All matches were 35 overs per side with TT ’s team featuring the majority of players close to 60 years of age, with the exception of Michael Edwards who is very agile on the team and will be celebrating his 70th birthday in November.

Their first game was played at Peppard Stoke Row Cricket Club at Hentley-on-Thames of Oxfordshire.

Batting first TT Masters made 228 for the fall of two wickets. TT then limited their hosts to 202, winning by 26 runs.

Opening the innings for TT were batsmen Joel Bristol and Lutchman Rampersad with the latter scoring a magnificent 115 not out.

In their second game vs Bedhampton United Cricket Club at East Sussex, Bristol, TT posted 243 for six with Harry Hoovey’s 119 the top score and contributions from Joel Bristo, Farouk Yathali, Lutchman Rampersad, Amar Boodansingh, Gerard James, Wayne Knights, Gynandlal Ramnath and Salandy Sobers.

Bedhampton responded by making 222 runs to fall short by 21 runs with their top scorer K.

Mcromick on 74 not out.

The third game was played on one of the most important ground, Royal Ascot, which is located in the vicinity of the Royal Ascot Racecourse.

Coming up against Berkshire County Club, TT struggled with the bat, closing on 168 for six wickets.

Berkshire reached their victory target with Steven Clarke run out at 35, and Jeffery Wing and Don Towsin chipping in with 83 and 27 not out respectively. TT ended their tour with a victory against Aldwick Cricket at Felpham Recreation Ground. Trinidad and Tobago Ambassador to the UK, Orville London, was present at the Royal Ascot game, greeting his compatriots and the English team who earned medals for their victory.

The TT Masters did some sight-seeing on their tour, taking a bus through London and also paid a courtesy call to the Trinidad and Tobago High Commission.

The team interacted with Ambassador London for over 10 minutes and proceeded to visit the famous Lord’s Cricket Ground, touring its museum, changing room and media box.

Some members of the TT Masters who are also football fans had the opportunity to visit Stanford Bridge in London and experience the Chelsea vs Burnley Premier League game.

Abraham and her husband Andy were heading home when they saw a man walk out from some bushes and point a gun in their direction.

The 32-year-old officer was taken to the Chaguanas Health Centre and transferred to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) in Mt Hope where she was treated.

Sources said that investigators are working on information that the shooting may be linked to a land dispute.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Irwin Hackshaw said that investigators are in search of a suspect whose identity and home address is known to them.

One of them we are about to tell you is about an ex-prisoner. Let’s call him Vincent.

After serving almost a decade and a half for a violent crime, he now has to figure out how he is going to take care of himself and his family. He is uneducated and his record renders him almost unemployable. Vincent, however, has a plan.

It is high risk and involves meeting the needs of desperate Venezuelans coming to Trinidad and Tobago (TT) under cover of night to get foodstuff and medical supplies. In exchange, they are willing to pay US dollars for these items they are unable to get at home. He is also considering making trips to the mainland once he can secure a boat. If he does, he plans to meet a contact, a former cellmate, at a tiny village on the mainland to trade goods.

US dollars are not always available, so on occasion, he is paid in kind.

Gold can sometimes form the basis of a barter. Other times, the trades are more exotic. Letting the Venezuelans come to him is safer, but going directly to them is more lucrative.

Whichever path he chooses, the money makes its way to Trinidad.

It is relatively easy to get the US changed. Forex is in short supply and there are several who will convert the currency for him with little or no questions. Through consumption, buying groceries, household items, paying for his son’s school supplies, that cash, eventually makes its way into the mainstream economy.

Vincent and his enterprise, though, live in the hidden one.

“It is an economy that operates parallel to the official economy,” Indera Sagewan-Alli, economist, explained. “The official economy is the one that we have data and information on. It is the one that operates within the rule of law.

People pay their taxes. Information is captured by the different institutions that exist to do so.” With no record of the transactions within the sectors that make up this economy and no formal systems existing to track or tax its revenues, the hidden economy is characterised by illegal activity. This is separate and apart, however, from what is termed the “informal” economy.

