I have played J’Ouvert or mas here at home several times and I have tried some version of Caribbean carnival in other Caribbean countries, the US mainland and across in England, France and Holland, so I am a good example of what people call a Carnival person. I definitely love being on the road for Carnival and I enjoy all the auxiliary events that go with it, but the one thing I love the most about carnivals, wherever I go, is the unity. There is something really special about seeing everyone, regardless of their native language, the colour of their skin, or their place of origin, hug, jump, wave and wine to soca music together.

For no other reason than to continuously live in that carnival unity, I wish that Trinidad and Tobago would remain in a perpetual carnival stateof- mind. We need a unified Trinbago against racism, sexism, classism and the other ‘isms’, against criminals, against politicians and against the many corrupt technocratic leeches scattered across our government agencies and departments. We have to be a society unified against all injustices and compassionate enough to see homeless people — who for whatever unfortunate reason(s) were forced to live on the streets — as human beings because as I have said before, no one consciously and willingly chooses that life. We have to be a society united against all forms of discrimination and understand that it is not “us” against “them” based on superficial educational qualifications, type of vehicle, address or size of house.

We need to be a caring society that does not see a nude woman walking down the street and offer nothing but ridicule and embarrassing social media exposure.

At Carnival time, these things don’t exist. We are treated the same as we all get ripped-off equally to have the same amount of fun.

On the road, we all wear the same exorbitantly priced J’Ouvert and mas costumes and enjoy the same repetitive soca music as everyone else. And no one decides to take a wine based on whether the owner of the derriere is from Laventille, Scarborough, Westmoorings, or foreign-based.

“All ah we is one”… but apparently that’s only from Boxing Day to Ash Wednesday.

Of course, I am not naive or delusional to think that we could all love each other unconditionally because I am fully cognizant of the fact that despite the obvious unity and love we see oozing onto the streets at Carnival, there is still a lot of entrenched hatred from different sections of society, segregation, and dare I say, discrimination by certain mas bands and event organisers throughout the season.

I understand that there are some folks out there who are up to no good and by all means, should be excluded from Carnival festivities, but what are the criteria for determining that? It is sad that we have come to accept discrimination wearing the costume of “exclusivity”.

When party promoters determine who is allowed to attend an event based on their Facebook profile picture or band owners decide who plays frontline because of the shape of their body, we allow all our years of progress to be wiped away as these behaviours embody the same classism and separatist ideology from the days of slavery when French slave masters and colonial elites had their posh masquerade balls until slaves and indentured servants eventually created their own Canboulay.

Through my lenses, when PM Rowley was seen wining on a fellow female masquerader during 2015 Carnival, I saw unity, but of course, racists saw something else and caused a much-ado-about-nothing hullabaloo. The situation is the same with President Carmona’s dhoti costume this year — some people have a problem accepting the fact that diversity is OUR culture. And if that’s the case, they should hop on a boat or plane to wherever they feel comfortable.

May I also add that it always seems to be the same group of people, who, in my view, lack all moral authority to say a costume or wine is disrespectful, when they fully support little girls marrying big hardback men. Really, why can’t life in Trinbago be like feting and being on the road for Carnival all day, every day? If we cannot have real unity any other way, then we should remain in a constant state of Ca r ni v a l b e c a u s e honestly, I really love that version of my c o u nt r y.

Come on Trinbago – peace, love and true harmony.

jamille85@msn.com

In this book there are no Ten Commandments, but there is an occasional word of advice based on knowledge gained from bitter experience.

One such titbit is this: “If thou bookest the cheapest apartment in town and it turneth out to be a doghole, what did’st thou expect?” And so it came to pass that Morvan left his home where he had resided for several years and journeyed to Curacao for a week. And he was dismayed to find that it had been raining all day and the roads were flooded as though he had arrived by ark, and of course the wifi at the airport didn’t work properly, so he couldn’t Whatsapp the owner of the apartment, for roaming on his mobile phone cost more than the price of rubies and he was not made of money.

And although rain is not unknown in that island, being part of the Caribbean land of extremes, the taxi rank had been placed full twenty yards from the arrivals hall under open skies and lashing precipitation.

So he enquired of the men who waited there, looking like they might be working men, and they pointed to a woman whom they said was a driver.

“Woman, wilt thou take me to this place with the wacky name?” he enquired.

