标签： Trinidad and Tobago

In the sterile environment of a hospital ward, a 93-year-old woman’s fate hangs in bureaucratic limbo. “She’s going to rehab tomorrow,” states a clerk, whose casual sympathy reveals the numbing frequency of such cases. When questioned about subsequent arrangements, the response is unsettlingly vague: “We don’t know. I guess we’ll see how rehab goes.

This patient represents the cruel paradox of modern aging: a mind retaining remarkable sharpness trapped within a failing body. Despite scoring perfectly on cognitive assessments and demonstrating precise recall of medications and medical history—including an osteoporosis injection due exactly six months after her last administration—her physical autonomy has vanished.

Her medical narrative includes a pacemaker implantation, cardiac stents following a 2017 heart attack, and an extensive network of physicians whose names she remembers with clarity. These medical relationships have increasingly replaced her social circle as friends gradually passed away. Where her daily planner once overflowed with social engagements, church activities, and book club meetings, it now primarily documents medical appointments.

The contrast between mental acuity and physical deterioration creates what physicians recognize as the geriatric dilemma—the inevitable choice between preserving cognitive function or physical capability in advanced age. Her hands, deformed by osteoarthritis, struggle to grip a pen. Her knees produce audible grating sounds with movement. Standing requires assistance from two people against the invisible downward force of vertebral collapse from osteoporosis.

Walking with a walker resembles a Herculean effort against imaginary leg weights, actually caused by fluid accumulation from circulatory issues. Neuropathic pain generates electric shock sensations down her legs, treated with medications that induce dizziness. Macular degeneration has stolen her ability to read, severing connection with her lifelong passion.

Despite these accumulating adversities, her will remains unbroken. When confronted with end-of-life decisions regarding resuscitation, she responds with unequivocal clarity: “I want to live. Do whatever you would do for anybody else.” Even when warned that CPR would likely leave her machine-dependent and fundamentally altered, she maintains her stance, momentarily refusing to engage with the distressing hypothetical.

This encounter leaves the attending physician with a profoundly unsettling thought: in such circumstances, cognitive clarity may become its own form of torture when the body can no longer obey the mind’s commands.

A midday medical emergency culminated in a multi-vehicle collision in Port of Spain on December 1st, prompting a significant police response and raising questions about emergency service timelines. The incident unfolded around 9:30 AM on Ariapita Avenue when a 63-year-old taxi driver experienced a sudden seizure while operating his vehicle.

Losing control due to the medical episode, the driver’s car veered onto Scott Bushe Street, where it subsequently collided with five stationary, parked vehicles. The impact resulted in injuries to two individuals inside the taxi. The 63-year-old driver was found unresponsive at the scene, while a 51-year-old female passenger in the front seat sustained a back injury.

Bystanders and passers-by played a crucial role in the immediate aftermath, swiftly assisting both occupants from the damaged vehicle and moving them to a safer location in a nearby carpark. Law enforcement officials arrived promptly to secure the area and cordon off the street for investigation.

The emergency response was notably aided by a certified first-aid provider, a good Samaritan who worked in the vicinity and offered critical initial medical assistance before professional help arrived. A point of concern emerged as the official ambulance service took over an hour to reach the location following the incident’s occurrence.

Local authorities have confirmed that an active investigation into the precise circumstances of the accident is ongoing, examining all factors surrounding the collision.

Amidst one of the most severe financial crises in decades, Pan Trinbago president Beverly Ramsey-Moore has pledged unwavering commitment to safeguarding Trinidad and Tobago’s steelpan heritage. The declaration came during the 2026 Panorama Single Pan finals at Queen’s Park Savannah on November 29, where the cultural event proceeded despite devastating sponsorship withdrawals and diminished government support.

The crisis deepened recently when state-owned Heritage Petroleum terminated its sponsorship of Skiffle and Siparia Deltones steelbands, following similar withdrawals by NGC months earlier. This funding collapse has left multiple community bands struggling to prepare for upcoming medium and large band categories, threatening both their competitive viability and organizational survival.

Ramsey-Moore addressed a modest but devoted audience with defiant rhetoric, emphasizing the steelpan’s profound social significance. “Pan keeps our youths in line and out of trouble. When you invest in pan, you invest in our future,” she asserted, highlighting how young people now constitute the majority of players, finding discipline and purpose through the instrument.

The Single Pan finals proceeded with remarkable resilience, featuring 25 finalists from 48 auditioning bands—the highest participation in recent years. Defending champions San Juan East Side Symphony secured their ninth title, maintaining the unchanged first prize of $275,000 despite the financial turmoil.

Ramsey-Moore invoked the instrument’s revolutionary origins, born from discarded oil drums by visionary pioneers who created the twentieth century’s only invented acoustic instrument. “The steelpan is a living monument of resilience, creativity, and community,” she declared, framing the current struggle as continuation of a legacy “built with fire, forged with courage, and sustained through generations.”

With cultural allocations shrinking, the president issued a direct appeal to corporate Trinidad and Tobago: “Support a steelband in your community. Invest in our heritage.” She emphasized that sponsorship represents not luxury but necessity for community-based bands.

