Pangs of political guilt

Recent statements made by prominent PNM officials show pangs of political guilt over the sad state of its “natural constituency” (to borrow Danny Montano’s expression).

Dr Keith Rowley chastised his colleagues for not owning up to what was, in truth and fact, an official policy of the Government in the form of the infamous “Afros First” affirmative action plan for student admissions at COSTAAT. In the Senate, Minister Dr Emily Gaynor Dick-Ford said the Government needed to do more for “our young African males.”

Contributing to the private motion brought by the Opposition calling upon the Government to operationalise the Equal Opportunities Commission, she said: "The need to focus on the needs of some of our young African males is a real need. Regardless of how it is framed for it to make it seem discriminatory to any other group, we cannot deny this is a vulnerable group in the current painful crime rate."

For the record, I actually agree with her.

Almost immediately, people were calling in on radio talk shows to justify the need for affirmative action, blaming the UNC, the Church, Sat Maharaj and “Indian teachers” for the plight of black youths.

I am tired of hearing PNM supporters blame everything and everyone, except the Government and their beloved ruling party, for the present predicament.

We must remember the words of former Police Commissioner Hilton Guy, who called for personal responsibility:

“When you have parents praising their unemployed children who wearing $2,000 sneakers and everything they’re wearing is a ‘brand name’ and they come home in the night with a bag of goodies, the children you are growing here, you are not only sowing the seeds, but fertilising the criminal. Stop blaming others!” 

“African youths were overachieving in the jails and underachieving in the classrooms” (to use Dr Rowley’s words), not because of political neglect by the UNC and NAR governments. And black leaders have a duty to stop making excuses and offering baseless explanations.

The man I support for the next President of the USA, Barack Obama, faced a severe backlash from the African-American community, because Rev Jesse Jackson (who didn’t realise his mic was still on), criticised Barack for “talking down to black people.” What Barack has done is to call for the black community to take some ownership and responsibility for its actions.

The PNM has ruled this country for over 40 years. It must take some blame for the present situation. Are we supposed to ignore the reality of the slums and shanty towns it created, and pretend to imagine the great city of Laventille that it built?

OK, then, here goes…Who could forget the powerful social and economic strides Laventille made under the PNM? Those were the wonderful days of free handouts, NHA housing and unemployment relief via Dewd and Lid. The people were gainfully employed and well educated. Under the PNM, these fortunate citizens comprised the upper middle class, with no need to scrounge for a living.

Should your car stall along the Beetham Highway, you could have simply left it on the shoulder, go home to a comfortable night’s sleep and return the next morning with your mechanic. This was Laventille under the good ole days of the PNM.

The UNC, in its short six years in power, destroyed Laventille. Overnight, this well-educated, gainfully-employed, crime-free community was transformed into a hell-hole. It quickly became a breeding ground for restless young criminals.

They promptly resigned their well-paying jobs and decided to use their life’s savings to buy Reeboks and Nikes, expensive jeans, gold for their front teeth—and guns.

After 30 years of living a decent life under the PNM, they inexplicably turned to a life of crime. Local sociologists concluded these youth could not bear to live under a UNC government.

And so it came to pass. Instead of sending Sadiq Baksh with tractors to clean the clogged, filthy drains and install street lights, Panday encouraged Indians to fight Afro-Trinidadians for their jobs. They took over the public service and state enterprises. Panday built high-rise NHA apartment buildings and gave them to poor Indian families who had suffered 30 years of PNM neglect.

They invaded Laventille and took over the businesses. They infiltrated the steel band movement and built soup kitchens. They started robbing people whose cars stalled along the Beetham Highway.

Afro-Trinidadians are victims of our political culture, where politicians use people for votes and then forget about them until the next election.

The political paternity test shows that the Laventille of today is a PNM creation. It’s high time it takes responsibility for the mess that it has made in our backyard.