Freedom can only come from understanding the past.

We live in a society that is the product of colonialism. Our politicians have learnt the efectiveness of The Master's Divide and Conquer SCHEME. We the children of Indentureship and slavery have not fully come to terms with our past. This is reflected in the problems we face today in society.

The truth is that there exists a great deal of racialism in our society. I know as a people we like to lie to ourselves,and pretend that we all live in harmony in sweet T and T. The signs tell a different story. In our country the political parties are obviously racially divided, And the crimes such as kidnapping is a racist crime. The root of the racialism is slavery and indentureship, when the white master ,according to Dr. Eric Williams, put Africans and Indians against eachother. To make matters worst our devious politicians perpetuate and play on this racial tension for their own benefits. Threfore they are stunting our growth as people by keeping us trapped in our plantation mentality.

 I do not agree fully with the belief that poverty is the chief reason that Africans in Trinidad commit so many crimes(in my opinion). I believe that no one has assisted them in getting over the trauma of slavery. For decades they were some one else's property (literally) and they were teated that way. They looked up to the burjoisie with belief that they alone were people was enshrined in them. They were not permitted to have a family life for decades during slavery.  the consequences are evident today. Fatherless homes. Boys lacking proper male role models. It is hard to elevate from the slavery mentality. The government does not try to help. They use the people's weaknesses to their advantage. I am not saying that all African's haven't escaped the slavery mentality, i am simply saying that it is very hard to recover from such an institution. It robbed Africans of their dignity as humans and made them believe that to be human you had to be like master.

The impact of indentureship can still be seen in the meek look of Indains. The racial tension between Africans.

Corruption is another problem that has its roots in colonial society.

The mess that our country is in today has a lot to do with our past.