THE EDITOR: While waiting at an airport lounge I had a conversation with a 75-year-old woman of East Indian descent. She was articulate and pleasant. She was on her way to spend time with her children and grandchildren who lived abroad. Shortly after the greetings she got into explaining how it hurts to see her very educated children who love TT forced to live abroad for a better quality of life.

I gleaned from her conversation that the issues that led her children to live abroad were not simply the economic advantages but simple things like living in a safe environment and having access to basics like a reliable water supply and good roads.

She explained that as she bravely approaches the end of her journey here on Earth, she leaves with deep pain. She laments the decay of Trinidad, not so much Tobago. She spoke of the wonderful experiences of living in clean and safe middle-class communities like Mount Lambert and Woodbrook. Then the degradation of these communities. She said to me that there are no more middle-class communities, just upper class gated communities and a working class struggling with the inefficiencies of the State.

I reflected on my years of writing, complaining and wondered what kind of people would have managed our country in such a way that:

* They encouraged the racial prejudices for political advantages.

* They destroyed our basic infrastructure like a rail system, a reliable bus service, a well structured gravity-fed water distribution.

* They dismantled the efficient local government structures of counties and wards that allowed communities to manage their basic infrastructure.

* They failed to do basic maintenance of roads and buildings, preferring instead to allow them to decay and then enter into mega projects to replace or renovate for insane sums of money. Then the cycle continues.

* They destroyed our judicial system that once saw a magistrates' court in every community and dismantled structured police patrols.

* They replaced state services like prisoner transport, wrecking services and acquiring a reliable source of water to private citizens for prices that are beyond comprehension.

One can go on and on, but this is not new information. The woman spoke of the filthy rich individuals that benefitted from the poor governance of our country. They own properties in Trinidad and abroad. They have so much wealth that they cannot ever spend it in their lifetime.

Now many of these people are asking us to continue supporting the current governance model so they can continue living off the people of TT.

We must take a position and determine to never ever allow these selfish, greedy and wicked people who think that our poor at best deserves a hamper see the halls of governance ever again. Change must come, and the power must be returned to the people, not the few.

STEVE ALVAREZ

via e-mail