National Carnival Commission chairman Peter Kanhai reinforced institutional support, acknowledging the single pan category’s significance despite its modest size. Linking to the 2026 Carnival theme ‘Yuh Go Love Dis’, he affirmed the steelpan’s role as a foundational element making Trinidad and Tobago’s festival globally captivating.

As Panorama preparations continue, the community confronts the paradox of artistic excellence amid financial precarity, testing whether corporate Trinidad will answer the call to preserve this unique cultural legacy.

Amanda Ackbarali, a 44-year-old mental health practitioner from San Juan, has dedicated the past 15 years to supporting survivors of gender-based violence and trauma. Her work coincides with the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (November 25-December 10), an annual campaign addressing violence against women and girls worldwide.

Ackbarali’s approach to mental health care stems from childhood experiences rather than academic training alone. Growing up witnessing her mother’s exceptional compassion toward neighbors and friends on their family porch taught her that “if you can be kind, then be kind.” Her own struggles with severe atopic eczema from age three provided early lessons in vulnerability and empathy for those on society’s margins.

Armed with a psychology degree and master’s in mediation studies from UWI, Ackbarali became board-certified as a civil and family mediator in 2013. Her frontline experience with institutions like the Rape Crisis Society, Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Children’s Authority, and Prison Service shaped her understanding of systemic challenges in trauma care.

During her tenure at the Children’s Authority (2015-2018), Ackbarali played pivotal roles in establishing the Child and Family Services Unit and developing protocols for child trafficking victims. She describes child protection work as profoundly humbling: “You are often the person standing between danger and safety, between chaos and stability.

The most emotionally challenging aspect of her work hasn’t been the clients themselves, but navigating “overburdened and under-resourced systems moving more slowly than the urgency demands.” This systemic pressure, she notes, causes practitioner burnout, making caregiver support essential rather than optional.

In 2018, Ackbarali founded The Opening Lotus, a virtual mental health practice emphasizing culturally grounded care. The practice incorporates small rituals like ringing bells during breakthroughs to “make the invisible visible” and help clients recognize their growth. The lotus metaphor reflects her philosophy: “Healing, like the lotus, is a slow unfolding. It doesn’t ignore the difficulty, it grows through it.

Reflecting on Caribbean women’s struggles during the activism period, Ackbarali identifies the pressure to achieve balance as a major emotional burden, exacerbated by cultural expectations placing disproportionate caregiving responsibilities on women.

She challenges misconceptions about trauma presentation, explaining that responses vary from hypoarousal (withdrawal) to hyperarousal (high functionality), both being adaptive nervous system responses. “You can’t read trauma from the outside,” she emphasizes. “You understand it by listening to the person’s story.”

Despite Trinidad and Tobago’s developing mental health system with gaps in education, service delivery, and referral pathways, Ackbarali remains optimistic. She advocates for better emotional literacy for children, training for community gatekeepers (teachers, police, coaches), and more intentional support for underserved groups including men, rural communities, and people with disabilities.

Her career has demonstrated that “people are capable of rising through things that should have broken them,” and with proper support and compassion, they invariably “find a way to bloom again.”

In a remarkable display of literary talent, 12-year-old Catherine Teemul from Trinidad and Tobago has achieved international recognition by securing second place in the prestigious Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2025. The St Joseph Convent student’s exceptional creative writing skills earned her a silver award among 53,434 entries from across the Commonwealth nations.

Catherine’s journey to this achievement began unexpectedly when she discovered the competition through social media while attending Curepe Presbyterian Primary School. Driven by curiosity and her longstanding passion for storytelling, the then 11-year-old decided to enter on a whim. ‘I have loved reading since I was in standard three,’ Catherine recalled, highlighting her early connection to literature that paved the way for this accomplishment.

Her award-winning essay, titled ‘Through the Pages,’ presents a captivating mythical narrative written in first person perspective. The story follows a young girl who discovers a mysterious leather-bound book with gold specks, leading her through a glowing doorway into another dimension. The protagonist finds herself trapped in her favorite book, pursued by a knife-wielding villain through a forest, before executing a thrilling escape back through the colorful portal.

Catherine described being ‘overwhelmed with joy’ upon learning of her achievement. ‘It came as a surprise. I was overjoyed when I found out,’ she shared, expressing gratitude for her previous studies that contributed to this success.

The competition, organized by the Royal Commonwealth Society in the United Kingdom, annually challenges young writers to engage with pressing global issues and Commonwealth values, fostering empathy and open-minded worldviews among youth participants.

This literary achievement follows Catherine’s previous success in Trinidad’s Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exams, where she also received recognition for creative writing at her graduation. Now attending her first-choice school, St Joseph Convent, Catherine follows in the footsteps of her eldest sister Chelsea-Marie while pursuing her artistic passions.

The young writer credits her former teacher, Valine Sewlal-Hamid, for playing an instrumental role in nurturing her writing talent. Her parents, Arvind and Nadia Teemul, along with siblings Chelsea-Marie and Celine, expressed profound gratitude for the teacher’s encouragement and believe this prestigious award has given Catherine ‘the proverbial push’ to further believe in herself as she embarks on her secondary education journey.

Despite her literary talents, Catherine reveals that Art is currently her favorite subject, with aspirations to become a fashion designer, combining her creative imagination with her eye for design that her mother describes as exceptional.