Celebrations in the city, Trinidad, West Indies

Easter Kite Flying

Phagwah, Baptist, Easter celebrations this weekend

By Darcel Choy Tuesday, March 26 2013

"The Easter weekend begins from Good Friday, Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day will be celebrated on Saturday and Phagwah, also known as ‘Holi,’ falls on Wednesday but celebrations will be held during the weekend. This year will be the first time that three religious festivals will be celebrated on the same weekend; these are Phagwah, Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day and Easter.

Easter is a major celebration for Christian faiths, marking the end of Lent, a period of fasting, prayer and alms-giving, and observing the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Phagwah is a Hindu festival of colours.

There will be three public holidays this weekend, Good Friday (March 29), and Easter Monday (April 1), and Saturday (March 30) for Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day. There is no public holiday for Phagwah.

To aid in these celebrations, the Ministry of Arts and Multiculturalism distributed cheques to 30 groups for Phagwah events and 20 groups for Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day observances. The groups from across the country were given an undisclosed amount of money yesterday, at a brief ceremony at Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s, to assist in hosting their various events." 

Easter Egg hunt!

The celebration of many cultural observances, which  displays the diversity of the country's people, creativity and historical connections are enjoyed by all. The government supports some of these celebrations by financial assistance to host events that contribute to the continued existence of tradition.
The Shopping centres in the community engage persons in Easter Egg Hunt competitions for the children as the city is shaped by the needs and dreams of the population. Shopping malls are are viewed as being the heart of cities as they create the life of the city, which creates a pleasant place which is beneficial for the city. A sense of belonging and attachment to the space is formulated from the experiences that are created within this urban space. Linking environmental, economic and social aspects of the urban area. 

The City of Port of-Spain at Night

Street vendor on Frederick St.

The city is a place where there is constant movement and activity of all kind. The day is mainly the time to engage in formal business activities but at night the informal sector comes alive. The city seems to always be busy but at some nights its a little more relaxed. The pedestrian traffic is reduced and so is the hustle and bustle as most of the formal businesses are closed. The city rests but only certain aspects. There are those that operate in the night as well as in the day, these are groceries, fruit stalls, bars food restaurants e.g. KFC and many others.

Formal Businesses closed

There is very little evidence of class fragmentation at night as there is no discrimination evident when you see persons conversing and socializing and engaging in activities that removes the tension that has been built up during the day. The night brings an air of calm and a spirit of freedom. When you observe the dress of persons on the streets its difficult to determine who are the have and the have not. It makes one ask the question as to why segregation even exists within cultures and this is mainly displayed in the day. But at night it's not the main focus, it's amazing to see how varying ethnic groups and classes are able to remove the cloak at night.
It's refreshing to see persons just enjoying the space and what it has to offer at night because during the day time rushes past so quickly that glances are only made to the narrow view of focus at the time. The informal sector of the city is busy at work as there are many who on the sidewalks hang their items to sell to those passing by. These businesses cater to the needs of the shift workers, who during the day are unable to conduct some of their activities. Amidst all of these are the persons that you see sleeping on the sidewalks on their card board beds in the cold of the night where there is minimal movement and noise usually connected with the city

City at Night

The Creativity encompassing the Urban Environment of Trinidad.

Urban Geography, by Tim et al p.g. 198. Quotes, " In thinking about the city as written, urban geographers have examined architecture and urban design as elements in the political economy of urbanization  linked into the dynamics of urban change. This work builds on the ideas from urban morphology of architectural style as a manifestation of the processes of creating form, namely the interaction of the agents and processes of change, linking this to political economy perspectives on the dynamics of capitalism in creating and destroying urban environment. Here architecture promotes the circulation of capital and helps stimulate consumption and the extraction of surplus value by providing new products and designs of different market segments, such as new office blocks, shopping centres, or housing developments. It can also add an aura to developments which serve to legitimize existing economic and social relations and suggest stability and permanence... the relationship between the development of global advanced capitalism and the emergence of new post-modern architectural forms. The property industry can be seen to have adopted post-modern spectacular styles to promote product differentiation in an increasingly competitive global market and to both create and supply demand for an increasingly consumerist society. Similarly, the dystopian side to post-modern architecture has also been evident in new development in the creation of fortress architecture of security and surveillance systems designed to exclude 'undesirables' such as beggars or rough sleepers from the increasing privatized urban public realm. Here architects play an important role in the internal survival mechanism which have evolved to meet the needs of urbanized capital, particularly as part of the process of mediating crisis and change."

