1.Sharing experience with our children

2. Carnival culture irrelevant and meaningless 

3. Family is everything: A conversation poem 

4. Web sites on Indo-Caribbeans by Lloyd Harradan 

5. Ma's Day of Dying by Roop Misir

6. Guyana Update: Progess in the villages, black kidnap criminals on the defensive 

7. Why are Indians not acting on TT kidnapping?

8.Indo-Caribbean and other immigrants: How much accomodation? By Roop Misir 

9. The Defence of Indians 

10. What is the future of Indians in Trinidad?

SHARING EXPERIENCE WITH OUR CHILDREN 

Just this week my friend Reynold Ramdial, president of  the Indo-Trinidad Canadian Association was telling me about his  experiences as a young man growing up in south Trinidad. He spoke of the games he played, the life he lived as an Indo-Trinidadian  before coming to live in Canada  two decades ago.

These were the events that shaped his life and made him what he is today. In computer language you could say that this was his operating system, his Windows program that  allows him to function. It is the essence of what he is, a mass of  experiences and views and cultural approaches.

Reynold's concern was that his children, who had spent most of their lives in Canada, didn't understand  very much of those experiences. His life as an Indo-Trinidadian, which is at the centre of his being as an Indo-Trinidadian Canadian, is  mostly unknown to his children. He is not  sure how to pass on his Indo-Trinidadian heritage in Canada, other than by showing  by example.

My friend has a lot of company. I know that my children do not appreciate much of the cultural, political and economic  situation that I faced, when they were no more than little boys. Indo-Guyanese friends who were forced to leave their  homeland  because of  race riots and discrimination say their children do not comprehend those events so many years ago. They cannot figure out why their parents are so "hung up" about actions that took place  before they were born in a country far, far away.

Just about every parent of Indo-Trinidadian or Indo-Guyanese  origin is battling with this very problem, and all other immigrant groups here  share the challenge. The young people themselves want to know what their parents are reminiscing about  and lamenting that their offspring never experienced.

Transfer of heritage and experience is a  probably the major concern of immigrant groups after they have  settled the matter of  financial security.  Transfer of  knowledge is also an old, old issue with parents who want their children to grow up as they did.

Enough of the problem. It's time to look at the answers. Just how do we make our Caribbean experiences meaningful to Indo-Caribbean Canadians? How do we pass on our Indian cultural heritage in this new land?

Since this is hardly a new problem, I would suggest that we study it as such. Look at the mechanics of it and how we (and others) dealt with it in the past. Look at how others in this country are coping with the problem and how successful they are.  Decide exactly what information we want to pass along, and then figure out the best way to do it in these circumstances.

Our parents and grandparents  did a fair job of passing along the Indian cultural heritage and their experiences to us, mostly through practice and talking. They showed us how to perform and live the culture, and by adapting their heritage to the new environment in the Caribbean. They did quite well in letting us know the experiences of indenture and afterward, but not so well in transferring the knowledge of  experiences in India. There's something to be learned from that.

We can't expect our children to get big meaning from our lives in the Caribbean in the several decades ago. But we can talk to them  about it and show them what we have learned.

For  personal experiences, with  the technology available now, we can certainly write it down too, in personal acounts, histories, reminiscences. We can videotape it, put it on CD- ROM and on web pages, make documentaries and  films about it.

The cultural  part is simpler. There is no quantum physics involved in understanding and teaching others about music, dance, behaviour patterns, philosophy, attitudes.  This is just teaching, and we certainly can learn how to do it for our needs.

Is anybody else doing these things in Canada? Examples are everywhere. The Jews are an excellent example. Look at how they have organized a huge system for making sure that the experience and lessons of the Holocaust are passed on, together with their older system for passing on their Jewish values and religion.

Canadian blacks are making a  valiant attempt to preserve and pass on their heritage, with their Black History Month, books, newspapers, plays, lectures, magazines. Italians have a massive system for continuing their language, preserving their traditions, their links with Italy, their games, their culture.

Check out the efforts of the Scots and the Irish towards  continuing their  lineage and their culture.In my estimation, several of these groups in Canada would get good marks for way they are tackling  the same problem that Reynold and our Indo-Caribbean community are facing. They are not unwilling to share their knowledge either.

Learn from success, I always say. Defining the problem  takes you half way to solving it. After that, all that is required is action.
I would suggest.

Ram Jagessar 

CARNIVAL CULTURE IRRELEVANT AND MEANINGLESS

After being in Canada for ten years, I thought this year that I would go to see the Caribana parade, just so I could see what it was for myself.  But my group is organizing a campout on that July 31^st long weekend, and it seems Caribana will have to wait for another year.

Instead, I went to see the Sunfest in North York's Mel Lastman Square, an event which seems to be part of the buildup to Caribana. I arrived in time for the highlight of the show, which was David Rudder's performance.

There was a crowd of several hundred people, mostly West Indian blacks, and a small number of  Indo-Caribbeans, milling about and waving around yellow hats, scarves, and various parts of their anatomy. They seemed to love David Rudder, singing along with the lyrics, which they seemed to know by heart. No interpreter was needed to tell that this was their thing.