“We don’t want to conflate the two,” said Dr Daren Conrad, who is an Economics lecturer at the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine campus. “One centers on illegal activity. The other is legal activity but not part of the main economy in that they are not captured in taxable income.” To illustrate the difference, Conrad told Business Day a person engaged at high levels within the hidden economy may be able to afford a housekeeper or a gardener. These people are most likely compensated in cash.

Their employment and activity are not illegal, but there are no formal systems for picking either up.

“Economists are very creative and can find ways to make proxy estimates of what the size of these economies are because we don’t have any means of verifying,” said Sagewan-Alli, “It is associated therefore with a lot of hearsay, word of mouth type notions of associating particular types of businesses with that kind of activity.” To complicate matters, just as in the story of our enterprising ex-prisoner, Vincent, the money can make its way almost seamlessly into the mainstream economy. Sagewan-Alli referenced businesses that function in the formal economy, but with the sole purpose of laundering illegal proceeds before they enter the system. Again, without hard evidence, it is difficult to say what these businesses might be and who are the people behind them.

So, if there are no records, what proof is there that the hidden economy exists, beyond hearsay, rumour and word of mouth? According to both economists, news headlines would be a good indicator.

While Conrad singled out stories about the sex and drug trade as corroboration that a hidden economy is alive and well in TT, Sagewan-Alli focused on the trade of illegal arms and the resultant crime fueled by the access.

“It [the crime] impacts people’s ability to fraternise within the official economy in a way they would if we didn’t have crime,” said Sagewan-Alli.

The economist noted, for example, that people were staying away from restaurants and nightspots and on the whole, were less willing to be out late at nights.

She also suggested that it may be contributory to TT’s continual shortage of forex.

“What it [the hidden economy] does is it places a premium on the official rate. It supports the unofficial devaluation of the currency, because those who operate in these sectors are willing to pay a higher price since their demand for foreign exchange is so high,” said Sagewan-Alli.

The potential, therefore, for negative social fallout from the hidden economy is great. The size of the hidden economy itself is also considerable.

Dr Patrick Watson, SALISES director, economist and UWI lecturer, has studied hidden and informal economies throughout the Caribbean and estimated that TT’s may be between 20 to 40 per cent of measured Gross Domestic Product.

Watson defined the phenomenon as all unrecorded income and therefore includes activities in both the hidden and informal groupings. He and his colleagues used the rate of circulation of money through the economy to gauge how much of it might be coming from hidden sources.

He gave some additional signals for recognising the operation of a hidden economy based on his experience observing it in Martinique. The unemployment rate is upward of 40 per cent, but the Martiniquais have relatively high standards of living.

Dr Watson explained the people often chose to apply for unemployment benefits that they have access to, because they are a department of France, while earning income through plying a private car for hire or selling coconuts. Through the dual sources of income, the Martiniquais are able to achieve a decent standard of living.

This critical positive benefit of hidden economies is important said Dr Watson, an opinion Dr Conrad shared.

“It creates the fiscal space to absorb negative shocks. For example, if the government were to roll back social programmes, those individuals who are part of the underground economy, wouldn’t be significantly adversely affected because they would still be generating some type of income,” said Conrad, ultimately stabilising society in times of financial difficulty.

“There is no doubt that they also generate a lot of employment and entrepreneurial activity,” Watson said.

As they exist in every economy in the world and through their very nature do not seem to be going away anytime soon, what should be done about the hidden economy? Not wanting to take a moral position, Conrad suggested that the sex trade, for example could be decriminalised and a fine imposed on offenders. This, he said, clears up the courts and leaves resources free to pursue other matters.

“I think that it is not impossible to manage and control and reduce the size of the economy, said Sagewan- Alli on the point, “but government needs to be very deliberate about it and have the mechanisms and institutions to deal with it.”

One of the concerns of the private sector in Trinidad and Tobago centres on the need to improve the national business environment and the ease of doing business.

For most economies, the private sector is the engine that drives growth. However, sustainable businesses cannot develop unless there are policy measures in place to support efficient and effective operations. The business community looks to government – as custodians of the economy – to create an enabling environment that encourages sustainability, fewer barriers to entry and as level a playing field as possible.

