When the rivers came down

THE EDITOR: Sit down on river stone and talking the river bad is a thing, the late Lord Kitchener advised, we must stop in Trinidad. While the man in the street blamed the authorities for not cleaning and dredging in preparation for the heavy rains and the authorities chastised the citizens for polluting the waterways, the powers of nature showed that all of that is “boo”.

As the saying goes is water in we waist and water till we sneeze. In the craze to build houses and relocate people, many water courses have been damned, blocked and diverted. Citizens responded with an outpouring of help that even the state could not manage. On a more philosophical note TT needed spiritual cleansing.

Just when citizens were becoming tight-fisted, the heavens opened to help us rekindle the national past-time of sharing and the human touch of caring. Or was it blessing overdone by the love of the Almighty. The complaints against WASA were handled by over abundance, flood, that even the state provider had to take a back seat and let the film roll.

Even Petrotrin was able to flood its employees with termination letters and dampen the militancy of OWTU president Mr Roget. There was no winking. There was no blinking. With a simple nod of approval of the reality of retrenchment, he accepted the termination letter and sailed off into a sea of blue notes.

The blessing was extended to the prisons where there was a war brewing between the guardians and those incarcerated. In a relationship that had gone sour the prisoners bowed to humility as they allowed the keepers to take them to ground that was dry, safe and hopefully more comfortable. Water unites and the flood was able to wash away the wrath of the prison officers as they responded to the emergency with goodwill.

Just as the land turned green when the flood subsided so too justice must return to the prison system and rebuild that healthy relationship that is reminiscent of human beings. The cleansing rain washed away the physical possessions that people have invested their life’s savings, showing them that these can be removed or replaced with the stroke of a pen.

But life remained enabling them to practice the corporeal works of mercy: rescue people from flooded areas; share goodness; connect with people in desperate situations and convince themselves and the authorities that they are still capable of helping themselves when disaster strikes.

As the mop up operations continue let us take the opportunity to reflect not only on how to prevent nature’s onslaught but to savor the moments to serve the Master through mankind and shoulder our responsibilities to each other in the spirit of humanity.

LENNON FRANCIS, Couva