Does T&T have any televised presidential debates or hearings that can be seen on TV or online? I know it’s election year & would like to keep up to date on what’s going on. (I am not located on the island)

I learned about this law recently and I wanted to know how people are using it. It seems like a very powerful tool that we as trinis have at disposal. Being able to get any bit of government information is valuable and you can use it in a lot of ways.

https://preview.redd.it/o5rllyxzyzge1.png?width=859&format=png&auto=webp&s=45e08b8bc822adeae1160d70ba9f1faa4567cb2b

From what I've gathered, Ms Harewood-Christopher was arrested and detained in an effort lead by a DCP in relation to some rifles ending up in the wrong hands, was subsequently released with no charge and now has been removed until further notice by the PolSC as the investigation is "still ongoing". Based on the actual quotes in the articles it seems this new guy will just be "acting" as CoP and theoretically Erla could return if fully exonerated and such, but who knows. Overall I find this whole thing very strange, especially the way the media has been handling it.

Does anyone have any recommendations for podcasts made by trinis? I’ve never lived in Trinidad but my mom has and my sister (and the rest of my moms family) still does. I’m away for college and I really miss the accent :( Any genre is ok!

Feel free to ask ah Trinbagonian a question!

Need advice, recommendations, suggestions or looking for something in particular? Everything and anything goes!

Please keep criticism and derogatory remarks out of this thread, if you have an answer then respond, if you don't... then don't.

I’m trying to make some callaloo for my Trini girlfriend she feeling a bit homesick and I want to cheer her up. Unfortunately I live in the middle of nowhere and the best replacement I can find for Dasheen leaf is either spinach or canned Jamaican callaloo 😭Which one should I use? Any cooking tips would be appreciated as well 😊

Look in the grocery at these products:

Ketchup, mayonnaise, peanut butter, peanuts, channa, and almond snacks (indeed almost every snack), mustard, and evaporated milk to name a few.

They all proudly proclaim, “Made and manufactured in T&T”. According to my sources, the local market is dominated by a few big and well known local brands. These companies import the actual products in large barrels and simply repackage them in smaller quantities. Or, they add water to a bulk purchase and likewise repackage it. That is not manufacturing, according to the dictionary. It doesn’t even amount to 10% of local involvement.

These companies, by this false proclamation, gain duty free access to Caricom and other northern countries where T&T has negotiated preferential trading agreements.

If I wanted to grow peanuts or tomatoes and set up a local peanut butter or ketchup plant I’d lose my pants. Caricom countries lose millions in revenue as a result of this fiction that a product is made and manufactured in T&T. (Some Jamaican companies do the same thing). No one in Caricom or elsewhere goes behind the false claim and asks for proof how peanuts in the shell or ketchup or almond snacks are made and manufactured here.

My grouse is that true local manufacturing is hopeless. The tens of millions made in exports on these false claims do not redound to local consumers, as these companies market their products marginally below the authentic foreign products, and get huge sales from local consumers. You’d imagine that with all the millions made in exports, these companies could reduce their prices to us.

Living Trinidad, we've all heard how great of Cocoa, Sugar, Coffee, etc industries were. Withing the past 2 years, I've seen numerous area with wild growing fruit tree that seem to belong to no one. Therefore i have a question. What areas do yall know of in Trinidad and Tobago that have wild growing fruit trees that no one really claims and everyone just can come and pick???? This can range from common mango, orange and sapodilla.....to less known Cacao, Nutmeg, Avocado and Ackee.

I'm positive there are numerous abandoned estates on the island.

A Local of Biche I met at a point in time told me that area has numerous abandoned Cacao plantations. I've also come across Cacao plantations in the Maracas Valley which locals supplied us with a special tool for picking the the pods. In the same valley there were also wild growing avocado (which I ofc picked). On a trail to the Maracas Waterfall i came across nutmeg (never seen any grown in Trinidad up until that point). In a Nutrien sponsored farming class i've heard of ackee growing wildly and publicly in Trinidad. Passing through Rio Claro and other south east area, I've definitely seen Cacao as well.

I’m a U.S. citizen and have been trying to get my parents a visa to visit for the last 16 years. I sponsored them and it was fully approved until the interview in Trinidad and they were denied. Tried for a visitors visa again and they were denied. Why is the process so difficult? They do not review the documents, they almost make a decision before the interview starts.

One example: is it still ghee if it isn't made from dairy products. The difficult to read small print does say that it is 100% vegetable oil but if ghee is a dairy product isn't the description misleading? It's like calling your product orange juice but having the ingredients list talk only about water, sugar, and artificial flavours. Other products make unverified health claims on the labels. Is this lawful?