Despite improvements in some areas, such as the time it takes to register a business and the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s (MTIs) Single Electronic Window (SEW), there is still much to be done. At present, some of the conditions to which business is oft n subjected can be described as difficult and ti me-consuming. Routine transactions which should last no more than 15 minutes in a government office are likely to turn into an all-day exercise. This, coupled with our archaic labour laws does nothing to foster efficiency.

The latest rankings speak volumes: In the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index, out of 190 countries, Trinidad and Tobago ranked 150 for Registering a Property, 149 for Dealing with Construction Permits and 145 for Paying Taxes.

The TT Chamber is quite aware that de-regulation alone will not satisfy the needs of the private sector in promoting business growth. In last year’s budget, several incentives for business were announced. To the Government’s credit, these are investments for the future.

But it would be interesting to find out how well those incentives have fared; what, if any, were the challenges experienced and if Government will return with an improved package of incentives for the next fiscal term.

Another of our concerns is our ability to develop and promote programmes targeting the promotion of innovation and increased productivity. And this is where we focus our attention on our business incubators.

Currently, there are several of them in operation in TT.

The Chamber has already begun engaging these incubator programme, as we provide solid support for the next wave of businesses to make a difference in the economy.

But at the government level – are entrepreneurs and start-ups being sufficiently incentivised? Improving the business environment and ease of doing business is no simple undertaking. In fact, it is the kind of task that extends beyond one term of office for any administration. If we want to count ourselves among the best and most productive, we – as a country – must take the necessary steps to implement the institutional support measures to help us to achieve that goal.

In a statement issued by its head office in Toronto, Canada, Scotiabank has expressed solidarity with all of its customers, employees and communities who have been affected by Irma and said it had donated US $500,000 to organisations supporting the relief efforts in the region.

Describing the devastation caused by Irma as “heartbreaking”, president and CEO of Scotiabank, Brian Porter, said “Scotiabank has been part of the affected communities for decades. We are committed to the region, and will support our customers and employees during these challenging times.”

The Canadian Red Cross will receive US $250,000 of Scotiabank’s donation, with the remainder being directed to initiatives supporting young people in the affected communities.

“Red Cross Societies are already active, mobilising volunteers to the possible affected areas and relaying public awareness messages. Relief supplies are on standby in Panama and the Dominican Republic to ensure an immediate response. The Canadian Red Cross has a presence in the area and is co-ordinating with the International Federation of the Red Cross and supporting the mobilisation of regional Red Cross teams…To make a donation to the Hurricane Irma relief fund, please visit the Canadian Red Cross website,” Scotiabank stated.

Noting that the damage associated with Hurricane Irma has resulted in a number of fatalities and caused damage to infrastructure, cutting communities off from water and electricity, the bank said its immediate focus is on ensuring the safety of its employees. We are continuing to assess the impact on our business operations.”

While details are still coming in, you get a good idea of the rebuilding effort that residents and businesses such as Scotiabank face in the BVI.

In a video posted to the Facebook public group, BVI Abroad – Hurricane Irma by Ronald Evans on September 6, you can see an entire wall of glass missing from a section of the Scotiabank branch in Road Town, Tortola, BVI. That same branch also had holes in its outer walls and parts of the Scotiabank logo were missing.

Customers who have banking questions or who require support, “can find the appropriate contact information” by searching “More Scotiabank Sites” on www.scotiabank.com

“Our thoughts continue to be with the people of the affected regions as they demonstrate strength and resilience following the devastation,”Scotiabank shared.

Fellow Canadian bank, RBC Royal Bank, made “an initial commitment of US $40,000 to Red Cross agencies in St Maarten and Antigua/Barbuda to assist with relief efforts in these countries in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.”

Then on September 11, RBC announced it would be making an “overall commitment of US $300,000”, this money going to relief efforts both here in the Caribbean and in the United States.

