How Feathers, Beads and Glitter Can Restore Peace in a Small Island War-Zone for 48 Hours

Imagine a scene where all the cars on the streets are replaced by droves of people, interrupted only by massive trucks transporting speakers. Imagine that those people are clad in colourful bikinis covered in beads, glitter and feathers, and that the speakers are playing loud music, native to the people. Imagine too, the rhythm of the people dancing to music and the synchronous sway of the feathers they wear on their heads. Imagine an entire nation parading together in the streets of their home, to music born from the triumphs of their ancestors. Imagine the sound. Imagine the scene. Imagine happiness. This is it. This is Trinidad Carnival, often referred to as the 'Greatest Show on Earth'. It is a two day scene of organized chaos, dressed in vibrant colours. It is the green, yellow, purples, and blues of the costumes worn on the bodies of black, white, and red. It is the the unity of an entire population of people from every race, every religion and every walk of life, celebrating each other. It is the reminder of a nation often referred to as a melting pot; an island of 1.6 million people, very few of whom are a single race. A multi-ethnic nation that once epitomized peaceful, all-encompassing co-existence.

But now imagine this. Imagine that on those same streets, over 26 days in 2018, there have been 48 murders. Imagine a 2017 murder toll of 494 people; a number nineteen times the amount of miles that span the tiny island. Imagine a disgruntled, uneducated and poor population neglected and cheated by a corrupt government rich off the natural gas of the island, none of which is fed back into its people. Imagine living in constant fear of your own home. Imagine a country whose newspaper headlines have, without fail, included the word 'murder' every day over the last decade. Imagine then, my confusion as to how a paradise nation, once praised for the unity of its people, has turned into a war-zone, where those same people turn to gun violence before they turn to each other. How we can be reminded once a year, for just 48 hours, of how sweet it feels to relish in the presence of one another, to then return to senseless killing sprees. How can a government neglect its people to this point of desperation?

Now imagine more so, my despair when you, who is reading this, can think of multiple other countries in this state of turmoil. Why has society taken so many steps forward, only to take double the number of leaps backwards? Why does this scene so accurately mirror events around the world, and why have we become so desensitized to it.?

Imagine instead, if we all paraded together, wore each other's colours, and found solace in our differences. And I am well aware that, were it as easy as this, society's progress would not be in such a stunted state. I am aware that some people reading this may not agree that society has moved backwards. But I am sure enough of humanity's intelligence, to trust that enough of us are aware of society's stunted progression. And I am even more certain that this same intelligence that brings us awareness, is only one of a repertoire of characteristics that makes us human; beings capable of intense emotion and compassion. And I have faith that if we were to draw on these innate characteristics, the same ones that dominate for 48 hours during Carnival, that we could cast aside hate and violence, and once again move forward as a society, together.