The Convenient Race Card

There is a phenomenon emerging in Trinidad and Tobago that has me totally flabbergasted. Everyone in Trinidad and Tobago knows that the core support of the PNM are people of African descent and the core support of the UNC are people of East Indian descent. The phenomenon to which I refer to is that every time the PNM is voted out of office, even when their loss is as catastrophic as what took place in 2010, no one claims it's because of race but the minute the UNC receives any opposition or rejection from the electorate the first thing to come out the mouths of UNC pundits is race. Why? 

The entire country literally threw the PNM out of Parliament giving the UNC controlled PP Government an overwhelming majority in the Central Government along with the two Tobago seats, not a single UNC pundit said the results of this win was because of race. Two and a half years into their governance and several "missteps" dragging them down (Reshmi; unexplained and failed State of Emergency; Section 34; total lack of transparency and accountablity), the population is up in arms over the PP Government's performance just as they were up in arms over the Manning led PNM, only this time we are being told it's because of the Prime Minister and her Government Minister's race. Why? 

I feel sorry for my Tobago brothers and sisters, after voting overwhelming for the PNM in Tobago in the 2013 THA elections the UNC pundits are coming out from the wood works and accusing Tobago of voting based on race. Where were these individuals when Tobago gave the PP Government the two Tobago seats in 2010? Where were these individuals when Tobago voted out the PNM in 1980 and did not vote them back into power until the year 2000, a whole twenty years after? To see the UNC pundits cry race after the outcome of the 2013 THA elections not only solidifies why they deserved to lose, it also shows up their total lack of understanding where Tobagonians and Tobago culture is concerned. 

Even the Chairman of the Equal Opportunity Commission Dr. Indira Rampersad is making the colossal mistake of interpreting the Tobago vote as a race vote. She is quoted as saying "People are still focused on political parties and personalities as opposed to issues. It may not be just political parties and personalities. It may be another issue, an issue of ethnicity and race. These issues play out in T&T all the time and some people discount it as an issue." First of all as someone who is commissioner of the Equal Opportunity Commission I can't understand how the goodly Dr. could make such a biased and one sided nuanced statement and go unchallenged. If she is going to accuse Tobagonians of voting based on race then she has to equally accuse the UNC dominanted Partnership of having a race agenda in Tobago to ensure an ethnic influence comprised of the UNC support base. To accuse one ethnic group of voting based on race while absolving the other ethnic group of having any race motive discredits anything Dr. Rampersad says and she looses all appearances of objectivity. Dr. Rampersad's claim is also a two edge sword as it tacitly implies that the PP Government is not that multi-ethnic political party it is being touted to be but rather an Indo dominated political party with a few Non-Indos for cosmetic appearances, because if the People's Partnership was truly multi-ethnic then the issue of race would and should never arise.....over to you goodly Dr. 

It is also interesting that Dr. Rampersad did not see the following as pertinent issues for Tobagonians:- PP Government's total disrespect to Tobagonians by putting forward a bill regarding internal self government on the eve of an election, a bill that does not adequately address internal self government for Tobago and would deprive Tobago of it's resources via the stated 11 nautical miles; Ashworth Jack's inability to explain the funding of his home and provide sufficient evidence to appease Tobagonians that he is not receiving political favours behind closed doors which he undoubtedly would have had to repay; Ashworth Jack's further lack of integrity by refusing to observe the law of Trinidad and Tobago and file his declaration of assets and income with the Integrity Commission. For Dr. Rampersad to totally down play these issues and turn this into an election of race calls into question her own qualification of being able to adequately analyse political issues. For her to be aware of these various issues and say that Tobagonians voted on race and not issues is to insult the intelligence of Tobagonians, and I'm saying that if Dr. Rampersad was running for Chief Secretary of Tobago she too would have suffered a catastrophic loss and it would have nothing to do with her ethnicity. 

A twelve year old in Tobago can tell you that Tobagonians voting for a party they rejected for 20 years has nothing to do with the ethnic composition of the People's Partnership Government, but everything to do with the PP's misunderstanding of Tobago's culture. You cannot win votes in Tobago by bribing them with fancy ads, having helicopters invading the people's air space unnecessarily and you certainly do not win votes by attacking Tobagonians. Tobagonians hold it as their sacred right to criticize their own, as a Trini I learnt that the hard way when I went over there to work for some years. By attacking Orville London and Dr. Rowley on the most spurious of allegations the PP Government secured their own demise. Tobagonians although being part of a unitary state, do not recognise their leader as being that of the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, their leader to govern Tobago affairs is the Chief Secretary. The PP Government's constant disregard for the THA and total disrespect they showed to Mr. London as well as the Prime Minister acting as if it was she contesting to be Chief Secretary and not Ashworth Jack all caused the severe beating the TOP suffered at the polls. 

