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Thanks to Digicel
Could someone explain why Indian men are so scarce in advertisements? In a country where we’re hardly a minority the conspicuous absence is glaring and shocking. Is it that we have no purchasing power and companies can therefore comfortably ignore us with impunity?
This is one of the sorest points with the Indo-Trinidadian community and is often used or misused to buttress perceptions of and discussions on discrimination, alienation and marginalization. I am sick and fed up of hearing people complain about how interracial or mixed couples are always portrayed by reference to a non-Indian man. Women of all races (and yes, quite a lot of good looking Indian ones too boot) are frequently shown as partners or spouses of African, Mixed and White men but it is as if it is criminal offence to show them in a relationship with an Indian man. Small wonder it is used as ammunition and evidence by those who believe in sinister conspiracy theories about this being part of the attempt to assimilate or ‘douglarise’ us.
Indian men are relegated to the mandatory rum and roti advertisements or flour and oil. And of course, the Clico ad about the rural rice farmer ‘who knows where to go for good financial advice.’ The pot-belly, lethargic stereotype from the countryside features a lot but its bad advertising to show young good looking Indian guys in ads. We don’t go to gyms or play any sports and hence don’t look good enough to be associated with any product.
I was thrilled to see Dinesh Ramdhin and Ramnaresh Sarwan featuring in a Digicel advertisement with Chris Gayle on the cover of Air Caribbean’s magaizine. In fact, Digicel’s advertisements have been a breath of fresh air! Digicel seems to have discovered we exist and have broken with tradition by using Indian men in its ads. (Mind you, we are yet to feature in any of the ads with sexy girls whispering sweet nothings into the ears of their boyfriends-that might have been pushing it too far!) No company has given us such prominence in ads before – thank you, Digicel.
Compare Digicel to BMobile. Imagine the world cup advert with our prince, Brian Lara calling friends to play cricket with a youth on the beach does not contain a single Indian in it! I wonder if BMobile would have ever dared to run such an ad with only Indians in it? If it did, I wonder how the non-Indian community would have felt.
Add this to the on-going BMobile soap opera with Margaret trying to use her hunky neighbour’s phone and all the other adverts and you will see that we Indian men are simply not the ‘smartchoice’ when it comes to BMobile! (And no, Spalk does not represent us, he is mixed). To make matter worse, the one Indian artiste BMobile sponsors (Raymond Ramnarine), has done his best to look like Shurwayne Winchester, cane rows and all, because he is in the midst of a grave identity crisis or thinks he would get further with his crossover music if he dilutes his Indianess. Sadly, he’s probably right.
When an Indian guy does feature in an ad, his role is peripheral and subsidiary. Even when it comes to little children, Indian boys are treated in a similar manner-never the centre of attention with the pretty girl.
I challenge readers to conduct their own informal survey. Even with kids, the discrimination is the same – Indian girls yes, Indian boys no or, with a minor subsidiary role. Scotia bank’s advertisement of its sponsorship of West Indies Kiddies cricket barely manages a token reference glimpse of an Indian boy. Could Scotibank have ever constructed this ad with a young Indian boy hitting a six and smashing the glass in the bank only to be comforted by an Indian bank manager? I doubt it.
Only this week, the press published pictures of Nataki Dilchan, a Clerk from the House of Representatives and Joseph Dipnarine, whose daughter was murdered. It reminded many that non-Indian women do in fact choose us as their life-partners. No ethnic group has a monopoly on racially mixed couples. Why not have some balance and reflect our diverse racial groups?
For those without the capacity to walk around in our shoes and see how nasty it feels to be treated as though we have the plague by the advertising industry, I have composed this poem for you to sing:
If yuh mixed, yuh fixed
If yuh Afro, yuh good to go
If yuh Indian, yuh just not Caribbean.
By Anand Ramlogan
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Five years ago I migrated to England. My first job was with a Sikh organisation as their ICT manager. I remember at my interview, the panel was quite taken with my Trinidad accent, and the clear and concise way I spoke 'Queen's English' and did not brutalise the pronounciation of words, which was surprising to me as I thought England of all places should recognise good grammar etc. I have learnt since no one mangles English as much as the English.
The other (and more apt to this post) surprising information I was introduced to was that many people in the English society were not aware of Trinidad and Tobago's status as a nation (many times I have been asked what part of Jamaica is Trinidad located!). The panel was stunned to learn that I, as an Indian, was from Trinidad and that a goodly 40% of Trinidad was Indian, as every single newspaper, every single TV report, carries pictures of people of African descent. It is a perception I myself have learnt to observe closely. Never mind that the ones usually making the news are there because they are involved in some criminal activity or in government (same thing?).
