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Trinidad and Tobago: My Homeland of Incommensurable Contradictions
TW: Discussions of Violence, Murder and Sexual Assault. This article’s not worth sacrificing your mental health for so if those topics are particularly traumatic for you, please click away.
“I’m from Trinidad.” Blank stare, polite smile but I see the cogs turning in their mind as they grapple with the strange name of a place they’ve most certainly never heard of before.
“Trinidad and Tobago. It’s in the Caribbean,” I amend gently.
Their eyes light up as tentative recognition flashes across their face. “Oh! Is that near Jamaica?”
My heart sinks a little but I’m gotten accustomed to this response. “Well, not exactly. It’s off the coast of Venezuela. Two twin islands but one country. It’s a beautiful place with stunning tropical beaches, amazing music and a rich melting pot of different cultures, people, food and festivals.”
This description is burned into my brain. I’ve repeated it excitedly so many times since my move to Canada in 2018 for university. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve had the above interaction, I’d be retired somewhere on a private yacht…