CEO of RBC, Caribbean Banking, Rob Johnston, said on Friday that “the first images coming out of these islands show the extent to which Irma destroyed the homes of our employees, residents and their communities. We are committed to supporting recovery efforts and are proud to partner with the Red Cross to support the great work of first responders.”

RBC’s Caribbean Incident Management Team was activated at the early warning stage of Irma’s trajectory and has been in constant communication with national agencies in the region ever since to ensure our precautionary and relief efforts are co-ordinated, efficient and effective.

“As the situation continues to evolve, we will assess the hurricane’s impact on our clients, employees and communities and will mobilise additional relief efforts accordingly,” RBC stated.

Johnston said employees “are also stepping up to support relief efforts and we honour their commitment,” as they are making donations to support relief efforts directly and through RBC’s global donations programme.

RBC assured that it “will work with national agencies, industry and government to ensure the safety of our employees and support the recovery and rebuilding efforts for our clients and communities.”

Meanwhile, the ANSA McAL Group of Companies (ANSA McAL) too has pledged its support to the effort. Through its subsidiary; Guardian Media Limited (GML), the conglomerate is “partnering” with the American Chamber of Commerce the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) “to provide immediate assistance to those affected.

PADF is dedicated to serving vulnerable people in Latin America and the Caribbean through sustainable community development. PADF’s programmes have generated thousands of jobs, saved lives and property, protected vital natural resources, upgraded skills training and medical services, and improved conditions for thousands of disadvantaged Latin American and the Caribbean people.

“PADF has created a special portal for our ANSA McAL family to make financial donations for relief for Hurricane Irma; www.padf.org/ irmaamchamtt. Please visit this website and make a donation if you can.”

“Logistics present a nightmare at this time, as most of the infrastructure in some of the Leeward Islands were completely destroyed. We will continue to keep you posted with what our group is doing to assist our Caribbean family. Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns,” ANSA McAL said.

Dr Watson was a panellist at a Thought Leadership Breakfast Meeting entitled A 2017/2018 Budget Perspective: Will the Cooperative Sector Factor? held at the Hyatt Regency, Wrightson Road, Port of Spain on September 6.

He said he recognised the government’s inability to finance anything at this time but what he wanted to see was the government playing a supportive role to the credit union movement “in producing innovative products which are geared towards the diversification of the economy, and I think the credit unions are in a position to do precisely that but the government must be able to support it.”

He said one way the government could do this was by providing tax concessions to new activity that would result in the production of goods and services for export. “This is nothing that they are going to be doing on old activity where if the activity doesn’t take place they will get nothing from it anyway and if the activity takes place they give a tax break and they allow this thing to develop,” he stressed. Dr. Watson said it was really the government which should be involved in doing this but the government is unable at this point in

time to provide the financing for that type of activity and if the credit union movement had the funds, they should allow it to be used in that direction. He said one of the participants at the session had stated there were 500,000 people in the credit union movement in this country and if that figure was accurate, “this is a powerful force, this is a group of people who see the need for an organisation and that’s why they are involved in it, so in and of itself and by its very existence it has a role to play and we must recognise that role.”

Dr Watson sees the credit unions as a mobiliser of funds “that I want them to use to help finance the creation of ideas that will get us out of this mess that we are now in, because I swear to you, this mess is not going to get better.” Not optimistic about the price of oil, he said even if the price of oil rises, this country’s oil production is falling and the significance of oil as a fuel is past.

“There is too much investment in other forms of energy sources. More and more products are not using the hydrocarbons, they are not environmentally friendly to start with and people are going and finding other, sometimes cheaper, sources of energy” such as solar and wind energy. He said even BP had recognised the end of oil a long time ago, quipping that “BP doesn’t mean British Petroleum but Beyond Petroleum.”

Another panellist, economist Indera Sagewan-Alli said she has started the Caribbean Competitiveness Foundation because she was tired of talking “and I am going to use this to bring my expertise to whichever organisation is willing to work with me in order to support the diversification thrust.”

She said if the government had a strategy for taking the country out of the current economic malaise that it is in, then the credit union movement and a role for it would factor very heavily, but that vision is absent.

