United for the wrong reasons against the ‘Spanish woman’

THE EDITOR: For the first time in almost a decade, perhaps two and a half decades, the population of TT appears to be united. Let me explain.

Politically, we have been at each other’s throat, and the narrative that emerges is rather nasty vitriol. Sometimes it is the casual racist picong we pelt at each other. Sometimes it is the sheer crassness of our comments on social media. We are experts at majoring on the minor and minoring on the major.

While we await the outcome of the 14-day registration period of Venezuelan nationals, it appears the population has found something to major on, with all the trimmings of prejudice, racism, and nasty picong that have ushered in a semblance of unity against the proverbial “Spanish woman.”

The geographical and cultural (here some of the Spanish names: Paramin, Diego Martin, Arima, Tunapuna, Pt Cumana) ties between Trinidad and Venezuela are arguably closer than Tobago and Trinidad. The presence of mainland South Americans predates the arrival of Columbus, the Spanish, the French, the English, Africans and East Indians in Trinidad. This is a fact. The native peoples we all learned about and forgotten so well predates all this drama.

Fast forward through centuries of colonialism and what we have today in Venezuela are the descendants of the indigenous people, mixed up with the European colonisers, mixed in with the Africans to form the present-day population, some of whom are now fleeing as refugees.

While I will not go into how well thought-out the process of this policy was, it was the right thing to do, even though it angered many people, uncannily uniting us. But are we furious at Las Mujeres Latinas or, perhaps, is our collective outrage and anger misplaced?

I want to believe our anger is misplaced and we are just vex, not at the “Spanish woman,” but at our government – the entire system, opposition included. The population is fed up, of everyone. Those in governance and also of the opposition need to understand that people are collectively tired of our old crop of politicians.

The anger and vitriol directed at the Venezuelan people by many of our people who receive at least one barrel from overseas yearly from a relative who began living life illegally in another country seeking a better life outside of TT is disheartening.

Of course, many of our qualified nationals and citizens are looking for jobs in TT, and as upsetting as this is, chances are that people fleeing to feed their families would not compete for the same jobs.

Neither is this a licence for businesses to exploit the newly permitted workers, who would work for less than your typical national competing for similar jobs because of their current economic circumstances.

Every creed and race finding an equal place in TT is an ideal. It is one of the better ideals in our half-made developing society. It is an even better ideal than that of the US because it acknowledges the diversity that is present with us.

But while we are diverse, we are divided and too much at each other’s throat. Uniting against the “Spanish woman” is deflecting. Instead, we should take a look at those factors that have kept us divided and discard them immediately.

We are well approaching the third decade of this century, and insular prejudicial behaviour of this nature is unsustainable. We can do better, and some are. The people of this country are more than capable, not lacking capacity in any regard.

It is beyond time we wise up and seek political alternatives and begin to focus on the areas that will improve the lives of everyone, starting with the working class and marginalised of this country.

The new arrivals have highlighted the fact that all is not well for everyone in TT. This is policy, it can be fixed, but first it requires fixing the place that makes laws and policies.

It is OK to be upset with government policies, but is it OK to blame refugees and human beings fleeing their homelands in search of a better life? I am convinced there is a better way.

Indeed, many citizens are reaching out to their fellow human beings, some opening their homes, some donating food and money, and one organisation is helping the children by providing education and literacy skills in English.

If regular people can perform such actions, we can all co-operate and fix what is falling apart, fell apart – or, even better, create something new and sustainable for all of us.

KEINO BAIRD via e-mail