The point is, the only exposure that we get from Trinidad to the outside world is that the population is Negro (if I can use that word in this politically correct day and age) and that the occasional Indian or other race may be a happenstance.
That the Indian population is not given more prominence can be attributed to a certain extent to the docile nature and natural shyness I suppose. But the time has come for this section of the population to assert itself, not only in advertising, but in the many fields we are involved in. It is known that Indians are among the most attractive peoples of the world, with a record number of Ms universe, Ms World etc. Of course, the perception of beauty has been largely influenced by publicity but generally speaking, there is simply no reason that Indians cannot be used in more ads. It might even promote a larger market share of such products... but we will never know until someone takes that risk and actually tries.
Jumbie, I enjoyed reading your stimulating comments. I too had almost the identical experience with the English not knowing about Trinidad & Tobago. Even recently when I said to a few local folk up here that I'm from Trinidad, they appeared blank. If I then said Dwight Yorke or Brian Lara country they would go "Ah...ha...alright" with big grin etc. But that did not mean that the geographical location or anything particularly relevant to the Nation suddenly flashed across their minds. The "Ah..ha" was just an expression of familiarity. A lot of the English still think Trinidad is part of Jamaica.
To make matters worse around 1997 I was in Woodgreen, London doing meh little West Indian shopping. I went into one of the local shops and bought some bottled Kuchela - nice lable on it - expiry date and all - produced in Trinidad but bottled London. So I wondered what was that little green blob on the label? Ho ho ho!! This is not me doing a Santa Claus impression breds. That green blob on the label was a small map of Jamaica. No where on the label was Jamaica written!! So produce from Trinidad with a Jamaican map on the label!! How you like that?
Probably in that same year there was a progamme on one of the BBC channels "A rough guide to Trinidad". My eyes were glued to my TV screen. I knew of British attitudes to West Indians so I was careful to do a head count of who appeared to be of African phenotype and those appearing to be of Indian phenotype on that programme. Guess what? The ratio of African to Indian phentotypes highlighted on the programme was 17: 1. Not a Chineee or a Spanish - no whey, boy! I was and still am blue vex. We could debate why this strange ratio and do a Chi Squared etc. Was'e ah time! I don't need maths to tell me that there was a bias operating some where.
Coming back to Anand's commentary and your thoughts, I felt there are two (among other) factors that may be operating to produce an appearance of bias in local advertisements in T&T. Could it be that Indo-Trinidadians simply are not pushy, pompous and assertive relative to other well defined ethnic groups? Could it be that local advertisement producers are Institutionally Racist? Or combinations of the two?
It is quite possible that from an advertising perspective Indo-Trinidadian behavoural patterns and characteristics account for most of the discrepancy? Is anyone out there researching this? I think it is pretty important because it is easy to jump to an erroneous conclusion that blames it on racism.
You cannot clearly lineate the factors involved in this... its more a hodge podge of so many thrown in the mix. I do however think that the non-assertive nature of Indians is a decidely large factor.
Another factor I would give thought to is that despite being in positions of authority, of power, and decision making, the Afro-Trinidadians are still seeing themselves as downtrodden, and carefully work at promoting themselves to the detriment of other groups. Yet among Indo-Trinis the lack of cooperation is remarkable. The Sikh gurdwara (equivalent to a Hindu temple, or Islamic mosque, or Christian church to those who may not know) where I worked fed over 5000 persons daily, and over 10000 every weekend. All this for free. How did they do it? By working together. I cannot imagine anything like that in Trinidad, can you?
How then can we ask ourselves to promote each other, and push ourselves forward? I dislike the notion of assigning race to everything, but the groups that are more aggressive will naturally fill the breach. How many Indians go up to try for beauty pageants to represent Ms World, Ms Universe etc in Trinidad? I honestly don't know, I never paid attention to it. But whenver I see the contestants mentioned in the newspapers, it always seem to be skewed towards Afro-Trinis. Am I wrong? Unless we actively seek the exposure, we will continue to be left behind.
Great article Anand!
Indians are not represented because the media only wants one image of Indians - that they are all coolies.
If you don't look like a greased down rumcork coolie, the advertising and movie agencies are not interested in you.
If a decent looking, well dressed, fair-skinned Indian went to an advertising agency, bet yuh bottom dollar they not interested in you because you're not the kind of Indian they want broadcasted to the nation. Only the mixed and African people deserve to be seen as strong, happy, educated consumers. The media portrays Indians to be just dumb coolies. You would never guess that literacy rates and per capita income are higher among Indians.
