Voices from the Field

Introduction

The story of the Caribbean is a story of movement. For millennia, the region played host to various waves of indigenous groups who often engaged in circulatory movement throughout the chain of islands. The story of the Caribbean is also a story that involves displacement, imperialism and colonization. Scholars, anthropologists, historians and philosophers, such as CLR James, Constance Sutton, Sidney Mintz and Eric Williams, to name a few, argued that it was important not only to understand the Caribbean as a zone of inhumanity but also a region, whose collective labour force contributed to the growth of modernity and European capitalism. That historically, the region existed, not on the periphery, but at the center of the development of industrial capitalism. 

Life in the region is and has always been complex. From various types of mobility to cultural expressions; religious practices, family systems and wider belief systems; these have all been historically situated within global entanglements of power. However, these entanglements have never been unidirectional in nature. Human agency is also a fundamental aspect of life within the region. 

Contained within the following excerpts are the dynamics of structure and agency. Cross cultural similarities as well as distinct experiences within contemporary Trinidad and Tobago are highlighted and discussed. These narratives are not atomistic in nature but connected to wider social fields bound within local, global and historical settings.

Childhood days 

“Growing up I heard lots of stories from my uncle about his childhood days when he and his siblings had to share a bedroom and how crowded the family home became after they all grew up, got married and stayed at home with their spouses. My uncle would then remind myself and my cousins how grateful we ought to be to have our own rooms and the comfort of sleeping on a mattress all to ourselves. This motivated my uncle and his family to move to another urban locale of San Juan. My encounters with Anita and Paul, my aunt and uncle, made me realise how privileged I am to have grown up in a home where I have the comfort of sleeping in a bed, one that isn’t shared with my siblings. For something as simple as space, I understand how much of a luxury that could be for many.”

The Shameless Thorns Around Interracial Relationships 

My Christian Indian-Trinidadian parents grew up with persons of all ethnic groups. They have friends, co-workers, and neighbors of many ethnicities. However, they were upset when I came home with my African-Bajan boyfriend. My father believes in the importance of sticking with one’s tribe, in line with his Christian beliefs. 

When his Indian- Trinidadian cousin married an African-Trinidadian their mother was very upset and the marriage caused conflict in his family. He wants to avoid that in our family. My father thinks that women should submit to their fathers and husbands. He wants me to agree to marry an Indian man and if I defy his wishes then I will not be fulfilling the role of a good daughter. 

My friends have different attitudes. One friend, Dana, was accepting of interethnic relationships, herself identifying as “mixed” of Indian, African and “Spanish” ethnic backgrounds. Another friend, Leah, self-identified as Indian and had the same attitude as Dana, speculating that her parents would accept a partner of a different ethnicity, whatever his skin colour. 

N.B. The idea of sticking with ‘one’s tribe’ was described by the interviewer as grounded in religious doctrine forbidding the act of being ‘unequally yoked’ i.e engaging in a relationship with someone of a different faith. Even though the family no longer practiced their faith, certain ideals, especially as it pertained to establishing a relationship with someone of a different religious background remained a significant part of their family dynamic. 

A Caribbean microcosm in Trinidad 

Tucked onto the hillside of one university campus in Trinidad, the hall of residence or dormitory is a microcosm of society. Students from other Caribbean countries such as Guyana and Saint Lucia who study in Trinidad develop strong friendships, networks of academic and emotional support, foster intercultural exchange, and also reproduce intra-Caribbean stereotypes around nationality, ones that are often rooted in economic factors and migratory patterns. Mark from Guyana observed that Guyanese are seen as inferior in Trinidad: “Trinidadians feel their culture in this country is better than Guyana’s and the Guyanese who come are dumb and lazy” and Saint Lucians by contrast present themselves as superior to Trinidadians: “Saint Lucians think they always smarter than everybody else.” As one of the economically poorer Caribbean countries, there is a high rate of emigration from Guyana, to various destinations in the Caribbean and the Global North. Without a full tertiary educational institution in Saint Lucia, those who studied abroad for advanced degrees were either wealthier or nationally funded. In both cases, recognizing how these stereotypes emerged out of material conditions is noteworthy.

