THE EDITOR: I would like to heartily applaud BPTT for its initiative in cleaning up the Queen’s Park Savannah and its environs. Due partly to the complete lack of public awareness programmes in this country, a pervasive ignorance appears to have developed. How shameful and disgusting is the act of throwing garbage from one’s car or person onto an area of land or waterway. I fear that unless our Environmental Management Authority works in a practical manner to foster the combined efforts of private enterprise, and more fundamentally, educate against what is no less than a litter epidemic, our country will idle on its present filthy state.

LUKE SHEPPARD
Maraval

THE EDITOR: Congratulations on a good and detailed paper. I want to take this opportunity to extend my sincere condolences to the family of Ramesh Seecharan on his untimely and tragic passing. I have known Ramesh for over 25 years along with many of your present staff, the original crew. To my friend Ramesh, Rest in peace, bro.

GORDON (POPE)
NYC

THE EDITOR: BWIA indeed has very serious administrative problems. With the resignation of the President and CEO, Conrad Aleong I cannot believe that there is no qualified and capable Trinidadian working along with top management in Trinidad who can easily assume the mantle of leadership. When such names crop up as the Vice-President — Sales and Marketing based in Barbados, someone who does not qualify for that top leadership position, it makes me think that BWIA has a very serious lack of top management material. People here have been saying that the holder of the Vice President — Sales and Marketing position here in Barbados only rose to that position because of the “office politics” of that day. The Trinidad and Tobago government has to seriously look at restructuring the entire Board of BWIA from the Chairman down. In other words, the Board has to resign, and a new Board put in place. The government has also to look seriously at senior management positions. I have questioned why the position of Vice-President — Sales and Marketing has to be based in Barbados. Why is that position not being held by a Trinidad and Tobago national based in Trinidad? It seems that BWIA is being run by an inner clique with the wrong people in the wrong positions.

DAVID EDWARDS
Christchurch, Barbados

THE EDITOR: I enjoy reading the Newsday because it reports the facts as accurately as possible. As a New Yorker it becomes necessary for me to read via the internet. As a matter of fact, I read practically every day to catch up on the unfolding events on Laventille. I am surprised the Commissioner of Police has not yet got a grip on control switch. Keep up the good work guys. Freedom of the press is a component of democracy and shouldn’t be restrained.

JAY RAKHAR
New York

THE EDITOR: I have noted comments by Ms Donna Yawching about the usefulness of the SARS advisory form that is handed out to passengers entering Trin-idad and Tobago, but it would appear to me that you do not take the time to read the customs declaration form that has been used in Trinidad and Tobago for the last 20 years. Contrary to your belief, Question 3 on our customs declaration form asks passengers to declare whether they are bringing firearms, ammunition, explosives, narcotics or other dangerous drugs into Trinidad and Tobago. This type of question appears on virtually every customs form in the world, and it is a legal requirement, as is the SARS declaration, since we have proclaimed SARS to be a dangerous infectious disease.

The analogy in your article, therefore, was completely erroneous. In addition, in the case of the SARS form, it is quite logical to expect persons who may be exhibiting the symptoms of SARS to be honest, since anyone who believes that they have SARS will want to get access to immediate medical attention, unless they have a death wish. There is also no comparison between a drug smuggler/terrorist, and a person suffering from SARS, since the former will be intent on concealing their identity and purpose, and the latter will be looking for help.

COLM IMBERT
Minister of Health

THE EDITOR: I am reading with passionate interest the ongoing series in the Catholic News by Archbishop Gilbert — The Search for Meaning In Life. Although I am not a New Age fan, I really like the research and writings of the Brasilian anthropologist, Carlos Castaneda. The conclusions to which he has come, most notably his insistence on “living impeccably”, have deepened my faith in Jesus and the authority of the Catholic Church. Castaneda maintains that a lively sense of humour helps to break up our “self-importance” which is at the core of all that is wrong in our lives. There is also a mystical quality to his elucidations which can be expected from titles such as “A Separate Reality”, “Jour-ney to Ixtlan”, “The Eagle’s Gift”, “The Fire From Within” and “The Power of Silence”.

