Calypsonians Fear Reptilian Autocrats

Reptilian Autocrats Striking Calypso Fear

By William Doyle-Mashall
Anyone who has been around the cultural scene of Trinidad and Tobago would have heard the saying: calypso, mas and steelband compliment each other or some would say – they go hand in hand. But I never thought I would witness a time like now when the leadership of Canada’s calypso conclave would masquerade as complicit baboons.
This 2012 Calypso season has presented numerous examples of this type of behaviour married with profound acts of autocracy. Over the years we have witnessed calypsonians creating their own words but for 2012 the Organization for Calypso Performing Artists (OCPA) has changed the meaning of the word “unattached”.Calypsonians who do not belong to the two tents the OCPA board arbitrarily included in its music series are deemed to be unattached.
   Spivey the singer from Montreal who is a member of the cast at Caribbean Expressions; June Smith and Newton P of De Master’s Cove were identified as being unattached when they performed in the semi-final round trying to qualify for a bid to capture the Calypso Monarch title. There is talk about an environment of fear and that was certainly obvious that Saturday night as emcee Dick Lochan performed his chores on stage at the Professional Calypso Tent. Maybe it was a natural slip when he identified De Master’s Cove during introduction of Newton P’s first appearance. But his second bid to call the tent’s name hung in the air like a broken twig on a tree branch. He bit his tongue probably to avoid offending the calypso autocrats. At the conclusion of Newton’s first song Dick (de Juiceman) Lochan said ‘okay, he is from the,,,,’and stopped dead in his tracks.  The audience did not get the full name treatment.
   Clearly those “unattached” singers were victims of an Unfair competitive disadvantage. You got a feeling of sabotage as those performers stepped on stage. In one case the deejay played the wrong song track for the competitor. However when the Professionals cast members appeared before the judges everything was flawless. Where was the fairness?
   Why is OCPA taking liberties? This question is circulating as the organization is telling people the Master’s Cove has opted out of its music series. However the truth is: OCPA decided to exclude the tent for operating on a Saturday night. The Calypso autocrats believed that would be in conflict with the Professionals Calypso Tent. The Master’s Cove management was informed that it would not be included in the music series Subsequently, Colin Benjamin, OCPA’s spokesman circulated an email that forced John Perez, manager of De Master’s Cove to respond in a bid to set the record straight.
   “For the record Master’s Cove did not decide against participating in this year’s Calypso Tent Music Series,” Perez wrote. “The opposite is true. We were rejected from participating in the series after securing a location for housing our tent for this year,” he informed OCPA honcho..
   Responding to Benjamin’s allegation that the tent refused to participate in the music series, Perez explained in his email to Benjamin: “Further there never was any agreement or understanding between OCPA and Master’s Cove regarding dates or days on which Master’s Cove or any other Calypso Tent should open as participants in the 2012 season. I was absent from the April 27 Tent Manager’s meeting. In fact I was in hospital. There was no communication written or otherwise to me or my organization from you about decisions taken at that meeting. Hence your claim that the “dates proposed by De Master’s Cove conflict with the schedule for the series that was agreed upon and approved at the Tent Managers Meeting on April 27, 2012", from which I was absent is incorrect.”
   Your correspondence of April 18, 2012 notes “we regret that you have decided not to comply with the requirements of the series as presented to our funders and sponsors and opted not to participate this year”. Once again we must state categorically that no decision was made by this tent to opt out of the music series. I am confident if you had conducted proper prior consultation with me in advance of submitting your proposal to funders we would have certainly found a happy medium.
   On reflection I am trying not to compare the OCPA board members with having crocodile mentality. There are 23 species of crocodiles that survived the ice age. The wanton autocratic behaviour of the organization’s leadership has me wondering whether one of those reptilian species now resides in the City of Toronto under the sobriquet of OCPA spreading fear that results in calypsonians cowering daily under perceived threat as they maintain doubts about their future.
July 20, 2012

Caribbean Village for 2015 Pan Am games

A Caribbean Village for Pan Am games 2015 in TO?

By William Doyle-Marshall  

Caribbean people in Canada should utilize the forthcoming Pan American Games 2015 in Toronto to exhibit their prominence in the world of athletics. Mr. Seth George Ramocan, Dean of the Caricom Consular Corps expressed this desire in an exclusive interview with the Trinidad Guardian.