For me, however, it meant nothing. I couldn't understand the words David  Rudder was screaming into the mike, and even if I could, I'm not sure I would care either. This calypso, this soca, this Caribana, this carnival, this steelband, this parade of  the bands, this fete till you drop, is just not my thing. No interpreter is required.

This little Sunfest had caused me to re-examine my  relationship with what is supposed to be the national culture in Trinidad and Tobago, and certainly the heart of the black West Indian culture in Canada. I mean the calypso-soca-Carnival-steelband culture.

And my conclusion was that I have no relationship to this culture. As an Indo-Caribbean, I find this culture simply irrelevant, and without any meaning to me. It was so when I lived in Trinidad and it remains so today.

Saying this publicly in Trinidad would be sure to cause argument, if not accusations of  disloyalty and treason. Over the years Trinidadians have been blanketed with propaganda that says they must like calypso and steelband and carnival. Quite a few Indo-Trinidadians have come to accept this, and treasure as their own a cultural form that was developed by and is still basically a creation of black Trinidadians. Indians still remain marginal to Carnival culture.

But it will not cause such problems in Canada, and my comment is not intended to start any controversy. I know that no black West Indian would have any concern about saying that he finds Indian culture irrelevant and meaningless to him. He would be highly shocked if  any of us tried to tell him that he should like Indian culture, the culture of the majority of the population of  Trinidad.

Ram Jagessar (2000)

Family is everything

Harry say the family phone back home

Not working right

The phone only calling him

when they want money

when they want advice

when they want something

sometimes they calling collect

just to collect serious change

from Harry.

send it right away Harry

Western Union

Don’t forget now.

Boysie need false teeth

they calling Harry

To pay the dentist.

Car get in accident

Call Harry  to help out

The situation

Children want copy book and pencil

Harry will send from Canada

What they think,

Harry have a gold mine

Or a money tree up here?

And they always singing this song

When you coming down Harry?

Coming for Christmas?

Coming for Divali?

Coming for Carnival?

Coming for your vacation?

Bring down something nice for we

When you coming.

Ah go send you a list.

If anything will kill Harry

Is that list

They want IPod and DVD

Designer jeans

That Harry can’t buy for heself

Hundred dollar basketball shoe

Fancy sari from Gerrard Street

Maybe a nice digital camera

Not less than 5 megapixels

Gifts for about fifty people

90 year old aji

and Mohan five nephew

Harry never see before.

And they waiting in the airport

With mini van to pick up

All them box Harry have to pay

Overweight for.

Harry don’t get no vacation

When he go back home

Every little problem

Waiting since last year

Drop in Harry lap

big brother from Canada will fix it.

Harry paying for everything too

He have to treat the family

When you have you must spend

Not so?

Harry say he need a family break

A break from the family

When the phone ring

Use that call display

Let the machine take a message

Don’t answer for a week

Was out of town you know.

Let Boysie buy he own false teeth

Or else enjoy some serious porridge.

Next vacation Harry

Heading for Cayo Largo, Cuba

Second honeymoon in the sun

Come back relaxed

Feeling good.

Them Spanish people really

Appreciate your hard currency.

Now Harry have nothing against family

Family is everything  

He might call them from Cuba to say so

But the phone system not so good

In Cayo Largo.  

 (Ram Jagessar 2006)

Web sites on Indo-Caribbeans

By Lloyd Harradan 

Look at some of these sites:

The mother of all IndoCaribbean websites is here:

http://www.jahajeed esi.com/

A large site about Indians in the Caribbean and Canada :

http://www.indocari bbeanheritage. com/component/ option,com_ frontpage/ Itemid,1/

General Sites:

http://www.guyana. org/

http://www.guyanaun dersiege. com/Default. htm

http://www.indolink .com/displayArti cleS.php? id=050705041142

http://www.movinghe re.org.uk/ galleries/ histories/ caribbean/ settling/ indo_caribbean. htm

http://www.saxakali .com/indocarib/

http://www.nalis. gov.tt/Culture/ arrivalday. htm

http://www.saxakali .com/indocarib/ sojourner5. htmArticle on Indians in Jamaica:

http://www.jamaica- gleaner.com/ pages/history/ story0057. htm

http://www.caribbea nhindu.net/

http://www.caribbea nhindu.net/ Arrival.htm

http://www.movinghe re.org.uk/ galleries/ roots/asian/ migration/ colonies. htm

http://www.jagan. org/

http://www.indialab ourarchives. org/publications /prabhu2. htm

http://www.prospect -magazine. co.uk/article_ details.php? id=8359

http://scholar. library.miami. edu/emancipation /trade2.htm

http://www.geocitie s.com/yuddh1/ gateportal. htm

Indians in St Vincent :

http://svgindianher itage.com/

Indians in St Lucia :

http://www.slucia. com/visions/ 2002/indian. html

Indians in Belize :

http://www.nlsbze. bz/East%20Indian s.html

http://www.cavehill .uwi.edu/ bnccde/belize/ conference/ papers/premdas. html

Indians in Martinique and Guadeloupe :

http://www.tamilnat ion.org/diaspora /guadeloupe. htm

indereunion. net/actu/ sahai/interjs. htm http://www.

