THE EDITOR: Today, sensing the urgent need for a return to peaceful co-existence, harmonious compromising and the true brotherhood in this blessed land of ours, I draw attention to the neglect with regards to attaching “true value” to the various aspects and subjects with which we interact daily and indeed; from moment to moment.

Today’s society in comparison to memories of “yesteryears”, reflects the misplaced attachment of value and in most cases, the absence thereof; A most distressing development! Too often, men, women, children and other segments of creation have sounded their individual and collective voices, seeking recognition in the terms; “I am somebody too!” —  “Allow me the mileage to arrive!” “I have the potential to amount to much more than is now visible!” “Don’t condemn me, I have worth too!” etc.

There is a biblical saying that’s quite often heard:- “The stone rejected by the builder often becomes the head corner stone.” It seems that indeed the rejected and under-valued in our society have been elevated to positions of criminal gratification; the Devil’s Corner. Happy and less aggravating were the days when the women in our society were treated with deserved respect. They were sought after as “gems of beauty”, worthy of fine and courteous treatment. Now, many of them parade themselves and succumb to demoralising labelling of their body parts and genetic roles. Their preferred dress code may attract the eyes of men and even other women but, to the ungrounded mind, they invite one and all to feast and plunder, often to their own destruction. If women think more of whom they are and the importance of their existence to society, they would allow their inborn grace and charisma to blossom; being one of the most prized assets afforded man, throughout his existence on planet earth.

Having thus said, I lend no excuse to greedy, ruthless males (or otherwise) who seek out their ‘prey’ in pursuit of personal gratification or ‘sub-conscious vengeance.’ Such actions divulge/suggest a lack of confidence regarding their individual ability to face life’s challenges and amount to ‘something’ (someone of prominence); for them, criminal pursuits and fugitive escapades seem to be the alternative to the routines of civilised co-existence. Yet, the simple solution lies in the spoken word of God. Though rejected or over-looked, everyone of us has the potential to become a chief ‘corner stone’ or ‘a one-of-a-kind gem’ in the eyes of all creation.

It is also written that “God chooses the simple things of this world to confound the mighty” — therefore, seeing that this message is to all humankind and accepting that we are all children of the most High, (all things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made, that was made!) it is a reasonable conclusion to suggest that we live in the hope and confidence of victorious living. That hope will encourage each person to see added value in all with which he/she is surrounded. Even the youths and babes who are often caught in the midst of all these scenarios, seem to be confused with regards to acceptable standards and the attachment of value. They have often been instructed to behave and perform in prescribed manners while their instructors display/utilise quite conflicting “modus operandi.” The increase in disturbing incidents and behaviour by the youthful citizens in our society, surely suggest a lack of exemplary counsel on the part of their parents and in part, their teachers, elders and leaders (church and state) and their friends. As we take a stand against crime and immorality let’s restore value to our lives and our nation!

ANTHONY JOSEPH
Maraval

THE EDITOR: We are accustomed to complain and cast blame on many departments of our government for their service to the public, but TTPost should come in for much praise for their efficiency in the speedy delivery and dispatch of mail locally and overseas. It is not unusual to find that my letters to the Editor of our Newsday are responded to the following day in headlines in their newspapers. TTPost deserves full praise and thanks for their good service to the public at large, and should stand as a good example to other arms of our public service. Let us hope that the powers that be take good cognisance of this and give credit where it is due.

ELLIS MAINGOT
Trincity

THE EDITOR: I refer to Newsday Business News March 6. Is it credible that a Minister of Agriculture can refer to Trinidad and Tobago “being a net food importer … the country has consistently failed to address the production of … commodities that would satisfy the domestic requirements.” and state: “Being a food deficit country will certainly have tremendous implications for our food security” and “TT has to be aware of the potential disasters” and still not plan to convert thousands of acres of money-losing cane lands to pasture and save on the hundreds of millions in foreign exchange by being almost totally reliant on imported beef, mutton, lamb, goat meat together with milk and other dairy products?

Is it believable that the line minister can see the problem, alert us to the dangers, understand the solutions, ie more self sufficiency in domestic food requirements and therefore less dependence on foreign producers, and not implement the obvious by doing everything necessary to maximise our local meat and dairy products production.
Can the minister comment?

GEOFF HUDSON
Port-of-Spain

THE EDITOR: CEPEP is under fire from people who see things only from a political perspective. This almost begs the statement “It takes one to know one!” The MLIO has used some choice words against the anti-CEPEP advocates and that must not be allowed to be lost in the rubble. One must think of the transfer of $73 million in stock from the TTEC Pension Fund in a commercial bank to a subsidiary of a conglomerate even before November 8, 1995! That showed the weakness of the laws that govern the Stock Exchange who can forget the auctioning of the residence of the Chief Justice?

