–for Carnival 2023

By Anselm Gibbs
“FORGET the hate and spite; if we unite, we could put up a fight,” sings Eunice Peters as she takes to the stage in San Fernando, a city in the southwest of Trinidad.

The lyrics may not be what you would normally expect to hear in a calypso song, but this year’s celebrations in this carnival-mad twin-island nation are happening against a backdrop of spiralling crime.

2022 was the deadliest year in Trinidad and Tobago’s history, with 605 recorded murders in a country of 1.3m inhabitants, according to police figures.

“Close them borders to stop the inflow of guns; it’s time to modernise we education system,” Ms. Peters belts out from the Skinner Park stage during the semi-finals of the National Calypso Monarch competition.

Criminologist Wendell Wallace blames the proliferation of gangs for the recent crime wave.

“In Trinidad and Tobago, we have that gang problem, where you have that fight for turf. To me, that contributes, in a large measure, to the rising crime, as well as the increases in murders that we are having,” he explains.

And, as if he was echoing the lyrics of Ms. Peters’ calypso song, Dr. Wallace argues that Trinidad and Tobago’s porous borders are also a factor. This, he says, leads to illegal drugs coming in, followed by guns.

In north Trinidad, in the lush area of Surrey Village, Amrit Samaroo is trying to keep a group of young people busy doing something positive.

Mr. Samaroo is the musical arranger for the First Citizens Supernovas Steel Orchestra.

The steelpan ensemble, which has many young players among its ranks, is rehearsing feverishly in the lead-up to the National Panorama competition final.

“It instils values of discipline, hard work, patience, and also working towards a common goal,” Mr. Samaroo says of the benefits of playing in the orchestra.

Cheriese Pierre started playing steelpan when she was 10. Sixteen years on, she still gets a thrill from being in the Supernovas pan yard.

“Being amongst young people motivates me, because I see people around my age and younger who I could also motivate and work along with,” she says.

Meanwhile, at the Queens Park Savannah, home of the main carnival parade stage in the capital, Port of Spain, gang crime is also getting a mention, as Ruth Adams Mendez is showing off her Carnival Queen costume.

“At a time when our communities are in turmoil due to gang warfare and environmental changes, this costume represents a beacon of hope, and a call for peace,” the narrator says of the costume, which is modelled on the Maraval Lily, a flower native to Trinidad.