Indian Arrival Day:

http://www.nalis. gov.tt/Culture/ arrivalday. htm

http://www.nalis. gov.tt/Festivals /Culture_ IndianArrivalDay .html

Very early arrivals of Indians in the Americas :

http://www.iafpe. org/php/showNews Details.php? linkid=5&newsid=5

On-line journals:

http://www.hansib- books.com/ root/icn4. pdf

http://www.hansib- books.com/ root/icn3. pdf

About emigration records in India :

http://www.aggarwal overseas. com/booksDetail. aspx?productID= 73101&catId=AGO038&detail=t

  Ma’s Day of Dying-- We Love You Ma

by Roop Misir

I have just returned from Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center in New York City. Ma’s was in a coma, no doubt one of the effects of a malignant tumor.

About one year ago, Dr. Hugo Seaford, her family physician discovered a lump in her left breast. At the time, it was described as a benign tumor. Then a few days later, we were told that tests showed it was actually malignant. She had breast cancer. And Dr. Seaford reluctantly informed our family of his diagnosis.

Ma was now advanced in age, in her mid-eighties. But to us children, she was the best mom in the entire world. Not that we actually did a scientific study to compare the maternal ability of mothers of her age and disposition. To my six brothers and four sisters, there has never been any need to do this. We just knew this instinctively.

The lump in Ma’s breast was no news to me. I had known about it since I was a toddler nearly sixty years ago. I used to feel a little lump on Ma’s left breast during my usual nursing every day.

Was I surprised at the news of this lump that is now making Ma sick and sucking the life out of her weak and comatose body?

Now that’s a tough question for every son or daughter to face up to!

And so I inquired what, if anything, could we do to revive Ma and make her rest comfortably?

Sensing that Ma now had one foot in the grave, I asked Dr. Seaford:

“What’s next, Doc?”

“Not much, Mr. Persaud,” he regretfully replied.

“We can try to keep her alive, hoping she could come around. We are going to put her on life-support. Maybe given sufficient time, she can recover some strength and pull through this time”

“For how long, Doc?” I asked.

“As long as it takes. Of course, if there is no improvement in a month or so, we shall have to review her condition then.”

Nine months later, Ma’s condition showed no change. Still on life-support. With drugs, chemotherapy and radiation treatment not very effective, the family must make a decision soon.

What are we to do?

A few months ago, we fixed the wedding date of Aishwarya, Ma favorite granddaughter. Aish meant a lot to Ajee. This supposedly joyous event is scheduled to take place in four weeks’ time. There was nothing in the world that would have made Ajee happier than to participate in the wedding of her little darling, now set to become a prettier than a picture bride on her wedding day. Lots of friends, relatives and well-wishers. Lots of fun--hopefully to last a lifetime too.

Already, we have invited members of our extended family from various parts of the world, including Guyana, Trinidad, Canada and England. In two weeks' time, Vivek's (the groom’s) parents are flying in from New Delhi.

The dilemma facing us now is what to do? The medical staff agreed that essentially Ma is now brain dead. In fact she has been a living vegetable some six months after she was put on life support.

Should we allow her to vegetate as signs of creeping rigor mortis claim more and more of the distal digits of her extremities?

Or should we “pull the plug” of life support, sending our dear Ma to the place where no one really knows but some do care?

If we take this action, are we relieving her of the excruciating pains that she can't even sense? Hoping somehow to giving her comfort in the process? Are we denying her the right to life? To living her life to the fullest? Or are we prolonging the suffering and our own agonies?

Will we upset Ma’s karmic balance by sending her away prematurely —for OUR convenience only?

As we contemplate which day may be best for Ma's passage to the world beyond, do we really have the right to tinker with her death’s date?

All of which raises a lot of moral issues. Don't these also apply to our dear Ma? Or do they, really?

As her fateful date approaches, can we truly say that love for dear Ma is any different from that for ourselves?

In these trying times, the Persaud family like countless others the world over, takes solace in comforting words eternal. Words like:

The Spirit is neither born nor does it die at any time. It does not come into being, or cease to exist. It is unborn, eternal, permanent, and primeval. The Spirit is not destroyed when the body is destroyed. (Bhagavad Gita 2.20).