Kidnappers clearly think the Indians have more disposable income that other ethnic groups - it's a pity advertisers don't recognize this as well. Imagine almost half of the consumer population is not represented in the mass media! Why are they so neglected?
Is it that these businesses with biased advertising don't want Indian patronage? They don't need Indian money supporting their firms and they are trying to let the Indian community know by neglecting to represent them in a favourable manner in their advertising?
If the choice is available then Indians should boycott those companies with their one-sided advertising and support only the "equal air time" companies. Let those biased advertisers feel the pinch of purchasing power. Stad up for your rights you quiet Indians!
My family and I bank with scotia, and a few years ago we noticed that in their brocheures there was a lack of people that looked like us. There was a 3:1 ratio of blacks:chinese but no indians.
At that same time I noticed the billboards from POS to Arima having a similar theme (minus the chinee' faces) ....
Last week I made up my mind to cancel my Scotia MasterCard because of billing problems with them, but as someone who preaches to his friends that we need to "put our money where our mouths are," I have now decided (after Anand's article) to CLOSE BOTH MY SAVINGS AND CHEQUING ACCOUNTS WITH SCOTIA and move them to Republic. My wife will be happy because she has been insisting that we consolidate at either of the two, and I kept insisting that after 15 years with Scotia I would prefer to stay with them.
If Scotiabank cannot realize that 45% of this population feels stymied and discriminated against, and they as corporate citizens cannot be part of the solution, then they are part of the problem.
In addition to closing my accounts, I am going to write them a letter stating that one of my reasons for closing my accounts "is the lack of representation in advertising, and that my perception is that they dont need my patronage. If they chose to attract indian clients then I might reopen an account with them."
Here's the thing, if its just me they might send me a polite letter suggesting they dont intentially discriminate and they would like not to lose my business, but if 10 or 25 or 50 people do the same, there will be rumblings in the advertising sector. Money talks, even in Trinidad.
On a final note, I just wanted to say that I have already changed my postpaid Bmobile to a prepaid backup phone, and all of my family has switched to Digicel.
ALL YOU TRINBAGONIANS -- PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTHS ARE, OR STOP COMPLAINING AND WHINING!
G, I really admire you taking action based on principle - leading the path to change.
We had poor service from Scotia (in T&T) on one of our accounts that had a substantial amount of money in it. This is while we were in the UK. We ditched them in 1997 - good riddance. I now have to wonder if a contributing factor to the poor service received was something to do with race.
Scotiabank of course is not an autonomous sentient being that can reflect upon itself and make corrective actions quickly. Scotiabank like any other organisation does not have a conscience. It's directors are substitutes for a live 'legal person' and how pro-social they are is anybody's guess. Like most organisations the only thing that motivates them to action is a dent in their profits, or things likely to do so.
I don't believe that Scotiabank should now choose to attract Indo-Trinidadian clients in particular by targeting them with pro-Indian advertisements. That could be seen as a form of positive racism. This is where there is a risk of action and reaction: racism for example breeding positive racism - two sides of the same dirty coin (speaking figuratively, and not intending to suggest that Scotiabank is racist in anyway). [I only address this because you said "If they chose to attract indian clients then I might reopen an account with them."]
Scotia and all similar organisations must start simulating a conscience and their directors should wake up and appreciate that equality is good for business and profits.
I think what all people really want is to be treated equally and fairly. Customers need to feel welcome irrespective of their race, sexual orientation, religion or whatever. Ain't that good for business? Sure it is.
" (minus the chinee' faces) ...."
It is indeed interesting that we have become so politically correct in using terms such as Afro Trinidadian and Indo Trinidadian, yet when it comes to referencing members of our Chinese community we still persist with the term "Chinee" and not Chinese. Has any thought been spared to whether they also resent being referred to by a nickname, as do members of the Afro and Indo community with the 'N' and 'C' words respectively???
Perhaps we are only capable of only recognizing injustices when it is perpetrated against us and not others, which gives credence to the thinking that the human is a selfish animal.
Maybe I should have used the word "chinese" or "sinotrini" instead of "chinee."
My sinotrini friends (and exgirlfriends) have no problem with my use of the term as they know my feelings towards their community, but you are right, esp in this kind of public forum it might have been insensitive.
I do hope that after reading through my whole comment, that is not the only thing you (Callaloo) have picked out. I do hope you have more to commment on, regarding the issue of indians in the media, other than my use of a single word.
I would like to hear your opinion on whether you belive indotrinis are being discriminated against.