Introduced as a budget analyst, Dr Winford James, president of the Mount Pleasant Credit Union, agreed with Sagewan-Alli, saying he did not believe that credit unions would factor in the budget because as far as he knew, the minister of finance had not approached any of the credit unions or their umbrella organisations. He suggested that the cooperative movement needed to “change that paradigm” and instead of waiting for the Minister of Finance to consult with the credit unions a few months before the budget was due, they should be dictating the shape of the budget.

Sagewan-Alli said one of the challenges facing new sectors is that of raising finance and she believed the answer lay in the credit union movement, which she thought was well poised to create special funds similar to crowd funding. She said these special funds would be distinct and separate from the current offerings of credit unions, “so that people who are putting money into these funds understand the terms of engagement, understand the risks that are involved and understand what are the opportunities that are involved.” She said that credit unions can then use those funds to support economic clusters, particularly at the primary or the grassroots level. “And a lot of activity is in fact happening, if you look around us, we have products like honey making in Trinidad and Tobago, and the production of compressed coconut oil, just to name two of them. And herein lies significant opportunity at the grassroot level to generate and support small business development, not just singularly but in clusters to be able to build the kind of critical mass that is required in order to mitigate and reduce as much as possible the risk. And to get to the point where you can produce enough not just to satisfy local demand but that you are also producing to satisfy foreign demand because we currently import a lot of these things so we have the opportunity here and now to be able to add value and to create local products.”

According to Sagewan-Alli, the fly in the ointment is the tradition-bound local banking sector, which will not lend to these types of businesses because it sees them as high risk and they don’t have the collateral to back the loans that they need. “Because what we do here is collaterised lending. So we have to find creative ways in order to provide them with the financing that is required.”

She said the funding should be linked to technical support “and working through towards the process of having your product on the shelf.” She said this was a niche for the credit union movement to get involved in the funding of small businesses because of their traditional consumer base.

“What I am suggesting to the credit union movement is that they should not wait or look to the budget in order to get involved in this kind of activity. What I think credit unions can do, particularly if they leverage their size, is they can approach government to support an initiative like this by providing some kind of incentive to people who are putting money in to this kind of fund to mitigate the risk and to encourage people to put money because currently the government does not have money to put into this whole question of diversification and economic development. So it can, at no cost to itself, provide a tax incentive so it becomes an opportunity through which people might be incentivised to put money, take a little risk, knowing that they are safe because the price that they are paying for supporting economic development is reduced by the fact that the government would give them a tax break if the particular project that they invest in is successful.”

She said this tax break would not cost the government anything because it would only be given if the project is successful. And she added that while she did not have all of the details worked out “we have to be creative. I am saying also that there is the opportunity for the credit union movement to leverage and to work with the existing state entities to support micro-enterprise development – with your NEDCOs and your exporTTs, etc., so that you bring all of these stakeholders together to support the initiative so that you try to manage as far as is possible the process toward success. None of us have a crystal ball, none of us have the answer, but to do nothing is madness and we have to keep trying, we look at the world, we see (what) they are doing in other parts of the world and we try as best as we can to take from those lessons things that we feel might work but we have to put all of our energies in it hoping that we will at the end of the day get success, that is the best that we can do.”

Sagewan-Alli said it is not all about the money and there would have to be a training component as well, linking training on a cluster basis. “So I am linking training to funding for development because when you go to the market and you see the guy with his compressed coconut oil, you know he needs support. He needs support in marketing so that he could go and market. He needs support in research and development…he needs support in terms of talking to us about what the value of this thing is. So you have to provide money and you have to provide hand-holding technical support through the process if you are going to manage the risk of failure.”

Sagewan-Alli added that politicians and others have been talking about sports tourism and medical tourism for years but nothing has been happening. She suggested that the Children’s Hospital in Couva could be the centre of a whole industry built around medical tourism. “I would go into the world and find the leading hospital that is in the business of medical tourism and then incentivise them to come and take that over in an efficient manner –hotels and all kinds of things you need.”

