I wanted to continue with Calypso 101 but I think I need to vent a little about an interesting situation here in our country where "every creed and race find an equal place".
The Trinity Cross, our nations highest honor, is under scrutiny again. There are some sections that believe that in a multi denominational culture, the Trinity Cross is offensive. The Secretary General of the Maha Sabha, Mr. Sat Maharaj, has filed a constitutional motion against the state saying the Trinity Cross contravenes the freedom of individuals who are not christians. France banned the hijab in schools. The US removed every connotation to the Bible in their court system. Are we following fashion, or is there a real issue here?
Sat alludes that since inception of the awards in 1969, only 8 Indians were awarded the medal out of the total 66, and of that, only 2 were Hindus. My immediate reaction was, "Er.... so...?? Whats your point? I have no doubt that there are Hindu people who are deserving of the medal, (lets not call it the trinity cross, at least for a while).
My understanding is that all Chief Justices routinely get the medal. Meaning that the award is politicised. But then all national awards are, in every country, unless there is an obviously, above the call of duty person whose identity and good works practically screams, "Give me the @#%#-ing medal!!!".
Then they don't get it till they're dead. I have not seen a Mahatma Ghandi or a Malcolm X in Trinidad, and I'm 30 something. Even then I dont think they would have gotten it. Our history is littered with people who should have... but didn't.
I tried to find a list of requirements or criteria for adjudging the nominees for the Trinity Cross but came up blank. Or a list of the names of the panel that submits the nominees to the President for award selection....zilch. If anyone finds it, let me know.
The teenager who pulled a woman out of a burning house at risk of her own life. She got the Humming Bird Medal. So did the disabled fireman. Kitchener refused the Humming Bird Medal and said he deserved the Cross. I think he deserved it. He didn't get it. What differentiates the Trinity Cross from the Humming Bird? Someone please educate me.
All this debate has devalued the award. GOPIO, by virtue of institution of their own national awards has also devalued the award and the national perception of awards.
Everyone knows the award but does the man on the street know who got it? Ask anyone for the first recipient's name of any Trinidadian national award and yuh go get cut eye. A look that says, "Doh tes' mih patience young man...grrrr!". Ask who Lennox Pawan was. Try it on the first person you can ask. You'll see. That's how collectively important it is to us.
Fast Forward to 2099. The ethnos consists of 61% dougla, 10% Indian, 10% African. Will the 1970 awardees be regarded any less? I dont think so. Will the increasing number of Dougla awardees for the Trinity-Shiva-Buddha-Mohammed-Selassie Award be questioned? Probably. There will probably be a "Sat Maharaj" from the Institute of International Douglarism. Times change but people don't...and that I think, is the critical issue.
The debate should be that it's not about the name of the award, but the transparency and validity of earning such an award.
If I have offended anybody, so be it.
The Trinity Cross, our nations highest honor, is under scrutiny again. There are some sections that believe that in a multi denominational culture, the Trinity Cross is offensive. The Secretary General of the Maha Sabha, Mr. Sat Maharaj, has filed a constitutional motion against the state saying the Trinity Cross contravenes the freedom of individuals who are not christians. France banned the hijab in schools. The US removed every connotation to the Bible in their court system. Are we following fashion, or is there a real issue here?
Sat alludes that since inception of the awards in 1969, only 8 Indians were awarded the medal out of the total 66, and of that, only 2 were Hindus. My immediate reaction was, "Er.... so...?? Whats your point? I have no doubt that there are Hindu people who are deserving of the medal, (lets not call it the trinity cross, at least for a while).
My understanding is that all Chief Justices routinely get the medal. Meaning that the award is politicised. But then all national awards are, in every country, unless there is an obviously, above the call of duty person whose identity and good works practically screams, "Give me the @#%#-ing medal!!!".
Then they don't get it till they're dead. I have not seen a Mahatma Ghandi or a Malcolm X in Trinidad, and I'm 30 something. Even then I dont think they would have gotten it. Our history is littered with people who should have... but didn't.
I tried to find a list of requirements or criteria for adjudging the nominees for the Trinity Cross but came up blank. Or a list of the names of the panel that submits the nominees to the President for award selection....zilch. If anyone finds it, let me know.
The teenager who pulled a woman out of a burning house at risk of her own life. She got the Humming Bird Medal. So did the disabled fireman. Kitchener refused the Humming Bird Medal and said he deserved the Cross. I think he deserved it. He didn't get it. What differentiates the Trinity Cross from the Humming Bird? Someone please educate me.
All this debate has devalued the award. GOPIO, by virtue of institution of their own national awards has also devalued the award and the national perception of awards.
Everyone knows the award but does the man on the street know who got it? Ask anyone for the first recipient's name of any Trinidadian national award and yuh go get cut eye. A look that says, "Doh tes' mih patience young man...grrrr!". Ask who Lennox Pawan was. Try it on the first person you can ask. You'll see. That's how collectively important it is to us.
Fast Forward to 2099. The ethnos consists of 61% dougla, 10% Indian, 10% African. Will the 1970 awardees be regarded any less? I dont think so. Will the increasing number of Dougla awardees for the Trinity-Shiva-Buddha-Mohammed-Selassie Award be questioned? Probably. There will probably be a "Sat Maharaj" from the Institute of International Douglarism. Times change but people don't...and that I think, is the critical issue.
The debate should be that it's not about the name of the award, but the transparency and validity of earning such an award.
If I have offended anybody, so be it.
4 comments:
Extremely valid points here, which any real Trini can appreciate, but you have to realise that the people who are complaining are those that still have some sort of mental allegience to [insert country name they've never been to but think they came from here]. First the Trinity Cross then perhaps the name of our country? Same derivation, you know?
I really don't care what the nation's highest award is called, if I got it I would be honoured to accept. But even though I am a brilliant blogger, I wouldn't deserve it. So you are quite right is observing that we should be more concerned with HOW it it awarded rather than it's name.
You'd think after I wrote all that I would forget to put my name & you were right :)
Ana
Thank you Ana, decisive as usual...lol. Everyone who has a "mental allegiance" should take it in the right context. Do British descendants in India still have a mental allegiance to Britain? What about Poles/Mexicans/everybody else in the US?. There is always going to be an affinity to your "ancestral homeland" or religous persuasion, and everyone has that right. It's a National award and I choose Trinidad and Tobago.
Then how far back does one go with ancestral homeland alliegence? What happens if one is mixed? I think it all has to be taken into context.
While I support acknowledging one's roots, one should not wallow in it. It only makes one feel paranoid & persecuted, especially in a society such as ours.
And expressing this paranoia then leads to being practically ostracised (such as in the case of Sat Maharaj).
We cannot build a strong nation with the kind of divisiveness that is becoming more and more rampant with each passing day.
Ana
Post a Comment