HAPPY INDIAN ARRIVAL DAY

  On Indian Arrival Day, we honour more than a date in history. We honour a people, a struggle, and a egacy that still shapes Trinidad and Tobago

                                                                                 Rushton Paray

Happy Indian Arrival Day to all. Perhaps now is a good time to make my point: every adult, at some time or the other, has had his/her birthday fall during the working week but has held their birthday celebration on the weeekend. It is now time for us to do the same with our holidays

Don't get me wrong; I agree with celebrating all of our public holidays (except fot Corpus Christie) and have noted that some days (e.g. Christmas, Dival, Eid -  ul -Fitr, etc.)  cannot be changed for obvious reasons. But days like today can be changed easily to the last Monday in May, and  Emancipation Day to the ftrst Monday in August. In other words, where possible, we would all get a long weekend as opposed to having our weeks being cut up the way that they are now. And to those who might say that the actual dates are important, I say that while I agree, what is more important is remembering why we have the celebration in the first place, 

For example every Christian knows that Jesus rose again from the dead on Easter Sunday. In fact. you can't call yourself a Christian if you don't believe this to be trure. But have you noticed how Easter changes with the moon? While there are hisrorical reasons for this, the fact is that it does not interfere with Christian beliefs

So, regasdless of whether you agree or not, have a happy day.

HOW MUCH IS A BILLION DOLLARS?

 There is only ONE reason for government - only ONE reason for politics: to make life better dor the people! Full stop! There is no other reason.

Unfortunately, we have politicians on BOTH sides that have realised that an easy and quick way to become wealthy is to  'tief' when they get into power. After all, what is a million here or a million tthere when we are talking about billions? Very few people in this life will ever see a million dollars, much less a billion.

I'll try to put it in perspctive for you. If I gave you one billion dollars on the day that they crucified Jesus Christ, and you collected no interest, and you lived forever, and you spent at the rate of $1,000 a day, today, as you're reading this, you would have something like 120 years to go before you ran out of money! That's how much a billion dollars is!

MOTHERHOOD

To my few readers, have you ever thought what it nust be like to be a mother? Everybody has one let's face it, you simply wouldn't be here if you didn't have one. But have you ever thought about it? Obviously, there are some very few women who simply don't want this "burden" and view carrying around a child growing in their belly for nine months an anethma, but for the vast majority of women motherhood is something to be  desired - keenly!

Just about every woman that I know who has had an abortion, very, very privately accounts that it was a mistake.

Most women love their children and most try to avoid the mistakes that their mothers had made - but end up making different ones!!                                                       

But, it is impotrtant to understand that they try. Let's face it, no man can ever fully understand or even properly appreciate what it means to be a mother. (This does not mean that we should not try, nor is it a 'get out of jail free' card. It simply means exactly what it says.)

Sunday, May 10th was a special day for ALL of us around the world to acknowledge and appreciate our mothers wherever they might be, dead or alive, but we ahould all remember (and appreciate) that they gave us the greatest gift of all: LIFE

Statistics

At breakfast this morning, my second son, who works in international development, had brought up the topic of statistics in the Caribbean, and more broadly the world. He shared how he was gathering data on coral reefs in the Caribbean, and had pointed out that the statistics he had found were either outdated or inconsistent, with the most common reference dating back to 2012 - some 14 years ago!! A good example of why this type of statistic is relevant is our own Buccoo Reef in Tobago which has died thanks to pollution and unsustainable tourism.

I have always thought that our statistics in Trinidad and Tobago (as well as the Wider Caribbean) are woefully inaccurate and out of date e.g., the statistics on the relative sizes of our populations in the Caribbean and in Trinidad and Tobago. Our latest statistics show a population of 1.37 million people but I believe that this is not accurate. Do I have statistics to back this up? No. It is just a feeling that I have had for the longest while.  

If anybody has the latest official statistics on T&T's population size, I would welcome them. I have found that some sites are in fact really best guesses based on historical data and are probably or possibly inaccurate. 

The truth is that as a region, we lack the resources to adequately invest in data collection, but data collection is critical for our leaders to make proper and relevant decisions.