Today, Trinidad and Tobago celebrates a great landmark in our heritage—54 years of independence—and we should be proud of the great progress this country has made during that time.
The T&T Guardian wants all our readers to celebrate today but we cannot be entirely proud of some of our history.
When a close relative grows old and their care becomes challenging, the choice becomes simple.
Place the person in professional care and let someone else handle it or double down and find a way to manage the problem with the resources available.
When it comes to the history of Trinidad and Tobago, and more specifically the artifacts that remain standing as a reminder of that past, the overwhelming choice has been to let history fend for itself and the results have been disastrous.
There is no elder care home for ageing buildings, artifacts and monuments.
Each nation meets the challenge of preserving portions of its built history according to its means and its interest in doing so.
In China, entire villages and towns have been razed to support that nation’s enthusiastic embrace of capitalism and modernity.
Cuba, with far less available in its coffers, has chosen to preserve its built history carefully and craft a national narrative that embraces everything that has made the country what it is today.
Those are broad brush strokes and in both nations, there are notable exceptions that prove the rule.