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Trinidad Syrians And Local "Whites" - Page 2

People in Trinidad call everyone names. It's just the way it is - no judgement calls here... "nigger", "coolie", "chinee", "whitey", "reds". The fact that she got called a name, is no different to someone else being called anything under the sun.

Of course they complain.... and all are saying the same thing, screaming "discrimination" over things they themseves do to the other groups. I've completely lost patience with the whole discrimination issue, I'm afraid.

For the record, and yes, from my experience - all of them are equally prejudiced. I've received the same racially motivated treatment from every group within Trinidad - Black, White, Syrian, Chinese, Indian, whatever. All are prejudiced, all have to find a way to just get along, already!

The problem I see with this statement is, and again this is based on my experience, attitude of the bearer. I know "white" Trinidadians who have no problems walking around downtown Port of Spain (outside of Carnival, too), because their attitude is down-to-earth, friendly and approachable.

If however, you walk into a room feeling that you must be standing out for whatever reason, you are going to feel self-conscious, you are going to act a bit more stiff, and if you feel that every person of a darker hue is looking to rob you, you are going to project fear... whether it is by clutching your purse or by avoiding contact with those that you're so terrified of. What happens then, is you've turned yourself into the target you were afraid of becoming.

quotWhitesquot Local Syrians Trinidad

Some of those terms are insults. I do not think most Indians would appreciate to be called "coolie" , a chinese person "chinee" or a black "n..." and so on. People may use it not with the intent to offend but indeed they are offensive terms.
Just because "is the way it is" does not mean is right or acceptable. Everybody in Trinidad knows for example that the terms "n....." and "coolie" are very strong terms, even more coming from people of a different race.

Trinidad Syrians And Local "Whites" Caribbean / Tobago & Trinidad

Personally, I don't use those terms. However, I know an Indo-Trinidadian woman who encourages her white American husband to call her and all her family "coolies" (he didn't know it could possibly be taken a wrong way until I mentioned it to him, because I was uncomfortable). I know Afro-Trinidadians who grew up calling themselves and each other "n..." and Chinese-Trinidadians who call themselves and encourage others to call them "chinee"

So... maybe it's all up to the person to take offence, in my humble opinion

Page 2 quotWhitesquot Local Syrians Trinidad

My experience has been that they can call each other "n..." or "coolie" but don't dare to think you can say it! ( I never liked those terms and of course never used them) but I I heard people who call themselves "n...." with each other who got extremely offended and angry when someone from another race, specially if that person is white call them that. It's against any logic to me.

quotWhitesquot Local Syrians Trinidad

If there's one place I've never tried to find logic LDS, it's in any racially-motivated argument!

It's always struck me, that the people who scream "discrimination" the loudest, are among the guiltiest of the same bias(es).

Trinidad Syrians And Local "Whites"

Before I say anything else, Hello to all of you. This is my first time posting here (aside from the introduction).

As a local "white", I just had to comment on this. Being "white" makes the average person on the street look at you differently. Generally, you tend to get a lot more attention because you're an oddity. People stare, men "soot"...I personally get more than my fair share of strange comments. Undoubtedly some of this has to do with being female, since it seems that the Trinidadian way of treating women is to act like we are merely objects to be used.

I don't feel particularly threatened when I walk down the road in broad daylight (certainly no more than anyone else of any other colour), but I would never dare to stay out after dark or to use public transportation to get to a remote area simply because of the colour of my skin. The very fact that I am so easily noticed and recognized makes me a target for criminals. I imagine the same would be true for Chinese and Syrian-Lebanese people; there always seems to be discrimination against minorities, even in the great "first-world" countries.

I have also witnessed "white" people get treated poorly at the hands of police. A friend of mine - who is also "white" - was involved in an incident which landed him at the police station for a couple of days and in court as well, and someone from a news bureau at one television station or the other actually told us, "The police always call reporters whenever they arrest somebody white." We also overheard a police officer saying they were going to do everything possible to keep my friend in jail and to convict him of the crime he had allegedly committed, and in these terms nonetheless: "We go f*** de lil white boy."

I know that not everyone has these prejudices, but it's still disturbing to hear these kinds of things, especially from the people who are supposed to impartially protect and serve you.

Trinidad Syrians Local "Whites" - Page 2

Thank you! This is exactly what I was talking about. I notice most Trinidadians have a problem accepting this as fact. As a foreigner in the country, this is what I have observed for years. That's why I do not believe discrimination is only towards those who are "dark" skinned.

Exactly, people who do not think this way are because they are *not* the target, they look pretty much like the rest of the population but those who do not look like the majority, they have to be afraid. The primitiveness and mentality of some Trinidadians, assume that "white" folks are rich, making them targets of criminals.

In the example you gave about your friend, I have realize also that we see three types of behaviors:

1. A lot of Trinis hold a grudge on "white" folks, because of race or status.

2. We have another group (mainly towards non-local "whites") that have a fascination with them.

3. The ones that accuse you of having an inferiority complex because you think this way or "she thinks she is white" kind of attitude. If they could see how silly and primitive that sounds.

Edited: LDS_forever on 7th Dec, 2006 - 7:03pm

Trinidad Syrians Local "Whites" Trinidad & Tobago / Caribbean - Page 2

Precisely. And none of these views make any sense. The average Trinidadian definitely has a long way to go in terms of tolerance and equality, which is curious when the man on the street randomly accuses Syrians and whites of running the country and discriminating against Afro-Trinidadians and Indo-Trinidadians.

First of all, there aren't enough Syrians and whites to be able to "run" the country. I do see racism among the few local whites I know, however, and while I don't approve of it at all, I believe it comes from the fact that they experience this type of discrimination on a daily basis. Which is also why you tend to find whites living in the same areas and hanging out in the same clubs; it's a method of self-preservation. A bad one, but I suppose it is to be expected.

This is exactly right. While whites and Syrians and Chinese and whatnot may well discriminate against darker-skinner people, most discrimination is against the lighter races. And it's all due to the human instinct to dislike those who are different. It's due to the fact that we're simply the minority.

I'm sure some people still bear grudges against white people for slavery and indentureship, but that's not fair. You show me someone who enslaved someone in his/her lifetime and I will ensure that that person is brought to justice. Likewise, you show me someone who was enslaved and I will ensue compensation. But it's not fair to judge me and dislike me for what some of my ancestors may to have done to some of yours. (I'm not talking to anyone specifically here, when I say "you" I mean said average prejudiced Trinidadian.)