   . We as a region Because Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago are so prominent in the Sports arena, the Consul-General for Jamaica said they need to utilize the games as one of the common grounds to work together and showcase themselves as a region.

  “The Caribbean must have a Caribbean village, to be able to have the number of things that we do together that people can see that being done here,” Mr. Ramocan explained. He was confident that there are many ways in which Caribbean states can pull together and cooperate more.

    Reflecting on the size of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago and the big impact they are making on the world through sports, Ramocan acknowledged both countries  have been able to train football teams that can be spoken about. While they have not really won the World Ramocan is proud that they are spoken about; due to the impact they have created.

  He cited a recent international athletic race where Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt was there and he happened to have made two false starts and so he had to drop out of the race. In retrospect the Consul General reflected “ you could feel a sigh of relief by the rest of the world. They felt ‘wow, we could get it now. Usain is out’. Not realizing another Jamaican was in the race. Jamaica still came and win gold and Usain was out. What do you say about that as a region? How does the world see that?” he continued.

  While identifying the sports arena as a vehicle for coming together Mr. Ramocan wants to see a Caribbean Chamber of commerce established in Canada where all the businesses that are Caribbean here in Canada and in the Greater Toronto Area come together and work together as a unit and lead a delegation out of Canada into the Caribbean to explore and exploit opportunities. “We are much too scattered,” Ramocan concluded..

   Noting that the Caribbean, as a region in Canada, has close to a half million people in terms of descent, second and third generations within this country.  “Many of our Caribbean islands do not have a half a million people in terms of its population. We want to take the Caricom approach and to try to build a single Diaspora here that can cause the people of the Caribbean to be aware of how they can have a greater voice both in Canada and to make a greater contribution to their region,” the Dean of the Caricom Consular Corps said.

   The newly appointed Dean plans to work together through his Consular peers General to reach their respective Diaspora and develop some kind o common ground where they identify a lot of things that they are doing in common. The Chief Caricom Consular official is confident that relationship between the Consuls General is what signals to the community that working together is possible. “Once we are clear on the common areas that we want to approach together that would be good,” Ramocan affirmed.

June 19, 2012

Steelbands on Lakeshore Carnival

Steelbands on Lakeshore Carnival Route, A Must

By William Doyle-Marshall

The 2012 edition of Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival is on the way and the city is poised to welcome thousands from around the world with steelband, calypso and masquerade.

   The Caribana Arts Group jumped the gun and launched its Caribana Children Carnival in the Jane and Finch community after the Festival Management Committee shifted its junior carnival to nearby Downsview Park.

   Despite its small showing of 200 children participating in a carnival parade in their neighbourhood compared to the promised 2,000 on Saturday by the FMC organizers, there is much to celebrate. But on the other hand one new FMC venture is creating some heat. FMC’s Chief Administrative Officer Chris Alexander calls it a Pan J’Ouvert to be staged on the morning of August 4 on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition. Starting time is 6 o’clock.  

  Alexander disclosed there’s always been a contention in terms of the pan being involved and mixed with the bands because the bands have these boom boxes and steelbands are just acoustic music which is difficult. To remedy the situation Alexander said the FMC has agreed for this year is to segwey into a ‘Pan J’Ouvert’.

   Pan J’Ouvert is really a pan J’Ouvert. We will be doing that from 5:00 to 9:00a.m. just before we start at 9:30 with the main parade. We have a route that we scheduled and worked out for them so it doesn’t impact what’s happening on the road,” Alexander said confidently

   “We’ve given them their own space so pan can literally showcase what they do. But it is not during the regular time. It’s a little bit earlier which they love and they want to do that.

   But within the steelband fraternity the feeling is mixed. The majority seems to favour steelbands participating in J’Ouvert and the Caribana parade as well. Delano Thomas, chairman of the Ontario Steelpan Association said steelbands have been trying to get this for years and the main obstacle has been the lack of understanding of the culture by the Toronto Police who are more receptive to the idea now.

   “Traditionally J’Ouvert that’s steelband time and you have your Bomb competition. You drop your bomb. That is traditional, it goes far back as pan itself.”

   “Steelband for Pan J’Ouvert and no steelband for parade of the bands: “That is unfortunate. I understand some of the logistics but I think there has to be a solution,” said Dr. Ralph Agard, a cultural observer and former community advocate. “You can’t have a parade without pan. True enough, we have deejays and whoever else but pan essentially is what mas’ is about,” he stressed.

