A week in the life of a Trini

One week of tales, real and terrible
Monday, January 14th 2008
Source: Trinidad Express

Saturday: I am in a well-appointed clothes store on lower Frederick Street, looking at a rack of garments. A young woman walks in holding a toddler by the hand, with an open bottle of malta in the other. The guard politely says, "Excuse me miss " She turns around and, anticipating what he is about to say, says quickly and pleasantly, "I'm not drinking it". He says, "yes but ". She says, "Yuh still can't come with it?" He says something like, "That's right". She seems all right with the rules, however, the tall young man who trails in behind her says "look, leh we get the f--- outta here; I ent want nobody talking to you like you is a (inaudible)''. The young woman and the child make an about turn and leave with him as he continues: "Like dey want me shoot someone here today; I could f---ing shoot ." (I could bet mih bottom dollar it was a semi-literate PNMite getting on so.)

Wednesday or thereabouts: A friend calls me from St James; there appears to be a dead man in a sitting position on a chair on the sidewalk; people are walking by, he says, seemingly unconcerned. It seems to be a natural death, given the fact that he is seated calmly and there is no blood. It's almost a relief to hear that someone might have died naturally. My friend calls me back about forty-five minutes later, in amazement; the body is still there and people are still streaming by

Thursday: I suspect the store opposite my office has been robbed; a special response car is driving off and there are people who have come out from their own buildings to peer at the scene with worried looks on their faces, and one talks about having seen a young man leaning up against a "No Parking" sign, looking at the store in question just before the police arrived

Friday: I walk into the head office of a religious order to request a document. I wait and wait after my request is made; as I am waiting, a well-spoken woman working in the reception area, maybe in her 50s, is heard to declare (thankfully not to me), that she is not taking any bullsh.. this year. The key word is highly audible - in the religious space

Friday again: I walk across the Brian Lara Promenade from lower Edward Street to St Vincent Street. The stench of rotting garbage is almost unbearable

Friday yet again: I lose track of the number of people whose deaths were reported this week on the first few pages of the daily newspapers. Oh, right, the week isn't quite over yet.

2020?

Sonja

via e-mail

This is the state we have now reached to in Trinidad and Tobago. We have gone from bad to worse and yet Manning and the PNM are still crowing about Vision 2020. The way things going, when Manning finish with this country we will hit vision 2020BC.