Senior Reporter
otto.carrington@cnc3.co.tt
As houses replace playing fields and businesses transform once-quiet neighbourhoods, former government minister Jamal Mohammed and Alimuddin Mohammed reflect on the history, family traditions and religious harmony that helped shape El Socorro into one of Trinidad’s growing commercial communities.
There was a time when the children of El Socorro could spend entire afternoons playing cricket and football on open fields, neighbours gathered along the roadside to exchange stories, and the doors of prominent families were open to anyone seeking assistance.
Religion was seldom a barrier to friendship, and social standing mattered little in a community where Muslims, Hindus and Christians shared the same streets, schools and recreational spaces.
Today, many of those fields have disappeared beneath houses and commercial buildings. Shopping plazas, supermarkets, warehouses and industrial operations have transformed the once-quiet village into part of a bustling commercial corridor stretching from Barataria through San Juan and Aranguez.
But for two members of one of El Socorro’s most prominent families, the community’s greatest achievement is not its economic expansion. It is the generations of people who helped establish a tradition of religious tolerance, education, cultural expression and public service.
A community that shaped a family
Former government minister and senator Jamal Mohammed, whose father, Shamshuddin Mohammed, and uncle, Kamaluddin Mohammed, were longstanding parliamentarians, describes the community as inseparable from his identity.
“El Socorro is my life, my lifeline, my lifeblood,” he said.
Although born overseas while his father was studying law, Mohammed returned to Trinidad in 1964, at the age of three, and grew up in the community.
“Since I returned with him in 1964, this is my life here in El Socorro, San Juan and, of course, Trinidad and Tobago,” he recalled.
“It’s a very important part of my belief on how I grew up, my love for my country. It’s a very integral part of my life and my family’s way of life.”
His cousin, Alimuddin Mohammed, son of the late Kamaluddin Mohammed, remembers a village where relationships between families formed the foundation of everyday life.
“It was a community with everybody. It was a family. It didn’t have who is what,” Alimuddin said.
“It was an open place for the whole community.”
For both men, those memories are particularly meaningful as El Socorro undergoes one of the most significant periods of physical and economic transformation in its history.
Jamal remembers when large portions of El Socorro Road remained undeveloped and children had the freedom to use empty lots as playgrounds.
“El Socorro has transformed over the years. It has developed tremendously. It used to have big empty spaces along El Socorro Road. Now you don’t have an empty space,” he said.
“Everything is houses, families and that’s progress.”
Even the neighbourhood of Mohammedville, where generations of the family grew up, has changed.
“Even here in Mohammedville, we used to play football. Right opposite there was a big field here, a big empty space. We used to play football and cricket here.
“But now houses have gone up. So it has developed and progressed considerably over the past years and that’s a sign of the times.”
The disappearing playing fields represent more than the physical expansion of a residential community. They mark the transition from an era when much of village life unfolded outdoors to one in which housing, commerce and industry increasingly dominate the landscape.
From country roads to commercial corridors
The history of El Socorro reaches back to Trinidad’s colonial past.
Its name reflects the island’s Spanish linguistic heritage, with the word socorro meaning help, assistance or relief, although the precise circumstances in which the district acquired its name are less clearly documented.
Before the modern road network and commercial development, the community evolved around agricultural lands, family settlements and religious institutions in the wider San Juan district.
Jamal recalled stories of El Socorro Road before it became the busy thoroughfare residents know today.
“As far as I can recall, El Socorro Road was the long, one long main road that went over the highway,” he said, explaining that earlier generations remembered sections of the route as an unpaved track.
“People used to travel with coconut, donkey carts and horse carts and so on. And then the road was paved and side streets were built.”
Those improvements gradually opened the area to greater residential and commercial development.
But long before warehouses and shopping centres appeared, community life was organised around families, places of worship and schools.
The mosque at the heart of community life
One institution that became central to El Socorro’s development was the Nur-E-Islam Mosque.
Historical accounts by Sheik Hashim Muzaffar record that his father, Sheik Muzaffar Ali, built a wooden mosque in 1912, establishing a permanent place of worship for Muslims in the surrounding districts.
A second mosque was constructed in 1924, and the present two-storey structure was built in 1966 through the efforts of religious leaders, community organisations and residents.
That building marks its 60th anniversary in 2026.
Jamal recalled the involvement of his father and uncle in the mosque’s development.
“My uncle Kamal and my father were responsible for the construction of the Nur-E-Islam Masjid,” he said, describing the institution as an enduring centre of Muslim religious life.