As we Persaud's
Lord Blessed adored
We got His word clear
No uncertain way
Need not persuade
Maji's now at Home

GUYANA UPDATE:
Progess in the villages, black kidnap criminals on the defensive

(Indo-Caribbean Times, March 2007)

  On a recent trip to Guyana I realized that there was an undercurrent in the country that was not reflected in the media.
  I hadn’t visited in 5 years and there were some immediate visible changes.  For example: the roads.  I was really impressed with progress on the roads around the entire country, not to mention Georgetown.  In and out of Georgetown there are 4 lane highways that are well lit.  I am wondering, “is this Guyana or Toronto?”  Housing is another area that struck me. The government has in the last few years given out affordable house lots to the ordinary people to build. And it is visible that there are significant improvements in this area. 
  With respect to “black outs”: I did not experience a single one in the 10 days that I was there.  Black outs used to be the norm in Guyana.
  I noticed that when I entered a home there was a phone there, even in the villages.  This was a surprise also.  Even water availability was noticeably improved.
  Driving around Georgetown I observed dozens of hotels under construction.  I learnt that these were being built for the 2007 Cricket World Cup.  I also learnt that the hoteliers are given a 10 year tax holiday as incentive to build these hotels.  But who are the owners of these hotels?  Well, interestingly, it appears that the owners are mainly the drug boys.  You see, Guyana has emerged as a key drug centre.  Because of the strict anti laundering laws in North America, the drug money is stuck in Guyana.  So the money is now appearing as hotels.  One of the big debates in Guyana was the casino issue.  It appears that this is another form the money can be laundered. 
  Noticeably absent were the high profile crimes like kidnapping and businessmen murders. These are invariably against Indians.  After asking around I found out that the businessmen/drug boys took the situation in their own hands: they went on their own campaign to clean out the elements in Buxton who were responsible for these crimes, including Wadell the racist, who called himself the African freedom fighter who publicly expressed his anti Indian hatred.
  There was an uneasy calm in Guyana.  It was the first time I was there and I was not having “loose bowels” when I passed Buxton.  What I heard was that the criminals in Buxton were at a loss as to deal with the vengeance from the drug boys.  Coincidentally, the drug boys are mostly Indians and the kidnappers  blacks.  This has put a pause on the race crimes in Guyana.  What this is saying is that if the anti Indian crimes are answered with quick and vicious response that they will stop.
  This has happened in Guyana just by coincidence because it affected the drugs boys who happened to be Indians.  Because of the calm and non- obstruction for the PNC racist elements, the government is able to move ahead with their development program at a normal pace.  This is benefiting Guyana …..for now.  Who knows how long this calm will last?  It will last as long as the Indians will not tolerate the nonsense from the racist destructive elements from the black populace.
  In this instance we are lucky that the blacks struck the raw nerve of the drug boys who happened to be Indians and are bold enough to fight back.  Let’s keep this up and live out the dreams of out forefathers to inherit a great land across “kala pani”.  Our responsibility is not to run to Canada but to stick it out and fight for what is rightfully ours: a free Guyana where we can prosper and enjoy!

Ganpat Singh
Hurting Guyanese longing to return home

Why are Indians not acting on TT kidnapping?

Ram Jagessar, Indo-Caribbean Times April 2007 

 People have been throwing hard questions at me since the publication of  two kidnap horror stories in the first issue of Indo-Caribbean Times showed the rape and abuse of  Indian women kidnap victims in Trinidad. What is wrong with those Indian men in Trinidad? How could they allow kidnappers to abuse our women like that and do nothing?
   There are plenty of angry Indo-Caribbeans in Canada (and in the United States too) who are as furious at the kidnappers as they are at the inaction of the Indian population in Trinidad. Some have told me they cannot sleep in the night when they think of  how those vicious kidnappers are ravaging Indian business people and abusing helpless Indian women.
   The situation they lay out is simple enough. A plague of kidnappers, who appear to be mostly black, are targeting business people who are mostly Indian.  An average of around 200 reported  kidnappings have happened over the last five years, and maybe ten times as many have not been reported to the police. Tens of millions of dollars have been ripped away from the Indian kidnap victims, over a dozen have been killed. Many, if not all, of the women are sexually abused, and several victims like Vindra Naipaul are missing and believed dead.
   The Ministry of  National Security and the Trinidad police have been pathetically useless in slowing or stopping the kidnapping. Most of the Indian population now believes that the police are involved in the kidnapping racket, and that some members of the police are helping the kidnappers and getting their cut of the ransoms. The bulk of the non-Indian communities in Trinidad are indifferent or unsympathetic to the plight of the Indian kidnap victims.  Some elements of the black community actually seem to enjoy the ravishing of the Indian community by the kidnappers.
   In short, the Indian community in Trinidad has no security from kidnappers. The forces of law and order are useless and hopeless. Indians are cowering and hiding like food fish while the kidnappers roam free like barracudas. The Indian men are not doing a single thing to defend their community from these kidnapping criminals, not a thing to save their women from these kidnap rapist animals. These Indian men, who have billions of dollars in assets, have no ideas and no willpower aimed at defending their half a million strong community. Why? Why? Why? What’s wrong with these Indian men?
   I have to tell people right away that I don’t know. Maybe 18 years away from Trinidad is too long, so that I don’t understand Trinidad as I did in the eighties before I migrated. If any of my readers have a clearer idea why Trinidad men have been so passive towards kidnapping, please share it. If anybody has any ideas on getting the Trinidad men to wake up and act, please share it.
   What I can say is that the behaviour of Trinidad Indian men is unnatural and very scary.  They are members of a society where they are being robbed of their life earnings, when they are being killed and practically driven out of the country. When they see that the security forces cannot or will not protect them, they must conclude they have no security. They have to take their security in their own hands and fight for their lives, or they have to flee. It comes down to fight or flight.
   Trinidad Indian men have chosen to do neither, and that is really baffling. To my knowledge they are not analyzing and studying kidnapping either. They are not developing independent plans and strategies to deal with the kidnapping. Incredibly, they still seem to be hoping the corrupt and incompetent Trinidad police will suddenly change its nature and become effective after five years of failure.
   I have spoken to several Indo-Trini men about kidnapping in the last few years and I am still baffled. When given the standard “describe, analyze and solve” formula they do a fair job or describing and analyzing the kidnapping crisis. They fail utterly at the “solve” portion. I suggest that since the security position is critical and the official security forces have failed, Indians must then do what is needed to guarantee their own security in Trinidad. That’s where  meaningful conversation ends.  
   Too many start musing, ”If Bhadase was alive…if the Poolool boys were alive.. if Dole Chadee was around..” I am not joking. They start calling on dead men to save them! Or they start suggesting that a few Tamil Tigers from Sri Lanka or Indo-Caribbean marines from the American army might do the trick. They say it will take special people (that they don’t have available) to defend Indians from kidnappers. They say Indian business people will not cooperate. They say how dangerous it will be, how long it will take. They will give a dozen reasons why nothing can be done and not one reason why anything can be done, just as the Guyanese Indians used to do during the Burnham/Hoyte era.
   And then they say it’s easy for you to talk when you are living safe in Canada, but you don’t understand what’s going on in Trinidad.  Obviously these Trinidad men are sleeping more comfortably in their beds than some of us in Canada, and that’s really, really scary.
   Other than a very few exceptions like lawyer Anand Ramlogan, Trinidad Indian men  seem to be neither pro-active nor reactive when it comes to kidnapping. They are mostly inactive. And yes, I know it’s easy to be critical when we are sitting safe in our non-burglar proofed, unfenced homes in Canada. But we really cannot be happy at the non-response of our Indian brothers and sisters to kidnapping.  A fire is burning up the drapes in the living room of Indians in Trinidad and the fire brigade is not answering the phone.  They have to put out the fire themselves or else evacuate the building. Right now.

