Controversy mars Arrival Day in NY

Queens, New York—it is an expansive swath of territory in the borough of Queens. The working class neighbourhoods of Richmond Hill, Lefferts Blvd, Liberty Avenue and Ozone Park, once home to American Italians, have over the last three decades emerged as the Mecca of Indo-Caribbean life and culture.
Modest two-family homes line the streets off the main avenues. In some cases, homes are illegally converted to accommodate a burgeoning population already bursting at its seams. The steady stream of newcomers from Trinidad and Guyana continues, making this district the new “home” for many. With mandirs, masjids, roti shops, bars and a plethora of businesses, the landscape of this emergent settlement is now complete.

Interestingly though, this distinctive demographic composition has failed to produce an Indo-Caribbean culture with the social dynamism seen in the Caribbean. While this year’s Arrival Day (formerly Indian Arrival Day) will be marked at the Trinidad and Tobago Consulate on Friday, there will be no notable event to commemorate this watershed moment in the Indo-Caribbean enclave in Queens. In fact, the name change has become a sore point for many, including Parray Ramgarib of  Shiva Temple in East Elmhurst. Ramgarib, formerly of Dow Village in Trinidad, and chairman of the temple’s Board of Trustees, stated that his people’s identity has been compromised.

“This (name change) took everyone by surprise. In fact, most people are unaware of it,” he stated.
“In renaming our holiday “Arrival Day,” and recognising other groups, they have now lumped everyone together. This robs Indians of the special significance they have always had for that day. It has changed the equation and should be challenged by our leaders here and back home.” This “slap in the face,” he attributed to poor leadership in T&T and in the Indian diaspora. “We can’t blame Manning or ANR for this mess, but ourselves.”

He chided the People’s Partnership for working against the interests of Indians and of being “afraid to upset the status quo.” “We had Divali and Indian Arrival Day. They have taken away one...what’s next?”
That the cultural interests of Afro-Trinidadians have been advanced at the expense of their ethnic counterpart has always been a source of contention in this area. Deo Gosine, founder of the India-Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry in India and T&T, recalled an initiative once presented to picket the consulate.

“We felt that we have always been handled unfairly and the time had come to respond deliberately and effectively.” Although the march on the consulate never materialised, there is still a palatable sense of resentment and distrust. Gosine, an electrical engineer and active in Trinbagonian affairs in the US, was conciliatory and expectant of a more constructive relationship with the consulate. “I see myself as a nationalist and am here to help create a  healthier environment for all Trinidadians, regardless of ethnicity,” he said.

Both men are expected to attend Arrival Day commemorations at the consulate this Friday, but cited lack of Indian homogeneity as a matter demanding an exigent response. “Of all the years I have been in New York, only one Indian Arrival celebration is worth talking about,” Ramgarib said. Although the details failed him, he was buoyed by the memory. “It was some time back, maybe ten years ago and artefacts of our ancestors were on display in the temple for a couple of days,” he said. Mindful of the unique demands of New York life, both men understood that the focus would be less on Indian culture as it is in Trinidad. (It was a point echoed by pundits Rakesh Maharaj and Varma Maharaj some weeks ago in an earlier interview.)

Nevertheless, Gosine believed a consciousness movement could transcend the parameters of New York’s mandirs. “It’s all about increasing awareness. We must raise capital and organise,” he stated.
Ramgarib went a step further. He said: “Next year I am looking forward to an Indian Arrival Day celebration that brings together our brothers and sisters from Guyana, Suriname and Jamaica. What’s going on now is not reflective of the social force that we are.” And in a prophetic tone, and undaunted by the logistics of his goal, he ended: “If our people forget our past we are doomed to repeat it.”