Michael de La Bastide was the holder of that high office! In each case, taxpayers’ money is being used to benefit the parasitic oligarchy which was not content with economic power! It has influenced 1) Telecommunication Bill and 2) the Land Tenure Bill each of which was passed in 2001 in the non-presence of the PNM while that party was in the Opposition! With the acquisition of Angostura Distillers Ltd, lands near mangroves are being cleared without the approval of Town and Country Planning Division! Mr Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj is mum on these actions in his quest to inherit the rising sun but the Fishermen and Friends of the Sea and other nationals as well as community groups are fighting against those who are bent on weakening the hand of the poor.

JEFFREY M JOSEPH
Fyzabad

THE EDITOR: Please allow me the opportunity to give praise where praise is due.

The residents of Point Fortin and its environs saw the long awaited rebirth of a sponsored basketball tournament in the Southern Borough. Alas, Trinmar rose to the occasion! Weeks of keen competition and intense participation, both from team members and supporters alike, provided for a much welcomed reprieve from the apparent ‘death’ of the sport at a competitive level. We hope that the Ministry of Sport, the Borough Corporation and other business interests in the Point Fortin Borough would take a page out of Trinmar’s book, by now doing their bit in keeping basketball competition alive in the Borough. Trinmar, Hats off to you. We the people of Point Fortin thank you.

P REAH
Cap-de-Ville Hoopers Fan

THE EDITOR: “Who Gabby tink he is?”  Chorus of a popular Bajan calypso, with but a name change, he could have been singing about Manning!  

After years of faithfully following in the footsteps of his late political mentor — to the extent of repeating the latter’s more obvious and avoidable mistakes — Manning now clearly feels secure enough to begin making a few of his own. Unfortunately for him Williams is no longer around to protect him from himself.  The circle of sycophants constantly feeding his inflated ego lack either the courage or intelligence to advise their master that autocracy and creeping dictatorship died with Williams and is today neither fashionable nor acceptable in TT. Even Cro Cro could and will probably yet inform him “we pass dat stage”.

His expressed determination to brook no opposition from any quarter on any grounds —be they financial, practical, emotional or political — to appropriating the historic Red House for his offices, is his first venture outside of the Williams blueprint. It may well be his last. He would have been better advised to confine his arrogance to critics of CEPEP and his Caroni adventure. Trinis are by and large a politically apathetic and complacent lot. Up to a point, they will in the interest of ‘Business as Usual” accept significant abuse of political power and incompetence — but only up to a point. What however is neither acceptable, forgivable nor forgettable in our elected leaders is any delusions of grandeur.  In his ambition to acquire accommodations more in keeping with his “new status”, Manning has committed just such a cardinal sin.   As President elect Max could tell him, around the poker table it is called ‘“pushing your luck”.  Who Patrick tink he is?

JOHN VERITY
Port-of-Spain

THE EDITOR: Much of what has been said about Saddam Hussein is misleading and untrue. 

The facts are:
— Saddam was the greatest ally the West had prior to the 90’s Gulf War
— In regions dominated by Islam, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq continues to be the most tolerant and friendly state to Christians.  Iraq’s Deputy Leader, Tariq Aziz, is a Christian.
— Saddam did not start the Gulf War by invading Kuwait; Kuwait started the Gulf War by drilling oil on disputed Iraqi land.  Saddam asked them to discontinue or face war.  With the support of the US, Kuwait chose war.
— The Kurds and Iraqis have a long history of war and rebellion and there have been atrocities committed by both sides. 

These facts can change one’s perspective and effect a paradigm shift if read with an open mind.  Consider this:  Saddam became the US’s ally to fight Iran following the fall of the Shah of Iran and the Ayatollah Khomeini takeover. The US suffered great economic loss in that takeover, at that time, in much the same way that they viewed communism as a threat, they viewed Islamic states as a threat, partly because of a general unwillingness to accept alternative political systems, but also because of the threat that such states pose on Israel. 

Saddam also assisted the West in the war against Russian troops in Afghanistan.  However, during the 80s, it became evident that the US was also supplying the enemy, Iran, with weapons.  It is well documented that the US betrayed Saddam, on the one hand by supporting Iraq and selling billions of dollars in military weapons to them, while at the same time also selling arms to the enemy — Iran.  The profits earned from the weapons sold to Iran were used to fund another illegal war, the war against the legitimate Sandanista Government of Nicaragua which the US opposed. This betrayal by America triggered Saddam to stop the war with Iran.  Clearly, the US must have once again lost the control they had on the economy of an oil rich nation.

