Finance Minister Winston Dookeran says as the country celebrates its 50th year of Independence, the memory and ideas of the legendary Dr Dom Basil Matthews should be rekindled.As he paid tribute to the late Matthews during the celebration of his 100th birthday and the 55th anniversary of the St Benedict's College at the San Fernando City Auditorium recently, Dookeran praised Matthews for his invaluable mark in the education system. Dr Matthews was remembered as a monk, author, priest, educator, football pioneer and debater. The function was hosted by the college's past student's association.Dookeran, who had a close relationship with Matthews, said: "I know Dom felt somewhat disappointed that in the journey of Independence since his early days to when I last met with him when I was governor of the Central Bank, we had a wonderful lunch together, he felt a sense of disappointment that his society, our society did not live up to the expectations of nationhood and independence."If there is tribute, therefore, that we as students of Dom Basil Matthews can make to his legacy and to his contribution and to ensure that his ideas continue to permeate to thinking of young people is for us to renew, renew in our own minds, that we can as we enter in the 50th year of Independence, remember Dom Basil Matthews as a teacher, as a priest, as someone who inspired us all and someone whose ideas is perhaps as relevant now as they were then."Dookeran said his first encounter with Matthews was when he (Matthews) gave him his first teaching job at the college when he returned to Trinidad after completing his studies in Canada.
The minister said Matthews did not allow himself to be en-trapped by the local thinking of politics."Early on I realised that here is a man never to be imprisoned by the exercise of the day to day politics and I felt relieved, especially in my idealistic age, to have met someone, especially in society that was so consumed in a politics of nothingness, that he was able to point out that there was something worthwhile in the purse of politics," he said, adding that "today I am the politician who cannot be described as a politician."Recalling Matthews' success in school football, he said: "In his view he was developing his country and he said by his actions rather than his words that real development is human development and that is why he has produced so many of us here today, because he knew at the final analysis it is human development that will bring about real development."He also recalled the famous intellectual debates Matthews had with Dr Eric Williams on political philosophy, on political freedom and development.The highlight of the programme was the launch of a CD entitled Nihil Omnino Christo (Christ Above All) produced by former St Benedict's student Gilman Figaro, chairman of The Sunshine Awards and its musical director Joe Brown.Vice-principal of UWI St Augustine campus, Dr Rhoda Reddock, delivered the feature address.
AboutDr Dom Basil Matthews
After attending St Mary's College he entered the monastery at Mount St Benedicts where he pursued studies for the priesthood. 1n 1935 he was one of the first Trinidadian to be ordained priest in the Order of St Benedict.Matthews, an assigned counsellor at "the Mount" published Crisis of the West Indies Family. In 1955 he engaged in a famous intellectual debate with Dr Eric Williams. In 1956 he established St Benedict's College in La Romaine.St Benedict's was the first composite school in the country, offering, in addition to the usual academic subjects, commerce, accounts, typewriting and domestic science.Matthews introduced music into the curriculum. He established a successful school football team producing national stars such as Waren Archibald, De Leon, Steadman David, Cupid, Ruben and others. He also served as a vice-president of the T&T Football Association.
In the 70's he went to the United States to work in educational systems in New York archdiocese. Matthews developed an "intellectual academic base for the integration of black experience into the curriculum" at Howard University. He was assigned to the Graduate School of Social Work. After eight years he returned to Trinidad, and in 1980 he announced the founding of an Institute of Human Relation. He taught at the Abbey School at St Benedict, and was a lecturer for the Extra Mural Departments of UWI St Augustine. The monk died at a nursing home in the United States on April 7,1999. He was 87. (Excerpts from Trinidad Guardian April 16, 1999 written by Seigmund Assee)