    Al Foster an experienced steelbands man on the Canadian scene who operates his own music school in the City of Toronto admitted that steelbands often feel neglected. On the road a steelband with 40 50 players could be out shone by a mas’ band with 500 people especially where the music is concerned; where the deejays play extremely loud  music for the masqueraders and spectators to hear. It’s a real disadvantage for the steelband players, Foster noted.

  With respect to steelbands not being on the road the Carnival would suffer, he predicted. The challenge exists because a lot of people do line the parade route with high expectations of seeing the steelband. Everyone agreed unanimously that the steelband is an integral part of this festival and particularly on the actual parade route.

   “ Personally I would not be too happy about not participating in the parade because that is a highlight of the summer especially for the youth contingent of my particular band. I like the interaction between the spectators and it is going to be a big loss for the entire festival. But change is a tough thing. When you can’t actually see it’s really hard to accept it. There has to be a lot of buy in from the community.”

    Delano Thomas, president of Ontario Steelpan Association reported that FMC has not told him that pan would not be allowed on the route. From his perspective members of OSA are determined to perform at J’Ouvert and on the parade route as well.

 “If it is something that they want to try and go in a different direction, I think we should at least try it because you never know. It might work out better, it might be an improvement, not that it needs an improvement but it might be something we can build on. I think including the steelband in the J’Ouvert is a brilliant idea.

    Dr. Agard, past Chairman of Caribbean Cultural Committee recalled his first J’Ouvert involved an overwhelming steelband presence when he walked out of his home at five o’clock that morning. Steelbands were coming out on the street at five o’clock in the morning and everybody was jumping up to pan,” the sociologist recalled. With that indelible memory, the social worker is confident there has to be a way to find a solution.

   “Let the bands, whatever it is, find some accommodation. Strategically placing steelbands at the end so they come later but it doesn’t make sense to me. I think it is an over simplistic problem,” Dr. Agard recommended.

   Ken Jeffers, a pannist, advocate for youth a former Chairman of the Caribbean Cultural Committee and an ardent supporter of Afropan said steelband has been seen as keeping back the parade in the past. However he believed there is always a degree of scepticism as to the rationale for making this year’s change.

   Freedom is about having a choice, he argued. So having the J’Ouvert is a very good idea however he insisted all bands should have the option of whether they want to go down the parade route or not because Carnival is a free spirited thing. “The streets are for the people and pan is of the people and if they want to go down: fine. If they want to play J’Ouvert and go down: fine. I don’t think they should be restricted or limited in that regard,” said Ken Jeffers..

  Despite the claim by Alexaner that the logistics prevent steelbands from entering the J’Ouvert and parading the Lakeshore in the flagship event – parade of the bands – there is unison that steelbands must be free to make their own decision and participate where they feel comfortable.

July 18, 2012

Work to put G20 behind us for better policing, future peaceful protest – McNeilly

