A Christmas message of hope

PAOLO KERNAHAN

IS THERE any hope for TT? If you've been reading my columns for any length of time you're probably thinking, "I don't want to ruin my Christmas vibe by reading anything from this coolant right now. I'll catch up with his tough love in the new year." But just hold on a minute – don't be like that!

The plain truth is there has always been hope for our country. When you take away the pricey pastelles, the hours-long clatter of kitchen prep and the frantic last-minute shopping, what you're left with is the most basic, albeit overlooked, element of the season – hope. Hope is in the air – it's omnipresent...like the sound of that pressure washer or wacker you're probably hearing right now. Sometimes, though, it can be hard to find.

When I was a boy I'd often be taken to Maracas Bay with other friends by their parents. In those days the waves at Maracas always seemed towering and malevolent. We were advised never to swim directly in front of a red flag on a beach usually festooned with red flags. Getting ploughed under by one of those baby tsunamis was usually a terrifying experience. You'd be tossed about violently beneath a liquid sky of foam and thundering menace.

In that spin cycle it could feel like the last breath you took would be exactly that. When you were freed from the wave's closed fist it was escaping death itself – you were also grateful to be far enough away from the beach that the lazy sunbathers couldn't see the force of the water had pulled those swimming trunks right down to your ankles.

For many of us in TT life has been like being trapped in a Maracas "bomber" that refuses to let us up for air. Enduring penury conditions and loss in all its unwelcome manifestations have held us under. We're still here, but the first casualty of unceasing suffering is hope. In some ways to be a human stripped of hope can seem more cruel than to be stripped of life. Hope, however, is an elemental force. Like energy, it can neither be created nor destroyed; only transformed.

This time of year can be lonely for many people. Christmas can also amplify feelings of ennui and despair. As the season is an orgy of consumption, those in society with less feel their lack more acutely in the presence of others who spend copiously to "feel theyself." Still, we must move forward because life is for the living.

It's easy to forget that not long ago we were in the murderous grip of a pandemic that claimed thousands of lives and rendered thousands more unemployed, broke and broken. For those citizens life doesn't go on. They're caught in a riptide of grief, suffering and uncertainty.

Now, what many of us fail to appreciate is that hope is a choice. However, hope demands action from all of us to convert its raw nature into a force that drives change. We all hope better will come one day – but only when we act on that hope can we see its impacts on our lives, the lives of those around us and our country.

To find hope, however, it's important to search beyond the dominant veneer of hopelessness – rampant crime, absentee leadership, and environmental decay. Despite all our disappointments, there's a lot to be hopeful for.

If your chest isn't stirred by the sight of scarlet ibis and flamingos in the Caroni Swamp, then you're already dead so you have nothing to worry about. TT is blessed with natural beauty that's often taken for granted. Additionally, every day there are citizens across this country committing acts of extreme kindness, helping folks down on their luck. This many do with little fanfare, but with an undying commitment to help out for as long as they can with as much as they can manage.

When foreigners come to our shores they immediately sense just how special this place is. The confluence of disparate cultures, religions, foods and races makes for a deeply fascinating social pastiche. We are so much more than the latent mistrust, racial biases and inequalities that have been weaponised by weak, avaricious and intellectually barren politicians.

There's a lot to dislike about living in TT – and intensely too. There is, however, infinitely more to love about this country. That's why there is always hope and this is what I wish most for you to see this Christmas.