myTobago – your questions, review and comment about Tobago

Post Recreated: Originally posted - 09 March 2003

This article appeared in a well-respected Canadian monthly national magazine in February. I'm planning to visit Tobago for my wedding and honeymoon, and some of my family are now a bit concerned after reading this. Does anyone have any suggestions or comments. Thanks.

An improbable terror threat in the Caribbean: If true, it would be terrifying. On January 26th, Trinidad's Sunday Express claimed that a chemical-weapons factory had been operating on the island for two years. A journalist had been taken blindfold to a cellar, and shown bottles of chickpeas and other substances. He was told of (but not shown) several hundred barrels of nasties stored in secret hideaways. The opposition screamed for a parliamentary debate; it has claimed that the government of Patrick Manning, a staid churchgoer, is linked to al-Qaeda. In fact, only tiny groups among Trinidad's 80,000 Muslims say they support Osama bin Laden. Britain's Foreign Office, criticised for its silence before the Bali bomb, had earlier warned vaguely of a possible "increased terrorist threat" in Trinidad. British and American firms are big investors in the island's oil, gas and chemicals industries. But the Express story left the professionals underwhelmed. Neither American nor British diplomats advised extra precautions. Some damage may already have been done. P&O Princess Cruises dropped Port-of-Spain from its routes two weeks ago. Insurance costs for energy firms may rise. The government worries about its ambitions to host the secretariat of the planned Free-Trade Area of the Americas. It seems that there is much poison in Trinidad's politics, if not necessarily in its cellars.

Post Recreated: Originally posted - 10 March 2003

Hello Kevin

Although noone in the world is ever 100% safe from a terrorist act, suicide or otherwise, Steve W (the editor) once summed up the best single reason to deduce that Tobago must be a very worthless target for terrorists - it is such a quiet island, and there are rarely any large enough gatherings of tourists at any one place and time in sufficient density to make an attack worthwhile. It really is as simple as that. Assuming that you live in a developed nation (Canada?), near or in a city, you are at far greater risk at home.

Indeed, this is one of about 1000 reasons why my wife and I are leaving London to live in Tobago this year, although I still consider London a safe place (not from normal crime I hasten to add). Think of the USA - 3,500 died on 9/11, yet 35,000 die each year from guncrime - that means that in 2001, US nationals were 10 times more likely to be shot than killed by terrorists. Trinidad might be a target, or at least the oil refineries/companies/foreign embassies etc, but then so could any major economic/political target anywhere in the world. If we worry too much the terrorists have won the battle, so don't let them win and go and have a peaceful, safe and memorable wedding in Tobago.

Best wishes,

Post Recreated: Originally posted - 10 March 2003

Hi Kevin

Glyn’s reply says it all, but may I add a couple of points.

May I start by stressing that the article and incident you referred to related to TRINIDAD – not Tobago. Although technically one country, you need to visit both to appreciate the difference. Poor little Tobago was fought over and changed hands some 32 times before England finally lost interest and dumped it on to Trinidad in 1889. Trinidad didn’t want anything to do with Tobago then, or now. As a wealthy industrial petrochemical producer, the Trinidadian establishment has always viewed Tobago as a simple drain on resources (not that they allocated any worth speaking of until recent years) and considered Tobago nothing more than a nice place to have a holiday break. It is only in recent years, following the oil crisis, that Trinidad finally started waking up to the fact that Tobago might have some economic use after all.

Bear with me. The point of all this is that geologically, ethnically, economically, socially and in almost every way imagineable, Trinidad and Tobago are two disparate countries. They can almost be compared to Toronto/Montreal, or England/Gibraltar. They may be tied legally, but in every other way are fundamentally different. Tobago is some 21 miles from Trinidad at the closest point. To put this into perspective, may I mention that this is also roughly the distance between England and France.

Now, Tobago has no industry. There is no commercial mining of any sort (that I am aware of) and no heavy construction or road-building that could mean use of, or access to, explosives. To be frank, I doubt if there’s enough explosives on the island to make as much noise as an average fireworks display. There is also no formal or organised agriculture on Tobago. Therefore, anyone trying to buy or import sufficient fertiliser to fabricate explosives would stand out a mile.

