One thing that strikes me over and over again is how much of a knee-jerk society we are. The destruction of Greyfriars church, and the public reaction to it is a prime example. It was not Alfred Galy, nor the contractor, nor the seller who caused the demolition, illegal or not, of the church.Neglect and general civic apathy caused it, and that set in long before any excavator started to break masonry walls with its iron fist.
Listen to what Alfred Galy had to say: "They are laughing and saying it is a heritage site. They can't even maintain the city."He is right. Port-of-Spain and T&T are full of old crumbling buildings. If we really wanted to protect them, we would make sure they are listed, we would ensure that their owners receive subsidies to maintain them, we would make certain that they maintain some level of functionality. A building that has no function is a dead building.
Do not get me wrong. I do not approve of Alfred Galy and his sledgehammer, but there is a golden rule that if you do not act to protect what has value to you, somebody else will find a way to take it from you. There is just too much money on the table. We could be the New Orleans of the Caribbean, but instead we are content to watch buildings that give the city its character deteriorate into rustic old wrecks. We commit to their ruin through our inaction. It is the same inaction with which we wash our hands of any responsibility for their preservation.
But the moment somebody speeds up the process of indifferent deterioration by bringing in the wrecking ball we are all up in arms, engaging in crisis management. There is a fine line between a concerned public, and a bunch of whiners. And I am afraid that we have descended in to being a nation of whiners, always doomed to react by complaining, and never doing what needs to be done to prevent.
Among the reactions most observed directly after the demolition of Greyfriars started was: "I thought that building was protected."It reminded me of when we first started to highlight the legal killing of sea turtles in T&T. At first so many people gave the same reaction:"I thought sea turtles were protected."
It was a perfectly commonsense conclusion. After all, these are endangered and critically endangered species, there is a thriving turtle watching industry, and anywhere you go on the northeast coast you see proud signs proclaiming: "You have now entered the Turtle Village of XXXXX."The reality was that all that we assumed was untrue. We believed a fairy tale. Turtle hunting was perfectly legal during hunting season, and there was a lively trade in them. It took citizen action to change that.
Recently the Chaguaramas Development Authority broke ground to construct a 6.75-acre car park in Tucker Valley. Tucker Valley is a unique area, close to Port-of-Spain, home to charismatic species such as red howler monkeys and ocelot, deer and the like. If the Americans gave us one present from their World War II base days, it is that they left us this undeveloped valley, which has become a playground for Port-of-Spain, and indeed for a big portion of all Trinidad.
When the excavators moved in, once again the same reaction: "How can they do this? We thought it was a national park."Well, folks, wake up, there is no national park legislation in T&T. I believe there is some national park legislation gathering dust on a shelf somewhere, but let's get real: if you don't care enough about it to make your political reps legislate it, they won't either.
The golden rule that if you don't properly protect something of value to you, somebody else who values it more will take it from you goes for Chaguaramas as well. The CDA is calling for investments of up to $2 billion and is offering investors "virgin land for development." That is too much money to leave on the table. Listen to them when they speak.
This is no longer a time for talk, no time for believing in fairytales, no longer a time for waiting for other people to do what needs to be done to protect our country, and to make sure that it is developed in the way that we want it to be. I recently saw a presentation by a land planner called Ivan Laughlin. One thing that stuck with me most was his saying: "As you shape the land, so you shape the people and the culture." I think that goes for buildings as well.
Stop being a whiner and become a shaper. Educate yourself about the laws of the land. Join a group like Citizens for Conservation to lobby for the preservation of our architectural heritage. Join a group like Papa Bois Conservation to protect Tucker Valley, and to lobby for our natural areas to be protected.Let's be warriors.