 The structures to the right all represent creative expressions of the urban city. Each structure is representative of the evolution of the city over the years. The structures are symbolic of the transitions that have occurred with the change in concepts as to how the buildings and functions of the city correspond to political and socio-cultural changes that have taken place. The dynamics of these structures tell a story of the history of the development of the city. The shift of dominance over time has been one from colonialism, to religious, and then to capitalist. The arrangement and the usage of the land has become more intensive with the growth of the population and the varying functions of the city, as is depicted by the change in the layout of the city.

 Present day post- modern concepts of building structures highlight the introduction of external influences into the culture of the city and by extension the society. These post-modern styles promote the differentiation of structures that adapt to the competitive global market, to help stimulate consumption varying market segments.

The presence of both historical and current architect signifies the maintenance of cultural values within a changing environment where external forces are introducing other cultures into the space. A harmonious mixing of structures formulates a unique characteristic to the city which is reflective of the    scope and the resilience of its citizens to intertwine relationships and create a stable environment within the  inequalities that have been established by the systems in operation which become permanent with the passage of time in the urban space.

CRIME and its Impact on the city of Port-of-Spain, Trinidad

Police vehicle at the corner

"T&T is facing a national crisis as the murder rate continues to soar. There were 70 murders in the last 52 days of this year, with 13 of those being killed within a week—from February 15 to 22. Saying that the crime situation was a concern to him, retired Chief of Defense Staff Brig Carl Alfonso said T&T was now “facing a national crisis.”

“The thing (crime) has gotten out of hand. It seems to be getting worse. More drastic action has to be taken. Clearly the fight now has to be taken to them (criminals)...” It is no secret that crime, Alfonso said, was being heightened by gang warfare, drugs and guns. 

“There seems to be too many illegal weapons on the streets and we must deal with that in a more forceful way.” Alfonso said Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s call on Friday for an increase in police and army patrols on the streets to bring a sense of comfort to citizens was a step in the right direction. He was confident that once these two enforcement agencies worked together crime can decrease." This quote came from a reporter of the Guardian Newspaper on the 24th February.

"The Laventille area gripped in a bloody gang warfare, that's already claimed the lives of half the country's murder  victims for the year so far- a joint police operation comprising several departments locked down the area for six hours today for random searches of people, homes and vehicles, as they attempt to stem the killings." January 30th quote from the Express Newspaper.

These two newspaper quotes are describing the state of the country at present particularly on the marginal section of the city, where Laventille is situated. There seems to be no end to the problem of crime since the government has been trying, form there inception into power to formulate a plan that will deal with the problem of CRIME. However, nothing seems to be working and resources and money is continuously being channeled into the Security Ministry and to date no improvements or results have reduced the violence!

Why is it that crime is so difficult to solve? There are so many factors that contributed to this unemployment, discrimination, stereotyping of persons from these communities, neglect by government, those persons who are interested in obtaining the property found in the periphery of the city and the financiers of most of these gangs who are the suppliers of the drugs and guns that are being found in these communities. 

When one assesses the Laventille area, for many years it has been the view of many businessmen that Laventille and areas surrounding the city are deemed as ideal areas that offer a fantastic view of the city area and investors are interested in developing these areas. But there is a problem the current occupants!

The only way to remove these persons is through making the area seem as undesirable for  settlement. This is being done putting drugs and guns into the hands of the youths, who are the one involved in the crime. When one really analyses the situation, these persons lack the knowledge, finance and connections that are needed to bring these items into the country and to distribute them to persons in the various communities. It is only the influential businessmen and even those who hold important post in society who have the capabilities to organize, distribute and influence the people in these communities to perform these activities. Crime is organised it's does not just happen! 

