2nd Edition 2019
Pursuing Recognition and Justice and Development Part 2: Message from the Chairman in the Fifth year of the Decade for People of African Descent This augmented the prejudices of race, colour and culture with which some arrived. Currently economic gaps between Africans and later immigrant groups and educational gaps are widening visibly. reinforcing negative perceptions about Africans.
Outside of the governmental sphere, all of us as nationals of Trinidad and Tobago need to remember and seek to give meaning to the watchwords - recognition, justice and development. They are relevant to all our citizens but with particular focus on our African citizens in the context of the IDPAD. Those of us who are African have the primary responsibility to examine what needs to be done and to each contribute his/her maximum effort to overcoming the challenges. We also have to ensure the widest possible understanding of the Decade throughout the society and to stimulate appropriate attention and actions from relevant authorities designed to achieve its goals. The Programme of Action draws attention to two aspects of recognition. Self- recognition calls on those of us who are African to examine and address challenges in the way we see ourselves. Recognition draws on the way others see us and urges the entire society to participate in changing mindsets, conscious and unconscious biases, which result in discriminatory actions, some of which have very negative consequences for Africans.
Even visually, in our built spaces, monuments and street names, the presence and achievements of Africans over hundreds of years are barely acknowledged. Colonial monsters are venerated while those who contributed to the nation’s freedom, development and international recognition are ignored. To judge by the overwhelming proportion of Africans who are currently incarcerated in the country’s prison system (and this is a long-standing pattern) the current “Justice” system in Trinidad and Tobago is weighed against Africans, particularly African youth. The grave disproportion both in the remand yard and the cells of the convicted cannot be explained simply by saying Africans commit more crimes. Other critical factors include - race and class profiling (affecting both arrests and sentencing); outright misbehaviour on the part of certain police officers - which includes frame-ups of individuals, with mainly Africans falling victim; corruption (at all levels of the Justice system) which protects certain groups and individuals, many of them non-African; differences in access to bail based on income and property ownership. A recent statistic provided by the country’s attorney general highlights another causal factor - in the last 11 years, 80,000 persons were jailed for marijuana possession. The vast majority would be African youth.
To a large extent, the way we see ourselves is contaminated by many influences. These include outright lies about our history which are widely believed; untreated trauma - from centuries of extreme abuse - which is passed from generation to generation; continuous exposure to negative portrayals of ourselves in mass media, combined with a marked absence of information on our people’s significant achievements, past and present. Negative information and images are reinforced by prejudices of race, colour and class, which we have unconsciously internalized. These prejudices rob us of empathy, understanding and insights into major social problems affecting some of our communities.
Injustice is also intrinsic in the existing levels of inequality, seen in disparities of income and wealth, uneven access to jobs - “mih papers no use” in the words of calypsonian, Mudada, declining educational opportunity (now even the “papers” are elusive), absence of material to engender positive African identity in the education system, housing and environmental conditions in some areas. In the over presence of condemnatory rhetoric and violence and an absence of solution-oriented approaches, all these indices are getting worse for a number of African communities.
In terms of recognition by the wider society there are real challenges in the way Africans are seen by others. Racism was a core component of slavery and colonization and continues in the culture. The perceptions of immigrants who arrived in the postslavery period have been influenced by the racist structure of the local society and its relegation of Africans.
Historically Africans in Trinidad and Tobago have played a critical role in its development by overcoming a major hurdle to human development, chattel slavery, as part of a regional struggle led by Haiti. Africans then led the critical political struggle for decolonization which eventually yielded formal independence.
Cont’d - Pursuing Recognition and Justice and Development Part 2: Message from the Chairman in the Fifth year of the Decade for People of African Descent They were predominant in the early fights for workers’ rights which led to the formation of trade unions. Despite deliberate barriers by the colonial authorities Africans fought, with increasing success, to broaden formal educational opportunity. Remarkable strides in economic entrepreneurship were made, particularly in the early 20th century, against institutional odds. Significant steps were taken by an African-led government, pushed by the 1970 Black Power movement, to increase the national share in ownership and control of prime national resources. The current reality however is that Africans are far less prominent in shaping national development at the economic level. The multi-nationals have reasserted themselves in significant ways. Nationally owned enterprises are corrupted in part by political party agendas. Indications are that Africans are falling further and further behind at the level of the private sector.
In one of the most critical areas for shaping the development of the society in the future - education - a recent report points to a virtual state of emergency where academic performance in several African-dominated schools is concerned. This pattern does not portend well for the future of the society and must be addressed as a matter of urgency. When we choose these watchwords therefore, we are aligning ourselves with a global movement, stimulated by the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent. We are adding our organizational energy to the necessary corrective thrust. In the process we expect to generate broader national engagement, including that of the Government of Trinidad & Tobago, with the ideals and actions necessary to make the Decade meaningful.
Community Mobilisation and Development Leadership Workshop The Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago has commenced its monthly Community Mobilisation and Development Meetings. At this year’s meetings leaders of community groups will participate in a series of leadership workshops aimed at strengthening community groups and by extension empowering their communities. The Chairman, Khafra Kambon, will continue his presentations on current issues which impact our communities. At the second Community Mobilisation and Development Meeting for 2019, which was held on Saturday 16th March, leaders participated in the first workshop which was facilitated by ESCTT Executive Director and Director of Community Mobilisation and Development, Zakiya Uzoma-Wadada. Participants were placed into three groups and asked to build the tallest structure which can stand on its own using old newspapers, manila folders, rubber bands, scissors and straws. Following the activity persons indicated they learned the importance of working together, listening and understanding each other, caring and respect for one another, sharing a common goal, critical thinking and planning with scarce resources. Participants also found the exercise to be motivating, fun, very useful; interesting and empowering. The next CMD Meeting is carded for Saturday 13th April, at 3:00 p.m. at Emancipation House. Interested in joining us at our CMD Meetings or becoming a member of ESCTT? Call us at 628 5008 ext. 3025 or 680 2483.
