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Moving the goalpost
Last week’s column generated quite a lot of feedback, for which I am grateful. One point I certainly agree with is that being “the most academically-qualified” does not necessarily mean that you are the “brightest.” As one email put it:
“Scholastic grades as the single index of smartness or readiness for medical school is highly erroneous. A grade profile of AAA is simply a statistical representation of a student’s ability to reproduce information and materials. This obsession with how well students can regurgitate is prevalent in Trinidad and Tobago’s educational system. Standardised exams such as CXC and A-Levels only indicate a student’s ability to store facts and reproduce them. They tell nothing of one’s mental and emotional preparedness for the wide range of demands in the medical profession.”
I agree.
Indo-Trinidadian students do need to engage in more extra-curricular activities, and culturally, there must be a shift to the centre, as “a healthy mind in a healthy body” has not traditionally been the goal, with the result that many Indo-professionals suffer from poor health far too early on in their life.
There are many “brilliant” scholarship winners who have no inter-personal skills or leadership ability, are introverted or too timid, and this seriously devalues their overall worth and contribution as a citizen. I therefore agree with the inclusion of extra-curricular activities as a criterion for admission into academic life. It must not, however, be the overriding factor or overwhelm the primary criteria, as I wouldn’t want an incompetent doctor who could play pan and football sewing me up anymore than I would one that could play the dholak and cricket!
Policies that have resulted in glaring racial imbalances must be examined. Are the criteria too narrow or biased? Or, is it a case of underachievement on the part of one section of society that needs examination and explanation?
Moving the goalposts will not necessarily change the identity of the goalscorers, and may even dilute overall standards. There must be a willingness to address such issues in a multi-racial society, based on racial politics, or else suspicion and resentment are bound to occur.
I have repeatedly called for the compilation of racial and other statistics, because I believe this could help influence, shape and inform government policy. Indians could be completely wrong to point to the imbalance in the protective services, or the Central Bank, as evidence of racial discrimination, because they probably do not apply in large numbers.
Africans may be equally wrong to complain about the disproportionate number of Indian medical students or entrepreneurs, because they chose different careers in the social sciences, arts and public service. And in both cases, they might not be applying because they do not believe they would succeed, or if they get in, that they would be welcomed and could prosper.
Why go where you’re not wanted?
State agencies have stoutly refused to compile racial and other statistics, out of fear for what it might reveal and our perceived inability as a society to handle the socio-political reality. We are not politically mature enough to handle the truth. And worse yet, we hide behind the misplaced concept of meritocracy. Should Indo-Trinis feel discriminated against because most of the government housing projects exclude them?
The Government response that it is simply giving homes to the homeless or those who need it the most begs the question: where is the statistical data to substantiate the position that there are disproportionately more Afro-Trini families in need of housing than other groups in society?
What if the research revealed that Indo-Trinis happily but illegally settled in rural areas and built houses on State (Caroni) lands, or Afro-Trinis culturally prefer to live in high-rise apartment complexes in urban areas? Does the Government think the perception of discrimination would simply disappear if it keeps repeating the political rhetoric of simply giving homes to the needy?
COASTATT’s “Afros-first” policy had opened up a can of worms. Everyone accepted that the Afro-Trini male between 17-24 needed special attention because, as Rowley put it, they are “underachieving in the classrooms and overachieving in the jails.”
No statistical data was presented.
In modern societies, data is actively solicited and configured by the State and large corporations in the private sector, with the aim of promoting equality. This informs policies on issues such as racial balance, gender equality, geographical spread, disability quotas, mature student entry for “older” people, equal opportunity for gays and lesbians, flexi-time hours for parents, etc. In T&T, we seem to prefer debating in the dark without the assistance of the candlelight of statistics.
Why?
By Anand Ramlogan 2007-07-29
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Anand appears as equally confused as the people he represents. He has repeatedly, in his commentaries over the years, referred those of East Indian decent as 'Indians' and those of African descent as 'Africans'.
It may be culturally acceptable - yes - in a culture that is blind and confused for these groups to think of themselves as 'African' or 'Indian'. The confusion of their own identity is a source of racism now inbred in both large ethnic groups. I contend that there is racism among Indians - and that racism has spread beyond 'Mother India'! They pretend it does not exist and they attempt to hide this fact - however the person writing this was a so-called Indian and was brought up with racist attitudes that were only discovered after two years of living in England.