You guys left out one good point in that "Indo-Trini women are being USED in most advertisements because the are more beautiful than their Afro-Trini counterparts" Notwithstanding all the other comments made.
If these women are over a legal age, consent to be in ads, are paid for it, and freely cooperate with the ad makers (directors, actors etc) then that is hardly being used. Seems to me they are out to make some money just like any other person, and know fully well what they are doing.
The word USED in this case was not mean't to say that these women were being used without being compensated but USED to enhance the status of their afro male co-stars.
I remember growing up in Trinidad when all those cigarette and rum adverts on TV only starred Indian women and afro males...also the store adverts that starred indian females and afro husbands accompanied by thier dougla children.
As a young indo Trinidadian male in those days...late 60s , 70s , and 80s growing up in my beloved country I remember how I felt whenever I saw those advertisements. I come back home every year and I still see the same.
I always say 'English is a funny language'. Explain your intentions as well as your meaning as the language is filled with ambiguities.
Are you saying african women are ugly? I think that's a rather broad and untrue generalisation.
Read carefully I said "more beautiful" ...I have no problem with admitting that I am an Indo-Trini male and biased towards Indo -Trini females. I grew up in a predominantly afro neighbourhood (Morvant to be exact) and I actually had two afro-Trini female girlfriends when I was young and they were beautiful. Afro-Trini women are beautiful but not more beautiful...get the drift??
I know what you said and I know what you mean: black women are ugly!!! That is why, perhaps as much as Indian men, dark skinned women are not featured favourably in most print advertising. I even once heard that the photographic process did not favour that kind of complexion. Didn't hear all the 'equal opportunity' people then.
We have two different problems in this country. The alienation of young Indian men and young, dark-skinned women and the presence of racist jackasses who are willing to say stupidness such as one group of women are "more beautiful" than another. What utter nonsense. You sound like you might be Raymond Ramcharitar. Well? Are you?
Therin lies the problem with a select portion of our society where individuals tend to hear only what they want to hear, see only what they want to see, read only the words in someones comments that enflame them, change the words to suit them and react in a manner that reflects their true identities. Respect for other human beins whatever colour they may be should disuade one from degenerating themselves into uneducated, ignorant and baseless name calling. You do not know me Kenton David HOW DARE YOU!!!
Hey, I would buy anything an Indian woman is selling in an ad, because Indian women are kind and caring.
If an African woman was in the ad, I would think it was stolen or had drugs hiding in it. That is the perception that the advertisers are giving the population. They want the nation to believe that African women are not good for ads and that a black man could only rise when he has an Indian or white woman by his side.
These advertisers not only marginalise Indian men, they squeeze African women to almost nothingness, when last did you see a Rasta haired sistah in an ad. It’s always a fair skinned mixed chick or an Indian girl with a black man, the sublingual message is that the black sister is no longer good, no longer acceptable in this society.
Look closer at the ads and the only ones you see with pure stock black women are the ones in HIV ads, ads to get food for Africa’s starving, or some ad depicting suffering.
The hidden message there is that the black woman is no longer acceptable because her beauty is second class to the dougla chick or Indian doolahin
There is much truth to this.
Black women do have a hard time in Trinidad also, and for many reasons.
What worries me is that (and i have commented on this elsewhere) when a black person is attacked, there is "usually" a social network that supports and defends, whereas when an indotrini is attacked, the back community stays quiet and the indian community, many times, supports the attack.
Maybe thats just my perception but thats how i feel -- like the black community is stronger and more assertive. The indian community is often divided and black trinidadians hardly step out of their comfort zone to publically defend an indotrini -- it upsets the status quo and is a social faux pas.
But back to the indian male and the black female -- maybe if social organizations and womens' groups got together and stated that they were going to survey images in the media by ethnicity, religion, and messages (subtle and direct) and were to demand that media houses correct any "major" imbalances, on "all" fronts, we would be able to move forward from this topic.
The sad thing, is that afrotrinis and indotrinis will never work together on a large scale. Too many of the rich on both sides would lose political and financial control, and too many people from other ethnic groups would lose political and financial control.
Too many people benefit from blacks and indians fighting against each other; the masses fail to realize who actually has political and financial control of the country.
As Sprangalang used to say, "Check Yuhself!"
"black princess" reads like one of the many fake letters in the "Guardian letters" section when Panday was PM.(worse thing to ever happen to T&T)
When I was growing up in T&T in the 70's and 80's I cannot recall seeing an ad with a Indo female and a afro male as a couple! and besides who really watch ads?
