Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago originated as a result of the mix of cultures that settled on the island. This spanned from the Spanish and English colonial powers, French planters, African slaves, Indian indentured labourers, and the many other ethnic groups that settled here. When the French came in 1783, their culture and customs accompanied them; they introduced Carnival in the form of masquerade balls to Trinidad along with African slaves. Both the French and the British used the period between Christmas and Lent as a time for feasting and fancy dress balls. Since the slaves were banned from the festivities, they would carry on their own celebrations, mimicking and mocking their masters while incorporating their own rituals and folklore. After slavery was abolished in 1838, the freed Africans took their Carnival to the streets, it kept evolving as each new immigrant population came to Trinidad due to indentured labour-ship or other reasons.
(Source from Urban Entertainment blog - http://ttcityentertainment.blogspot.com/2015/03/carnival2015-streets-of-port-of-spain.html)
Today, due to this massive celebration, which occurred last month, many foreigners enter the country to partake in the 2-day event. This brings to light the concern of accommodation for the large population increase, be it transportation or waste collection facilities. Some of these visitors come from countries that have strict littering laws so they have the habit of taking care of their garbage, while others just don’t care. They are in the same boat as the Trinidadians who litter with complete disregard for the authorities or state of the country and the result of the litter problem. They all have this attitude that CEPEP is there to deal with the litter situation and think if they don’t litter the CEPEP workers wont have jobs. For the 2-day event massive groups of persons, be them in bands or spectators, line the streets of Port-of-Spain partying, drinking, eating, just having a good time. Most of them don’t see/feel the need to place their garbage (mostly glass bottles or cans) in a bin, they simply just place them on the floor and go on with their celebrations despite the bins that are placed throughout the city, or so it may seem. The Brian Lara Promenade had a lot of these bins placed by the city corporation, but do they span throughout the entire city of Port-of-Spain
Apart from the physical pollution, what about noise pollution? These 20-40 foot trucks pull large music systems throughout the city. They belt out loud sounds that travel and vibrate houses, pet owners can’t handle the noise. What about the children that have to study or the old persons?
At our nation’s schools, teachers work hard ensuring that our children understand the problems associated with littering; however when they leave the classrooms and school compound and see their elders littering what are they to do? It places a strain on them as the people they look up to are littering and during carnival so many people are littering, they begin to think that it’s okay to do it or is it okay to do it for this festival. Confusion sets in their minds as they want to listen to they teachers but the many people on the streets along with their older relatives outweigh what was said in the classroom.
References:
Cholai, Sureash. "Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : Newsday.co.tt :." Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : Newsday.co.tt : Daily News from Trinidad and Tobago. Accessed March 7, 2015. http://www.newsday.co.tt/day/1,7778.html.
Luke, Aba A. "If You Litter You’re Nothing but a Loser." The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper. Accessed March 7, 2015. http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2011/08/23/if-you-litter-you-re-nothing-loser.
"Port of Spain Case Study." Scribd - Read Unlimited Books. Accessed March 7, 2015. http://www.scribd.com/doc/19552480/Port-of-Spain-Case-Study#scribd.
"Trinidad and Tobago - The True Caribbean - Official Travel and Tourism Site." Trinidad and Tobago - The True Caribbean - Official Travel and Tourism Site. Accessed March 7, 2015. http://www.gotrinidadandtobago.com/trinidad/carnival/.
Don't forget all photos must be your own - label them as such if they are! Why should we go to those links? You should be making the connections for your readers, not just re-directing them. How does litter and pollution relate to urban theory? is it related to consumption, for instance? Good start.
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