A Shame Upon Our Nation

The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has dealt a severe blow to the human rights image of this country by presiding over blatant modern day slavery. I say hats off to the Chinese labourers who had the courage to say enough is enough and take a stand against the grotesque treatment being meted out to them by the Chinese company which brought them here to replace national workers. Imagine the Chinese project manager had the audacity to say that they are Chinese, in attempt to justify the horrendous living conditions of these workers. Ancil Rogette had an apt response, “We are Trinidadians and what you are doing here is against the laws of Trinidad and Tobago and not in sync with the ‘standards’ that we have set!”

I also say hats off to the OWTU for throwing their support behind these Chinese workers despite the local Trade Union Movement’s initial and continued objection to foreign labour replacing our own local labour in this current global financial stagnation. The rights of workers and more importantly the fundamental human rights of individuals must always take precedence at all times.

This Government has brought a humongous shame and disgrace upon the human rights image of this country by presiding over this modern day enslavement of Chinese workers despite us being a member of the Human Rights Charter. The deplorable conditions in which these Chinese workers are asked to live are also in breach of our own OSHA and other labour and social laws. Imagine a hundred plus people living in these 4x4 compartments with small wooden windows as ventilation, no air condition units to deal with this humidity, no washing area and one kitchen. Come on Trinidadians we should be ashamed to have foreigners living in such squalid conditions in our twin island under sun. When the foreign media gets a hold of this story, which foreigner is going to believe the paradisiacal pictures on our tourism brochures on display in our Foreign Missions and Embassies?

Not only has Patrick Manning sacrificed our treasury on an alter the way Abraham slaughtered a lamb to appease Yahweh, Patrick is now seeking to sacrifice the image and reputation of our country’s flaying human rights record (the crime rate is doing its own damage) to achieve his deluded dreams of a herculean legacy, demonstrating that he is willing to go any lengths including turning a blind eye to clear breaches of human rights. Not a week goes by in this country without shame falling before the feet of our citizens. Our corruption index is at an all time low because of the revalations coming out of the UFF Commission and now our human rights record is due to be raped. Is there anything that Patrick Manning intends on leaving in tack after he demits the lofty office of ‘God Prime Minister’? ©