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Self-interest must yield
"We are fortunate to be living in a country with a constitution that guarantees each and every citizen fundamental human rights that are enshrined and specially-protected.The constitution is the supreme law of the land, and not even Parliament can take away your fundamental rights and freedoms.
Today, as we celebrate World Human Rights Day, we must reflect on the past, assess the present, and look to the future. Looking back, we must realise that the rights that we do enjoy was the result of the courage, struggle, blood, sweat and tears of those who stood up for what they believed in against dictators and corrupt leaders. Their sacrifices must never be forgotten. The two most influential figures in our times remain the late Mahatma Gandhi and the great Nelson Mandela.
But these struggles would mean nothing if the State does not respect the rights of citizens today. For while human rights sounds nice and looks nice on paper, the true measure of the respect a society has for this concept is to be measured by reference to the status of the most vulnerable that live among us.
The first fundamental right guaranteed in our constitution is the right to life, liberty, security of the person and enjoyment of property. We are all meant to enjoy this right, regardless of our race, colour, religion or sex.
Sadly, we live in a time when, and country where, the State is unable to fulfil this basic obligation to its citizens. How do we reconcile what is on paper with the raw reality on the ground? No one feels safe in this country anymore. Those with the option to go elsewhere are leaving or thinking seriously about doing so. Many have fractured their families to protect their loved ones by sending their children abroad.
Steel doors
We crossed the 500 murder mark faster than Usain Bolt. Law-abiding citizens are virtually imprisoned behind burglar-proofed windows and steel doors as if we are the ones in prison.
With a detection and conviction rate that ranks among the lowest in the world, there is no light at the end of this dark tunnel. Our murder rate is higher than that of New York, with over ten million people.
Where is the right to freedom of movement and liberty, when we all live under self-imposed curfews because the streets belong to the criminals after 7pm and the police themselves tell us to avoid going out after dark?
What is the meaning of the right to equality, when discrimination, based on gender, race and political affiliation, is what drives the inequitable distribution of state resources?
How can there be equality when this culture of unfairness and victimisation is the bye-product of the skewed and narrow kind of politics we have, where the personal power of the leader is of paramount importance, regardless of the people-divide it has created.
What is the meaning of the right to life when your life has no value to the growing team of bandits who do not value their own life?
What is the meaning of the right to enjoy your property when you are afraid to show and enjoy success, for fear it might attract bandits?
The dignity of the human being is at the heart of the concept of human rights. But the abused woman who feels the weight of the sexy stares from police officers, who can do no more than stare and smile while she pleads for rescue from domestic violence, finds no peace until she is murdered.
Must cherish
The young daughter who is kidnapped and repeatedly raped while her mother pleads with her husband not to listen to the police and pay the ransom, feels robbed of her humanity.
The single mother who struggled to bring up a son without a father, only to see his life snuffed out by senseless gang violence at 18, feels no dignity.
The father among the 3,000 workers laid-off from the Point Lisas Industrial Estate, with no means to put food on the table, feels cheated.
The future will only be bright if we understand that these rights are owed to us by the State. We must cherish and jealously guard them.
These rights are not, however, worth fighting for, unless you understand that we must all join hands and fight, because we realise that when the Government tramples on your rights, it tramples on mine, too, because we are both human.
Today for you, tomorrow for me.
We are at a most critical juncture as the State has abdicated its responsibility to protect us, so that we can enjoy the basic right to life, liberty, security of the person and enjoyment of property.
Self-interest must yield to the public interest. Personal pride, ego and power must give way to what is right and the greater good.
The decline and disintegration will continue, unless we unite for the sake of our children and their future, because it is either we swim together or drown alone."
By Anand Ramlogan 2008-12-14
Speech delivered in commemoration of World Human Rights Day at the annual dinner of the Civil Rights Association.
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Whilst Anand's speech is very good it causes me to feel depressed. It triggers in me many thoughts and feelings.
When I worked in the Monkey Rock Health Service over 20 years ago, we didn' know nuthin' about Constitution and Human Rights. Why? Because our educators and trainers had dey head up dey arses. Dey too didn' know nuthin bout it. Now I look back and t'ink in recent years "Yuh mean tuh say dee most important set of Rights - we weren't educated about!?" - with a sense of confusion. I think to myself "Why dee ass my educators in T&T never once mentioned the Constitution".
And with a sense of angst I recall the Human Rights abuses that occured in Hospitals - especially St. Ann's Hospital. And with even greater frustration I wonder why there weren't more so-called 'Constitutional Motions' arising out of practises at these institutions. Well I didn't have to wonder too much really. If I wasn't educated about my rights having gone through a full University education - then what should I leave for a bush coolie who might have had much less education. You cyah demand a Right you eh know about!! Plain and simple.
It is only in the last 10 years that Monkey Rock crawlers have really begun - I emphasise 'begun' - to wake up to their Rights!! But who is responsible for the system of education - the same people who do not feed to the people knowledge of their Rights. Doh send meh orbital here nuh! Allyuh dam well know who responsible for dat!! (Notice 'Rights' starts with a capital letter because I'm referring to a special kind of right - not jes dee one whey you feel you have a right).