Tragically, the death toll now includes Trinidad and Tobago national Melan June Salvary-Doyle, 64, and her grandson Oliver Robert Doyle-Gedio, 3, whose bodies were discovered earlier this week.

Both were swept to their deaths in raging flood waters when Irma unleashed her deadly torrent on the tiny island of St Martin last Wednesday.

According to some accounts, Salvary-Doyle and the toddler were in a house that began to fall apart during the storm. They were in the process of relocating when disaster struck.

We express condolences to the family during these trying times as they, and the people all across the Caribbean, continue to pick up the pieces after a historic storm.

By some estimates, the total death toll from Irma – including in Florida and the Caribbean – was at 61 yesterday, though fatalities may number even higher as authorities continue recovery operations.

Those operations now also involve the evacuation of 50 people from Sint Maarten, including 19 Trinidad and Tobago nationals.

Those nationals are expected to return to Trinidad and Tobago in coming days.

The extent of the damage and the close ties between this country and our Caribbean neighbours call for a continuation of assistance. While the loan of a helicopter was clearly an invaluable gesture, it may well be that Trinidad and Tobago, and Caricom as a whole, should do more and also provide monetary assistance that will be crucial in the months ahead. This should be limited to countries that are not dependencies.

With indications that the frequency of serious storms may well grow more unpredictable due to climate change, perhaps the time is also right to revisit the idea of a Caribbean Disaster Relief Fund.

Such a fund could be capitalised by contributions from Caricom states and then be perpetuated as a self-sustaining funding mechanism.

Member states could draw upon the fund for two areas: the funding of measures that enhance immediate capacity to deal with the aftermath of storms, and fiscal support in a period in which substantial reconstructive effort is required by the damaged economy.

The fund would have to have clear rules and criteria and regular top-ups from member states could be one way of replenishing it. It may also become a central agency capable of receiving support from international bodies.

Of course, any fund would have to be run with the highest degree of transparency and there must be accountability it its management.

Unfortunately, our experience with Caricom-wide funds, such as the Caricom Petroleum Fund, has led to questions over how the money has been applied.

Care must also be taken to ensure there is no overlap with another regional fund, the Caribbean Development Fund (CDF).

The CDF already has a mandate “of providing financial or technical assistance to disadvantaged countries, regions and sectors.” Perhaps development goals should be aligned in such a way that prioritises the bolstering of capacity in the long run to ensure CDF countries are more resilient in the wake of disasters.

We should also look to the signs of improvements in the US’s own relief efforts for lessons locally.

There, systems have been praised for limiting the death toll. Technology, building codes, weather forecasts and a better understanding of mass evacuation are said to have helped.

If storms are going to get worse in the coming years, we will need all the help we can get and must learn what lessons we can from Irma’s deadly lash.

The days when oil and gas were the most lucrative of all commodities are gone forever.

China, the most populace country and the biggest producer and buyer of motorised vehicles has announced that it plans to phase out fossil fuel-powered motors in a bid to cut carbon emissions that give the Chinese one of the biggest carbon footprints in the world. They are following in the footsteps of the British and French who plan to ban the production and sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2040.

Although the Chinese have not put a date on the ban, their very intention to have electric battery cars and plug-in hybrids accounting by 2025 for at least onefifth of its vehicle sales — last year that amounted to one-third of the global market — should be enough to have every oil and gas producing country urgently reconsidering its situation.

I imagine it will be a very long time before aeroplanes, large sea craft or even space vessel launchers could be reliably propelled by any energy source other than fossil fuels, but for economies such as ours that are almost totally reliant on diminishing carbon- based energy reserves that are of declining commercial value, the need to move to a more mixed economy has intensified.

If the proposed ban and other developments in the last week do not spur us on, then nothing will.

There is little doubt, according to reports I read, that Hurricane Irma’s lasting power was derived in large part from the warmth of the Caribbean Sea — 1.5 degrees centigrade warmer than previously.

If our island states don’t show any interest in safeguarding our welfare by reducing our own contribution to global warming, then why should others care to do so? Do we want to continue being passive recipients of whatever is dolled out to us, good and bad? The time has come for us to be brave and change the agenda while we still have time to do so relatively painlessly. But maybe we need to have our backs right up against the wall, like Jamaica did.

