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Trinidad and Tobago is currently (July 2 - July 10, 2017) hosting the Caribbean Zonal Volley Ball Association (CAZOVA) Senior Men's Championship with teams from as far north as Haiti to as far south as Curacao. However, the term Caribbean can mean different things to different people and one can choose to be part of the region or not. Choice may be because of affiliation to language, politics, history or geography. The Minister of Sport The Honorable Darryl Smith in his comments at the opening ceremony held at the National Cycling Center referred to the National Cycling Centre as the new home for volleyball in Trinidad, but also went on to state that it is the intention of The government of Trinidad and Tobago to develop the facility as a high performance center for the Caribbean region.
Mr. Mushtaque Mohammed President of CAZOVA in his opening address on Tuesday 4th July boasted about Caribbean volleyball being a family where strong bonds of friendship are forged and continue well beyond the years of active on court participation in the sport. Yes, there is national pride at stake when teams square off on court. However, the shared heritage is a common platform of interaction regardless of the geography, history, politics or language.
Reporting and photo by Kyle Otis Morris Caribbean Civilization report 8 July 2017.

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In Jamaica today like many other sovereign independent island states in the Caribbean continued to be faced with the scourge of corruption in the affairs of government. What is remarkable to observe is that the more things change the more they stay the same. Jamaica as a case study of colonial government in the 1700's is a cesspool of corruption. The larger and more financially successful plantation owners/managers would use their money to purchase the trappings of an aristocratic life or political power. As such opportunities were few and far between back at home in England in the 1700 and 1800's.  The planter class used to compete with each other to obtain a seat on the legislative council and by doing so were able to capitalize on any situations that presented itself for the furtherance of their personal wealth.  Fast forward to 2017 and we can see the same situation playing itself out. and Jamaica is not alone in this respect. However, with the resources that Jamaica possesses on, in and under the soil it was expected that Jamaica would have been further along the developmental scale by now. Instead Jamaica seems to be operating like a hamster on a wheel since independence due to the same type of behavior that would have existed in the 1700 and 1800's, with no change in the disparity between the haves and the have not.
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20170524/samuda-should-resign-over-grass-affair-anti-corruption-group-demands  Accessed 8 July 2017.

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Pressure remains on Agriculture Minister Karl Samuda over the Mombasa grass affair with a leading anti-corruption group now calling for his resignation from the cabinet of Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

Executive Director of the National Integrity Action, Professor Trevor Munroe says the issue showed that Samuda got personal benefit from the Government's grass project and he should "seriously consider tendering his resignation".

Last week, Samuda announced in Parliament that he had paid 546,000 for the 15 acres of dairy-feeding grass that the Jamaica Dairy Development Board planted on his farm in Knollis, St Catherine.

It follows allegations from the Opposition Spokesman on Agriculture Dr Dayton Campbell that last year Samuda used his official position to get personal benefit and that he fired the chairman of the board Hugh Graham because he did not follow instructions to grant a licence to Wisynco to import milk powder.

Samuda has denied interfering with the decision to not to renew Graham's contract but admitted that he allowed the grass to be planted on his farm after the board persuaded.

He said he erred when he did not put in writing the process including when he claimed he insisted that he be paid and the board said farmers get the grass free.

Professor Munroe says the situation is similar to the Spalding Market affair involving Richard Azan who was pressured to resign as junior minister in the Portia Simpson Miller adminstration.

He also pointed to when Mike Henry had to resign from Holness' first cabinet in 2011.

The anti-corruption campaigner says Samuda breached government transparency guidelines and should resign in the interest of good governance.

The Jamaica Dairy Development Board is yet to give a public explanation regarding how it selected the Agriculture Minister to benefit from a project that falls under his watch.

The Office of the Contractor General is probing the issue.

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Samuda should resign over grass affair, anti-corruption group demands

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Pressure remains on Agriculture Minister Karl Samuda over the Mombasa grass affair with a leading anti-corruption group now calling for his resignation from the cabinet of Prime Minister Andrew Holness. Executive Director of the National Integrity Action, Professor Trevor Munroe says the issue showed that Samuda got personal benefit from the Government's grass project and he should "seriously consider tendering his resignation".

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My God is the God of Abraham, the God of Moses. The heavenly father, the God head making up the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The one true, living God. As a Christian practicing the faith from an Anglican perspective these are the truths that have been taught to me. Anglicanism has been part of my family for generations and its an ideology that I have passed on to the generation that I have spawned. Even when I became disillusioned with the clergy and embraced the outward manifestation of Rastafarism in my 20's (Locks and colours). I never shed the belief in the construct of God as introduced to me in my formative years. So much so, as I grew out of my rebellious years and began to see the shades of grey in the world around I shed the locks and colours and reentered the church.
The church itself in the Caribbean had its reconstruction during the late1960's moving away for the Eurocentric views of God, and style of worship. The rhythms of the goat skin drums echoed throughout the ceilings of the Cathedrals. The cassock took on the vibrant 'tye dye' colours and so too did members of clergy. Hailing with pride the first "local Black" Bishop in Trinidad and Tobago. Just like West Indies cricket of the day we were truly coming of age. We now had worldly surrogates of the God head that looks like us, however, the God head remains very Eurocentric.
"Father Harvey new Bishop of Grenada but...." Trinidad and Tobago Guardian 24 June 2017, A5 news. Print

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On June 19 as Trinidad and Tobago prepared for the passage of Tropical storm Bret little did we now that in fact "Bret" was the calm before the storm. As Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown feature on Trinidad and Tobago had to be postponed to the following Sunday, we had to wait a full seven more days to learn as Halcian Pierre in her guardian article says "T&T a utopian stew of ethnicities". The twin island state of The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago like many of the other islands in the Caribbean were colonized by at least five European powers and these powers in their desire to satisfy the need for labourors brought people from various spaces into the Caribbean some voluntarily and others no so. The essential concept of colonization is the cultivation of the mind of the conquered to accept the faith that has befallen him. This, in addition to a stratified society based on the quantity of melanin pigment and the nature and texture of the hair possessed by each individual. This culture continues to be reflected in the various institutions of our twin island Republic in spite of the gains made through Independence, the "Black Power" movement, Republicism and revisionism the "Golden rule" continues to guide the status quo. "He who has the Gold, makes the rules". And until we Africans in the Caribbean make conscious strides to control the fundamental factors of production (land, labour and capital) we will always be unequal partners in the nation's affairs.
13 StreetPromotions.com | IG@13thStreetPromo Accessed 10 July 2017.

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What is to be understood by freedom? Is it just the opportunity to congregate, to speak, to think or to pursue a lifestyle that brings the individual comfort and satisfaction. If the mind is still unconsciously clouded with the version of events as told by the colonial "masters" is it possible for freedom to flourish? Growing up a child of the 60's - 70's becoming aware about who and what I am was not an abstract proposition. As my father, though not an active member of the "Black Power Movement" was very self aware - I often suppose a result of loosing his mother at the age of five - and took great pride in sharing his family history and the concept of loving yourself. I learnt about my African forefathers as far back as two generations as they came from Barbados, and my intrinsic link to Trinidad and by extension the Caribbean region through my father's grandmother being of "Carib" heritage. Of course I will now use the correct vocabulary "Kalinago" when I share the story of our rich heritage with my children.
Monuments pay tribute and seek to inspire and instill pride in all who gaze upon them. Gaining more knowledge about the ideology of "God, Gold and Glory" I see little tangible advantage in the continued presence of Columbus's monuments in the heart of the City of Port of Spain.
"Freedom Project" Trinidad and Tobago Guardian  24 June 2017, A10 news. Print