At what age do you tell an innocent child that there is no Santa Claus? When and how can you impress upon Tobagonians that presently there will be great difficulty to financially facilitate the dream of full internal self-governance?
Even before COVID-19 revealed its ugly ruinous self, there was insufficient money to just hand give to Tobago.
Is internal self-governance the equivalent of an overindulged teenager craving a Mercedes Benz when all you can afford, at best, is a motorcycle?
Consider the dire state of global tourism in this pandemic. Planes are grounded, borders are closed and airline staff are being off loaded in their thousands.
Tourism is a casualty of the pandemic as world economies struggle to keep breathing.
Yes, Tobago is outstandingly beautiful. But it is also the furthest south of the Caribbean islands. Tourism in Tobago was never on par with Jamaica, Grenada, St Lucia, the Bahamas or the Cayman islands.
Tobago also needs several five star hotels, so let us all get very real indeed.
T&T has always had the greatest numbers of visitors coming from America, which is under siege with thousands of COVID-19 deaths.
This letter is not about Trinidadians being uncaring of the Tobagonian dream of internal self-governance. This is not about not wanting to pander to the dream of Tobago being eventually another Singapore or Monaco.
This is about the political reality that there is no financial Santa Claus sitting poolside in Trinidad just waiting to be called.
But, was there ever?
Diego Martin
via email