Preservation of old buildings plays an important role in the cultural development of any country. It can teach us about our past and, in the case of monuments that evoke painful reminders, can help to ensure that the difficult times behind us never be repeated.
Keeping the old structures in good shape can also have economic benefits such as attracting tourists.
A historical monument such as Greyfriars Church of Scotland, listed as a protected building by the National Trust, slipped away quietly from our future on Independence weekend, 2015.
While the nation celebrated 53 years of independence, the last walls of this icon of our past were bulldozed. And all of this happened one week before a general election, a time when one would expect the sitting government to be on its best behaviour.
The outrage is huge, the law has been broken and a piece of our history erased. To the three infants buried in the church cemetery (the smallest existing cemetery in T&T), I apologise for the brutality you have undergone. And to the rest of us who feel violated by this act, I ask that you speak out against this atrocity.
Susan Parkinson
Maraval