I have also seen the effect of racism among Indo-Trinidadians who escape Trinidad and come to live in England - the pain some suffer in deciding what race of boyfriend or girlfriend to choose - or marry. So I know and see the 'truth' clearer than most! And to top it off one of my Indo-Trinidadian professional colleagues, on Trinidad soil in 2001, asked me, "So boy, you go let yuh chaile (i.e. child) marrid to a 'nigger'?!" My discomfort at saying 'yes' led me to discover how deeply rooted and far my inbred racist attitudes ran. Yes - by confronting my own demons I can slay them. So - I know and see the 'truth' clearer than most! If it happened to me I'm sure it has happened to thousands of other pseudo-Indians who remain blind to their own racist attitudes.
But I won't stop there - the disease that infects T&T also infects Mauritians. Many a Mauritian colleague would feel at ease in telling me their feelings of disgust about "niggers" - and how they would break their children's legs if they married a "nigger". Perhaps it is because my phenotype gives them a sense of 'loyalty' to the 'race' - that they speak freely to me. In fact the Mauritians I've met pronounce "nigger" as "neegger" with a tone of disgust and contempt. I must have been rather unfortunate to meet these types because I certainly did not seek them out. And for those who did not know, Mauritius suffered similar 'abuse' at the hands of the colonial masters as in T&T. The main difference is that Indo-Mauritians occupy about 70% of the population of Mauritius. I've also spoken with doctors from South Africa and I hear similar racist's attitudes among Indo-South Africans living there comparable to what I know of Indo-Trinidadians in T&T.
The confused identities of the people of T&T as a Nation are not confined to so-called Indian or African groups. Even those of Chinese decent refer to themselves and are referred to as 'Chai-nee'. In reality all ethnic groups in T&T are largely cut off from their respective motherlands - and their own motherlands contain numerous varied cultures that are probably only unified on a few strands based in religion or physical resemblance. And most unusually most 'white second or third generation of 'white people' in T&T don't consider themselves to be English, Scottish, Irish - so I hope the contrast of attitudes is palpable. What therefore entitles Indo-Trinidians and Afro-Trinidadians to see themselves or wish to be seen as Indians and Africans respectively?
This continuous hunting for identity of the lost tribes in Trinidad & Tobago is one important factor I suggest that leads to racial tensions. If only they could give it all up and see themselves as true Trinbagonians. But that in itself is a difficult task - they are all now distracted by the influence of Americans. And like the Israelis more Trinidadians than ever now speak with American accents! Some even secretly believe they are American. This is some evidence of the hunting for identity of a neglected adolescent nation - kicked out to fend for itself after its colonial masters offered them a premature independence. What a lost set of tribes we reap?
As a 'slave' colony in the eyes of the colonial masters it was probably seen as right to give them a 'freedom' they so desperately yearned for. (Yeah - ah know when slavery officially ended, but the mindset of the masters and even some in the population was still 'of slavery'. Sociologically mindsets of nations do not shift as quickly as individual mindsets).
The gravitation of Indo-Trinidadians to academic pursuits is nothing new. Untangling the aetiology of this leaning is not easy. It is wrapped in culture, parental expectation and no doubt some degree of genetic predisposition (among other things for sure). That Afro-Trinidadians tend in general not to excel academically (and we must remember Rowley's remarks in Parliament a few years ago) is not to say they are inferior. Their talents are different. They may excel in other areas. However, the culture of T&T at the moment does not seem to allow for appreciation of diversity. People have no real way of actualising the potential of their abilities to be seen and to earn based on those potentials - compared to a place like England.
And at this point some jackass will argue that "Boy, yuh cyah see England is a first world Nation?" To which I will say - had the adolescent nation not have been led so hungrily for independence it would have grown up to a more mature society where 'every creed and race' really did 'find and equal place'.
I don't believe statistics will make much of a difference to the problems Trinbagonians are facing. I fear that the statistics may also have a more divisive effect - where people point fingers more sharply.
What the Nation needs are commitments to:
The continued seeking of statistics and evidence is what we are all groomed to believe is correct. A scientific approach some will argue is necessary to find the nature and degree of the problem before you can attempt to fix it. However, socio-political interventions do not necessarily have to work in that way.
And in solving psychological problems for example I can say with authority that understanding the source of the problem is not necessary to achieving an enduring solution.