The colonial masters left behind a written Constitution - something they did not achieve for themselves!! Read dat again. In other words they gave to many of the colonies something special! So they shot forward the colonies by many many years. Perhaps they had hoped that Rights entrenched in black and white would protect their 'off-spring'. However, it is possible that they could not have imagined that corrupt political forces would work so efficiently against the good they had set down. Have you people out there studied what happened in Zimbabwe? Daize not your business? It bloody well is!! Why? Because a similar process is happening to you dong on Monkey Rock as we speak.
Constitutional law - being the hightest form of law for any Nation - is handicapped as easily as any other by one important pitfall: the law cannot bite where there is no human will. The law - all of it, every part of it - is like stranded ship without a functioning engine, when we collectively and individually fail to know, see and act!
Dare we go back to the cases of Maha Sabha and Feroza Ramjohn. I hope not.
But there is a dangerous situation approaching. This is where a bunch of Monkeys now learning about how a Constitution works, observe that the political system isn't working well. So they decided that instead of fixing supporting systems that they will tinker with the heart of the Constitution. So by analogy - it's like saying "Boy ah doh like how dis car working nah...it eh pulling right...so ah need a new engine" - instead of systematically looking at what is wrong with subsystems, finding the root cause of the problem and fixing it. Well yes - after trying very hard and repeatedly with subsystems you might come to a conclusion that it is something to do with the control mechanisms (by analogy your Constitution). But hold on. We not talking about cars here are we. We talking about the life of a Nation. And before you mess around with the controlling structure of a Nation, you'd better know with solid reliable evidence to back up your conclusions that change is needed.
But now in Monkey Rock we have a situation where few show any hard evidence of a need to tinker with the Constitution - and in true Monkey Rock manner, each expert jumps up and suggests that the Constitiution needs change. Note the words 'hard evidence'. Anybody out dey see any hard evidence that suggests the Consitution needs change? Show meh tah.
Instead what you have is opeenion (aka opinion) after opeenion about how t'ings should work. But where is the independent and logical analysis for the need for change. That should be well in the public domain. No - ah not talking more opeenion. I am talking about 'root-cause' type analyses to show how what's unfixable in the subsystems, are linked to aspect of the Constitution. But even if they are so linked it does not mean that the Constitution needs change. Can a set of subsystems be modified and made to interact in a different way before going for change in the highest order or Law? If not why not.
Not that Anand implied it - but changing the Constitution is unlikely to change the way the Nation is governed. Let me draw on the experience of the Health System changes. In grand style a government of yesteryear hired Roger England and partners (from somewhey dong in Hanwell on outskirts of London) to report on and make recommendations for change. Yeah I read dee report - all of it - which is a lot better than 99% ah allyuh out dey. The Government of the day got what they paid for and sweeping changes were implimented to an RHA-type system. Well the amount of confusion, bobol, wastage and lawsuits that took place after that are well known to all who was awake over the last few years - and the mess continues as we speak. Dey cyah fix a blasted health system dey go be trusted tuh tinker wid a Constitution - come nah man, doh make fun wid a serious matter.
Who go fix dee country? Good question. Change starts wid you - yes, you!! Get your lazy fat ass off dat object you are perched on and start talking and finding out what is going, what ought to be happening, and stop boddering (aka bothering) bout how nobody else eh cyare. Make an appointment with your MP. Walk with a copy of your written concerns about your country to that meeting. And eef yuh want post a copy up here on a site like dis one.
Who else go fix dee country? Lawyers. And ah talking about dee ones who eh fraid to face a bullet. How much a dem arong? Not many. But in general the lawyers are the ones to fight your case - pro bono if necessary. Why because it isn't about money any more. It is about something that money cyah buy.
So I leave anyone reading this with a very bitter taste in my mouth. My survival and that of my offspring are more guaranteed in a nation owned and run by the original Colonial Masters - England, of course. What a bloody shame. Whilst England did it's best for the colonies and exploited them at the same time, it was for the colonies as independent Nations to push forward with their development. However, in general when I look around, the 'colonies' have all been riddled with infighting, confusion, corruption, deep tribual divisions, and inertia. They are generally aimless behaving like abandoned street children having daydreams about a better life - as per Vision 2020. Sad, very very sad.
...I have always held the greatest respect and highest regard for Anand in every aspect. However, as I read the first paragraph of his speech, I felt as if someone had hit me with a "bolo punch" to the stomach...I almost felt sick and like Captain Walker, maybe depressed too...!
...to quote Anand in part..."We are fortunate to be living in a country with a constitution that guarantees each and every citizen fundamental human rights that are enshrined and specially-protected.The constitution is the supreme law of the land, and not even Parliament can take away your fundamental rights and freedoms."
...as I read this, I wondered what constitution he was referring to and which country he was talking about...? I say this respectfully, in recognition of his expertise in this field of law, and his many successes in bringing the government of the day to "heel" as a result of his victories in the courts...more so on constitutional and human rights matters...well done...!