So to the UNC pundits I say to you, the loss of the THA election had nothing to do with race and everything to do with your leader's colossal misunderstanding of Tobago's culture. Further to that, your convenient and constant reference to race every time the electorate rejects a politican of East Indian descent is not only distasteful to Tobagonians, but also to the Non-Indo electorate in Trinidad. If it is in the minds of the UNC pundits that as long as East Indian politicians do not control and dominate political life in Trinidad and Tobago it means the rest of the electorate are racist then I dare say, these pundits need to do some introspection because when they point a finger at others there are four fingers pointing right back at them.

Europe Vs America on Race Relations

This week news leaked that Microsoft edited a photo so it can be used as a commercial in Poland. The original photo contained a man of Asian descent, one of African descent and a woman of Caucasian decent which led to Microsoft issuing an apology for editing the photo and pledging to launch an investigation into the incident. It is rumoured that Microsoft edited the photo because of Poland’s ethnic homogeneity by replacing the photo of the man of African descent with the head of a Caucasian man however his hands remained the same colour in the photo.

One has to keep in mind that Poland is the same country where a black person on the national team had bananas thrown at him. So called liberals and minorities are always eager to use Europe as the epitome and shining example of social tolerance and acceptance and are quick to talk down America on her social and foreign policies.

Racial prejudice is far from being solved in America, but considering the fact that America now has a President who ‘looks black’ and I say looks black because Obama is white in as much as he is black, I would say America has made a great deal more progress where racial relations are concerned. Europe is not the epitome of social tolerance as a matter of fact contrary to popular belief much of Europe is still steeped in racism especially Eastern European countries like Poland and Russia.

I for one do not think that Microsoft has a racist agenda against people of colour but it seems that they are more than willing to bend to the forces of racial prejudice and bigotry if only to secure their market share in a racist economy. The question is how do Microsoft’s customers of colour deal with an organisation that engages in what I would call ‘racist commerce’? I think it’s high time critics of America give that country a break, if anything America is the only shining example of race relations as it exists in a country controlled by Caucasian Politic.

Indo Politicians and the elusive goal of Political Domination

While the debate surrounding Dr. Tim Gopeesingh’s claims of ethnic cleansing rages on, it occurred to me that the UNC is persistently acting in a manner that is hazardous to its own political wellbeing. For one thing the UNC’s persistent claims of racial bias against people of East Indian descent in this country has always and will always make it difficult for that party to regain political power because the numbers alone are against them in terms of Indos making up 40% of the Trinidad and Tobago population.

So even though they constantly play the race card, all it does is secure a certain measure of votes amongst its core support base (i.e. voters of East Indian descent), the race card however does not attract voters of mixed or other races in any significant way and for obvious reasons. As a matter of fact what the race card actually does is spurn Non-Indo voters away from the UNC and of late it has been met with a cold shoulder even by Indo voters who are tired of having their ethnic sensitivities abused and misused by members of their own ethnic group who ought to know better.

In his article “Race or cultural preference?”, Kevin Baldeosingh sought to put this whole question about there being a disparity of Indo Trinidadians in certain fields as not necessarily being an act of discrimination but merely a matter of cultural choices made by said ethnic group. He used statistics from the Central Statistical Office and Council for the Professionals Related to Medicine which showed a high level of Indos in particular fields in the medicinal area, for instance as doctors a whopping 80% of our doctors are of East Indian descent, where as in fields such as Nutritionists the percentage was 22% which suggest that this field is practiced mostly by citizens of Afro and other ethnic groups.

In addition Kevin has pointed out that Indos seem more drawn to technological fields for instance at UTT a technical Institution, 80% of the graduates were of East Indian descent while the student population at UWI is only 35% Indo. These statistics if nothing else reveals that in truth and fact, what those with evil intentions seek to portray as discrimination in certain sectors is merely a matter of cultural choices by the very races which may be over-represented or under-represented in a particular field. For instance even though some Indos have gravitated to the protective services this is still an area that is chosen as a career field by people of African descent. Therefore one cannot reasonably expect to have many Indos holding senior positions if the employment population is predominantly of another race.

Commenting on a 1993 survey titled Ethnicity and Employment Practices, it revealed that of the firms that were owned by East Indians 88.2% of those firms had no Afro Trinidadians represented at senior level where as of the firms that were owned by Afro Trinidadians 78.7% of those firms excluded Indo Trinidadians. In terms of professionals Afro Trinidadian professionals were excluded from 93.1% of the firms owned by Indo Trinidadians, whereas of the firms owned by Afro-Trinidadians 89% of those firms excluded Indo-Professionals. From these figures, Kevin deduced that if there is racial bias in the private sector, it is equally amongst both Indos and Afros. But for the sake of putting things in perspective, and considering the fact that it is the Indo politician claiming racial discrimination against his people, if one were to look carefully at the figures above one will see that though they may be close, Afro Trinidadians are more inclined to hire someone of East Indian descent the difference being 9.5% concerning senior level positions and 4.1% with regard professionals.