A few notes from the past 30 days

• Former SSA Director Roger Best, also a pastor, has been accused of building a secret tactical unit consisting of unqualified people from the Jerusalem Bride Church. (This is from 2024 but leaving for context)

• Prime Minister Rowley announces a SoE and a few days later, announces his resignation

• The SoE is extended with no clear goal shared with the public

• The murder rate continues to bloom despite an extended SoE

• Commissioner Erla’s solution to reducing the murder rate is prayer, while allegedly signing off on the import of secret shipments of weapons and ammunition

• Commissioner Erla has been detained and is currently in a jail cell being interrogated about purchasing military style weaponry for the secret SSA Unit that PM Rowley claims that he wasn’t aware of

• Commissioner Erla continues to hold the title of Police Commissioner while being interrogated by her subordinates, about crimes against the country

• Commissioner Erla is released with no change to her title or duties

Born to an American mother and a Trinbagonian father. Went to Trinidad (full disclosure: 20 years ago)and was accused of having a fake American accent. In America, I'm constantly reminded that you're just "black". High school was the worst in this regard. College was a bit better once I was around Trinis. An expert on Calypso, Soca, and Reggae but also a hip hop connoisseur. I've noticed that Trinis will claim anyone with distant ties (Alfonso Ribeiro, Nia Long, etc.) to the country but there are people throughout the diaspora that truly live and breathe the culture. What makes you a Trini? Not a real question but would be curious to hear thoughts from those with similar backgrounds. I imagine NY is filled with people like myself but I don't live there.

I began a relationship with a girl with Trini parents who immigrated to America. She is culturally American by being born and raised here except for the household having any habits and traditions that her parents still maintain from Trinidad and Tobago.

My relationship with my girlfriend is relatively "normal" between us and her. We're both Christian, we began just talking until we decided there's a mutual connection and attraction. Her other sisters seem fine with me and wish us the best of luck. Her parents don't seem to want to acknowledge me, talk to me, meet me at all until things get serious enough. My girlfriend said it would need to be at the point I propose and in the engagement phase that her parents would even commit to communicating with me.

I'm used to dating where after some point in the dating phase (2-4 months typically) the family has become a part of the conversation to see for themselves how we are together and even show their approval or not.

Her mother is at least more accepting, and her dad is almost not even happy in the least. My girlfriend is in the middle of college and he expects her to finish school before she thinks about a relationship.

Is this normal in Trini culture? Parents to be largely absent of their kids relationships until its more serious? I can understand the school part but that is lot of people's general opinion and never typically listened to.

Any advice and then anything else that may be helpful to understand your country's culture surrounding family, dating, and how to help me understand better would be extremely valuable. I like my girlfriend a lot, and I want to know how best to handle this.

Edit: I got some good advice. My takeaway is that I’m a nobody until after time tells and there is a commitment level change like getting proposed to marry. Until then, I can’t really change them, and don’t try to force myself in until they do. It’s going to be suspicious if I do.

I’m even more of a nobody and threatening to their value of their expectations for the kids to get their education done first. So I have to show that I am not derailing her focus and be as supportive and encouraging to her studies while in this time.

I don't know if it's just me but over the years it been getting unbearable the legroom in the maxis are becoming nonexistent in some maxis my knees are constantly pressing on the seat infront of me causing alot of knee pain

Found this really interesting. If you know Trevor he was not culture stealing at all. He always shares what he learns rather than claim any ownership to it. Loved how he explained it.

https://m.economictimes.com/magazines/panache/trevor-noah-drops-a-new-term-for-our-vocabulary-are-you-ready-to-embrace-the-art-of-liming/articleshow/117553829.cms

Ok so this question just came up and is maybe a bit of self reflection as well. I live in the great white north and like most of us in foreign countries, I’m always very happy to meet a fellow Trini especially in places you would not expect to see one. My former partner used to work with a Trinidadadian woman. Said woman worked as an accountant at a 9-5 and basically part time at this other job. She was in her late forties early fifties and lived with her sister and mom. Everyone including my former partner had issues with my compatriot. She was one of those that was a stickler for the rules, made sure while you were there you were working and overall just a pain to work with. Mind you this person was not a supervisor or anything like that but had no problem telling you how and when to do your job. I have another friend and she again works with a Trini woman in the health industry and though this one is in a supervisor role, her reputation precedes her as being difficult to work with. My friend was thinking of quitting because of how difficult it is to work with this woman. The self reflection part now. I work in distribution and encounter customers on the daily. While I have great repoir (how do you spell that word) now with all of my customers, I guess I left a bad first impression with a lot of them as one revealed to me that at one point there was an email circulating among the customers basically brainstorming ideas on how to get me fired. The thing is, I know my job and do things by the books and I’m not a pushover so as any other bold Trini or whatever nationality for that matter, when you come at me with chuppidness, I will let you have it either sarcastically or sometimes demeaning depending on my mood.