Putting G20 behind us for better policing, future peaceful protest – McNeilly

By William Doyle-Marshall
The Independent Police Review Director Gerry K. McNeilly expects Toronto Police Service administrators to implement his 42 recommendations to improve service within six to 12 months.
   In an exclusive interview at his Toronto office McNeilly said he believes six to 12 months is a reasonable time for implementation of recommendations related to the G20 summit protests of June 2010 in the City of Toronto.
   McNeilly undertook a comprehensive study of police actions resulting from the G20 summit in Toronto in 2010 that resulted in mass arrests and detention, involving members of the media.
   Sweeping proposals by McNeilly aimed at improving communication between police and the media emphasizes that major events require robust communication plans. As a result he recommends police services in Ontario should work with his office to develop plans for improved communications.
   “The public’s support for security measures is crucial to their success. Police services should develop a detailed public communications plan for major protests that includes the police’s role in facilitating peaceful protest,” McNeilly writes.
  The director released his findings about two months ago after exhaustive inquiry. He would be monitoring the situation as best as he can. Though McNeilly the Trinidad-born attorney has no enforcement role he hopes to get an opportunity to work with the Toronto Police Chief William Blair and all the Chiefs in Ontario who have received his report. Its his hope that they would all look at these Recommendations, accept them and move to implement them. Chief Blair has indicated some of McNeilly’s recommendations are already being implemented. “That’s a very good sign,” he recounted..
  “Policing the Right to Protest: G20 Systemic Review” is the title of McNeilly’s report. Some of its recommendations relate to training that must be accompanied by establishing protocol and policies and procedures. Others relate to change in attitude which demands that senior officers take responsibility in regard to their subordinate and their colleagues in general. Because of the need for identified attitudinal change, the Trinidad-born director suspects that maybe slow in coming. “But policies, rules and procedures could be made for those to be complied with and so it is for many of the other complaints,” McNeilly observed.
  He admits that the results of the massive G20 security operation were significant. Although the summit itself was not disturbed, the security    operation disrupted life as usual in downtown Toronto. The disorder which occurred and the ensuing police response certainly came as a shock to many including some of the police, the director observed. “As a result some members of the public have expressed a loss of trust in the police and the police themselves have engaged their own critical assessment of their actions, he continued.
   The report has been sent to all Police Chiefs and all Police Services Board Chairs the governments and others who may find it useful. The director hopes that they would all look at his recommendations, accept them and move to implement them.
     Responding to individuals who charge that no one is held responsible for wrong doings identified by the director, he says from the conduct perspective his review has made findings and substantiations against numerous officers, including some senior rank.
  He is convinced that those people have to take and will take some responsibility, regardless of the outcome of the tribunal hearing. McNeilly is encouraged that Chief Blair said he takes responsibility and he accepts the report and its recommendation and he intends to implement them. “To be quite honest, I want the opportunity to work with him to do that, to see my 42 recommendations implemented for policing in Ontario,” the director said.

Ombudsman's statutory obligation and moral responsibility

By William Doyle-Marshall
Residents of four Scarborough communities   – L’Amoreaux, Woburn, Malvern and Rouge – are to be part of a very specific outreach initiative by the City of Toronto’s Ombudsman Fiona Crean. This is the first direct attempt for city residents to become aware of the existence of the office so that they could make use of its services. September is the starting time.
   “An ombudsman is an alternative to the courts. You can go to court and fight your battle, assuming you have a lot of money and enough time to do that,” the Ombudsman told members of the National Ethnic Press and Media Council at their meeting earlier this month. “The ombudsman is a free service to the citizenry that is an alternative, where it isn’t about right or wrong. It is about trying to put you the citizen in the place that you need to be in terms of redress,” she explained.
   The Ombudsman investigates complaints by individuals against the city’s agencies and or staff. People are invited to call her office anytime for clarification, information or referral because dealing with City Hall is very complicated. Complaints are not dealt with up front to avoid staff abuse of the Ombudsman’s office. However before a complaint can be lodged the affected individual must first approach the department concerned. There are two exceptions. When nobody answers your call, the Ombudsman considers that a form of mal-administration and she will look into it. The other. exception is where a group or individual is so marginalised or vulnerable that it would be an absurdity to send them back through the red tape and the bureaucracy.
   “You can never undo what has happened. You can only look at what is reasonable and to then look at how did this happen in the first place,” Crean said.
    The four areas were selected based on data collected which showed the further out people live in the city, the poorer they are. “So we looked at this and the importance of getting to those communities and we of course looked at different data sources to say: where do we start?”Crean emphasized.
   Crean believes it is better to go into a fewer number of communities and work more intimately, in greater depth, to begin with and then over time work across the city. The ombudsman valued the chance to meet with members of the council.
   She admitted that the people who come to her office tend to look like her; they are highly educated, computer literate, live on the subway line and are home owners. They have an absolute right to have their complaint heard, but Crean said she knows the vast majority of residents of this city does not look like her; they do not live downtown and are is not upwardly mobile economically etc.
   “It is my view that if you are a single parent working in Malvern, night shift– the last thing you would be thinking about is frankly: what is the ombudsman?
   Crean emphasized her statutory obligation and moral responsibility to ensure that people across the city know about her office. “I think of it a little bit like an insurance. Hope you don’t need it but you need to know about it in the event you do. And you can be sure that public servants aren’t going to invite the resident to go to the ombudsman’s office if something has gone wrong,” the Ombudsman continued.
   Pausing to address cynics about the role of her office the Ombudsman agreed that people are cynical for good reason. “The flip side of that cynicism is actually about fear. It’s actually about ‘there is no point doing anything because nobody is going to help me. So it’s getting people to actually believe that we actually can make a difference.”
 The Ombudsman could be contacted by telephone (416) 392 7062 and TTY 416 392 7100 or by email – ombuds@toronto.ca
July 9, 2012