I do recall an ad with an Indo female doing horse back ridding as if she was living on an estate in the rural UK countryside. I fact I cannot remember ever seeing an Indo in an undignified manner. Anyone remember the radio ad about the black mama with 10 "ceren" to look after? which protrayed a over worked creole woman who needed to drink some beverage to cool her nerves and give her energy to deal with her brood of wild kids? this ad was pulled off of STATE OWNED radio in 1989 after female gov't minister Jennifer Johnson complained about it, in fact I did'nt find it so offensive as a male but she did as a female. Never mind that she was called a SLUT in parliament by Harry Partap! with no corresponding outrage from afros or women, no black male in parliament could ever get away with insulting an Indo female!
Most of this hysteria is about focusing Indos with imaginary oppression in order to collect votes at election time, Anand get a real job I don't think you are Prime Minister material, the maha sabha would never support a dark skin Indo to represent the UNC and the hindu community. (a FACT Indos well know about but don't say anything in public)
<<Most of this hysteria is about focusing Indos with imaginary oppression in order to collect votes at election time>>
Brilliant!..... you've made me see the light! ... all the discrimination i've experienced (personally and with my family) is in my head! Thank you, i dont know what i'd do without people like you, and Gladiator, and imbert, and rahael, and robinson-regis, and Pastor Patos, telling me that racism in sweet TNT is all in my head.
Boy, Trini_dude, like you work with the Manning administration?
Oh, and by the way, lets chat about your last paragraph. Lets chat about Errol and Kammaludhin being in line for PM and George being pulled into the position past the two coolies. Anyone in the PNM, or black, or christian communities say out loud that discrimination was the cause of such a move???
While the indian community has its internal issues that need to be highlighted, i think we also need to highlight the discrimination against it from outside.
The presence of discrimination within the indian community does not equate with the absence of it from outside. Your logic is lacking.
I saw the Scotiabank cricket ad last night and was shocked! Not a single Indian portrayed!
Given that we are in the midst of the cricket world cup and our windies team is made up of players of varied ethnicities, I think it's horrible that a national bank like Scotiabank chooses to completely ignore the presence of the Indian players buy not representing Indians in their advertising.
Incredible that the Indian community supports such a company!! Indians take yuh money and move it yes.
I would love to hear the rationale and explanation from a Scotia executive for totally ignoring a major ethnic group in a national ad-campaign.
I think that these questions should be posed to the advertising firms who are creating these ads ... why is there an imbalance in Indo representation. Are they just not available or are the just being left out.
Anand,
Your article makes me call to mind the lyrics of the song from the early 70's. The song, which I'm sure you must have heard, is named, "Melting Pot", and the lyrics go like this:
Wrap him up in black skin
Add a touch of blue blood
And a little bitty bit of red Indian boy
Oh like a curly Latin Kinkies
Oh lordy, lordy, mixed with yellow Chinkees, yeah
You know you lump it all together
And you got a recipe for a get along scene
Oh what a beautiful dream
If it could only come true, you know, you know
What we need is a great big melting pot
Big enough enough enough to take
The world and all its got
And keep it stirring for
A hundred years or more
And turn out coffee-coloured people by the score
Rabbis and the friars
Vishnus and the gurus
We got the Beatles or the sun god
Well it really doesn't matter
What religion you choose
And be thankful little Mrs. Graceful
You know that livin' could be tasteful
We should all get together in a lovin' machine
I think Ill call up the queen
It s only fair that she knows, you know, you know
What we need is a great big melting pot
Big enough enough enough to take
The world and all its got
And keep it stirring for
A hundred years or more
And turn out coffee-coloured people by the score
Coffee-coloured people
Coffee-coloured people
Coffee-coloured people by the score
Richard Wm. Thomas,
*****2007-04-13 Admin's Note: 5 Star Comment*****
The advertising agencies have not changed one bit since the seventies when some of us in groups like Mukdar and the Indian Revival and Reform Association brought up the same issue of racist advertising. At that time they were mostly focusing on whites and mixed whites for the upper end of their ads, blacks for the middle and bottom and Indians not at all (except the occasional Indian women with a black man). The other main rule for ads is that under no circumstances do you use ads that would offend or anger the customers you want to buy the product. This is an iron law in advertising.
We pointed out at the time that they were breaking all the rules for advertising, but they didn't care and refused to listen. I remember making the point that the aim of advertising was to showcase the client's product or service by giving positive information and using models that would appeal to the potential customers. If you wanted black people to buy your product you would use attractive or typical black models using it or benefiting from it, and they would buy it when they saw themselves or people they would like to be. The same applied to Indians and all other groups.