From Place to Place, Building Identity 

"I migrated with my mom and sister at age one from Trinidad to St. Vincent. My parents had separated, and we had nowhere else to live. My mother, who is a Vincentian by birth, migrated to Trinidad for work. When I was six, we went to live with my aunt while my mom migrated to Canada in the hope of providing a better life for us. When she left Canada, we moved back to St. Vincent and then I returned to Trinidad to start university. I hoped to earn a degree and then find a stable job. I still hope so. I would say I am a multicultural person today because of these movements." 

Sport and integrating into Trinidadian society 

Any university student has had a point in their life where they were excited to finally leave home and become an independent adult. Regional students in Trinidad, meaning those from other Caribbean islands, also experience nostalgia and sadness in addition to excitement and freedom. 

For my basketball team members from Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis and of course Trinidad and Tobago, sport was a way of mitigating the culture shock of arriving in Trinidad while managing a new life stage as adults living away from their families. Sport helped us to foster inclusivity and promote unity. Basketball served an important function in socializing, meeting new people and coping with the demands of university life. 

Athletes, in general, must have a different mindset while on the court versus real life – and they have to find a balance between being thoughtful and kind in real life while maintaining their assertiveness and aggressiveness on the court. For me, being assertive and aggressive on the court is a work in progress. For my teammate, Christina, her newfound assertiveness helped her in other aspects of her life. She has become more vocal and expresses this level of competitiveness off the court, in ways that help her academically and socially. But Christina also maintained that being kind was still important. Once during a game, an opponent fell, however, Christina ran past the opponent and drove toward the basket; but after the game ended she went to ask her opponent how she was feeling after the fall. Everyone must find that balance for themselves. 

Basketball and sports, in general, are essential for personal development as it pushes the individual to push past fear, pain and lack; and enables us to work towards the greater goal - victory for the team and more importantly, ourselves. 

Transnational family life in Indian Walk, Princes Town 

“On occasion, I’d see people excitedly awaiting that highly anticipated “drum” or “barrel” with things from America or better yet going to Western Union for money sent by their parents. Even I can admit to once feeling jealous of my cousins with all the latest clothing and the newest cell phones that I could only dream of having. But I’ve only recently considered about how the remittances sent by family members abroad are the main source of income for many families, and how important it is in the Caribbean. 

Coming from a peri-urban locale in south Trinidad, single migrant mom Ava migrated to the USA to work as a geriatric nurse, leaving her daughter who was 5 years old at the time, Saniya (now 17), with Ava’s mother, Helen, to care for her. Saniya had just finished kindergarten and started primary school when Ava left. Even though there are lots of job opportunities for nurses in Trinidad, the pay is low, and Ava grabbed the opportunity. As a single mom, finances were strained, especially after Saniya’s father had left. The responsibility of childcare was magnified when Helen got into a car accident which resulted in an injury that left her unable to work and contribute to the family’s finances. 

When she first left, Ava felt lost and displaced, but she used technology to video chat with Helen and Saniya to see them from afar. The money that Ava sends regularly goes to basic expenses such as food, but especially for Saniya’s education and related expenses like books, extracurricular activities fees and shoes. This money got Saniya through primary and now secondary school. Ava visits every four months and plans to return to Trinidad in three years when the mortgage on their house, in Trinidad, will be paid off.

Long-distance dating

One night I was scrolling through YouTube and I came across a video entitled ‘meeting my boyfriend for the first time.’ It caught my attention since I couldn’t understand how someone could be in a relationship with a person they’d never met. I didn’t know about long-distance relationships. Sometime later, I noticed many other people delving into long-distance relationships since they or their significant others would be leaving for university overseas and they didn’t want to end their relationships. Some failed, others continued. 