BRIAN NOREIGA
D’Abadie

THE EDITOR: I regularly pass by the archway over the Maraval River which begins the city of St James, I have been saddened recently by the neglect and no up-keep of the archway. When the archway was first built, I used to marvel at the sight, and bright and brilliant lights which adorned it. Today (June 03) one of the lights on the structure is working, how and why was this allowed to happen to such a majestic structure? Who is responsible, is it the City Corporation, the St James CIC, the businessmen, the government, TIDCO? Can anyone say? This structure could have been seen from as far away as the Queen’s Park Oval if travelling in an east to west direction, and from Courts Long Circular Road, in a west to east direction. I remembered when the structure was first built, cars used to park at the side of the Western Main Road, and people would come out of their cars and admire the archway. Nowadays cars and pedestrians bypass the structure without even noticing it, what a shame! I am calling on the relevant authorities to please restore this structure to what it was once and for citizens again to feel proud. The question is asked, why do we allow our public buildings, public structures to suffer from such neglect before action can be taken?

KEN SMITH
Woodbrook

THE EDITOR: Discrimination against the physically challenged in the workplace is nothing new to us. For too many years we have turned a blind eye to this form of injustice. It is only now that human conscience has pricked our senses to put an end to this malpractice. In 1948 I was invited by Friden Corporation of Cleveland, Ohio, manufacturers of the world-famous Friden calculators to visit their organisation. On that occasion I paid a visit to their factory and assembly plants where I saw hundreds of men and women in assembly lines, most of them in wheel-chairs, assembling these calculators. I wondered at that and was told that they were far more disciplined and productive than the able-bodied workers. It then became obvious to me that this was so because these workers met their challenges squarely to prove to the world that they could do as well and even better than their more able-bodied co-workers. Some of our employers who operate assembly plants should take note of this. Friden Corporation did not adopt this policy for humanitarian reasons only. They did so because they knew that they would get the best results out of that. Let us hope that our employers can learn a good lesson here. As our Lord said: “Do unto others as you will have them do unto you.”

ELLIS  MAINGOT
Trincity

THE EDITOR: I address you with the burning issue of Crime. Over the weekend there were a number of murders being carried out. We all agree that this must stop, but are we ever going to think “outside the box” and do all that is necessary to curb these events? As a people and a nation we are in serious jeopardy! The very basic moral fibre needs to be re-instilled in society. There are a couple of very potent points that we as individuals and as a nation must consider seriously… Firstly, there are too many ‘babies’ having babies, and they have nothing to impart to these children when they grow up. No proper values, morals and ethics are coming from the homes of these young parents, for they themselves did not stick around their homes long enough to absorb any, and may have even chastised or cursed their parents for trying to instill some values in them. There is no Church, just the home, extended family is no more, and the community is not allowed to correct the child, rather it helps in that child’s estrangement from the home. When these children enter the schools, the behaviours and attitudes are terrible for they know not how to communicate or to socialise, and the teachers (poorly trained themselves) are unable, or in most cases unwilling to discipline or assist these children for fear of the parents.

Secondly, the issue of respect comes into the picture. The youths today have no respect for authority or for themselves. Again we go back to the home and school. They are not taught how to function in the world so they cannot hold down proper jobs, so they resort to alternate lifestyles that do not conform with the values and norms of the respected and respectful persons in our society. When we go into our schools — Junior Secondary and Secondary schools, even some of our primary schools, and we watch the comportment of these students, we have to wonder who or what is the parent. Who’s buying the uniforms and where are these parents when the children are leaving the home, or returning for that matter. In my view, no Principal should allow a child to enter the school compound with something other than the specified uniform. If these same children were to apply for entry to any of the Military Services (Police, Army, Coast Guard), and be accepted, God forbid, they would have to conform to all rules given…No long hair, no plaits, no fancy crew cut…and I can go on. They must wear the uniform as is laid down. The operative word here being uniform! It is time we ensure that our children, even from the primary school level, learn to be uniform.

If a uniform is specified by a school, and the parents have a problem with the child wearing it, or even the child for that matter has a problem with the uniform, let them find a school that would accommodate their children in the manner they wish to dress. There are many private institutions, and all religions have schools now, and I don’t say this to sound bigoted, but we need to instill in our youths the basic values and morals that would ensure them a proper place in society, keeping the level of crime down and making our communities safe once again. Finally, when we look at the issue of burglaries etc….If there were no market for black-market goods, then there would be fewer or no robberies, break-ins etc…Because there continues to be no equity between the working classes of our society, there continues to be the issue of theft. Because the cost of living continues to rise and the poor gets poorer as they struggle to provide, and must pay this exorbitant VAT on basic necessities, there continue to be thefts. No thief, going into a person’s home or business to steal jewelery, videos, televisions etc is going to keep these items for himself. Someone out there is going to buy these things, giving the thief the money he needs to fulfill whatever obligation he may have before him. This is where the Government must step in and ensure that monies filter down to the low and lower income classes in society.