Here's how the ad agencies were going off the rails.
First, they were not using Indians as advertising models, even though Indians were the largest ethnic group in the country. If Indians did not see themselves in the Trinidad ads, they would be less favourable to the the product and not inclined to buy. Not using Indian men at all meant they did not care for Indian men to buy the product. Cheat number one on the advertising client.
Second, they continued to use Indian women paired with black men even though they knew perfectly well that most Indians at the time (and now too!) did not like that association. Most Indians would be react negatively or in a hostile fashion to the ad. Most Indians would not want to buy a product when the ad for that product made them angry or hostile. Cheat number two on the advertising client.
Thirdly, continuing to use a large number of whites or mixed whites in ads where such people were a tiny minority of the target audience made no sense at all. Perhaps some blacks admired the whites/ mixed-whites group and wanted to be like them, but the majority of Indians certainly did not. You appeal to the largest target groups, not the smallest. Cheat number three on the advertising client.
What was happening then (and probably now too) was that those jackass advertising agency people were advertising themselves and not using the market rules for advertising for their clients. At the time most of them were white/mixed-white or black. They were promoting themselves as the models to be admired and showcased in ads. Indian men were in short supply in the agencies and not considered by them as attractive models, so they ignored the Indian men. The blacks in the advertising agencies knew that black males generally liked the idea of being with Indian women, so they used those models in their ads. ( I don't know what black women thought of these black male- Indian female ads, but can guess there was some hostility there.)
In other words, the ad agency people ignored the interests of their clients by failing to appeal to the largest markets, and actually created ads that generated hostility to the products. All in favour of promoting their own selfish interests and their racist views. Give these guys an F in advertising. Give the clients a black eye and their sales a kick in the rear.
But that is Trinidad. These people haven't learnt anything in 30 years. Not even a constitutional motion by Anand will move them. Asses before, asses forever.
I have to hand it to B mobile for a brilliant strategy. I am sure many Afro males have rushed out to buy B mobile packages in the hope of attracting the attention of a woman like "Margaret"......LOL.
A point of note. I have picked up the subtle messages in B Mobile as opposed to Digicel ads. As a result I have discarded my B mobile phone and my Digicel phone is always with me. So there. I have spoken with my wallet!!!
Anand yuh right boy, the Indian male is not accepted as a mature fatherly, husbandly sex-symbol, more the big belly, wife-beating, loud-mouth upstart.
Them fellas who own the ad agencies are usually local white and light brown skinned folks.
Those fellas who close by Maraval road would die of shock to know that their island paradise actually extends far beyond the Lighthouse and only hear about the south and central in the news portrayed as a flood ridden, crime infested warzone.
They cannot portray anything other than what they know, but you have an added point, the indian girls they pairing off with non-Indian men they seem to know well. They seem to know what they are doing well. "Douglarise them" has long been rumoured to be the modus operandi of the Caribbean political-elite and their efforts are aided through media and cultural iconography.
Where the Indian fellas? A red fella is not Indian - indian is Indian - yes with their dark skin and facial hair, and lean frames and strong wills, their history, attitude and cultural heritage are distinctly Trinbagonian.
The alternative is to open up an Indo-Trini advertising agency somewhere south east of the lighthouse and put all the other ad agencies out of business, including the businesses they represent.
Maria Wright
maria_wright@operamail.com
Re:
<<< The alternative is to open up an Indo-Trini advertising agency somewhere south east of the lighthouse and put all the other ad agencies out of business, including the businesses they represent>>>.
GREAT POST Maria, you nailed it!
OBSERVATION + SOLUTION, really great one too
I remember some years ago when the Housewives of USA brought the US cattlemen to their knees
their response in a one word answer: BOYCOTT !!
KS
FEW Indian males outside the political arena have the balls to get up and take a stand for anything.
Indo-Trinidadian male politicians have their own agenda and that is to promote their own cause which is their popularity at the polls and on Election Day. The local government lot would call a strike for a bad road or a water shortage to get on the media while the bigger politicians would find some bacchanal to engage themselves in to steal the spotlight.
Amongst the indo-Trinidadian males with balls are the lawyers, those who are media practitioners and those who are trade unionist. Amongst the lawyers is Ramesh Maharaj, one of my long-time heroes that inspired a lot of Indian men to go out and be outspoken lawyers. Sadly he succumbed to politics.
