A name-change in order for UNC

ERROL S PILGRIM

IT IS TIME for the UNC to seriously consider changing its name to something that more accurately reflects its social, cultural, political and economic outlook for TT. The word “national” has to be completely expunged from its banner because it means absolutely nothing to the United National Congress.

The use of the word “united” is also misapplied because the only unity upon which the UNC places any emphasis is the myopic unity of its ethnic base who would hold their noses and support Kamla Persad-Bissessar and her clan at the polls, notwithstanding the stench of their sins.

Carnival, the biggest cultural event on the national agenda, is an integral part of who we are as a people. It not only enjoys an international following that is as far as it is wide. It has been able to command the attention of numerous international entrepreneurs who now have their own carnival celebrations
a la TT in some of the far reaches of the world.

Calypso and steelband, the two major national offshoots of our Carnival, have also had an impact on the world that belies the size of our little country. Yet the UNC’s reaction to Carnival, calypso and pan, particularly now that it has assumed its rightful position in opposition, is that Carnival, calypso and pan belong to “those other people.”

Each year, since the PNM, the only national party, regained office, the UNC has increasingly entrenched its separatist policy toward Carnival, pan and calypso. It is a policy that not only seeks to enlarge the chasm between the two major races, but one that says “these things” are important only to the extent that the empathy of their adherents could be seduced by clever, opportunistic manipulators into seeing the UNC as their salvation.

If one is inclined to be charitable to Persad-Bissessar and her clan about their grudging approach to our national festival, simply check the attendance of the UNC and its ethnic base at the major national Carnival activities.

Similarly, if one is inclined to be charitable to Persad-Bissessar and her clan about their claim to be a national party, simply check their attendance at our Independence Day celebrations – and ancillary activities – since they lost the last election.

Or their interest in Tobago elections. They are interested in Tobago to the extent that they continue to see the island ripe for their self-centred picking and in keeping with their associated thrust to promote the ascendancy to Tobago office of a so-called “duke” who believes that as a Persad-Bissessar lackey he, too, could eventually evade his serious legal problems.

No doubt, the “duke” also dreams of the day when he will be “king” of Tobago with Persad-Bissessar in a position to inflict on the people of Tobago his wish for their separation from TT.

So with the difficulty the UNC has projecting a national image and supporting anything national, it should come as no surprise that Persad-Bissessar has been quick to promote a narrative, particularly among her misguided followers, that the decision by the Dr Rowley Government to restore our major national monuments in Port of Spain is an indication that her government had left the Treasury intact and flourishing in 2015.

As far as Persad-Bissessar is concerned, those national monuments should have been left to rot and despoil the environment in the same way she and her government maliciously abandoned the unfinished Brian Lara Cricket Academy and even protested against its rehabilitation and official opening by the Rowley government.

A recent letter to the newspapers emerging from the bosom of the UNC hierarchy questions the ability of the government to renovate the Magnificent Seven, the Red House, the Prime Minister’s residence in Tobago, President’s House and complete the Brian Lara Academy when it claims it “inherited an abused economy.”

The answer lies both in the kind of economic astuteness that was alien to the UNC government and in the current Government’s pursuit of the national interest through its recognition and understanding that those old monuments are the reflection of our history. They help us to understand and respect people who lived in different eras with different habits and traditions.

Persad-Bissessar and her cohorts were rabidly hostile to Patrick Manning’s decision to upgrade the decrepit contours of the Port of Spain waterfront, an upgrade that not only brought a contemporary splendour to the city skyline but drastically reduced the wildly exorbitant rents government was required to pay for office accommodation. Now they are equally opposed to Rowley’s efforts at restoring our national heritage.

Those significant restorations simply prove that Prime Minister Rowley is in excellent command of his soul and thereby recognises the restoration and existence of old monuments as representative of the “soul” of the nation. They are what will help us observe the changes in the society for a better understanding of the reasons that would have led to the development of Port of Spain and its traditions. Like they say, know where you came from to know where you’re going.

Old buildings are the face of a city that reflect, especially for the benefit of current and upcoming generations, the changes that happened over time.

Concerning their benefit to the national culture, one astute observer notes that “old buildings help us to understand the history that occurred before we were born and promotes the respect for those who lived in prior times and with different traditions."

“Preservation of old monuments,” that observer says, “plays an important cultural role in cultivating pride of our heritage and past, making us unique in the world. Cairo is known for the pyramids, and Paris is known for the Eiffel Tower, while London is known for Big Ben. Historical buildings bring character and charm to the neighbourhood that people live in.”

How can we expect Persad-Bissessar to understand that, leading as she does a political organisation that is so consumed by its own self-interest and minus any acknowledgement of anything that has to do with the national interest?

So let’s have that long overdue UNC name-change!