Humanitarian Response to Venezuelans Should Guide Migrant Policy for All length of time that persons have been confined to the detention center. Although formal migration studies have revealed that persons from the African continent make up a tiny minority of undocumented migrants in Trinidad and Tobago they are over-represented at the IDC, consistently held for the longest periods of time, often subjected to the worst abuses, and several families with children have been destroyed. Even legitimate, fee-paying students from African countries have suffered terror, including abusive termination of their status when they are about to enter their final year of study. Khafra Kambon, Chairman of ESCTT The Cabinet of Trinidad and Tobago has discussed proposals articulated in the public domain that pertain to Venezuelans currently living in this country (legally and illegally) and the thousands more expected to arrive. This comes as the United States and its allies continue to tighten a stranglehold on Venezuela’s economy, at the same time inciting and supporting major political disruption. These actions are backed up by a constant military threat, all together leading to a flood of migrants seeking shelter and security in neighbouring countries. The proposals which went before Cabinet included the right to work (for one year initially), access to public health care on the same basis as nationals and the provision of educational facilities for children. In statements made on this issue government ministers and other official spokespersons have shown respect for international protocols and law as they relate to migrants and considerable humanitarian concern for the plight of Venezuelans escaping the hardships of sanctions and the threat of war. While details of the proposals that will emerge from Cabinet including their scope and the processes for implementation - will need to be carefully evaluated, the Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago, which has a long history of seeking justice for undocumented migrants in this country, supports the intent of the proposals and the spirit in which the measures are being addressed. Now that a spirit of humanitarianism and respect for international law with respect to refugees and other undocumented migrants has come to the fore in relation to Venezuelans, we want to ensure that the same spirit and concerns influence decisions in regard to other undocumented migrants in Trinidad and Tobago. We say this against a background where under successive governments in Trinidad and Tobago, immigration authorities have been allowed to impose inhumane treatment not only on undocumented economic migrants but even on refugees fleeing wars, persons seeking to study at academic institutions in Trinidad and Tobago and others doing legitimate business in Trinidad and Tobago. Unfortunately, observation over several years would show that countries of origin and ethnicity have been major factors in determining the proportion of arrests, the harshness of treatment and
Next in line for harsh treatment are persons from Haiti, a member country of CARICOM, whether they are here legally or as undocumented migrants. Many citizens would remember that it took a public campaign to protect a single young female from Haiti who landed in our country at the invitation of a national shortly after the devastating earthquake of 2010 in that country. The third category in this respect are citizens of Jamaica and Guyana. Shortly after his ascension to office our current Prime Minister made an urgent visit to Jamaica with part of his mission to save Trinidad and Tobago manufactures from a growing Jamaican boycott triggered by negative immigration encounters. The Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad & Tobago looks forward to the current spirit of humanitarianism, triggered by the Venezuelan crisis, becoming institutionalized in well-articulated policies which are publicly announced. We look forward to practical implementation in retraining for immigration officers which would include cultural sensitivity training, reform of the management of Immigration Detention Centers to ensure that the human rights and humanity of detainees are not abrogated, practices that would avoid the extremes of brutality which the current IDC has witnessed on occasions, practices that would avoid cases of serious mental deterioration of inmates and in the extreme suicides and attempted suicides. The education of the public on these matters must form a vital part of the movement forward.
Trinidad and Tobago Immigration Detention Centre
Liberation Day Greetings to the Spiritual Baptist Community
To mark Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day 2019, the Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad & Tobago extended solidarity and best wishes to members of the Baptist faith and the leaders and organizers who inherited a tradition of struggle to keep an Africanrooted faith alive. The following are the remarks of the Chairman, Khafra Kambon We congratulate the community for the tenacity which it has shown in the face of legal prohibition and social ostracism. Instead of the legal ban on the practices of the faith destroying its foundations in Trinidad and Tobago, it brought out the revolutionary spirit in the movement. When the banned drums and chants echoed from the Hills of Laventille and other vantage points, from the spaces where the authorities feared to tread, they represented the collective spirit of our people, the spirit of rebellion against cultural domination and rejection of colonial control.
leaders and the mass of worshippers. We pay tribute even to those who were too fearful to engage in open defiance but held on to the faith in their hearts and homes and private spaces, patiently praying and waiting for the moment when they could assert their right to pray according to their own traditions, sing with their own intonations and dance to their own rhythms. Even though the conscious knowledge of Africa may have died in some, Africa continued to live in their spirits and sacred practices. They preserved for all of us, Baptists and non-Baptists, a part of the self that slavery and colonization sought to destroy. As we confront the challenges of the present and the future let that spirit infuse your/our children to gain greater selfknowledge, to triumph in the education system, acquire the skills required for individual and collective success in the modern world and continue playing a constructive role in shaping the future of our country. On behalf of our organization and our African Community, thank you.
March 31st 1951 Article featured in the Trinidad Guardian covering the repeal of the Shouter Baptist Prohibition.
At this time, we pay tribute to all those who never gave up the fight, the leaders and the mass of worshippers.
ESCTT Updates
*Community Mobilisation & Development Meeting Saturday 13th April 2019 @ 3:00 p.m.
For more information on the events and or activities of the ESCTT, please contact us at: Telephone: 628 5008
*1st Strategic Planning & Proposal Writing Workshop: Saturday 6th April 2019 @ 10:00 a.m.
*Selection of Booths for the Lidj Yasu Omowale Emancipation Village:
Wednesday 17th April 2019@ 10.00 a.m.
Email info.emancipation@esctt.org Face Book Emancipation Support Committee-ESC