Letter from the Publisher

Nirvan Balkissoon

Dear Reader,

I hope everyone had a pleasant last two weeks since the last issue of this newspaper.

I unfortunately attended two funerals. It seems that Trinis die in a bunch in this country. The saddest part of all of this is the families that are left behind to cope and recover. No matter how old the departed is, the families are always devastated by their loss.

At the last viewing I attended, the Pundit was asked to speak and to share a message so that the family can feel some comfort. The Pundit got up calmly and spoke with a gentle voice  quoting the Bhagwat Gita, however when he started speaking about this world being a mirage I got confused. I have heard in the past from other Preachers about how this world is not real and its only an illusion and when we died then it becomes a reality.

I don’t know about that, as I always feel that this world is the reality and the illusion takes place only when we are asleep. I wondered if I was to slap someone will that not be real. Why does man fight for so much in this world? Isn’t that real? 

I would like to hear from you, the reader, on this matter: Do you think this world is an illusion and our life is not real? Write to us at: info@caribbeanxpress and let me hear from you.

Anyways, how about the big show coming up this Saturday in Mississauga with the T&Tec Gayatones, and especially the 11 year old Avinash Maharaj? He’s certainly an inspiration for many of our young and aspiring singers. This kid is fantastic and I am telling all of you if you don’t bring your kids to see this young man it will be a great loss of motivation and inspiration. This has been the first family night event since the Toronto Carnival weekend in August. 

We have some future events coming up for Divali but this is, by far, the biggest event for the year.

One of the hot topics is still the State of Emergency in Trinidad. The seizure of close to 100 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition, during the state of emergency, has garnered many well-justified songs of praise from law-abiding citizens for the nation’s security agencies most notably the Police Service and Regiment.

Yet, amidst all of the praise and words of encouragement, there are also voices raised in mockery at the work of the police and soldiers. Snide remarks are heard on radio talk shows and in letters to the newspapers over the seeming rusty condition of some of the firearms seized.

The naysayers have chosen not to look at these items for what they are — instruments of death and mayhem and one wonders what some of the cynics would do faced with a bandit pointing a rusty gun to his head.

No weapon, more specifically gun or pistol as far as we know, carries an expiry date on it. It is well known the world over that land mines and other munitions, used in decades-old wars and conflicts, dating as far back as World War II, over 60 years ago, have caused untold numbers of casualties when accidentally set off by unsuspecting persons.

Consider for example the practice by marijuana cultivators who use trap-guns to protect their plantations. And what exactly is a trap-gun?

A trap-gun is a very crude explosive device consisting usually of a length of steel pipe wide enough to hold a shotgun cartridge and fitted at one end with a  cocking device (a large nail) and a trigger (the prong of a fork or another nail). The trap-gun, once loaded, is either buried in the ground with the muzzle facing skyward or concealed in the bushes. Left to the elements of earth, wind and water, these trap-guns rapidly rust. Yet when triggered, they have never failed to fire, causing severe injuries and in some cases death, to those who stepped on the firing mechanism, usually a length of twine or nylon cord attached to the trigger.

We find it incredible that the very naysayers who gleefully call in to the many radio talk shows or write to the newspapers to laugh, mock and jeer at the ‘old, rusted guns’ found by the polie and soldiers, would if given a chance, never willingly step on a trap-gun, no matter how rusted and deteriorated it may appear to be. Yet they laugh and mock at the hard work of the police and soldiers who risk injury searching out any weapon new, old or rusty that could cause injury or death.