News

Yvonne Webb

2 Hrs Ago

Former Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran presented his keynote address to Rapid Kidz Fire Foundation’s president Kevin Ratiram, after dedicating it to the latter’s late father, Darryl Ratiram.
– Photo by Yvonne Webb

FORMER foreign affairs minister Winston Dookeran has called for “innovative diplomacy” from Trinidad and Tobago to ensure peace and stability in the region in the wake of a growing geopolitical storm between the United States and Venezuela.

“We know our strengths, we know our weaknesses, but we must move forward in unity.”

His message found emotional echo in humanitarian Kevin Ratiram, who urged compassion for Venezuelan migrant children displaced by political and economic turmoil.

Dookeran was the keynote speaker at the Rapid Fire Kidz Foundation annual dinner on November 1 at Achievors Banquet Hall, La Romaine. The event, which raised nearly $30,000 through the auction of dinosaur fossils, blended geopolitics, history, and humanity under the theme — “Jurassic.”

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has declared support for the United States, which has positioned military assets in the Southern Caribbean, ostensibly to counter narco-trafficking. An estimated 100,000 Venezuelan migrants now live in TT.

Against this backdrop, Dookeran urged reflection and resolve in his address on the theme: “Fireworks of Ideas that Shaped Trinidad and Tobago’s Journey at Independence.”

“While the world’s geopolitics play out in the waters of TT, our nation must draw on the same courage and vision that guided its founders in 1962. Peace and development work in synergy. The challenges are real, but so too are the possibilities. It is time once again for innovative diplomacy to take a front seat and shape peace and stability in our region and beyond.”

Present at RKF’s dinner were Health Minister Dr Lackram Bodoe, Education Minister Dr Michael Dowlath, Justice Minister Devesh Maharaj, Opposition MP Brian Manning, and his mother, former Education Minister Hazel Manning. Maharaj and Manning even joined the “catwalk” segment for charity, with Maharaj crowned Rapid Fire Top Model.

Dookeran said the “fireworks” of independence were not bursts of light, but sparks of ideas, courage, and compassion — qualities he sees embodied in the Rapid Fire Kidz Foundation.

“Tonight, we celebrate a different kind of firework — not of light, but of ideas, courage and compassion — embodied in Kevin Ratiram’s work.” He presented Ratiram with a copy of his speech in tribute to his late father, former councillor Darryl Ratiram, and his mother, retired principal Grace Ratiram.

Reflecting on his early interactions with the architects of independence — Dr Eric Williams, Dom Basil Matthews, Dr Rudranath Capildeo, and Justice Tajmool Hosein — Dookeran recalled how their contrasting philosophies created a balance between state power and human compassion.

“Our founding fathers debated not just policy, but philosophy — discipline and production on one side, unity and freedom on the other. Both mattered. That balance is what keeps our democracy alive.”

While Dookeran called for renewed statesmanship in uncertain times, Ratiram’s response brought the discussion to the grassroots level — to the children and families caught in the human crossfire of geopolitics.

Speaking passionately about his partnership with the La Romaine Migrant Support Group (LAMS), Ratiram described the Foundation’s efforts to convert a donated home into a learning centre for displaced Venezuelan children. The project, funded with a $50,000 donation from Arazzi Restaurant, was nearly derailed by community prejudice.

“When Venezuelan nationals began cleaning the building, neighbours said, ‘We don’t want any Spanish here.’ That hurt me deeply — to know that people could reject others simply because of nationality.”

He said such xenophobia highlights the urgent need for empathy.

“You would hire a migrant to wash your car, cut your lawn, put up a wall; they might be living next door or a street away, but when you have a birthday party, they never make the guest list.”

He urged citizens to go beyond tolerance to true acceptance. “Acceptance says, ‘You live here; I will not interfere with you.’ That’s not enough. We must embrace.

“Children, through no fault of theirs — whether legal or illegal — deserve compassion. Migrant children are not migrant children. They are just children who want to run, jump, colour and read like any other.”

Ratiram said his Foundation has deliberately included both migrant and special-needs children in activities such as the anniversary celebration of the RIK Services Rapid Fire Play Park at Debe Hindu School.

“We didn’t choose them by mistake. We chose them by design.”

Admitting he is not deeply religious, Ratiram said his guiding philosophy comes from faith’s core lesson of compassion.

“When Jesus walked this earth, he didn’t walk with kings and queens. He walked with fishermen, with beggars, with lepers — those society cast aside. If we truly want to worship God, we must take that example. The strong in any society must protect the weak. Yet so often we see the strong as oppressors of the weak. Rapid Fire considers itself to be strong, and we would always be a voice for the voiceless.”

Ratiram encouraged the public to sponsor transport for migrant children — about $100 weekly — so they can attend school. “If you help one child, you can change a life — and by extension, the world.”

As Dookeran’s call for diplomacy met Ratiram’s plea for compassion, the night’s message came full circle — that TT’s true strength lies not in political alliances, but in its humanity.

“The fireworks of independence were lit by ideas. Tonight, the fireworks of compassion burn just as brightly,” Dookeran said.