Indo-Caribbean and other immigrants: How Much Accommodation?

By Roop Misir, PhD

Indo-Caribbean immigrants come to Canada mainly to economic reasons. As such, they strive to achieve career objectives. Since this means doing things differently, out of necessity they are required to adapt. However, problems of adjustment can pose a challenge for some newcomers. With few official centers to welcome immigrants, many find support amongst relatives, and comfort in people of similar circumstances.

Often overlooked is the fact is that we come not only with our skills but also our culture. Some of us choose to retain only relevant aspects of culture and tradition. However, many would like the best economic opportunities, plus the freedom to lead their lives exactly as in former countries. Are these expectations overlooked or ignored by mainstream Canadians?

The ongoing challenge is how to balance one lifestyle with another that’s different. Whether we like it or not, aspects of our culture may become modified and our former ways tempered as newcomers become exposed to Canadian culture.

Culture

The “culture” for a given population can be defined as all the behaviors, ways of life, arts, beliefs and institutions that are passed down from generation to generation. For an immigrant (or other) group where culture dominates the way of life, then culture also dictates the choice of food, codes of conduct, modes of dress, as well as the language spoken, religion followed, rituals practiced, morality and norms of behavior.

A major challenge facing Canada is not only attracting talented immigrants, but also helping that them adjust to life here. The task of making them “feel at home” shortly after arrival may be easier said than done, especially amongst new immigrants from countries where peoples’ lives are governed by culture and tradition. For the authorities therefore, the challenge is how to make newcomers happy and as they strive to become contributing citizens in a strong and united Canada?

Social Dislocation a Necessary Price

There is increasing movement of skilled workers across the globe. Many immigrants like to acquire citizenship of adopted countries. Naturally, some choose to retain ties with former homes. I myself hold both Canadian and Guyanese passports.

Does dual or multiple citizenships necessarily mean divided loyalties? Can a person concurrently serve both Canada and a distant country?

Other immigrants are willing to accept social dislocation as the necessary price for economic advancement. And so they quickly become assimilated into the social fabric of Canada. Who says that the rite of passage from the home to the host country necessarily has to be rough and traumatic?

If there is a secret formula for immigrant success, what approach should the host country Canada follow to assist new immigrants? Should it be accommodation, integration or a combination of both?

“Reasonable” Accommodation

At the time when there was debate among Quebec politicians over limits to “reasonable accommodation”, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said: “I first of all think immigrants come to this country to belong to this country.” Then he spoke of the need for accommodation for immigrants and their cultures. He added that the Canadian mixture of integration and accommodation might be the right approach. By rejecting the notion that the country is facing a crisis involving newcomers who won't embrace Canadian values, Mr. Harper then pointed out: “…our country also consciously changes somewhat for new immigrants and new cultures.” [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071223.wharperimmigration1223/BNStory/National/].

