compliment the captain and his crew for their professionalism, and I encourage all stakeholders to continue enhancing our tourism product, in spite of the challenges.

We in TT have been blessed with so many natural wonders that we often take them for granted. Let us give God thanks for these great gifts and resolve to protect and preserve them for future generations.

BERNADETTE PHILLIPS via email

Our country suffers a great deal from corruption and I would really like to know what Dr Keith Rowley is going to do about it, if anything.

GORDON DALLA COSTA via email