There is disquiet beneath the fresh coats of paint being applied to the government buildings in Port-of-Spain; there is discomfort underneath the thick layers of whitewash running halfway up the trunks of trees; historical potholes lie beneath layers of smooth asphalt that now covers the roads leading from the airport to the luxury awaiting delegates and visitors arriving for the Fifth Summit of the Americas come April 17-19.
The government of Trinidad and Tobago has applied the cosmetic and done so thickly at a tremendous cost. No denying it – all that is unattractive and unbecoming to a government hosting such a prestigious event has been swept under the carpet, the rest covered up with paint, asphalt and bricks. No effort has been spared, and the expenditure to do so has probably come close to one billion Trinidad and Tobago dollars.
Even if all of these arrangements will now contribute to enhancing the quality of the environment and the lives of nationals afterwards, it has come with some unease, humiliation, government high-handedness, and foreboding.
Notwithstanding the protestations and explanations of the Ministers of Works and Local Government to the contrary, the so-called berm at the Beetham, being frantically constructed, has emerged as a “Wall of Shame.”
The coincidence of this wall being constructed at a cost of (TT) $4 million is too stark, if not ironic, in its parallelism to the visit by US President Barack Obama and the US State Department’s advisory to American visitors that, "The Beetham Highway, a main thoroughfare in and out of the city, is dangerous if your vehicle has broken down. If your vehicle is drivable get out of the area before seeking help." As well, it notes that "Americans visiting or residing in Port-of-Spain are advised to exercise caution, especially in crowded urban areas." Too, that "incidents of violent crime have been steadily on the rise on both islands [Trinidad and Tobago]."
Through the decades since its emergence as Shanty Town back in the late 1950s to the Beetham Estate of the present, the community that is now being “walled out” has been denied basic facilities such as the provision and maintenance of drains and other such amenities. It is an area of impoverishment. It is understandable why the resentment to this “Wall of Shame” is growing, now that the officially stated “berm” is being built with a vista of palm trees to create the traditional image of idyllic splendour, one of native (not indigent and neglected for generations) people warming themselves in the sun, even as drainage remains stagnant behind.
The government of Trinidad and Tobago applying window-dressing to neglected areas where human tragedy thrives does not end here. The homeless persons living on the streets of Port-of-Spain have been a social ill for decades - now, instead of a permanent solution, these human wrecks have been shunted away for a weekend that cost close to a billion dollars to put together.
What happens on the day after the Summit ends?
Just beyond the paint, the whitewash and the shameful bricks an economic hurricane is yet to reveal its centre. When it started, Trinidad and Tobago’s government insisted the recession would not impact on what was a resilient economy. Shortly afterwards, a $5 billion shortfall in revenue was announced; too, that jobs would be lost. There has not been an indication that the recession has hit the bottom, not with the price of oil still unstable, with international companies scaling back operations, and a contraction of the local construction industry.
A mid-term economic review promised in March did not materialise - this was for a substantial assessment on the impact of the recession and a mapping out of the way forward. The global recession has since deepened and spread.
No doubt the reality check will come April 20 for the people of Trinidad and Tobago, the day after the Summit, after the red carpet has been rolled up, and the time comes for the administering of the bitter medicine from this recession.
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