These are selected quotes of member of the Trinidadian diasporic community in the UK.
When I think of going back to Trinidad, I see it as an opportunity to relax as in living here [England] you’re constantly chasing your tail. Going back to Trinidad you feel like it’s like you on a holiday mode so relaxation for me and my memory of relaxing in Trinidad is sitting with a Solo [beverage] or maybe a in the hammock waiting for the doubles man [food salesman].
I’m quite fortunate to have the best of both worlds to be honest. I you know I’m quite proud to say that you know I was born in Trinidad and I lived there for 18 years of my life and I’ve you know enjoyed every minute of it and it’s great memories. But I’m also happy I’ve moved here [England] and you know managed to make a good life for myself as well. So yeah I know. And I’m grateful to the two countries for the experiences.
So basically growing up you know and at that time and that era your parents will tell you what career path they would like you to be. So my parents were into teaching more than anything else for their daughters. Being an eldest child and that part and that era basically you’re focusing on other career paths but your parents are sort of adamant that they want you to be a school teacher. So I did that to please my dad a little bit and then I went onto nursing which wasn’t great. Let’s put it this way. It didn’t go down very well.
The crime in Trinidad won’t make me return, yeah it is crime. Before [when I lived in Trinidad] I could just walk everywhere in the little short pants with something and my mum would say do not step out the gate … also I think the level of … I don’t know Trinidad seems to be a bit very fancy. Everybody has something designer or some fancy, who are not even working and you think my god.
So we have a little laugh and we reminisce about a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I think food for Trinidadians is a big deal, so we would exchange recipes or we cook for each other or we have a little chat with regards to that … we chase our memory for Trinidad but cultural as in say to maintain religious beliefs. We still celebrate Diwali but not say that we go temple or follow things strictly as we would’ve done like going to temple and stuff. So I think these are broke a bit of ties but we sort of developed a few and maintained with friends and relatives really or colleagues.
Basically, I left [Trinidad] because I wanted to… sort of explore the front avenues and to develop to my career really and to see a bit more what the outside world have because I feel in Trinidad I was sort of restricted in developing your career and what you can do because there wasn’t a lot of opportunities.
Well I’m a 60s baby. So growing up in the 70s and 80s and early 90s was fun. I mean it was a lot of freedom. We didn’t have technology mind you like we do now all the social media etc. which a lot of people grumbles about. However, we did have fun. Otherwise a lot of fun like climbing the trees and playing hide and seek in the bushes and there was a carefree moment of it in those days. It was wanting to have that being a child you didn’t have all that vices so to speak or rape or you know. Or what those kind of things so to speak. The vices of some guy will molest you or heckle you or something like… it was not there. So for me personally I think … I mean we didn’t have electricity in the early days and we didn’t have the water but that didn’t stop us from being children. That helped us to know what to make … how to make a sacrifice or how to make work what you’ve got in front of you. If that makes sense.
The thing is years ago in Trinidad I think the community was more closely knitted so people like your neighbours was more like family. You know everybody live like a family which is not how it is [now]. You know so you always feel that sort of safe and secure in your environment because you had lots of people around you. You had a lot of people who were supportive. You live a carefree life. You didn’t have to worry about when you go out what’s happening out there now as compared to our days.
So if I have to go back to live in Trinidad it’d be something short term and then sort of put my foot in there or dip my toes into the water. See how comfortable you feel and then put roots down again but you’re looking at the stage of retirement because if I have to go there now to find a job and start over it’s not likely to happen.
Generally speaking, the race issue is something all over the world and when I came to this country [29 years ago] when we go to the supermarket we could’ve count how much black people or people like myself that is in that shop or anywhere in the erm… town centre or anything. It wasn’t as multicultural as it is now. Over the years it has … just like Trinidad it’s the same sort of racial thing. And when you go for jobs or position or anything it just exists everywhere. It doesn’t matter where you’re from. You know if you do not belong to that sort of thing. We really no matter how long I live here would never really be… belong to this country