Anand Ramlogan is the new Ramesh for the 21st century alongside him we have Prakash Ramadhar and a handful of good lawyers who are getting little media touting because of the fear that these men may command a new image for Indian men. The few Indian men who are trade unionist go a long way and understand what is a battle and a struggle. They are in fact good role models for young Indian males to follow but are never highlighted. Sadly, again because of race and the perception that an Indian could never lead, they never allow themselves to rise to the top, well except for Kenrick Loutoo who became the president of TTUTA but died of a heart attack soon after.
Indian males in the media are an aggressive and formidable lot and I have encountered some who are willing to “cut a throat” for a story and take pleasure in seeing politicians weep. We have had some great journalist over the years including Sunil Ramdeen, Gideon Hanoomansingh, Sunil Ramjitsingh, Prior Beharry, Adrian Boodan, Theron Boodan Anil Gurahoo, Richard Charran, Herman Roop Dass, Richardson Dhalai and Caldeo Sookram, Ken Ali, Sewdath Persad, Tony Deyal and the list goes on. All have all taken a stance and have written some fearless stories knowing that they could stand up battle when the time comes.
However these journalists are never promoted or touted in the media because of the fear that they may inspire young Indian males to take up a pen and write. Speaking about writing we have Sir V S Naipaul and the Government and their friends in the media don’t want to name the library after him nor any monument. What I am trying to say, is that there are many good Indian men as contemporary role models, but the hidden agenda in this country is not to promote these men as icons because it may inspire some level of strength in the young Indian males who may become boldface and want to be achievers beyond the academic level.
Yes we have Indian males who are doctors and lawyers and hold big degrees, but are they leaders? Are they bold faced and strong as our Indian lawyers, politicians, journalist and trade unionist? I doubt. In most instances they have the qualifications but that is all, they cower in their homes are no better than the man who sits behind a phone and call into a radio talk show. We can’t blame them, for too long too much bull shit is being touted that Indians are not a violent people, but the time may have come for vocal violence to start.
Indian males should demand their rightful spot in the advertising world. What is wrong with showing a fit Indian male in an ad, are those with the hidden agenda in fear that the Indian male in an ad may inspire other Indians to get in shape and do better. Are they in fear that Indian and African women would start to gravitate towards Indian men? Are they afraid that many Indian men and women will come out of their shell and demand equality? So if they portray the Indian in the media selling doubles, planting garden or wukking a taxi, it would place in the heads of the young Indian men that this is what they are capable of and this is what they should aspire to be.
The hidden agenda is such to promote Indians as drunkards and rum lovers, so chutney artiste as Adesh Samaroo are touted, a waste called Yidesh Samaroo who sang dhal belly Indian is a star, a talentless idiot as Anil Bheem who sings cover versions of Bollywood hits is promoted, Raymond ‘sell-out” Ramnarine who plated his hair in a corn row for B’Mobile is a hero.
Rum drinking, chutney singers are the stars of tomorrow. Anand you have your work cut out for you, since nobody wants to promote the Indian males who are making a contribution you could start doing that, talk to them and ask them their own views.
Behenji,
I am in total agrement ith you. But now that we know that the Indian Men with balls are not being highlighted what can we do about it? My sugggestion is that having being armed with this fact then we must find a way to work on the inside to get the recognition for the right things. You do not have to be a lawyer or doctor or journalist,
You need to find a field that you love . excel at it and make sure you get the recognition for your work. This recognition is what will inspire other Indian men and women to excel at all levels.
There are enough successful indians who have the balls and the laser focus to mentor young Indian men. the old cliche that all Indian men are unattractive and have pot bellys is certainly not true and we need to inspire our youth and evryone to make sure that such sayings do not stick. There is enough Indian controlled media to give these men a start and then unto the mainstream media. Create your own history and future if not for yourself but for your children and grand children. Get great minds together work out a strategy and make it happen. Wake up and fight for your rightful place where ever creed and race find an equal place.. Do it now !
Perhaps a wake-up call for Indian men?
Working at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the Rwanda genocide in Tanzania where 85 nationalities are represented, I am sorry to say the Indian men appeared the worse for wear. Their physical appearance needed serious redress; pot-belly, greying uncut hair, bad fitting suits. On the other hand, one took notice when an African man walked into the courtroom and/or any room for that matter- smartly dressed and in good physical shape.
Take a look in the mirror those Indian men who feel slighted by the advertising industry.. ... what u see? Rise to the challenge.
Are you kidding me? I'm downright sexy! Where are the ad agencies? They should be knocking on my door! Then again, as Right Said Fred sang, "I'm too sexy for this catwalk!"
