Sometimes, I really wish that some of our politicians and leaders could sit in on my History of T&T class. You see, I hear so many versions of our history coming from them. There are the Indo and Afro-centric versions which are sprouted in an attempt to add legitimacy to their agenda. There is a version of history which they tell in order to hoodwink citizens who don’t have a clue about our country’s history. There is a version of history which the political parties use to make themselves feel good and to gain support from citizens.
Nonetheless, history is history and as EH Carr said, history is open to interpretation, but the facts cannot be altered. Thus, no matter how much we try to rewrite it to suit one’s political agenda, the facts remain unchanged.
T&T has a very rich historical past, which speaks to all the groups that arrived here and those who were here before. We don’t have to look far to see that our everyday lifestyles are rooted in our history: from the food we eat, to the clothes we wear, our music, dance, religions and daily habits.
Many citizens, especially younger generations, may think that history is about dates and great peoples from ages ago, vague things that happened in the past.
However, in reality, our history has influenced our contemporary society profoundly and is very much visible today.
That is why I find it very depressing that some individuals and groups spend their energy on trying to rewrite history when we should, in fact, just appreciate it. In recent times, we had vicious discussions over our names; the debate about Christopher Columbus and then the removal of a statue of Columbus; and more recently, the attempt to rewrite the history of independence.
Generally, the history of T&T has become a history of “we against them,” a history of Afro-Trinbagonian and Indo-Trinbagonian. The struggle for dominance by the two major races has relegated other ethnic groups to the background, basically obliterating them from the historical narrative. This tendency to pitch one group against the other is getting more and more ridiculous.
Fully fuelled by politics and some academics, all it does is present a false and/or narrow version of our historical past and deny younger generations a chance to learn the untainted version of our history. As many schools are not offering history as a subject beyond Form Three, there are limited opportunities for younger students to learn our country’s history in a non-biased way. Hence, we need to be extra careful of the history that is projected in the public domain.
This is why I believe those who use history for their own political gain should be called out and held accountable.
Furthermore, politics and politicians should desist from using history to give themselves agency and legitimacy. When they manipulate our history and use it to score points, they are being irresponsible and deceitful.
History should not be conveniently repackaged because it makes some people feel superior to others. History should not be used for political parties to compete with each other.
Why is it so difficult to acknowledge all the different players in our country’s history? Why can’t we speak of Dr Eric Williams as the first Prime Minister, while noting the role that Rudranath Capildeo played at Marlborough House?
Surely, we can acknowledge the contributions of Adrian Cola Rienzi and Elma Francois alongside Tubal Uriah Butler in the Labour Riots?
Embracing our rich historical past means embracing the names that Indian indentured labourers passed on to their children and grandchildren, as much as acknowledging that African names were lost because of the experience of slavery.
Our historical past is vast and should include every aspect of history, no matter how painful. This inclination to choose one over the other, influenced by race and ethnicity, only results in a skewed version of history and does nothing for our country.
No matter how much we try to erase or edit our history, the facts will remain the facts. Maybe the time has come for us to have reconciliation—to fully understand that we cannot change our history, that we need to accept all aspects of it and most importantly, that we can value it. Thus, all major historical players can have a seat at the table, and names from all ethnic groups can be valued. Younger generations need to know all aspects of our country’s history, not biased versions constructed to fit political narratives.
While we cannot control how individuals and groups choose to remember the past, which is often emotionally and inaccurately, our leaders need to do better. They need to stop trying to replace historical facts with collective memory to suit their agenda.
Selective memory and pushing specific narratives have consequences, they create deeper divisions in an already fragmented society. For T&T to progress, we should focus on building our nation rather than using our historical past to create divisions.
Our history is not a weapon; it is our foundation. We need to stop fighting down each other. We cannot change the past, but surely, we can learn to live with it.