Limitations to Accommodation

During the October 2007 Ontario election, the Progressive Conservatives stirred up debate over what was “reasonable accommodation” when they proposed that the province fund private schools, including religious-based schools. But voters strongly rejected this proposal, and thwarted Tory leader John Tory’s election bid. Despite this, private schools are still allowed to operate, but the students must pay tuition fees.

By rejecting public funding for religious schools, does this mean that Ontarians are insensitive to specific religion or people’s belief systems? Or do they prefer that the same education be provided to ALL Ontario students? Why? Is it because the prevailing view is that there SHOULD NEVER be special privileges for special interest groups?

Need to Revisit Multiculturalism?

Ever since it became official, Canadians were apprehensive that official multiculturalism may have its drawbacks. While conceived with the best of intentions, is there a sinister side? For example, does it encourage racial or ‘bloc’ voting, or promote the radicalization of fringe elements in religious communities? In recent times, there have been calls for prayer rooms in public spaces, and the insistence on dress code preferences in schools and in sports. While these demands are by no means illegal, are such requests unexpected and asking too much? Do they undermine the spirit of multiculturalism? The recent arrest and charge of a Muslim Canadian man for the murder of his teenaged daughter, allegedly for refusing to wear a traditional headscarf has cast elements of multiculturalism in a different light.

Then there is the view that the multicultural label can be unconsciously patronizing. Newcomers arrive in a cloak of exotic mystery. This supposedly discreet charm is never allowed to fade by assimilation, but rather is preserved by the façade of official multiculturalism. As a consequence, the exotica becomes embedded in immigrants’ permanent identity. Nowhere else is this “accommodation” more obvious than at summer fairs and other cultural extravaganzas. Here newcomers showcase food and costume (“sari and samosa”), and music and dance (steelband and bhangra). Immigrants are encouraged to hang on to their identity of origin rather than adopting ways of the new country. In these circumstances, isn’t there is the risk of immigrants becoming “people of nowhere”? Yes, celebrating one’s culture may lay our claim to both lands; but the fact of the matter is that it also gives newcomers no true place to call home.

Of concern to us all is: Does multiculturalism encourage immigrants to assimilate or integrate? Or does it force them to remain “ethnics”—on the fringes of Canadian mainstream—merely to be seen and not heard? Is there a hidden agenda here? What are possible implications for Canada in the long term?

My Love Has No Bounds

True, most us get emotional when it comes to the place we call “home”. Like a son to a mother, my love for Guyana is unquestioned. But having left her shores many decades ago, I now realize that my love for other places also has no bounds. For some 35 years, I have lived, studied and worked in many provinces and cities of Canada. To me, home is wherever I happen to live. For new immigrants and Indo-Caribbean people, that home is Canada. For young people born here, that place is also Canada. My own children have little interest in my ‘marti bhoomi’ Guyana, choosing to consider my mother country as just another place on the map. Should I get them for that? Or should I be man and mature enough and respect their views? Signs of the times, eh?

Like fellow Indo-Caribbean immigrants, I know that I am the one who choose to come to Canada. Accordingly, it is incumbent on me to adjust in order to become successful in this wonderful country. I have had no hidden agenda, no cultural axe to grind, and everything divine to respect. As a Guyanese-Canadian with Indian roots strong and proud, universal truths are instilled in my cultural DNA. One of the finest sayings in Sanskrit with universal appeal is: Vasudhaiv Kutumbikam: “The world is one family.” Billions around the world increasingly share this conviction.

What’s the best way for Indo-Caribbean and other newcomers achieve success in Canada?

Those with eyes let them see. Those with ears let them hear. And those who choose to whine, or use Canadian secular laws to push linear agendas, let them persist. Where it will all end, only time will tell, but in the end, Satya meva Jayate - meaning: “Truth Alone Triumphs”! Indo-Caribbean and other immigrants who try hard enough are most likely to succeed. Knowing what our rights is one thing; demanding them is another. Complaining will get us nowhere.

Amidst the apparent turmoil of life in ‘multicultural’ Canada, is there one happy medium where all can be reasonably accommodated and respected? And can this be done without compromising our new country’s goals for peace and prosperity?

[Dr. Roop Misir is an Indo-Guyanese Canadian Teacher with the Toronto District School Board. You may contact him at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

THE DEFENCE OF INDIANS (1977)
By Ram Jagessar

Files can be very embarassing things, especially when they reveal documents like this 1977 pamphlet on the issue of security for Indians in Trinidad. It was released by a small group in St Augustine of which I was a member. As a reminder of  opportunities not taken, I am releasing it as it was printed over 30 years ago. There may still be something  for Indo-Trinidadians to learn from it now.

  THE DEFENCE OF INDIANS

   Over the years we Indians have had to defend ourselves from all kinds of attacks. Others have attacked our religion, culture, political parties, our place in the economy, and have all failed in their efforts.
    Today it is time to prepare ourselves for another kind of attack, and to organise our own defence. This time we are facing physical, criminal attack from members of another racial group. It is plain racial robbery and terrorism, with Indians being attacked mostly by non-Indians. All of us know about it. Every day it gets worse.
    They are stealing our cars, robbing our business places without mercy. They are mugging us on the streets, hijacking our taxis and cars or stealing them in broad daylight. They are burglarising our empty homes or committing armed robberies on our homes when we are present. They are raping our women. They are stealing our animals and our crops in the fields.


