CARIBBEAN TODAY


V I P 0


We are the T&T gov't

 in Miami CG


Laura Marie West, newly
appointed Trinidad and Tobago
consul general in Miami, is still
settling into South Florida life.
But she has been making the
rounds at events hosted by
nationals of the twin island
republic, reaching out to the
diaspora. Caribbean Today's
freelance writer Dawn A.
Davis caught up with her at a
recent leadership seminar host-
ed by Trinidad and Tobago
Diaspora, Inc.

Question: What is the con-
sulate's mission? How do you
see your role?

Answer: We have defined four
missions: An economic mis-
sion, a security mission, a con-
sular mission and a political
mission. But, I will focus on
the consular mission. The level
of service afforded to nationals
traveling and living abroad, in
addition to seeking to maxi-
mize the exported skills and
investment potential of the
diaspora, that's why I am here.
At the consulate, we have the
responsibility for promotion,
pursuit, protection of the
national interest. We promote
trade and investment. We try
to establish two-way business
relationships with companies
here and in Trinidad and
Tobago. We develop bilateral
relations with the United
States. We provide national
assistance. We notarize and
authenticate documents like
restoration of citizenship, cer-
tificates for pensioners. We are
also effective for students who
want scholarships. If some-
body dies here, you have to
get documents prepared in
order to take that body back
to Trinidad, so you have to
come to the consulate to get it
done. In other words, we are
the government of Trinidad
and Tobago in Miami.

Q: The Trinidad and Tobago
government has developed a
long-range development strat-
egy dubbed Vision 2020. Can
you expand on it?

A: Vision 2020 is based on five
key pillars. It's really about
how you get to where you
want to get to. We are on a
journey to make our vision
real, and so we are involved in


activities and
we have prior-
ities to accom-
plish the
vision. We
want to be
resilient, pro-
ductive, inno-
vative, and
prosperous. West
We want our
citizens to have a high quality
of healthcare, safe communi-
ties, and sound and relevant
education. We would like our
people to progress in ways that
could take the good out of
developed countries and leave
the negatives where they are,
and hope that we can con-
tribute to a global community
that will be more positive. We
are a diverse nation; in
Trinidad we are a rainbow of
colors. The diversity and cre-
ativity of all our citizens is key
to getting our vision on the
way.

Q: How do you market the
twin island republic as a safe
and attractive destination?

A: Because we are a nation,
we are governed by laws. So,
we want to make sure there is
respect for law, for the law
guides the principles of
democracy...We are committed
to good governance; we are a
principled member of the
global community, we are an
effective regional leader. We
want to nurture a caring socie-
ty. You know when we were
children and we did something
wrong, you could get 'licks'
from your aunt, your mother's
friend, your grandmother. We
want to go back to those days
where it takes a village.

Q: The perception is that
Trinidad and Tobago is far
ahead of the rest of the
Caribbean in relation to manu-
facturing and industry. Is this
true?

A: Trinidad and Tobago is a
model for other developing
states. We were one of the first
countries to move from oil
into natural gas. Right now we
are the world's largest produc-
er of methanol and ammoni-
um. We export 70 percent of
the U.S. requirement for natu-
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 10)


People, who for some rea-
 son have reason to cut
 the ties that bind, shake
off the shackles of matrimony,
cut loose from the tethers that
tie, and separate from the per-
son whom they once loved.
Yes, I'm talking about that
final split as you leave your
spouse.
 I have been privy to the
insight of the minds of people
and why they call it quits, and
why they decide to take that
plunge into the unknown. But
the option of leaving is often
far better than staying. And
yet, some will still stay and
wallow in the misery, despair
and loss of self, preferring to
tell their tales of woe to who-
ever will listen.
 It's \uIeLeId that the
number one reason why peo-
ple part ways is because of
money. Yes, money, the love
of it, or the lack of it, is the
root of all problems, and is
enough to make couples go
their separate ways. So many
couples, married or not, have
suffered and split because of
financial folly.
 In some cases they fool-
ishly enter into the union and
have a joint bank account
only. Oops, big mistake, as
money and love don't mix,
and even though they think
that they're in love and what's
mine is thine, usually it ends
up being all mine and not
thine. So I advise you, keep a
little mine for yourself,
stashed away somewhere.

'BIGGER EYE'
 In many cases, one party
in the relationship has a big-
ger eye for spending than the
other, resulting in resentment,
as the imbalance is too much
to bear. Sometimes the wife
likes to keep up with the
Joneses and spends far more
than they earn, or perhaps he
has a deficit problem and
loves to gamble, buy liquor,
spend on wine women and
song.
 Or perhaps it's just a mat-
ter of priorities.
 "How can you want to


I n T


LW-S^^ caribbeantoday


buy a plasma
T.V. and we
don't own a
washing
machine?"
she cries, and
so the quar-
reling begins
until it's
splitsville. TONY
 For what- ROBINSON
ever reason,
this one pot
to serve two, is a recipe for
disaster, for invariably one will
dip more often than the other.
 In other cases, it's the bor-
rowing syndrome, where
either the man or the woman
constantly 'borrows' from the
other without having any
intention of paying back.
Usually it's a one-way street,
with one always borrowing
and never paying back, result-
ing in resentment and seething
anger that can fester for years.
 It's usually hardly ever
mentioned, but sex, the love
of it, or the lack of it, is also
included in the reasons why
couples call it quits. Oh sure,
many people will outwardly
say that it does not matter and
will stick it out or take a lover
on the side. But the long-term
effects can be devastating, and
they leave because of the slid-
ing scale of sexual desire. As
one man told me, "It's not
that she stopped having sex
with me, but that she no


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longer desired me enough to
want to have sex with me."
 It wasn't only the physical
act that he missed, but he was
hurt that his woman no longer
wanted him.

SPIN-OFFS
 Oh yes, women have
expressed the same sentiments
too, but for some reason do
not place as big a premium on
it as do men. But you know
that there are spin-offs and
sub plots to this sex thing that
all lead to the inevitable
breakup, with the main one
being infidelity.
 A man will endure almost
anything, but if his woman is
unfaithful to him, then he's
leaving the scene of her crime.
Most men just can't handle it,
to know that their woman lay
with another man.
 The info shows that fewer
women will leave a man for
this reason than the other way
around, but she will leave if he
takes her for granted or stops
showing her attention.
 So even when women will
leave because they're taken
for granted, men will leave
because they're taken for a
fool. It's said that hell hath no
fury like a women spurned,
but there's also much fury and
rage in a man who's taken for
a fool. Just check out those
stories of murder/suicides and

(CONTINUED ON PAGE 10)


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December 2009