Ok, joking aside, I think while you have a point about the percentage of indian men that "lose themselves" (some of it is just genetic predisposition to something called "Syndrome X"), i think that is a poor defence for not having ethnically balanced advertising. A high percentage of fat men does not equate to an absence of fit ones; nor does it justify not trying to find fit ones.
We have lots of beautiful black females and handsome indian males in Trinidad. When last have you stepped into 51 Degrees or Zen on a Fri/Sat night? There is absolutely no excuse for poor representation in ads. Absolutely none!
On a lighter side, i suggest you all read the Saturday Guardian. Akon was so confused by the mix of faces in the club that he was hailing out all the "Europeans, Asians, and Brazillians" partying with him! The reporter commented on his lack of knowledge about the ethnic mix of Trinidad -- and experience i can relate to from my university days in the US. But do we blame Akon for not Googling Trinidad, or must our Tourist Board and our advertisers take some responsibility for that?
This may seem to be a bit off the topic but its something that I absolutely have to get off my mind. When I read the article, it seemed maybe that I was sending some strong ESP vibes out to Mr. Ramlogan cause I too had seen the b-mobile ad and was wondering whether Indo-trinis don't go to the beach to play cricket as well and is it that Brian Lara only has Negro friends to call on his b-mobile...but that aside my real contributiion is this - I work in the public service and am the only Indo in my unit. My superior officer is Afro-trini male who is married to an Indian woman. Although I am engaged, he keeps trying to pair me with one of the Negro males in my unit telling me in snide undercover statements that negro men are the best men for Indian women and that Indian men are a waste of time.
It goes back to the whole advertising thing...alot of trinis pattern their lifestyles based on the suggestive nature of the television and advertising. But just because its on a billboard doesn't mean that it is happening for everyone. Even our 'dear' PM advocated for a douglarised community. I get along very well with the members of the unit where I work because they atleast recognise the boundaries that are laid out without me actually having to identify them and the respect that I am settled in my life. It is only my superior who figures that his life is perfect for everybody and that it should be established as a norm. Somehow or the other though I don't see him encouraging the guys in the unit to take Indian wives. I can only hope that it stays that way.
In T&T things are made out to be a joke and picong etc. Undercover statements get caught undercover in first world countries and people get prosecuted in court for criminal offences etc.
You raise an important point - that some who are married to another 'race' often hide their racism that way. I've seen it over here - where an English teacher was being indirectly racist to a certain child. When I suggested 'indirectly' that her blindness to a certain issue might be seen in a certain light she quickly told me that she's married to a Barbadian and that she is about to go off to her in laws in a few weeks. Well in those days I was not as assertive so I didn't say "So?".
It is sad that the legal system in T&T is in such a contemptible mess, else more prosecutions for racist conduct might have had an effect to change minds. Sharma CJ was one of them to speak out. Many knew he was a marked man.
What people think they can get away with is an important matter for all kinds of crime and misconduct.
This thing about douglarised communities was about the most idiotic thing I've ever heard spouted by any politician.
Who decides where we are born and if we are born white, black or brown? Do we have ANY say in what we look like? Why then should we go around living the rest of our livings dividing our beautiful Trinbago into Afro-Trinbagonians, Indo- Trinbagonians and Chinese- Trinbagonians?
Is it not bad enough that in the rest of the world ethnicity has been the major cause of civil war, international war, ethnic conflict and genocide? Is this how we want Trinidad & Tobago to look like in the future?
No... Trinidad was always and will always be my paradise... where "every creed and race finds an equal place." I am very proud of my heritage and my heritage is being Trinbagonian. It is not being African or being Indian. Trinidad & Tobago is a special and unique place in today's world. In no other country in the world was there ethnic and religious acceptance as existed in Trinidad in decades past. Why is that changing? Should it change?
Let's celebrate our differences and unite as one people. Let's not divide our sweet, sweet T& T any further. Our ancestors envisioned a brighter and better future for us. Let us not let them down.
Peacewarrior, the rhetoric in your questions adds nothing material.
Ethnicity has not been the major cause of wars as you assert in your rhetorical questions. Wars are fought by the actions of human beings and it is their collective states of mind that preceded such actions. It is wickedness, selfishness, greed and hate (among other negative human states of mind) that have led to wars.
<<No... Trinidad was always and will always be my paradise... where "every creed and race finds an equal place." >> Not the T&T I and many others know. And as a wise man once said "To a dung beetle a gobar heap is pure heaven!". Man, your paradise is simply what you fancy.
Your Nation is convulsing in hedonistic oblivion with oil dollars while bobol, power-madness, and discrimination are ripping its heart out. Wake up mate! Welcome to the real world.