I remember fresh out of school, my first job was working at a jewellery store downtown. It was owned by a tall handsome man of East Indian descent Mr. Khan. Even at that tender age of post puberty I felt quite comfortable working for Mr. Khan. He treated me with the same respect he treated all his employees, as a matter of fact Mr. Khan’s employment population was an equal mixture of Indos and Afros with a couple Douglas in between, be them a sales clerk or a jeweller. I never noticed anything strange about the way he treated me as opposed to how he would treat an employee of East Indian descent. The only strange thing I remember of Mr. Khan, strange to me because I’m not a Muslim was the way he had no problem pulling out his mat and bending over in supplication, praying right there in the store in full view of everyone. His personal secretary was of African descent and the majority of guys who he hired as security for his stores were of Afro descent. Your race didn’t matter to Mr. Khan, all that mattered were you selling his goods. To this day if Mr. Khan sees me in Port of Spain he will stop to ask me how I am, and his son who is a few years younger than I am befriended me and will hail me out anywhere in Port of Spain.

After working there I did a couple stints working as an accounts clerk until I landed a job at an Accounting firm owned by people of African descent. My experience working there was not all that pleasant because my boss was an asshole, and he wasn’t an asshole because he was of African descent he was an asshole because he chose to be one. But I digress, at the same time I was working at this firm I also attended the School of Business and Computer Studies in Champ Fleur. There I befriended a young man of East Indian descent who was studying the same discipline as I and who at the time was looking to change jobs. We had an opening at the firm so right there and then, first time we have ever met, I told him about the opening and arranged for him to provide me with his resume so I can drop it in to my boss. My boss called him, there was an interview and then there was employment. I knew many other Afro students who I could have told about the opening, but I told the first person who indicated that they were looking for a job and his race didn’t matter to me. More importantly his race didn’t matter to my boss who was also of African descent.

I am sure there are many citizens who can recount similar experiences such as mine, and the statistics that Kevin revealed in his article speaks for themselves, which is why every time the UNC makes claims of racial discrimination against Indos in this country they’re adding another nail to their political coffin. The ethnic demographics of T&T are 40% Indo, 37.5% Afro, 20.5% Mixed, 1.2% other and 0.08% unspecified as per the CIA’s World Fact Book. What Panday and his sycophants in the UNC fail to realise is when they cry wolf and claim racial discrimination against Indos, they are in effect indirectly labelling the other 60% of the Non-Indo population in this country as racist. The UNC cannot label 60% of this country’s population as racist and at the same time expect this same 60% to vote for them when there is a general election. I have a big problem with people indirectly accusing me of being a racist simply because they are unable to knock the racial inferiority chip off of their own shoulders.

Even Winston Dookeran is allowing the UNC to mislead him by having the COP issue a statement calling for an enquiry into claims of racial discrimination against Indos in Trinidad and Tobago. Dookeran of all people should know better than to engage in this cry wolf nonsense because as an Indo he was once Central Bank Governor of Trinidad and Tobago, one of the most coveted positions in the public sector. The mere fact that he can come now and validate the garbage being spewed by Panday and his race obsessed posse proves what critics of the COP were saying from day one, that Dookeran’s so called new politics is nothing but old politics being presented under a different banner. If the UNC can accuse the PNM of ‘ethnic cleansing’ then it stands to reason that the people of Laventille can accuse the PNM of genocide because since its inception as a political party, the PNM has systematically ignored and disowned the people of Laventille despite it being a PNM strong hold. I have friends of African descent living in Laventille, studying and pursuing the same discipline as myself and my Indo friend mentioned earlier and they have extreme difficulties finding work. Some of them have even resorted to changing their addresses if only to just get an ‘appointment for employment’!

The PNM is no organisation of angels as a matter of fact if anything else they’re well known for mismanagement of state resources, but I do not think the PNM has been targeting Indos in this country. As a matter of fact PNM affiliation transcends all races in TT and they do not pledge allegiance to any one race hence their long track record of being the political party to form the government of our multi-ethnic society. The PNM is labelled as an Afro party and it was labelled so by the leaders of an Indo centric political party who fail to realise that race is not their one way ticket to political heaven. When one considers the current ethnic composition of the PNM Ministerial portfolios, the evidence is there of the pain staking effort they make as an organisation to ensure that there is a significant Indo representation because as the longest surviving political party, they know all to well that the 37.5% Afro population in this country cannot alone ensure their place as the government of T&T.