So I end now with my most disturbing question to you out there, from or born in Trinidad, knowing yourself to be Indian - "Can you marry a 'nigger'?" Was the answer to yourself easy for you?
[My use of the word 'nigger' is in no way meant to be derogatory of anyone's race or ethnicity. I believe it was/is important to use this word to challenge the issues and the mindset I sought to highlight. Some of my closest friends are of African origins.]
Anand and Captain Walker are both right, having addressed entirely different issues of course.
First, Anand's column this weeks is not as clear as he normally writes. I gather that he seeks to address the issue of whether changing the requirements necessary for entry into academic institutions will be beneficial to people of Afro-Trinidadian descent. He advocates that extra-curricular activity may well be taken into consideration as part of a well-rounded education. I couldn't help but notice his pairing of pan with football and dholak with cricket. I presume that he meant Afro-Trinis excel at pan and football whereas Indo-Trinis gravitate towards dholak and cricket... here the reasoning eludes me because as an Indo-Trini, I prefer football.
But his idea of a well-rounded education in both academia and physical pursuits is nothing new. Historically speaking, the Greeks, the Romans, the Spartans, even the Chinese and Indians were followers of this type of lifestyle. Of course, they didn't play football or beat pan, but thrived on wrestling, running, jumping, archery, etc.
As a result they were better off when pursuing higher forms of education. Many a famous scholar was also known for their physical prowess also - though somewhere in history the latter fame was lost.
It seems the misbalance is obvious... Afro-Trinis spend too much time on extra-curricular activites and Indo-Trinis on 'beating books' as we say.
Captain Walker chose to address the issue of how we address peoples with no ties to their motherland except past ancestral memories (and since memories become faded, so too our customs have become divergent from those in those countries). I too see little benefit in trying to keep alive the traditions that our ancestors had, but then again, I may be different from all those who seem to think its importance should be paramount.
In Trinidad, I would be classed as an 'East Indian' according to Government classification in its various printed forms. Here in England, I don't fit in. Government classifications recognises various forms of 'black' including 'Black-Caribbean' and 'British', variations of 'white' (including British White), variations of Indian (including once again British-born). It's interesting to note that where we Trinis would consider people of Pakistani origins as Indians, they actually deem that to be an insult and react violently to being addressed as such. They prefer to be referred to as Pakistani. So, in filling forms, I have to fill in the 'Other' section and write in Indo-Caribbean, as perception is that Indians (I mean people of Indian descent) don't live in the Caribbean.
At the end of the day, its not about being 'right' about these issues. Perhaps it is time we begin to pay attention to the way we treat each other, rather than look at who is more right, or more important.
I think the important point I wanted to make was that the search for statistics to evidence a point - to get so to speak to the heart of the problem - to define the scale and intensity of the problem - is not necessarily the way to go.
In general average reasonable people tend to think in a 'diagnostic' mode i.e. that you have to understand to get to the 'core of it' - to solve it.
This is actually not always true. Many remedies and solutions in life may involve a 'by-pass' strategy. In some cases doing heavy repair work on the object we're trying to fix may well destroy it.
So people really need to think very very carefully. Knowledge is a double-edged sword. When statistics ignites the lamp of knowledge what will happen next? The human race and individual human beings are extremely good at fooling themselves or denying the truth. This has been tried and tested ground in research into cognitive dissonance. So knowledge does not always remove darkness.
Where there are established and growing racial tensions one has to exercise considerable caution. Has anyone considered the risk of statistical evidence possibly igniting civil unrest or genocide. Ah could hear somebody thinking a'ready, "Nah man...not in Trinidad...we cool dong here -eh".
Anand's points which I think point to unequal treatment, inequalities and discrimination - are already well evidenced. It is no secret after the Maha Sabha case that the government is of a mindset that may treat groups of people unequally - and is totally shameless about it.
In many countries the principles of equal treatment have already been provided for in their Consititutions and Statute.
In T&T - which is fortunate compared to the UK - there is a written Constitution.
Selwyn Ryan has made some important observations on equal opportunity see: The Chimera of Equal Opportunity (TT Express 17 July 2007).
The UK is pulling ahead with a brand new Equality Act 2006.
All mature societies recognise the dangers of inequality (of which racial inequality is one kind).
So don't be surprised that after the PNM reads this post that they go on yet another big bandwagon about equality, to boost their chances of remaining in power.
I say it like that because the trouble with T&T is not lack of legislation but a lack of a mindset among those in positions of power to enforce what is in the legislation.