Everyone experienced some difficulties within their long-distance relationships, especially around maintaining communication across time zones and trusting each other to be faithful. But everyone more or less said that they feel happy to be reunited with their partners: 

“We wanted to give our relationship a chance” (Hannah); “I think all relationships are difficult and that just makes up the dynamic of this type of relationship;” “if you are wholeheartedly invested in somebody, then distance will not be a problem” (Harmony). “It’s a big difference from seeing your partner every day in person to video calling in two different countries. But this move also gave us space as individuals to grow in the relationship” (Aaliyah).“It’s kind of difficult to keep up proper communication and to be actual partners as we can’t go on dates and such…but I’m not concerned about losing feelings or lack of commitment” (Max). 

--- Anonymous

Romance migration

“How can I leave behind all that I know? The ones who unconditionally sacrifice and encourage my growth. My land, my land, how I love you but now I have found a love that is bigger. I say goodbye and seek a new me. Each step that I take propels a new me but I must undertake this journey to see the worth. His eyes pierce mine, seemingly empowering me. A new sense of meaning, sense of greatness; the world is my captain and I plan to steer it. You belong to me, I belong to you. Together we can battle anything old or new. Even the whistles in the wind advocate against our union. New food, family, values, rituals, new life changing patterns. It’s hard for me to learn all these but we all deserve to be happy. It doesn’t matter what pulled me to you. If that is what it takes - for society to accept my salsa and your soca. Venezuela, I say goodbye, Trinidad you give me hope. Because I am taking this chance of romance and possible alienation to create this new HOPE.” 

--- Simone M

N.B. The above excerpt speaks about the challenges of pursuing a romantic relationship with a non-national. “Each step that I take propels a new me but I must understand this journey” This statement highlights the act of embarking on a new phase in life, one that entails a re-adaptation of one’s lifestyle. There is also a sense of novelty and renewed purpose in the participant’s narrative.

No Place 

“I’m a black man who likes men. There is no place for me here. Do you know how it feels to have to hide who you are from everyone around you? I have to be on guard 24/7 just to make sure that I don’t slip up and let someone figure me out. I always have to be aware when I go out with my partner. Always looking around and trying not to make it look like we are together. Do you know what it’s like to be afraid that we might get attacked? You think that’s bad? My father has disowned me. I just want to be me and not worry about the consequences of being myself. Sometimes I get so frustrated that I want to scream! So yeah, going away would be better. Better than staying here.”

--- Anonymous 

This excerpt captures the harsh reality faced by LGBTQI persons in Trinidad. Michael was deeply hurt and disheartened, especially by the censure that he had experienced from his family because of his sexual orientation. While many countries have recognised the rights of homosexuals and transgender persons in order to promote full rights of citizenship enjoyed by cis-gender persons, in the Caribbean, and Trinidad and Tobago in particular, LGBTQI persons still confront everyday prejudice and systemic discrimination. This systemic discrimination stems from the legacy of British colonialism which persisted into the 20th century with the Sexual Offences Act criminalizing same sex relations under Section 13 and Section 16. 

At the same time, within recent years, there has been resistance within the civil sphere. In 2017, LGBT activist Jason Jones, challenged the State of Trinidad and Tobago to amend its homophobic laws. In 2018, Section 13 and Section 16 were deemed unconstitutional and for the first time, same sex relations were declared as being non- criminal in nature. The success of Jones’ case was a watershed moment and paved the way for other forms of activism, such as the first Pride celebration in 2018. 

However, the lived experiences of individuals within Trinidad and Tobago are still constrained by entrenched homophobia. As Michael’s narrative highlighted, feelings of fear and the careful management of visibility are some of the many issues that the queer community continues to confront. 

Going Forward 

These excerpts are snippets of life in Trinidad and Tobago. This blog adds to the voices of others within T&T such as the work done by People of Trinidad and Tobago and Humans of Trinidad and Tobago. 

Ethnographic research has the potential to contribute to the burgeoning wealth of scholarship within the Global South. Journals and other online blogs such as the Journal for Undergraduate Ethnography and Youth Circulations demonstrate that there is much that can be harnessed through ethnographic research into the experiences of various actors.

Here's another youth 'voice from the field', who was in the Intro to Anthropology course in 2019: 'Queerness and trauma in postcolonial education in Trinidad' .