Unfortunately the UNC is yet to learn the basics of ABC politics. They fail to realise that we live in a modern age, and the voting population which it seeks to govern is well advanced and mature if only to recognise political impotence when it is staring them glaringly in the face. They fail to realise that we live in a multi-ethnic society and if they persistently engage in stirring racial mistrust they will never regain government. Until the UNC reforms its strategies and changes its manifesto to a national perspective instead of the myopic Indo-Victim-Mentality-Inferiority-Complex, the remaining 60% Non-Indo citizens will always spurn their advances for political office and this also applies to Winston Dookeran. The Indo politician in Trinidad and Tobago needs to understand that he is free to hold on to and protect his East Indian Heritage, but when it comes to politics and public office all of us are one, we are one people. The Indo politician has to shed his inferiority complex and approach things from a national perspective not an Indo perspective. If they persist in the attitude of its ‘us’ against ‘them’ then the Non-Indo voting population will always be circumspect of an Indo politician. And it is not his race that will cause him to be unattractive for office but rather his perceived attitude toward other races. ©

Of Race, Politics and Perpetual Opposition

"The attempt to create ethnically homogeneous geographic areas through the deportation or forcible displacement of persons belonging to particular ethnic groups. Ethnic cleansing sometimes involves the removal of all physical vestiges of the targeted group through the destruction of monuments, cemeteries, and houses of worship." The preceding paragraph was quoted in verbatim from the Encyclopedia Britannica as the definition for the term ethnic cleansing. One can imagine my utter confusion upon hearing Dr. Tim Goopeesingh's claim that Indo doctors in Trinidad and Tobago were victims of ethnic cleansing at the hands of the PNM government. I had to take a double take the following day when I saw it emblazoned on the front page of the Express and I asked myself, does Dr. Goopeesingh really know the meaning of the term ethnic cleansing?

And why ethnic cleansing of Indo doctors? Why would the PNM commit such an act against Indo doctors and not against Indo teachers, or Indo doubles vendors or Indo police officers? Is it that Indo doctors are a different type of Indian to the others of different professions in this country? And since when does ethnic cleansing focus on a person's profession? If this is the case then shouldn't there be a new definition, 'ethnic profession cleansing' perhaps? But I digress, the fact remains that Dr. Goopesingh is only reminding the voting population in this country why he and by extension the UNC is and will continue to be in Opposition. It's as if the UNC is always trying to compete with itself on making the most irresponsible and stupid statements. How can this man stand up in our country's highest office, the Parliament and utter this foolishness? After reading his claim and watching his charade on the evening news I envisioned a foreigner coming across these news headlines on the internet, and out of curosity as these things often generate I could imagine the foreigner reading further to find out how many millions of Indo doctors were displaced and violently chased out of Trinidad and Tobago due to this ethnic cleansing, only to realise that no such thing exist in Trinidad and Tobago and what we do in fact need is an idiot cleansing of our Parliament!

It is truly amazing how the UNC sees race in everything, the most uttered word by UNC representatives is the diminutive "Indo". So as someone of Non-Indo background I ask myself, do these people seriously expect me to vote for them come election time when they, by their own deeds, actions and utterances are doing the very same thing they accuse the PNM of i.e. as the Opposition they simply ignore the other ethnic groups in this country and are not concerned about us or what bothers us as citizens of this multi-ethnic country! You would swear the UNC is an Opposition party in the Republic of India and not the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago! How come the UNC does not see ethnic cleansing in the granting of billion dollar contracts by the PNM government to Indos like Hafeez Karamath, contracts which were the subject of a commission of inquiry? How come they don't see ethnic cleansing in the granting of billion dollar contracts to people like Emille Elias granted he is not an Indo, or is it that anytime the PNM government does not hire or grant an Indo a contract it is automatically construed as being ethnic cleansing and racial discrimination?

Would I be guilty of ethnic cleansing if I do not vote for an Indo centric political party in a multi-ethnic society? And now certain members of certain Indo groups are calling for a Commission of Enquiry into Dr. Goopesingh's claim. Well I buckled with laughter at the folly of these people, tears in my eyes. Don't they know that a Commission of Enquiry does not have the authority to prosecute? Ethnic-Cleansing is a war 'crime' and as such it has to be investigated by an International Body such as the United Nations and the perpetrators are to be tried by International Courts. In addition the first thing to quelling an act of ethnic cleansing is the deployment of international troops to the affected area, so my question to good ole Tim is, are you also going to request the presence of the "boys in blue helmets"? Can I look forward to relaxing by the fountain at the Hyatt whilst watching a UN armoured tank roll by languidly on Wrightson Road? Do these jokers really think a Commission of Enquiry can do all of this? And who is going to appoint the Commission of Enquiry, the same PNM Government that they are accusing of the ethnic cleansing? Clearly some people's ignorance knows no bounds! The UNC is a dead weight to itself and that is why it will forever rot in perpetual Opposition because instead of presenting themselves as a viable alternative for governance, they're only concerned about dividing this country and spreading racial hatred. ©