And the woman nestled her ample chest against his elbow, as certain women are wont to do when seeking to gain advantage, and she looked at the address on his phone and said, “Verily, I have never heard of this apartment, and I have lived here forty years.” Well, you must have been twenty when you arrived, Morvan thought, but said not a word, for in a strange land in the middle of a downpour the taxi driver is king, or indeed, in this enlightened age, queen.

“You’ve never heard of Ferdinand Straat?” he lamented with a careful tinge of disdain in his voice.

“And thou art a taxi driver?” And the man who had pointed her out, knowing that she was an awkward sod, stepped in and bade him approach the yellow minibus across the way, where he might find a wise man who knew his job.

It turned out that the man did indeed know where Ferdinand Straat was, but Morvan tested him, as one is advised to do, asking only, “How much will this cost?” “Thirty dollars,” the man said.

“Thirty US?” spluttered Morvan, almost choking on a piece of airline cheese roll that lurked in his teeth.

“Tis there on the map on yonder sign,” said the driver, indicating a painted metal sheet bearing details of areas of the island and how much it cost to get there.

And Morvan, being a godly man, suppressed the urge to make some crack about rich taxi drivers, for indeed this driver seemed humble enough, and they made off through the rain along roads where the cactus has been joined by the street sign and the speed warning.

On arriving at the apartment, driving the wrong way down a narrow one-way street, the driver cast Morvan out into the rain, leaving him to pound on doors and ring bells, for the tiny place seemed deserted and there was no shelter.

But eventually the grinning wise-guy who owned the apartment appeared and ushered him into a room with a bare concrete floor and two large, gnarled wicker chairs, for this was the “lounge” area.

No air conditioning, but that did exist in the bedroom, where, after demonstrating that it worked, the apartment owner drew his attention to an apparatus on the wall, which looked like a large mobile phone but was in fact the very latest in electricity meters, which he cheerfully admitted made him a bit of extra money on top of the rent.

“Some people just want to stay in here all day with the airco on,” he explained, establishing that he was no fool and hadn’t been put on this earth to make people happy at his own expense.

And when the man had left, Morvan hastened to the nearest little Chinese supermarket and did purchase a tin of chilli beans and some bread, and a small bottle of rum because the wine looked deadly and was expensive.

And he ate of the beans and drank of the rum and slept the sleep of those who have been awake since three in the morning and travelled many hours by road and by air.

And he awoke in the morning and praised the Lord, for he had come through a difficult day and night uns c a t h e d and could now go and have breakfast down by the water

We have had recourse to the Ashes of last Wednesday to cleanse our airways and ear passages remembering once again that only the Word of God can offer protection against the final dust that falls like a shadow over our life – the dust of the grave.

And now for the next six weeks or so, we will be offered opportunities to remember that we are dust, but also destined for immortality, that we are sinners, but redeemed by the love of God made tangible and near in the life, death and Resurrection of his Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Remember that Jesus, human like us in all things but sin, was challenged by Satan to turn his attention to self-satisfaction, power and prestige, but he chose to remain focused on the Will of God and sent the devil away, tail between his legs.

So we are reminded to keep our attention on Jesus, “Who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection”, and not lose direction worrying about whether the devil has ‘bound’ the nation or its leaders or us so that we cannot make our way towards heaven.

Remember that the Word of God, in the Scriptures and in the Prayer of the Church and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, is the most powerful remedy against our weakness and our perennial tendency to look for the easy way when Jesus invites us to take the narrow way leading to life.

That prayer is essential, not a recital of words, but an entering into our secret place to meet God who is waiting for us there, requiring our attention, fidelity and humble listening. Hard practices for people like us who prefer to talk, text or dramatise, presenting our own opinion whether we know what we are talking about or not, anything rather than the asceticism of silence. Yet, without silence, it is difficult to enter into conversation or to sustain a relationship.

Remember that since the Word became flesh and lived among us, God continues to become incarnate in the neighbour, the spouse, the co-worker, and so our transformation into Christ has to pass through our ordinary human interactions.

So quite rightly, Archbishop Harris challenges us to practise hospitality during this Lent. Welcome the other and so entertain angels, Christ Himself.

If this Lent leads us to become people who are more courteous and careful of the feelings of others, more generous with our gifts and possessions, more welcoming and supportive of the stranger, the visitor, the co-worker, the entire climate of the nation will be changed for the better.

If we truly want a reduction in violence, practise kindness. If we want a safer environment, practise hospitality. If we want clean surroundings, practise respect for nature. If we want the power to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect, get to know Him.

