There always seems to be a surplus of combustible materials at the disposal of the disgruntled. "Fiery protest" spontaneously combusted when word was shouted one shoulder over another at the St Paul Street Community Centre that the wage promised by National Security Minister Jack Warner was a paltry $69 a day. The People and Projects for Progress is a plan proposed by the People's Partnership.
An astounding amount of alliteration from a frequently fatuous father figure, frankly. This ridiculous idea hinged on the wobbly presumption that killers and bandits are simply venting frustration at their inability to secure a square job. It is obvious that this was a crass attempt at creating a mechanism that would enable the Government to hand out cash very quickly to the people of east Port of Spain. It was Colour Me Orange in dubstep.
In the melee, a car was overturned and a nearby washing machine was ignited to provide the atmosphere. One woman told reporters that the money was inadequate to purchase her underwear. She is right, of course. Unless you are flexin' elastic bra tops (with matching giant hair rollers), women's delicates can be quite expensive.
For maximum effect, MP for the constituency Marlene McDonald thundered her reaction, warning the Government to stop playing games with the people of Lavantee. She's right; it is grossly unfair to stoke the fires of hope in people who had grown accustomed, under the PNM government, to getting nothing at all.
In such affairs, the convulsing community must belch forth a spokesperson. After all "they wuzzen tekkin' dat 69 dullers so!" From the flames and detritus of the utterly abandoned east quarter, came Warrior Princess. On a radio programme, Warrior Princess made an ominous threat that the people would take to the streets, perhaps not appreciating that they had already done far more than that in the not-so-subtle burning of discarded appliances-in the streets.
There was something else that Ms Princess said which did not warrant probing by the radio hosts as it would have troubled their agenda. "People like to tink we in Lavantee doh have tings, you know, like we does still use lotreen. But we like finer things! We have tv with cable and internet for the kids, you know!" This was followed up by a caller who supported her with "How dey expect people to go to Neal and Massy with $69! How you want people to go to Courts with $69?"
When the underlying issues are revealed, we fail to analyse them because we are completely mesmerised by the flames and the tan ta na. How is it that people amass all of these bills without employment? How are cable and the internet installed without a discernible long-term ability to pay for it? In many of these impoverished communities there is a tendency to set up the life and then demand that the Government provides the means to pay for the lot.
I worked for ten years before I purchased a car. When I eventually did, it was a second-hand Honda Civic which was banged up in the front. I saved for years and waited until my salary had reached a level that would enable me to meet my monthly commitments. The most important thing is: I worked like a beast, and I still do!
Ultimately, Laventille residents are not entirely responsible for their wholly unsustainable lifestyles. They have been convinced by governments past and present that they will be taken care of. It is not politically expedient to do the right thing, which is to guide the unemployed or unemployable through training modules or insist that they go to school. This can ultimately equip them for a life beyond a URP paycheque.
Instead, beleaguered communities are born to suckle on the teat of trickle-down economics which has never worked in this country and foments seething frustrations in people with few options. Their angst is compounded by the fact that every day they read of millions of dollars frittered away or outright stolen. Yet, here they sit-waiting for their piece of the corruption pie.
Labour unions often complain that the private sector continues to exploit workers with far below-average wages. In many instances, this is true. Still, there are many businessmen who will tell you that it is not an issue of money but hours.
If workers can earn a reasonable salary in three hours from a source that has no requirement to provide a revenue stream, then getting those workers to put in a full day on the factory floor is more difficult than getting Lawrence Duprey to say "I rell sorry."
This foolish plan, meant in some awkward and utterly pointless way to court the people of this PNM-till-ah-dead constituency, has laid bare all that we refuse to acknowledge. We continue to teach this generation and the next that they will never be anything more than wards of the state. When you go cap in hand, they just might put $69 in it.