Dare I re-hash the problems we saw with the FOIA that was amended to suit just as it got out of the blocks. Dare I go into the case of Feroza Ramjohn. No - those who want to see go open your eyes and see.
The problem is with those who are selected by the electorate - and the electorate is partly to blame. Their own biases are reflected in the attitudes of those they elect to lead.
So what will statistics do and how fast will it do it. Am I to expect that with the publishing of statistics proving once and for all that there are serious racial imbalances and inequalities that the political leadership will suddenly be jolted to pull up its trousers?
Statistics may be useful in belting a regime into action - if that regime could feel pain or shame. However, looking at events leading up to the impeachment of Sharma CJ - can a reasonable person have faith that the current regime can be moved by shame or self-awareness? I don't think so.
No - T&T does not need to re-invent the wheel. It just needs to use the wheels it already has. And there is no shame in borrowing appropriately and proportionately from the first world.
This is a most interesting review in the UK: Culture Clash or Culture Club (2007) by Alan Manning and Sachari Roy.
Whilst there are many interesting things in this article what engaged me was that "Among those who were born in Britain, over 90% of all groups of whatever religion or ethnicity...." thought of themselves as British.
I hope that a similar study has been done in T&T. From my perception of T&T attitudes I would expect that Afro-Trinidadians and Indo-Trinidadians will score much less than 90% for identifying themselves as Trinbagonians. I imagine that the results will be skewed towards thinking of themselves as Africans and Indians.
Let me know what you think.
Having looked at the viewpoints of Anand along with the comments by Captain Walker, who brought into discussion a separate but very complex issue, I'll choose to address the topic of Statistics only at this time, and Captain Walker's in due course on another occasion.
I know it may be simplistic to say, but Statistics are a very important part of our every day life, and nearly every thing we do today is affected in some way by "statistics" of one kind or the other.
As an example, but how much we eat, how far we go or travel, how fast we drive, how many cars we have, how many family members in the home, how many homes we have etc, the list goes on and on, and each one has its own relevance in our daily lives. They all hold different levels of importance to people, corporations and governments.
It is in this context, I fully support the gathering and use of statistics in understanding and administering government's policies on a broad range of issues, whether its crime, employment and education, visible minorities, handicapped, age, gender equality, racial balance as well as regional and geographical population etc. The list goes on.
It is not the "statistics" that are harmful, it is how we use them, afterall, they are just tools that can highlight deficiencies or imbalances, and may provide us clues as to how best to address those problems in the future to the betterment of all the stakeholders. (They also highlight lots of "good things" too)
Corporations use it profusely but prudently, for products preferences, quality controls, sales, marketing, geographic territory etc. In North America, both U.S.A and Canada, statistics are the lifeblood of corporate survival because of extreme competition and their success is dependant on "statistics". It is vital to their survival.
For Governments on the other hand, it's quite a very different story. And this is where the problem lie. I pause briefly to agree with Captain Walker on principle, that "huge problems" can and may arise in government's usage of "statistics" if they are not very careful about it, although, on the balance of things, I fully support its usage, as there are more benefits than drawbacks to be drived from it in a civilized and well informed open society.
In North America, both U.S.A and Canada, both governments are "very careful" in gathering and using "statistics" for a variety of different reasons and to which they know they would be readily taken to task up to the highest courts of the land, if it were found that those statistics were being used maliciously or for purposes other than it was intended, or if were used for political reasons to focus on particular groups of people, by race, religion, creed etc. in a negative manner.
Having said that, as an engineer, astronaut, pilot, actuary, investment broker, insurance broker, accountant, banker or corporate CEO, the list is endless, they all gather and use "statistics" in a beneficial and progressive way, and use it responsibly and confidentially, for fear of litigation.
In the case of Governments, used wisely, it has its advantages, albeit, politics creeps into the picture at some point, nasty politics at that, and hence the care and diligence on the part of government to engaging in this practice, they are "gun shy" or reluctant to openly admit it even if they are quietly doing so in secrecy for the benefit of administrating differing portfolios, but are extremely careful of repercussions from interest groups or the media if its "leaked" or disclosed.
Is it a useful tool? You bet it is. Will they "openly" acknowledge its collection or usage, absolutely no, not politicians.!
They simple cannot be trusted with it period!
Goodluck and Godbless. Trini.t.o.o.