Pray, fast from greed, violent speech and self-indulgence and cultivate generosity to everyone. Start now, alone or with your family, you have the power to make meaningful change.

However, there are a few aspects of the article, titled “Live streaming presents performers, promoters with new challenges,” published on February 23, and that are faulty.

The article accurately highlights growing use of live-streaming technology by concert-goers to share their experiences with their social media followers and specifically questions the legal implications of the streaming of the entire Machel Monday event by an attendee.

However, it cites an intellectual property attorney as saying that “as long as streamers are not profiting, or live-stream without the intent to, then they are basically outside the ambit of the law.” This statement is erroneous as the TT Copyright Act clearly states that one of the exclusive rights of copyright and neighbouring rights granted to the owner of a copyrighted work is the right to broadcast and communicate their works to the public.

In the absence of a licence from the promoter to stream the event, an entity doing so is in contravention of the law.

Copyright infringement is not related to profit or the potential for profit.

The attorney is further quoted as saying that “as long as the streamer acted out of a love of culture and a desire to put it on display for the world, then under the current system there are no legal consequences.

The burden of proof that harm had been done to the event lies with the promoter.” This too is incorrect, as the only exceptions to the law that may permit the copyright owner’s works to be used without permission are outlined in sections 9-17 of the Copyright Act.

None of those apply in this case.

It is important that we respect the rights of musicians and creators as we embrace evolving technology in the creative industries.

We must be careful not to fuel the perception that streaming an entire concert without the requisite permission is acceptable.

To legally stream a concert, a few clearances must be secured.

The party undertaking the streaming must have an agreement with the promoter.

It would be ideal for the promoter to have previously informed the performers that their performances would be live-streamed and negotiated the right to use their music and image.

In the case of events streamed in real time to the public, using technology such as Facebook Live, performance and synchronisation licences for both copyright and neighbouring rights need to be secured from each collective management organisation that represents talent performing on the show.

Our current copyright laws are modern and applicable as technology changes.

The problem has been a lack of innovative models for the licensing of copyrights for new music uses, education, respect and general enforcement of the laws.

FARLEY J JOSEPH Gasparillo

Reaching this milestone was not an easy task, but his hard work, dedication to the art form and outstanding performance have all paid off.

There is no one who deserves this record-breaking accomplishment more than him.

We are so proud of Prof.

LANA M ALLARD programme administrator, UTT

This sign proposes that the site is earmarked for a recreational park.

A former mayor of Port-of- Spain, Louis Lee Sing, held a meeting on that site promising to use it to create a savannah in the west of Port-of-Spain. At the well attended meeting, held approximately three years ago, people shared ideas about what could be done and a committee was set up to pursue the goal of setting up this recreational park. Since then the site has been cleared, several loads of dirt have been spread and occasionally tractors can be seen moving the soil back and forth.

Very little progress otherwise has been made. There have been no public announcements by any agency and the committee set up by Lee Sing has not been heard from again.

With the PNM as the Government since 2015, along with a PNM-controlled Port-of- Spain Corporation, it means institutional and bureaucratic barriers to this project will be much reduced.

Given the closeness of this land to the constituency and home of the Prime Minister himself, given the need to conserve free recreational spaces in a highly populated region, given the manner in which public land has been appropriated in the Chaguaramas area by the last administration, and given the emphasis on citizen participation that the present Government advocated in the local government election, it is not too much for citizens to expect a reigniting of the conversation and planning towards the development of a savannah in the West in such a manner as to serve as many of the people as possible.

SAMUEL LOCHAN Westmoorings

This sign proposes that the site is earmarked for a recreational park.

A former mayor of Port-of- Spain, Louis Lee Sing, held a meeting on that site promising to use it to create a savannah in the west of Port-of-Spain. At the well attended meeting, held approximately three years ago, people shared ideas about what could be done and a committee was set up to pursue the goal of setting up this recreational park. Since then the site has been cleared, several loads of dirt have been spread and occasionally tractors can be seen moving the soil back and forth.

Very little progress otherwise has been made. There have been no public announcements by any agency and the committee set up by Lee Sing has not been heard from again.

With the PNM as the Government since 2015, along with a PNM-controlled Port-of- Spain Corporation, it means institutional and bureaucratic barriers to this project will be much reduced.

