- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 05/Sep 08:04

Rewriting Caribbean history

DONALD Trump wants to rewrite history. So, too, it seems, does Kamla Persad-Bissessar. Mr Trump, 79, believes museums like the Smithsonian focus too much on “how bad slavery was.” Ms Persad-Bissessar, 73, a former minister of education, believes Eric Williams’s legacy is probably too good since we never fought for independence; Kirk Meighoo’s provocative distortion of facts relating to him is no big deal. “It’s a democracy; everyone is entitled to an opinion,” she said on September 2. Her blasé approach to the historical record exposes a willingness to allow misrepresentation to pass unchecked for political gain. In this, America’s president and Trinidad and Tobago’s prime minister are united. Dr Williams is no sacred cow. The Tesoro scandal taints his legacy. The constitution he oversaw is, to this day, problematic; in 1974 he rejected the Wooding Commission’s report. Infamous was his suppression of dissent. Controversial were some of his remarks, such as one relating to a “recalcitrant minority.” The circumstances of his death in 1981 remain shrouded in mystery. To study how the PNM leader is sometimes discussed is to glean signs of hagiography. Undoubtedly, such hagiography benefits that party. But it’s not unique to Balisier House. Dr Meighoo’s Independence Day social media missive contained sleights of hand suggesting it was not merely about debunking myths – something that is laudable, generally. His citing of the role of the PNM leader in the Federation’s demise as evidence that he was not a “beacon of Caribbean unity” ignores Dr Williams’ role in establishing Caricom and supporting smaller islands. His claim that the PNM changed the flag to ensure it was “dominated by their party colour” ignores that Carlisle Chang designed it. Most tellingly, his simplistic statement that Grantley Adams was our first prime minister simultaneously overstates the relevance of the short-lived West Indies Federation while underplaying this land’s status as a colony subject to British rule until 1962. And if the country has, for generations, been wrongly told Dr Williams was our first PM, why have two UNC prime ministers never corrected the textbooks? Predictably, Dr Meighoo has subsequently stated his views are his own and not those of the ruling party. But he is the UNC PRO. And his assertions about the past have a direct bearing on the present cabinet’s actions, whether in relation to cancelling Independence Day ceremonies or sidelining Caricom in favour of Mr Trump. Indeed, this week the academic further stated, “Eric Williams does not solely define or represent Trinidad and Tobago nationalism or Caribbean regionalism. Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the UNC have at least an equal claim.” Here, he confirms the real purpose of his archival provocation: to provide symbolic cover for the UNC cabinet’s current political moves. The casualty is truth. The post Rewriting Caribbean history appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.