Derek Chin says Trinis have become a bunch of angry people

Invited to deliver a motivational address to members of the Chaguanas business community, MovieTowne chairman Derek Chin instead expressed concern for the future of the country saying there is a now a “conveyor belt of dispossessed and angry people” who had lost their sense of ethics and morality.

He was addressing the Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce’s annual Christmas banquet and awards ceremony at Signature Hall, Longdenville, Chaguanas on Saturday night.

The night’s topic was - Inspiring hope to the local business community when things are tough.

“I am concerned about my country,” Chin said.

“When you look at what’s happened just last Thursday at the Beetham, you can’t help but wonder what is really happening to our people. People have changed. We weren’t like that 20 years ago. We have become a very angry bunch of people.”

A clearly disturbed Chin who, nonetheless, kept a wry smile during his address, said the Prime Minister’s intention of using the army to quell any future situations at Beetham Gardens would not solve the problem

“People are no longer civil. We no longer say good afternoon or good morning. There is a breakdown in morality, breakdown in ethics and we have to ask ourselves what kind of people do we want to be. We are producing a very negative country.”

He said the nation’s tourism thrust would be affected by the negative attitude displayed by citizens who did not seem to understand the need to diversify the economy.

“They say tourists going to come here. No they are not going to come (because) people here are not civil,”

He said the nation has become accustomed to mediocrity and does not seem to take pride in anything. One example, he said, was the T&TEC street lighting campaign. He said, over the past few months he personally counted 68 blown street lamps out of a total of 300 bulbs from the Angostura Complex to Port of Spain.

He also contrasted the mind-set of the nation’s athletes saying they seemed content to simply attend international meets, while other Caribbean nations such as Jamaica were always striving to win their various events. He singled out Jamaican superstar sprinter Usain Bolt saying Bolt’s exploits were known in almost every country.

Meanwhile, Chaguanas Mayor Gopaul Boodhan appealed to the business community to assist the corporation in starting a school for people with disabilities.

He said there were approximately 53 children who suffered from some sort of physical disability and who were unable to attend school.

“It would be easy to chalk this initiative up to politics but politics does not rule the human heart and we have a duty to make this vision of a school for differently-abled children a reality.”