When the crime in an area is continuously highlighted in the media it influences the thoughts of others in other areas of the country, making persons fearful and reluctant to want to venture into these places or even purchase property in these places. This reduces the property value in these area,s allowing the elite to now be able to purchase the property at a low value, when these persons leave, thereby achieving their goal.

Then the government comes on the news and blames the people in these communities for being responsible for the escalation of the crime in the country. Then police and soldiers are sent to these areas to maintain order. In most instances, some of these same said police and soldiers are involved in distribution of drugs and guns in these communities. The people themselves are to blame as they allow themselves to be easily engulfed into the destruction of their own community.
In concluding the escalating crime situation in the country have been created from the socio-economic factors that influences the manner in which citizens view themselves and transfer this to the wider community. The government needs to stop blaming only a specific area of the country for the crime problem because crime has been allowed to spiral out of control as too many economic activities would be affected if crime is reduced. The interlinks with crime and industry are to intertwined, so that the problem of crime will continue to exist in a country as inequality must be maintained. The crime is closer to the city as the greatest disparities and unevenness in distribution of wealth occurs generally in this areas and it spreads to the other areas of the country as these persons seek to expand their influence and control.

Protest in the City of Trinidad

Sea Lots protest 3 road deaths again

Police officers form a line to cordon off protesting Sea Lots residents as they clear a passageway along the Beetham Highway to allow traffic to flow yesterday morning. Traffic backed up for miles and caused headaches to many commuters and drivers as the residents burned tyres and debris to block the highway in protest over the deaths of Haydee Paul and her daughters, Ruthie and Shakira. Photo: Marcus Gonsalves

Reporting by Geisha Kowlessar, Derek Achong and Camille Clarke

Pandemonium broke out again yesterday morning at Sea Lots, Port-of-Spain as residents continued protest action demanding justice for the deaths of 28-year-old Haydee Paul and her daughters—Ruthie, eight, and Shakira, seven—who were knocked down and killed on the Beetham Highway near Pioneer Drive on Sunday. 

 The three other victims of the crash — Amanda Lalla, 26, Abigail Assing and Ryan Dahl — also of Pioneer Drive, remained warded at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital at the Intensive Care Unit up to late yesterday.

 The residents are claiming the off-duty policeman who knocked down Paul and her two daughters was drunk at the time of the accident. Senior officers said yesterday a breathalyser test was administered to the officer and blood samples taken from him after the accident. The policeman is attached to the Transport and Telecom Branch. Investigating officers said he would be questioned when discharged from hospital. 

 They said his car would remain impounded at the police station to be examined by a team of licensing officers. During their protest action on Sunday and yesterday, Sea Lots residents claimed the officer was intoxicated and that a bottle of alcohol was removed from his vehicle by police officers who first responded to the scene.

 Deputy Police Commissioner Mervyn Richardson confirmed yesterday that the driver of the car is a police officer. From about 5 am yesterday angry residents took to the Beetham Highway near Pioneer Drive and again blocked the roadway with burning debris. 

 The police were forced to divert traffic to Broadway, Abattoir Road and South Quay, Port-of-Spain. It caused a massive traffic gridlock in parts of east and west Trinidad. Members of the Defence Force Infantry Battalion in riot gear, Guard and Emergency Branch, Inter Agency Task Force, firefighters, a national security helicopter were called out to contain the rowdy crowd. 

 Richardson said: “The residents were throwing debris on the road and we responded and we cleared the road. The minister (Jack Warner) came at 1.15 pm and spoke with the residents and they came to a consensus and we will talk again,” he said. He added the residents agreed to hold up on further protest action.

 Residents insisted yesterday the victims were not crossing the highway but were hit while on the pavement. In an interview at the hospital yesterday, Assing said she was trying to cross when she was hit by the car. Her neck was in a brace and her right arm was bandaged. 