With tourism as one of its few national revenue earners, Jamaica set an example in creating Sandals as a first-class homegrown Caribbean tourism product, large and good enough to see off US domination of tourism in Jamaica and the region.

One man, I suppose supported by good advisers and a lot of financial strength, was able to change the status quo, almost certainly with the cooperation of the Jamaican government.

There must be other opportunities.

Consider organic agriculture and the eco-food industry that today is worth over US$90 billion globally, and growing by about seven per cent annually.

We are all increasingly aware of what we eat, and organic food is gaining popularity here; instead of sourcing produce in now hurricane- ravaged Miami, can TT farmers be better supported in urgent new farming methods to meet this new demand? Could we replace US-produced eco-foods and even become exporters? It is a long, complicated road to get to wherever we decide we want to go but we need to start that journey with some conviction.

For sure, many people living in Trinidad, including the self-interested middle classes who shortsightedly consider this a wealthy nation, will not agree to anything that hits them in their pockets but there is a growing widespread feeling that we must change course, and I firmly believe that a visionary government could lead where people know they must follow, even reluctantly.

The problem is that all governments want to be popular and fulfil their role as the wielders of political power, but while our political parties refuse to work together for the bene f i t of our f u t u r e we are p r e t – ty well doomed.

Often, though, he’s more profound.

“Anything that can happen does happen,” he tells her, philosophising about parallel universes.

Sometimes those universes seem to overlap in Moko Jumbie, an oblique, dreamlike film, where the everyday life of a sleepy, remote village can encompass unexpected drama and romance and even the supernatural.

Asha (Vanna Girod) grew up in England, and has fond memories of coming to stay in this house as a child, when her grandparents were alive. But her cousin doesn’t share those memories, and her aunt Mary (Sharda Maharaj), who now lives in the house alone, is guarded and suspicious. She teaches Asha what to do if wild dogs come into the yard, warns her not to stray too far from home, tells her who she shouldn’t speak to.

Asha smiles at the old family photos, and is thrilled when her aunt gives her one of her grandmother’s necklaces, brought from India many years ago. She’s fascinated when she sees the boy next door, Roger, catching crabs in the road. She enjoys her short, unplanned meetings with Uncle Jagessar (Dinesh Maharaj) and his reminiscing about what she too thinks of as the good old days.

But her nostalgia doesn’t last for long when Aunt Mary’s beloved stash of family jewelry is stolen.

Her aunt laments the state of the country, and the fact that “we Indians and they Africans always fighting”—but she constantly warns Asha not to have anything to do with the black people who are her tenants in the ramshackle old house across the road. They’re criminals, she says—and don’t eat or drink anything that the woman of the house, Gloria, gives you.

Towards the end of Moko Jumbie there are abrupt, brief indications that the country as a whole is in an equally precarious, hostile state.

But sometimes the viewer—like Asha—can’t tell what’s real and what isn’t. She sees visions; sometimes other people see them too, but at other times she can’t tell if she’s imagined them. Even the deep-thinking Uncle Jagessar can’t say what it means when she sees the moko jumbie. One thing is clear, though: the Trinidad of her childhood no longer exists, and whether or not her cousin means it unkindly when she tells Asha, “This is not your country,” she’s right.

Still, in her city-girl make-up and fashionable boots, Asha can still enjoy some of the simple pleasures that remain: the view of the sea from the cliff; the village single- pan steelband for which Roger plays, practising under a tree at night; dancing to soca with Roger in the village rumshop.

It’s with her uncle and with Roger (Jeremy Thomas) that Asha is happiest—much to the disapproval of her aunt. Trinidadian-American director Vashti Anderson’s story—some of it autobiographical— mingles memory and longing, the real and the imagined, in this elliptical story of family, race, class, and the quest for home.

Screening times September 23, 8.30 pm, MovieTowne POS Screen 8 September 24, 6 pm, MovieTowne San Fernando September 25, 8.30 pm, MovieTowne Tobago