Trini families love to enjoy themselves in the outdoors. So, despite the State of Emergency (SoE), Marcina Dookhantee's household made the trek from Sangre Grande to Toco Beach. It is a stone's throw from the recently refurbished landmark Toco lighthouse, in the North-East of Trinidad's neck of the woods.
The family was celebrating the birthday of her husband, Newton Dookhantee. The aroma of curried "yard fowl" wafted in the air. Pausing from stirring his pot, Newton said the homemade delicacy would be served alongside ground provisions, dhal and rice. A cucumber and mango chow, garnished with garlic and hot peppers, would serve as an appetiser.
Beneath an arch of sea-grapes, Dookhantee said: "The curfew not affecting us badly. We in the country. Is years we coming to Toco Beach." Taking no chances, she added: "We will be in by 9 pm." Apart from celebrating Newton's birthday, the Dookhantee's were ensuring familial bonds were kept intact. It is even more important at this time when religious leaders are calling for healing among families and communities.
ABOUT TOCO
A dramatic shake-up in land ownership occurred after Lord Harris created ward boundaries in 1849. Ward rates were to be collected for the sake of development, but despite the fact Toco was in dire need of road and other services, the land-owners of Toco refused to pay ward-rates. Because of this, in 852 no fewer than 64 Toco estates were put up for sale. Toco was becoming a prominent district, and, as it moved towards the 1880s, its chief produce was no longer cotton, but cocoa and coffee. There continued to be a great deal of interchange between Toco and Tobago, for Tobago was a near and regular port of call. The brunt of Toco's labouring force continued to come from Tobago. So much was this so that as the period reached the 1880s, when all the original settlers and ex-slaves had passed away, Toco was populated almost entirely by people from Tobago.
(Adapted from Michael Anthony's Towns and Villages)