Historical accounts also record the contributions of the Muzaffar and Mustapha families, the Islamic Youth Movement, the San Juan Muslim Ladies Organisation and other members of the congregation to the building project.
For Alimuddin, the mosque’s history is closely associated with the wider development of the village.
He remembered his father, uncle Sham and the Muzaffar family as among those who contributed to religious and community life.
The mosque was never simply a building for worship. Its compound became a place for education, meetings, charitable activities and social interaction.
That tradition of faith-based community development continues to influence the neighbourhood.
Faiths united by friendship and tolerance
Despite El Socorro’s longstanding association with the Muslim community, both men stressed that religious diversity has always been one of its defining characteristics.
Jamal recalled growing up surrounded by families practising different religions without those differences creating barriers to friendship.
Just a short distance from the family home, a Hindu mandir along Ashram Avenue remains a reminder of that shared religious landscape.
“Right in the back there, in the next street, there is Ashram Avenue and there’s a mandir there,” he said.
He spoke warmly about the teachings of the Hindu pundit whose religious messages are heard in the neighbourhood.
“He sends out some very powerful messages of love, togetherness, tolerance and peace and so on, according to the Hindu faith.”
For Mohammed, those messages represent values shared across religious traditions.
“We have neighbours who are Hindus, we have people who are Christians. We have to learn to live and love each other and get along with each other and tolerate each other.”
It is a philosophy he believes has shaped the community throughout his life.
Alimuddin recalled similar relationships from his childhood, particularly the gatherings at Fazal Avenue, where his grandfather, Fazal Mohammed, helped establish a tradition of informal community discussion.
He described these gatherings as a panchayat, a traditional Indian village practice through which residents could discuss problems, exchange views and seek guidance from respected elders.
“Fazal Avenue, where my father lived, was a place where people used to gather and they started a little panchayat,” he said.
The street became a gathering point for residents from different religious backgrounds.
“Fazal Avenue, which is the road before the mosque, was the headquarters of the panchayat where the village people used to come and mix and mingle with the Mohammed family, both Muslims, Hindus, everybody.”
Those gatherings reflected a time when personal relationships and respected community figures played a significant role in village affairs.
Education as a foundation for progress
Education also became an important part of El Socorro’s history.
One of the most significant milestones came in 1949, when the El Socorro Islamia School became the country’s first government-assisted non-Christian denominational primary school.
The school had evolved from earlier Muslim educational efforts, including work associated with Maulana Nazir Ahmad Simab and local families who supported the provision of religious and general education.
The Tackveeyatul Islamic Association played a leading role in securing government recognition and support for the institution.
Alimuddin recalled the involvement of his father and members of the Ghany family, including the late Noor Ghany, in the association’s work.
He identified five schools associated with its development: El Socorro Islamia, Aranguez Islamia, Five Rivers Islamia, Warrenville Islamia and Lengua Islamia.
The establishment of those schools reflected the determination of Muslim community organisations to expand educational opportunities while contributing to the country’s broader education system.
For generations of families, the schools became places where children from different backgrounds developed friendships and connections that continued into adulthood.
A family legacy in broadcasting and politics
The Mohammed family’s influence eventually extended from El Socorro into national politics and broadcasting.
Kamaluddin Mohammed, born in El Socorro in 1927, became one of the pioneering figures in the promotion of Indian music and culture through broadcasting.
On 26 September 1947, he introduced Indian music to listeners through Radio Trinidad, helping establish a platform for cultural expression at a time when Indian programming received limited attention in mainstream broadcasting.
His programme, Indian Talent on Parade, helped introduce local Indian singers and musicians to a national audience.
Alimuddin recalled how the family continued that broadcasting tradition.
After Kamaluddin entered national politics, other relatives, including Moen, Sham, Nazma and Rafi Mohammed, became associated with the family’s radio and entertainment activities.
In 1970, Sham Mohammed helped bring Indian cultural performances to television through Mastana Bahar, a programme that became widely recognised for showcasing local singing, music and dance.
Alimuddin said he remains among the surviving personalities associated with the programme’s original era.
“Basically, I am the only surviving person of the original Mastana Bahar life. That is 56 years now,” he said.
“The culture continues.”
The family’s political contribution was equally extensive.
Kamaluddin Mohammed served in Parliament from 1956 to 1986, holding several ministerial portfolios during his 30-year parliamentary career.
His younger brother, Shamshuddin Mohammed, entered Parliament in 196