Given the closeness of this land to the constituency and home of the Prime Minister himself, given the need to conserve free recreational spaces in a highly populated region, given the manner in which public land has been appropriated in the Chaguaramas area by the last administration, and given the emphasis on citizen participation that the present Government advocated in the local government election, it is not too much for citizens to expect a reigniting of the conversation and planning towards the development of a savannah in the West in such a manner as to serve as many of the people as possible.

SAMUEL LOCHAN Westmoorings

The young and slim look fabulous in the costumes consisting of a few beads here and some further beads there.

Topped with feathers, false eyelashes and flawless makeup, they are a joy to behold prancing and dancing in the streets.

Because this is TT where fat women are considered equally pretty, they dress exactly the same covered in the same few beads and plenty feathers.

Seemingly unembarrassed, I saw thong-like swimsuit costumes on some physically and numerically challenged women.

Here in TT we wear whatever is the latest style, never mind how brief the design of the costume.

What has size got to do with it? The priests and the pundits could cry scorn and preach about Sodom and Gomorrah and we don’t care.

We jamming still. People could laugh at how fat girls shaking down the town in thongs, but we jamming still.

We have the feminist lobbyists telling us to free up and wear what we want.

The men will still carry on with their raping and wounding, so we jamming still.

It has precious little to do with what we wear because men are still going to grab you.

This is the point at which we must redefine the meaning of the word “victim.” For Carnival 2017, fat, thin and in-between women were wining right down to the ground in their costumes.

The police reported they received no stories of women being attacked and that this Carnival was among the safest ever. See for yourselves in all the Carnival magazines.

TT women of all ethnicities, shapes and sizes were jamming and likely to do exactly the same jamming in 2018.

LYNETTE JOSEPH Diego Martin

In The Middle Passage, based on 1960s Trinidad, VS Naipaul described the brutality and self-centredness that characterise life in TT and offered probable origins and solutions.

Fast forward to 2017 and it becomes clear that one of the biggest impediments to TT ’s development is our culture. Somewhere along the line both educated and uneducated alike have preserved and nurtured a deeply violent everyday approach to life brought with us as migrant labourers.

Recently our Carnival festivities would have seen fire-breathing or eating with indifference to the health implications of pouring fuel in the entertainer’s mouth. Stickfighting, another display of blood and violence, is promoted as our culture.

The words to our music appeal to aggression against women, infidelity and alcohol. At “jumpups” for our children, the lyrics that “the city could burn down but we jammin’ still” indoctrinate young ears with bass levels designed to elicit wining and deafness.

At other times, the beating of bobolees, corporal punishment, burning of effigies and calls for hanging all form part of what is considered normal and right.

Social media are filled with shared photos of mangled bodies and gore from the country’s rumblings which seem to be shared as if to bring pleasure to online users.

A BBC radio programme recently interviewed a young Jamaican woman who spoke of seven of her ten friends having been raped in Jamaica. The dance form of “daggering” suggests they also suffer from this violent culture which hangs over us from our past.

Culture is a difficult thing to change. But what is even harder is to convince governments and other groups that measures are needed to gradually move us away from these barbarisms we have inherited.

So many things can be done which, in time and in collaboration with other measures, could reform us into a more civilized community with a sense of compassion for those around us. But we first have to admit we have a problem.

RISHI-NIRVAN BALROOP Diego Martin

It is time to teach our children and ourselves not to let “labels” hurt us when remarks are thrown at us.

This is a form of bullying, and the person throwing the insult at you is the person with the real problem.

Can this important fact be taught in our schools? People of all nationalities were born in TT , it is our home.

We hear the Portuguese called “Portagee”, the Indians “C—-e”, the Negroes and the Syrians referred to negatively about their lifestyles. The English are “Limeys”, the American “Yanks.” These are all labels used to convey a “calypso style” behaviour, which can hurt. Nicknames are the norm in Barbados, with Barbadians called “Bajans,” and who judge their society as upper class if they have the most money or their skin colour is lightest. Like Williams, I do not have the answer to these remarks that we as a society have gotten used to, hurting each other in the name of “fun.” I think it has to start with the Ministry of Education and parents in the home speaking to their children daily, and from the cradle, to let them know they were born into this world complete, just the way they are, whatever skin colour — white or black, ugly or pretty.

They will make up for any shortcomings that are rudely thrown at them by realising they are intelligent and can become anything they want for themselves. They are beautiful just the way they are and must look within themselves for the strength to endure.

PATRICIA BLADES via email