...having said that however, it forced me to think whether the Constitution as we know it is even worth the very paper its written on, as in my view, is routinely disregarded and trampled upon and its only "applied by exception" by the governmental regime of today, more often when forced by courts decisions at the highest levels, rather than as a general rule...and even so, its with a great deal of reluctance and foot dragging...and pussyfooting...!
...so when we talk about "constitutional guarantees and fundamental citizens rights enshrined and specially protected..."...I know we are dreaming in technicolour, because I know that we are not of course talking about our sweet Trinidad & Tobago...!...so yes, I know you are right Anand, it does look nice on paper, but what is it worth if it is not respected, or applied fairly and equitably to all and sundry, to all of its peoples in every walk of life and every day of their lives...?
...what kind of Government would show such callous disregard for the rights of its citizens and trample on those very same rights at every opportunity it gets...that would make those same citizens "crawl through mud" to gain access to those "entrenched rights" and even if they did get to them, would delay or deny them the enjoyment of those same rights...would embarrass and humiliate them at every turn and opportunity to get what rightfully belongs to them...?...which government...?
...whatever happened to "doing business with a handshake and with the utmost trust in our governments and institutions..."? where and when did deviate to the "we first syndrome and everybody else comes last", when did we become so selfish and acquire such a high degree of lack of trust, from the government right down, that has now spread like a cancer right down to its own citizens at every level of society, and it has fast become a major part of our problem of today, failures after failures and foisted on us by our very own government...?
.....whatever happened to "political consequences" that normally follows such repeated failures by governments in other parts of the world...?!
...so here we have the "constitution of our country" which is "written in stone so to speak" and which is flagrantly being abused at every turn, so that it leaves its citizens gasping for help from everyone they can get help from, except none from the government whose primary role and responsibility is to ensure those fundamental rights are upheld and respected...hence I asked the question...is it worth the paper its written on...is it the very same constirution we are talking about...?
...we should not speak lightly of "guarantees" as if they are "warranties" or "insurances" on a firdge or stove or a car, these are guarantees which are firmly entrenched in our constitution, in law, and not conditional on how a "government feels about it on a given day, or how badly off they are at administering their statutory obligations to the citizens along with their inherent rights..."!
...the government has a legal obligation to deliver and there are no excuses not to do so in a reasonable and reliable manner...not when they feel like it...?...If its is so "guaranteed", how come they have such monumental failures to provide those same guaranteed rights and freedoms, and how come nobody can safely say that they are in full receipt of those rights and freedoms...and satisfied to the fullest at that...?...there are just too many, so I not even going to attempt to list out the government's "failure to deliver to the people"...the list is too long to mention...and we all know it too well...don't we...?!
...so I have real trouble with this as you can see, this is all cosmetic and a charade by the government. Unfortunately, I cannot say that I know or have all the answers to fix this, but I do know it starts with the "people" and its starts with "change"...and how they choose to go about it or to intiate this transformation, it better begin very soon, for in my view, its has been left unattended for far too long, and something has to give, if its not already too late...!
...so who amongst us in our midst is willing to put country and people before self...?...who is going to go against "the norm" in our society and "be the change that we would like to see in this world today and in the future...?"
...we may all better do some quick soul searching because if we allow the present regime to continue on this perilous course it has charted, then its very easy to see where its heading and what the final outcome would be...not only for us but for our future generations yet to come...well into the future...with enormous impact and not with happy outcomes either...!
... so lets not only talk "constitutional guarantees", lets do them and make the government live up to them in every manner intended and every day, not once in a while, when they feel like it or not, otherwise, "it really not worth the paper its written on"...!
...it may as well remain hidden in the archives of our history collecting dust just like the rest of some remnants of our glorious past...soon to be forgotten so easily...if only we let it...then governments, more particularly this one, will be only too glad to oblige...!
...goodluck...Trini.t.o.o
Well said Trini t.o.o. Look away now from the Constitution of Zimbabwe, those who eh cyare. Those who interested will see dat they too have Rights protected by the Constitution - many of the same Rights protected on Monkey Rock. Buh you wouldn't have thought so from the goings on in Zimbabwe and the recent situtation with cholera etc etc. Fuh those who eh know Zimbabwe was a British colony. See here.
What's my point? For those who didn't scan that Zimbabwe Constitution, you missed how many amendments they were. The effect of those amendments are not obvious to those who have not been studying how the Robert Mugabe regime has operated in the last 10 years. The words amended don't seem to carry much force - except when you then compare them to what Mugabe has actually done. No - i's not for me to school you, and you, and you out dey. It is for you to go and find out!
So? Well perhaps you need to look to the Great USA. Did the written Constitution of America prevent atrocities and gross violations of War Treaties or Human Rights, in the recent wars they waged? Like, heck no. And it wasn't surprising. Why? Because Constitutions don't do anything. They depend on people to do something. And people will try to and succeed in getting away with what they can. That is the nature of the human animal.
So Anand talking about Rights? He should really be looking round and asking himself, which of his people are willing to swim with him on the matter of Rights, because without the will of people aimed in his (our) preferred direction, he might as well be pissing in the wind.