 “I nearly made it to the sidewalk when I got hit,” she said. “All I know is when I regained consciousness I turned around and saw the others in the middle of the road and I was in the middle of the centre lane. I am in a lot of pain.” 

 Assing said she managed to lift herself up on the sidewall, but the driver of the car did not even try to help. Miguel Hepburn, who said he had been in a relationship with Paul for the past two years, said he was shocked over the deaths.

 “We does be drinking but we don’t drive no car. They (police) pull people over for a breathalyzer  And is six people he bounce down.” 

 Richardson commends cops:
In an interview last night Richardson said he was pleased with the police response to Sea Lots on Sunday and yesterday. He said: “They (officers) were very professional in handling the matter this morning and Sunday. We had dialogue with them to get them to understand our position. 

 “I expressed our (the police) grief and sorrow to them but at the same breath we told them the police have a duty to the nation to keep the highways and roads free.  “We (police) spoke to the residents and we got it cleared. The police did a good job and I am proud of the officers for how they handled the situation in a professional manner.” 

 What Warner told residents: “I have spoken to Minister of Works Emanuel George and he has assured me that his technical officers shall look into the possibility for a crossover that you all have asked for.  “I am here to offer condolence. Nothing we can do today can bring back the lives of those lost. I am sharing in your grief as everyone else.” Warner also promised the residents to return to the area to hold further discussion in regard to the construction of the walkover.

            On Monday morning we left home and headed for work in the city. Along the way, we heard on the radio that Sealots residents had blocked one of the entry way into the city."They were Protesting!"
          An accident which had taken place on Sunday, where six (6) persons were hit on the pavement after they had left the market. A vehicle whose driver was a police officer killed three (3) on the spot a mother and her two daughter ages 7 and 8 years and three others who were taken to hospital. The incident brought the residents of the area nearby as there were those who were able to witness the accident.
           Residents were angered at the manner in which the police attempted to cover up what had happened. The policeman who hit the persons was the first one to be moved from the scene and when persons tried to assist the other injured, they were prevented from doing so by the police.Persons on the scene said that the driver of the vehicle was intoxicated as a bottle of alcohol was seen in the vehicle by some of the residents.
          There was traffic everywhere, on the highway, Priority Bus Route as it was opened to the public from Curepe junction as a result of the protest, the Eastern Main Road and all roads connecting. We were on the P.B.R. and by the time we reached Tunapuna traffic came to a stand still, it took us 1 hour and 45 minutes to reach form Tunapuna to Curepe junction. Persons who were waiting on public transport were seen filling the streets, but most of the maxis' were making short trips, many people decided to return home and buses were filled to capacity. All this time the police service were making efforts to remove the debris placed in the road and to quell the angered residents.
         The protest inconvenienced all the persons making their way into the city. Many persons had varying views on the matter, there were those who were able to understand, there were those who were angered at not making it to work on time, there were those who said that the residents were using the incident as a way to protest and then there were those who said that the residents were costing businesses money.
          It was amazing to see the reaction of persons to what had happened, the big picture "that lives were lost," was not the main concerns of citizens. this incident clearly highlighted the self nature of individuals in society as each person was more engrossed in their own frustrations and anger that was bottled up inside concerning government's management of the country.
         The location of the protest allowed for the entire country to become aware of the incident that had occurred and it became the main topic of discussion in the media for the week and it highlighted the inefficiency of the government as the residents of Sealots for many years have been trying to get the government to build a walk over for persons, instead of them risking their lives daily when they have to cross the highway in order to enter the city. Sealots is an example of one of the areas that is neglected by government. It also sends a message to the public that the government only attends to issues in communities when tragic incidents occur or when persons protest.
         This present government time and time again since they have been in office have shown the citizens that they are not concerned with ensuring that the basic needs of citizens are met. Instead large sums of money are being spent and there is no visible evidence that it is being used to cater to the needs of citizens.
The Protest at Sealots this week has clearly indicated that the government is mainly focused on catering to the needs of the elite and the needs of the lower class and working class are being neglected. The government fails to understand that the persons in society that are responsible for the continued growth of the country is not the elite but the middle and lower class citizens.