The murders that are being committed in the so-called depressed areas are a way for those in the lower order of the gangs to accede to supremacy. They are senseless, yes, but looking at the persons that are dying and the reasons these murders are being committed, tell us there is urgent need for societal reformation. There is need for honest community representatives, groups and leaders that will assist the people and not themselves in making a positive change. Kidnapping is an issue that only the affluent of our society can curb. The treatment that you mete out to others in society comes back to you in many different ways. Karma they call it. This is something our businessmen must take control of. Note that I am not condoning these behaviours, I am just trying to bring to light a few of the reasons we continue to experience this high level of crime, and the path we should follow to bring things in this country to a place where we can all live comfortably once more. Thank you and good day.

S HERBERT
Port-of-Spain

THE EDITOR: If Good Friday had not passed and gone, I would have believed that it is now Good Friday and Afro Trinidadians were made out to be Good Friday “bobolees.” We were being kicked around and disrespected by a prominent businessman and a well known columnist of one of our local newspapers; all in the pursuit of sensationalism. It is a well known fact that Blacks usually make good fodder, for sensational news. And both parties sugar-coated their exploitive motives to appear to be interested and concerned about the plight of Afro-Trinidadians in entrepreneurship. Whenever I hear people talk of the problems Black people encounter in the Western world all because of our enslaved ancestors, I quickly remind them that our enslaved brothers and sisters who never left Africa share far worse fates than we do in the Western world and they are not descendants of slaves. This begs the question: Why are our socio/economic problems commonly categorised as the legacy of slavery?

Just to illustrate my point, people of Lebanese and Syrian descent are not electricians, doctors or lawyers on a grand scale. They are for the most part businessmen. Indians for all practical purposes are well established in business and the professions of law and medicine, while Afro Trinidadians are dispersed in the Civil Service, the Police Service, the Defence Force, the Arts and in the professions, law, medicine, engineering and small scale entrepreneurship. So which group is most widely dispersed in the society? Which group is making well deserving contributions to the society? And why are Afro Trinidadians as a group being lumped with the criminal elements of the society? No one in TT envies Syrians, Lebanese or French Creoles for their dominance in business; which for the most part are hand over family businesses from generation to generation. This characteristic is non-existent in the Afro-Trinidadian ethnic group. We also lack solidarity and comradeship which are manifested in our surreptitious dislike for each other; consequently, networking is not a common practice in our ethnic group. We lack the jingoism that is ever present in other ethnic groups, which would not be solved by just becoming involved in entrepreneurship; our pursuits must be nurtured, encouraged, sustained and above all supported by friends, family and relatives.

I hasten to draw from my own experiences, with a view of highlighting where our true problems lie; not in the Mark Guerras of Laventille, or the criminal element, that is pervasive in TT but in our own perception of ourselves, as an ethnic group and the preoccupation of others, with our past, as people of African descent. Our travail has fashioned and molded us. Our ascent to greater accomplishments in business may be slow and arduous but our all- round achievements are second to none in TT. I see no parallel or influence in our behaviour as a result of slavery; although it remains a component of our history. Too many behavioural scientists feed into the “vestiges of slavery bit,” when talking about people of African descent, while they shy away from doing an empirical study on the impact of slavery on our lives as an ethnic group. If anything, the best case scenario is that not all of us were subjected to peril by the atrocity anymore than the jews during the Holocaust. Like the Jews, we are also painted with a wide brush.

In conclusion, the socially conscious local newspaper columnist, with his clinical fixation on Dr Selwyn Cudjoe in particular and Afro-Trinidadians in general, should open workshops in TT with a view of saving our Afro-youths from hell and damnation and Afro males from becoming dons like the late Mark Guerra. Arthur Lok Jack should put his money where his mouth is; that is, with the implementation of franchises which would serve as the harbinger of his clarion for the involvement of Afro Trinidadians in entrepreneurships in TT for which every able-bodied Afro-Trini will be thankful. We cannot alleviate problems with only talk; there must be some form of action along the way. The ball is now in the courts of the columnist preaching fire and brimstone and Arthur Lok Jack the well meaning TT businessman. Let’s hear from you.

ULRIC  GUY
Point Fortin