COMING INTO OUR HOMES

    Crooks and bandits are openly coming into our areas, scouting for places to rob. They are selling cocaine and ganja at our street corners, sometimes with help from Indians. Sometimes they poison our dogs before coming to rob our homes. What it means  is that these people are terrorizing us where we live and daring us to do something. A few of them are openly saying that we Indians nave the money and we have to mind them now. They are saying they must steal from us because they have no jobs.
    Many incidents are taking place. Businessmen are sometimes robbed every week. Houses are broken into again and again. Everybody in Trinidad knows of some examples. We see too that the Police are generally useless and helpless to stop this racial robbery. Sometimes they seem to be helping people like the drug pushers. Some policemen do not seem to be interested in cracking down on crooks making a living by robbing Indians.
    The result is that we are living  in jails. We can't leave our homes and be sure to return and find them safe. Some Indians are afraid to go out to the cinema or a show, and are looking to migrate to other lands.
    But that will not do at all. It is not an answer. We have to understand what is happening. Then we have to act, and do something to protect ourselves. A people who cannot protect themselves from attack are not sure to survive.
    Some Indians have already started, happy to say. They are getting ready to defend their selves, homes, villages, vehicles, animals and crops. In St. Helena, for instance, after a nasty robbery the villagers have set up their vigilante squad. But a lot of us are not really thinking of self defence. We do not have to wait until we are personally attacked. When we see our neighbour's house on fire, we should take out our hose and start wetting ours.

THE GUYANA PATTERN

    First we have to ask some simple questions. Why should we work to defend ourselves if we have the Police to do that job? The answer is that for the most part the Police are not doing the  job and there is no likelihood they will start soon. They are mostly of  the same  group as the criminals anyway and neither side considers robbing Indians to be specially bad.
    Can this pattern of racial robbery get worse? Yes, it definitely can.
    Has it happened anywhere else? Yes, right in nearby Guyana, and that is the pattern we can expect to get here very soon. In Guyana we have had armed gangs of non- Indians from the towns going into the country areas and kicking down the doors of Indian homes, robbing, killing, raping as if they were in Uganda . Sometimes they use army and Police vehicles, and some of the bandits are in fact  soldiers and police. They have terrorized the Guyanese Indians and made them like a bunch of helpless sheep.
    We cannot let that happen in Trinidad. The Trini Indian is a different creature altogether. We did not sweat and  sacrifice to build this nation for a bunch of crooks and thieves to take away the rewards from us. We have education, we have some money, we have numbers. We must drive the wolves back into their caves and scatter the corbeaux from our dinner table. We have to start now.
 
THE PROCEDURE

    It doesn't take much to start on the road to self defence and safety of Indians. We start by opening our eyes to what is happening around us, in our own areas and elsewhere in the country. What is the trend, the pattern? Be sure it will reach you sooner or later.
    Next, we look at the culprits. Exactly who are the people doing the crimes? Make a little investigation in your area, set up a little group to find out. Get the descriptions, and if possible the names, addresses and method of operation of the bandits. Sometimes they are making no attempt to hide, as if nobody can do anything to them. Then we can organise to show them different. Then we decide what weapons we need to deal with these bloodsuckers, and what kind or insecticide we have to apply. They have declared war on us, and since we cannot surrender, we have to fight them. It's as simple as that.
    Some other things follow from this line of  thinking. First, each Indian must look to making his home safe from attack from burglars, kick down door bandits, rapists etc. Do we need steel doors, bars, dogs, burglar proofing? Should we put up fences? Should we open the door for strangers  without seeing who they are first? Should we keep a weapon handy in the house?  What should it be, a club, cutlass, speargun, or something else? How do we alert neighbours of a problem? What do we do to protect our cars or our crops in the fields? These are serious questions which require answers. Do not assume you are safe because you live in a country area or because you nave not been hit before.
    We have to move beyond just defending our homes and business places. We must .look to the defence of our area as a zone. That means co-operating with neighbours, neighbourhood watch, a telephone alert system, alarms, roadblocks, vehicle patrols, weapons. If  there are known offenders in the area they have to be dealt with, very firmly. We have to protect women and children, especially women alone at home in the day or walking home at night.


SELF DEFENCE GROUPS


    Various such self defence groups may have to get together to confront well known robber roosts, to pressure the Police or the political parties on a national basis. We are talking about making Trinidad a safe place for Indians to live and work, and nobody is going to do that job for us. We must do it ourselves, and take whatever steps necessary.
    Even on a personal level, we have to look to our safety. We Indians have to start thinking of our safety, now and in the future. We must start learning karate, judo and other self defence systems. We have to get legal weapons to protect ourselves when we move around. We must understand that corbeaux will start eating us if we lie still and dead in appearance. Corbeaux fly away when they see an animal alive and kicking, especially when they see the kicking. Understand the nature of the enemy attacklng us, and we will drive him away. This is deadly serious business. What we do decides how, where and in what condition we Indians live in Trinidad.
    To conclude: Let us observe the problem of non Indians attacking us on a widespread and growing scale. Let us look at the trends. Let us look at solutions, plans for defending ourselves and dealing with our attackers.
    The position is serious. It calls for serious thought and serious action NOW, not in 1991 or 1995. Racial crime against Indians is a reality today. Let us put it on our agenda TODAY.