Making the India-China link to Caribbean

By William Doyle-Marshall
Britain’s role in connecting Calcutta and Hong Kong to the Caribbean was explored at the fourth Toronto Hakka Conference at York University in June  by scholars and  members of the community under the theme “Many Places, One People– Chee Gan Ngin”.
    Senator Vivian Poy welcomed Hakka scholars, researchers and advocates from around the world to focus on the importance of Hakka culture and the impact of its people across the oceans. “For centuries many Hakka like her grandfather, have left their ancestral homes to make their fortunes in the outside world. At this conference they heard about the Hakkas in China, Malaysia, India, Mauritius, Caribbean, Taiwan and of course Canada. “Those who survived and have done well managed to showoff their families back home with conspicuous extravagance,” the senator noted.
   As a Hakka on her mother side Senator Poy  has been coopted into these conferences because the topic is familiar to her. “Being a Hakka woman, my mother was quite a match for my father and I am proud to share many of her attributes,” Senator Poy confessed. “Outsiders don’t seem to know how strong Hakka women are; that they were feminists way before the term was coined,” she surmised.
  Hakka women sported a traditional hat at the conference which is distinct from other Chinese women to the extent that they never bound their feet. It symbolizes the Hakka Mother – independence of women which increases the independence of men to go abroad to earn and develop wealth.  This is a choice made by Hakka people due to an ancient time when this practice was not followed, conference co-chair reminisced..
 Calcutta and Hong Kong are very well connected by the British group as Chinese were renowned as architectural experts in the ship building trade, Dr. Keith Lowe, conference co-chair disclosed at a pre-conference press assembly. The Jamaican-born scholar and community advocate said because of the Hakka people’s skills, their buildings have no nails – all wooden buildings interlocked.
  This means they can build ships. “Our ship builders went to India to help them in that industry – the very first one. So we developed a community in Calcutta,” Dr. Lowe disclosed.
  That very self-contained Hakka community in India was attached with Hong Kong through the British connection and it is still alive and strong after four-five generations who still speak Hakka. They have their own schools, their own teachers and their connections with China and Taiwan.
   “So that’s a particular distinct community which indeed had problems because during the border war with China in 1962, the Indian Government took away their leaders and put them in a concentration camp in Rajasthan,” Dr. Lowe recalled..
   Many families lost their homes, their livelihood, their property and now they are beginning to tell that story that is not very well known. Internment of the Chinese people of Calcutta, India were largely Hakka. Shedding light on this hidden information about Hakka’s of India was one of the exciting parts of this conference as Hakka advocates and scholars began unfolding that story which until now has not yet been told.
 The Hakka Chinese community of Toronto presented the international conference on Hakka culture in partnership with York University. Since 2000 the conference (held every four years) has become the premier learning event in the Diaspora of about 40 million Hakka spread over more than 40 countries around the world including Caribbean states, Malaysia, Mauritius, South East Asia and Canada.
   Senator Vivienne Poy, Chancellor-Emerita, University of Toronto and G. Raymond Chang, Chancellor of Ryerson University addressed the opening of the conference and Dr. Shiu Loon Kong delivered the keynote address on “Legacy and Continuity”.
  Hakka Chinese people moved out to different parts of the world because they lived in the hilly parts of the country and with their population increase it was difficult to earn a living there. As a result they moved out to Malaysia, South East Asia, Taiwan, the Caribbean, India, almost every corner of the world, Nam Low, conference consultant explained.
   According to Dr. Lowe, the Hakka Chinese people want to impress on everyone in this modern world, “we are one people really, one planet and in fact we are demonstrating that the Hakka way of living is sustainable, good for the planet because our architecture in Fujian province, our homes there are built out of raw earth.”
   “We’ve used the technology of rand earth to create monumental structures which withstand earthquake, which are cool in summer and warm in winter, which develop a communal lifestyle, shared resources, economical use of all resources so that we are living in harmony with nature; and at the same time embracing new technology,” Dr. Lowe said.
June24, 2012