By Johnny Coomansingh
In every country, there are good people. There are also ‘not-so-good people.’ The not-so-good people fall into several categories, including rebellious people, uncooperative people, hostile people, nasty people, and disobedient people. There is another category, bad people. Religious or not, the not-so-good people are just as bad as the bad people. Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) is no exception. How many generations have passed since Columbus rediscovered Trinidad? Despite the best efforts, this little country seems destined to be burdened with a whole lot of bad people.
Trinidad and Tobago endured colonialism, slavery and indentureship, emerging as an independent democratic republic with an anthem that tells the world: “Here every creed and race find an equal place.” This ‘equal place’ for all is left to be seen on the roadside of dreams. The racial mix is a hodgepodge of peoples who came from almost every part of the globe. Yet there are severe racial tensions; “… disturbances in the force” as articulated in the Star Wars Trilogy.
With the arrival of Europeans in the New World, much of the Amerindian population died because of the oppressive nature of the Spanish conquistadores. Having decimated the Amerindian population, the Spaniards and the other Europeans after them found a new source for supplementing the needed labour. In the year 1606, Dutch merchants brought 407 enslaved Africans to Trinidad, and by 1813, the slave population rose to 25, 696. Slave trading eventually ended in 1834, but as early as 1845 the British Crown began importing East Indians to the colony as indentured servants to offset the shortfall in the labour supply involved with sugar production. Today, in such a self-governed, plural society, the two major ethnic groups (Afro and Indo-Trinidadians) jostle each other for state control and power. And the racism expressed during and after the hustings is all too pellucid.
According to one researcher, the so-called equality of all people on this twin-island state is far from reality because “… electoral outcomes have reflected ethnic cleavages.” The disagreement between the races, especially on the island of Trinidad, has manifested itself not only in every election, but also in calypso lyrics and the carnival masquerade. Look at the satire expressed in the lyrics of this excerpt from the 2002 calypso From Naipaul to Shame as sung by Dr Hollis Urban Liverpool (The Mighty Chalkdust):
“Mr Chairman I thank thee for this grand Nobel Prize,
I am Vidia Naipaul from England where my heart lies,
Though I grew up on dhal, rice, baigan and roti,
I prefer baked beans, toast, jelly and English tea,
But dem East Indians in Chaguanas, Todds Road, and Couva,
Dey want me trade my English suit and put on a capra,
Dey want me trade my English loo and toilet paper,
For a latrine pit and a bottle of water.”
There is abundant evidence that a serious social problem exists. Social sustainability is difficult to achieve while such cleavages persist, but with time, there is hope that people will become more agreeable and understanding. I would be long gone, somewhere pushing up daisies. Nevertheless, I must establish that this racial equality that we all hope for in Trinidad and Tobago may take a whole junnum (10,000 years) or more to accomplish. The power of racism is probably an inbred gene riding on a chromosome in the people of Trinidad and Tobago. Could it be that the economic situation of some citizens caused racism to rise to a crescendo unmatched?
It would seem that many citizens are dissatisfied and unhappy about how things have gone over the years in the country. Trinidad and Tobago was once known as the ‘tiger in the sea of pussycats.’ The twin-island state should have settled for the name ‘Squandermania.’ For the amount of money that flowed through this outcropping of rock in the Caribbean Sea, some believe that this country could have been the ‘Dubai of the Caribbean.’ Some countries do not have the natural resources that Trinidad and Tobago has but they became economic tigers! A classic example is Singapore. What did Singapore do that we did not do?
Although Trinidad is blessed with 99 acres of asphalt, many roads, especially in the rural areas, are riddled with potholes and landslides. Bridges, barriers and road signs are in dire need of repair. Apart from the poor roads, the hostility of drivers on such narrow roads, for example, Tobago’s Windward Main Road, leaves much to be desired in terms of road safety. It could be that Tobago wants to showcase this speeding madness as a new tourism product.
Noisy vehicles with their huge booming speakers constantly pierce the silence of residential neighbourhoods; some of them with speeds of up to 100 to 120 kms/hour. Don’t even mention the booming sounds emanating from rum shops and pubs in residential areas. Historic buildings are abandoned and left to rot away. Without a vote from the citizens, some of the buildings in Sangre Grande, Toco, and Manzanilla were demolished and carted away. Because of the denuded hillsides in the Northern Range, flash flooding with the attendant mud and debris plagues Port of Spain and several adjacent cities. Let’s not talk about the incidence of litter all over Trinidad by stink and dutty people. It’s apparent that some people prefer a la basse everywhere they go.
Homeless people continue to squat, even in government forest reserves earmarked for scientific research, for example, ‘The Aripo Savannah.’ Feral dogs roam the landscape, while vagrants make their homes on the sidewalks and constantly rummage through garbage bins for food. Piles of garbage litter the landscape. Sidewalks are broken, jagged and uneven. Manholes are sometimes left uncovered. Soap and paper towels are always in short supply in the airport restrooms. Used paper cups and plates, plastic bags, bottles and other detritus litter some of the rivers and beaches. The verges of roads and highways do not escape the littering plague. It could be that tourists have a longing to experience the nastiness of a place that they visit. Trinidad and Tobago is so unlike other Caribbean destinations where tourism is the ‘bread and butter’ of the economy. There are reasons for our behaviour and lack of quality concerning tourism.