What is the future of Indians in Trinidad?
Over half of the Indians from Guyana and Suriname have left. Is Trinidad next?

By Ram Jagessar

Q. Which is an alien land?
A. Any place even if it is one’s native land, where he is not respected

Q. Which is one’s own land?
A. Any land where one is respected
Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji  

Trinidad (and Tobago) is the last of the three Indian majority countries of the southern Caribbean where there can still be some debate about the future of the Indian community. 
  From nearby Guyana the majority of the Indo-Guyanese have long departed for safer and more developed places to live. About 700,000 Indo-Guyanese and their descendants live abroad, mostly in the United States, Canada, Britain and Venezuela, while around 375,000 Indo-Guyanese remain at home, most of them according to the old joke just waiting for their visa to depart. Indo-Guyanese have voted with their feet, and there’s little doubt their future is in New York and Miami and Toronto and London.
  Next door in Suriname, the bulk of the Indo-Surinamese took off for Holland when the creole (black) NPK party was negotiating for independence. Now over 200,000 of them and their children are happily settling down as Dutch citizens. Less than 150,000 Indo-Surinamese remain in the land of their birth. No community can recover when more than half its people depart. The future of Indo-Surinamese is in New Amsterdam and various other Dutch cities.
  So how do the Indo-Trinidadians shape up when compared with our cousins from Guyana and Suriname? The sad reality is that we seem to be heading along the same road and are well advanced towards the break point of having 50% of the Indo-Trinidadian community choosing to leave their home and native land for better prospects abroad.
  If we leave the emotion behind and just look at the facts we will find that already around 250,000 Indo-Trinis and their descendants have departed and are living elsewhere, most of them unlikely to return. Remaining in Trinidad and Tobago are around 523,900, or 40.3% of the TT population of 1.3 million. Simple mathematics will tell us that of the total Indo-Trinidad population of 773,900, a full 250,000 or 32% have decided their future lies elsewhere than Trinidad and Tobago. That’s about one third gone and two thirds remaining, which is not as definitive as Guyana or Suriname but certainly getting there.
  For those who will dispute the estimate of 250,000 Indo-Trinis gone, let me say how I arrived at it. We know that Canada has a minimum 50,000 Indo-Trinis, the United States more than double that amount, or around 125,000. Britain has well over 25,000 in my opinion, which brings us up to 200,000 already. There are sizeable but unknown numbers of Indo-Trinis living in Venezuela, Barbados and several other Caribbean countries, plus others scattered everywhere from continental Europe to Africa to India to the rest of Asia, and even Australia and New Zealand. I think it’s well within probability that we could have another 50,000 Indo-Trinis scattered around the rest of the world.
  The natural question to ask is why have Indo-Trinidadians been leaving the most prosperous country in the southern Caribbean, and are we likely to continue doing so in the future? It comes down to the respect mentioned by Swami Muralidhara. Indians want an equal place in the land where they were born. They want a fair chance to build a life for themselves and their children. They want to able to keep their culture and religion and way of life without discrimination and prejudice. They want economic, cultural, social and religious equality with the other people living in the country, nothing more, nothing less.
  That’s what the jahajis were looking for when they decided to stay in Trinidad rather than returning to India. It’s still what their descendants want. But we’ve never got that equality, that respect, neither during the long years of colonialism or in the fifty years since self government and independence.
  It’s a simple equation. When the British were getting ready to leave Trinidad, the Indians and the Africans battled for political power to replace them. The Afros won and the Indos lost, in 1956, 1961, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1976, 1981, for 30 years in succession. The Afros got the political power, and with it economic, cultural and social dominance. The Indians became the political enemy to be kept out of power and position at any costs, and put in their place.
  Seeing that their prospects for respect and equality were not good, Indians started migrating quietly from the late fifties and have continued to do so ever since. Indian leaders told them they could get equality when an Indian dominated political party won power, but that didn’t happen for 39 years, until 1995 when Basdeo Panday’s UNC won the government.
  To their great surprise, Indians discovered that Panday was unable to do much towards getting the much desired equality for Indians. He lasted only 6 years in government, and then the Afro dominated PNM resumed its hold on power in 2001.
  It boils down to this. For the 111 years since 1845 Indians got no respect or equality under the British rulers, and for the last 51 years since 1956 they didn’t get it from the Afros or even their own man Basdeo Panday. What are their chances of getting it in future from the Afro PNM and their leader Patrick Manning?
  Not enough to bet your future on and that of your children, is my guess. There comes a time when you must cut your losses and look for a new game. The Indo-Trinidadians are already a third of the way along the Guyana-Suriname road of leaving their native land to find their own land. It's just a matter of time before they reach the point of no return when the majority of the majority Indians in Trinidad go away.