There are other issues as well, such as the hostility of the Kurds in Northern Iraq and which Western States provided Saddam with the technology to produce deadly chemical weapons.  These matters need not be discussed in detail as the truth is emerging.  Firstly, even the UN is unsure of how best to manage the Kurds with or without a second Gulf War.  They have a history of conflict with both the Turks and the Iraqis. Turkey meanwhile is eyeing the rich oil reserves of the Kurdish Northern Iraq and no doubt, Belgium, France and other European nations recognise that Turkey may be more interested in the spoils of war than in Saddam’s danger to world peace.  Furthermore, the Kurds haven’t been showing any real effort to form a separate state, Kurdistan, but even if they did, one wonders if they won’t pose a greater threat to peace than the present Iraqi regime. Regarding the technology to produce chemical weapons, Saddam developed this while receiving the support of the US though everyone is afraid to say it, the most logical explanation as to how Iraq got the technology is that it came from the US.  

Stephen Aboud
Port of Spain

THE EDITOR: I am absolutely amazed at arguments advanced by the promoters of the move to oppose the shifting of parliamentary functions to a new building, specifically structured to accommodate the sectional divisions required for the operations of an efficient modern parliament.

The Red House, as it is called, perhaps for its red paint, but with no special significance politically, was built in colonial times, for the effective domination of a colonial power over a subject people. Originally it was built to carry out the functions of an autocratic governor from overseas and whose allegiance was to an overseas regime. The locals had no say, whatsoever, in foreign relationships, and very little in domestic matters. The Red House at that time represented total domination, but some are prone to say  damnation. The Red House is not a landmark which we can sincerely speak of with deep national pride. It is a symbol of the power of a colonising master over hapless colonists. Much more can be said about this.

I believe that the people who oppose the shift to new quarters for our Parliament, are not true patriots. They do not deserve that name. They are citizens with no patriotic fervour, perhaps one can say ‘flavour.’ I think sincerity is not part of their ‘Big Truck’ carnival character. Moreover, I believe, without any doubt, that they are not aware of the historical background of our country, a background replete with changes. Firstly, the earliest known natives were primitive people from the Orinoco hinterland. They called the island ‘Cairi’ which when translated means: ‘The Land of the Humming Bird.’ The Humming Bird is still with us, but ownership of the land changed. The Spaniards became the colonising power. They established their capital inland and called it ‘San Jose de Oruna. Now its name is St Joseph.

The next major change was the removal of the capital to the seaside by the Spaniards who named it ‘Puerto de los Espanoles.’ After the British captured La Trinidad they changed the name of the capital from the Spanish language to English, calling it Port-of-Spain, which in my mind need to be changed again, to one befitting the capital city of an independent Republic. Another major change was the shifting of the course of the Dry River, a Port-of-Spain landmark. What I am pointing out here is that there were outstanding changes in the past, and we should not obstruct important developmental changes merely through feelings. We continue to develop to nationhood, and national changes must inevitably occur even after we have attained social adulthood.

At this point in time we can no longer think of an island Republic in isolation from the rest of the world. There are interrelationships, strong ones, which we are forced to heed when considering our many policies, especially the international ones. In effect we are affected by worldwide changes and we certainly have to adapt ourselves to the full forces of international winds. A common saying is that the voice of the people is the voice of God. This must be written down as a profound fallacy, for it is written: ‘Broad is the road that leads to damnation and narrow is the path to Heaven.’ This speaks forcefully for itself. Many people can be wrong, and yet a few can be right. This has proven to be realism through the ages. It was the case with Christopher Columbus. His idea was that the world was round in shape like an orange, and not like a ‘johnny’ bake. When he said that he would sail west and return from the east, many thought that he was mad. Now the whole world can see that he could not have been more correct about the description he made of the shape of the world.

The idea of removing the seat of our government to a new location was inevitable. Apart from the fact that the present building is symbolic of the domination of a colonising power over a powerless people, it also represents the shame and disgrace of the social relationships then instituted among mankind with little exhibition of any kindness of the human heart, but with the distinct connotations of radical bias. To enhance our development socially, we need buildings built by a free people, and constructed with all relevant amenities for their proper functioning. Buildings that would be veritable indicators of our efforts to attain national adulthood. Buildings not left to us by our overlords, but buildings that adequately fulfil our earnest desire for suitable modern accommodations utilising the benefits of technological developments worldwide. In conclusion I must state that one can easily discern that there are among us people who are neglecting to use reason to promote social endeavours. This is appalling and has to be altered if we are to make social progress toward the 20/20 deadline for our adulthood as a nation in reasonable time.

OTHELLO  DEMOOR
Toco Main Road