So there it is. I know we’re a happy people and god is ah Trini and all that but are we miserable to work with? Are we like the title says, insufferable? I have a couple more examples of Trini encounters in the wild but these are just the closer to home ones. What allyuh tink?

Hey guys I am writing an article related to finance/technology and I want to reference DSS in detail. I never took part in it so while writing I realized I didnt know enough about it. What I know is that you invited people and when your flower bloomed you got money or something? And other than that it was a plain sou sou?

Hoping I can get some good insights and answers on this. I did try googling it but I am mostly just getting news paper stories about the court case where they gave him money back etc.

Here are my important questions about DSS

How and why did it begin?
How did it work exactly?
How did it spread so fast?
Why did it spread so fast?
People initially seemed to make money, what changed?
The gov seemed to get involved late but their concerned seemed not to be the scheme but rather the money laundering?
How could the creator of DSS have been smarter and also made the structure of it safer to protect the members?
Were you or a family involved? What happened?

In regards to ordinary Sou Sou I would also love experiences/opinions

Do you feel like people took advantage of you in sou sou?
How did they cheat u?
Whats most common issues you have ran into?
Whats ur favorite part of a sou sou?
How do you make sure you can trust people you invite to a sou sou especially if u dont know everyone.
What argument would you make on why a good Sou Sou is worth it or better saving or taking a loan.

Thats all the questions I can think of that are relevant. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to illuminate me on this matter.

Hello, Everyone. I'm looking to research abit more on a certain topic.

I have always heard growing up that babies who were born by their feet have the special ability to 'jharay' people using their feet. I believe, It is suppose to be done during sunrise. Something is done by the individual with their feet. Do correct me if I'm wrong on anything.

Does anyone know the specific name for this? Any source on where I can read about it?

Be respectful regardless of your religion or beliefs if you're commenting. Thank you!

A Trini friend asked me about the cheering sections in Amerika on the deportations. First, these persons are not criminals ( they are migrants)and they should not be described as such or denied their fundamental human rights. Rounding up people and deporting them on military planes like convicts or prisoners of war is not something to celebrate, it's wrong.

Secondly, let's assume that they were criminals, then shouldn't the receiving country get advance warning and the matter dealt with on a collaborative basis. One of the factors for the type of crime we now have has to do with the deportation of hard core criminals from US jails without notice. They would simply be put on a plane and dropped off in Trinidad- no chance for the authorities to prepare. And these persons had little if any connection to the country- no family, no place to stay, no viable way to earn an income. So they were recruited into gangs or formed their own gangs.

We will see a lot more of this over the coming months throughout the Caribbean.

One other thing to consider is that a lot of money in the Caribbean comes from remittances, that is money earned by our locals in the US and remitted to their families in Trinidad. That practice has long supported our economy. What happens now when that money ( legitimate, hard earned money) ceases to flow. Not only will families suffer but there's going to be a squeeze on many Caribbean economies.

I would like to suggest that when we consider these matters we look at them through the lens of how they will affect us, one should not be a cheerleader for those who will negativity impact us

Well I should better clarify and say I am a dual citizen. and I would like to know what kinda job would I need or suggested lifestyle approach to switch to moving to trinidad either full time or more months during the year than in the United states.

I doh have a set ah money. But I do know one ting....i am depressed living here. Depressed as hell. I truely don't understand the fascination with ppl wanting to come to live in farrin. There is no good here (in my humble opinion if you found a better life here and ur a national hats off to you) but as a young fella growing up i am saddened to say this American dream is, and always will be a lie. I am closer to living a decent affordable life in trinidad (I think) with my lower income than I ever will be in 25 years in the states.

My recent trip back home solidified that thought in me. Seeing how far the money stretches for basic stuff. Yes I'm painfully aware of the crime. Rowley finally decided to lay a state of emergency while I was there. (God bless these ppls familes) but I'm at the point in my life where I truthfully rather deal with crime up di wazoo over the monotonous cycle of despair I'm facing here in US.

How can I make this possible to be done in my lifetime??? Has anyone done what I'm describing or is doing it currently ??? Please educate me. I don't need fancy cars. I am okay with the simple lifestyle. I just want to afford basic things and needs without worry.