Trinidad has never had a true history of tourism due to its hydrocarbon-based economy and the development of the industrial sector after its independence in 1962. There was little growth and even stagnation in the tourism sector during 1977-1987. Moreover, there was no real need to develop a tourist industry since the exploitation of petroleum and natural gas became the economic driver. The abundance of oil and gas money engendered an anti-tourist nationalism. In fact, Dr Eric E. Williams, the first prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago did not concentrate on the development of the tourism industry for fear that the country would breed a generation of janitors and busboys.
The money obtained from the petroleum industry was short-lived. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, soft prices for petroleum on the world market ruffled the takings of the treasury. In view of the situation, the government sought a solution to bolster the flagging economy. Tourism suddenly came to the forefront, but isn’t it a bit late to start training “busboys and janitors?” How do you educate a non-tourism generation of people to a tourism-oriented one? Maybe Trinidad and Tobago should take a page out of the book of tourism in Barbados.
It’s kind of crass, but I cannot ‘put mih mouth in boli (calabash) tuh say dis:’ The busboys and janitors eventually became ‘grasscutters and road sweepers’ in the Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme. (CEPEP). As with everything else in Trinidad and Tobago, corruption is the cause for calamity, chaos, and confusion. CEPEP is now defunct because of corruption. Corruption is one thing. Worrisome is the word when I consider how people treat our physical environment.
After a ‘River Lime’ (hang out, party, shoot the breeze), the rivers become polluted with the entrails of animals and feathers. Some religions, after certain rites are performed, throw human hair and other foreign matter into the rivers. It is difficult not to witness young strong youth literally ravaging a garbage truck on the Beetham Highway as it slows down to enter the Port of Spain dump or what we refer to as the La Basse. Traffic jams are endless, and long lines at the banks or other service institutions (public or private) are unavoidable. It’s the same old, same old nature of things: government come, government go. This brief description brings to the fore a snippet of an image of T&T that many ignore.
Tourists, both domestic and foreign, need a modicum of security and safety when they visit any country. Entertaining tourists under such conditions is simply abhorrent. The question is: How sustainable is such a scenario? The solutions to some of the problems raised are easy to fix, while others are not so simple to arrest. It might sound as cliché, but total quality management (TQM) on the part of the political directorate is required if the country is to move towards social sustainability. Education of the masses about their role in protecting the environment; to hold and accept the environment as a personal concern, is an imperative if the tourism product is to pay dividends.
As anywhere else, Trinidad and Tobago is dealing at present with increased crime, partially generated by illicit drug peddling. Gun slinging, home invasions and banditry are everyday issues. We have more national security issues than the National Geographic! It is known worldwide that Trinidad and Tobago is a transhipment point for illegal drugs coming out of South America. There is a literal war over drug turf “behind the bridge” in Port of Spain.
As far as possible, tourists should avoid these areas. A map of Port of Spain has been sanitised to prevent tourists wandering too far from where is considered safe. However, right now, SOE or no SOE, no one is safe and nowhere is safe! This is not a good sign for any kind of venture in tourism; this is probably the most serious threat to social sustainability. Many foreign countries have already posted travel warnings about the situation in Trinidad and Tobago.
Much of what is written here is an adaptation from my chapter titled: ‘Social Sustainability of Tourism in a Culture of Sensuality, Sexual Freedom and Violence: Trinidad and Tobago,’ published in the book Island Tourism—Sustainable Perspectives (2011) edited by Professors Jack Carlsen and Richard Butler. Fifteen years after this publication, behaviours have not changed much in Trinidad and Tobago. The bad people, some of the offspring of enslaved Africans and indentured servants, are still harassing the country. The record shows that every day there is a murder or two or even three, four or five. Let’s not talk about auto theft, home invasions, banditry and praedial larceny.
The power struggle continues in place. Political parties daily elbow one another to gain control of the masses. As I said in my last article on Caribbean News Global: ‘When elephants fight it’s the grass that suffers.’ While the political infighting is ongoing, some elephants do not care who gets hurt. However, I must give voice to the fact that the ‘grass’ has much power to stop the battles of the elephants. The not-so-good people, and all the bad people, also have power. This power in these belligerent people is an evil that stalks the land. Such gun-toting people continue to bring people to their knees.
Let us take note that even in the protective services, there are officers who swore to ‘Protect and Serve’ whose activities are questionable. In June 2026, according to Allister Guevarro, commissioner of police, there were approximately 280 to 290 police officers on suspension from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS). Seventeen of these suspended officers were formally revoked and dismissed in July 2026. The Roman poet Juvenal asked the question: “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” (Who guards the guards?)
It is my sincere hope and prayer that the good people of Trinidad and Tobago will somehow override the interests and activities of the bad people. May God help us!