So, any explosives or weapons would have to be imported into Tobago, with all attendant risks. And, having got there, what is the biggest target you could hit? Do me a favour! You have the risks of getting the materiel into the country. You would stand out like a sore thumb ‘casing’ the situation - everyone knows everyone on Tobago. Remember, Tobago’s population is only 53,000). Having taken all these risks and planted your device, you would at best only achieve a small number of casualties. Having perpetrated the crime, you would need to lie low (a sheer impossibility on Tobago) or escape the country. Well, within minutes of any bomb going off, the airport and port would have been closed. Getting away would be major grief. Would it all be worth it. Remember, any terrorists would have to be coming in from Trinidad. Well, I would suggest that a terrorist attack there would have a far higher chance of success, could achieve far higher casualties and would make considerably more press than any attack on Tobago.

Oh, and by the way, I’m sorry to take the current issues of terrorism back to ethnic or religious grounds, but you should know that only around 6% of the total population of Trinidad & Tobago is Muslim – as quoted in the article you referred to. There are no separate figures for Tobago, that I am aware of, but the official figures quote 40% of the combined T&T population to be of Indian (Asian, as opposed to Amerindian) descent. Now, this might be true for Trinidad, but it certainly isn’t true for Tobago where at least 95% of the population is of African descent. Now, for the sake of argument let us assume that most Muslims are within the section of population of Indian origin. By extension, therefore (check my figures somebody), there are probably less than 400 Muslims on Tobago. Any Muslim extremists who moved to Tobago to incite racial, religious or any other form of hatred or civic unrest would be seriously short of a full brain compliment!

It is a complex issue and a considerable amount of the current situation in Trinidad is the result of internal political posturing. I’m sorry that this response has been so long, but felt I should give your concerns full consideration and explain my primary argument that Trinidad and Tobago are two very different countries in every respect.

A final point. This site is dedicated to the promotion of tourism to Tobago. Yes, we are biased, but people like Glyn are voting with their feet. I gain nothing from this site financially – in fact just the opposite. It would take me literally seconds to delete any posts that present Tobago in less than a brilliant light. I do not do so. Why? The answer is simple - I BELIEVE what I am preaching and would prefer to argue the case, truthfully, honestly and hopefully without undue bias. Being biased does not mean that you are necessarily unable to see the truth or that you are prepared to lie for it. Tobago is not perfect. It does, however, get a damn site nearer to perfection that possibly anywhere else I’ve every visited.

Post Recreated: Originally posted - 10 March 2003

Thank you Steve and Glyn for your comments. I honestly take your opinions as informed and "unbiased". As you know, I have been planning this wedding trip to Tobago for over a month now, and just as we were about to make a final decision, a family member mentioned that this might be a concern to them, especially travelling with young children. I agree with you both on the issue, and I have tried to reassure them of the safety of the island, which is one of the main things that I've been looking for during my research of almost every island in the Caribbean. I think the concern was more about the political situation and the existance of any sort of unrest. I appreciate your help and I want to make sure you know that I am still a big fan of Tobago despite not even having visited yet! At this point, Tobago does sound perfect and I can't wait to visit! I'm just trying to be thorough and cover all the bases. Thanks again.

Post Recreated: Originally posted - 25 March 2003

Hi Steve. Thanks for the nice treatment on the threat to Tobago by terrorism. But what about the potential economic impact of a terrorist act, or even the perceived threat of one, on tobago's economy (land values, unrest, unemployment from drop in tourism etc)?This is from the standpoint of someone shopping for a place to retire in peace. Any comments appreciated.

michael

Post Recreated: Originally posted - 25 March 2003

Hi Michael

This is a little off-topic and I'm no expert, but here goes.

It's probably true to say that a serious act of terrorism would wipe out tourism on Tobago. Tobago would rapidly return to the isolated backwater it was for centuries, surviving through subsistence farming and fishing and the few and negligible handouts that Trinidad dishes out to their poor sister. Oh, how I remember those days and how wonderful Tobago was! That’s where I would like to retire.

The inhabitants of Tobago have survived these centuries with everyone “dumping” on the island. It’s changed hands either 22 or 32 times. England dumped Tobago onto Trinidad over a hundred years ago and Trinidad has been dumping on Tobago ever since. I think that’s what has formed their warm and welcoming nature. Sorry, I didn’t mean this to become a political tirade.

Regards