By Shalima Mohammed
The Indo-Caribbean Cultural Center (ICC) ZOOM Sunday Public Meeting is a pioneering and historic initiative created by anthropologist Dr. Kumar Mahabir from Trinidad and Tobago.
Founded in 2020 as a non-profit initiative during the wild days of the Covid-19 pandemic, the forum provides voice and visibility to people of Indian origin, who are often ethnic minorities in the countries where they live. Inspired by the US-based Black Lives Matter movement, this forum has a mission to eradicate inequality, injustice, discrimination and systemic racism against people of Indian origin. In addition, it seeks to ensure that minority groups in the Caribbean and elsewhere are seen and heard.
The objective of the weekly ZOOM Sunday Public Meetings is to facilitate discussion on issues of primary concern to Indians. However, the discussions are not just for Indians. The hosts welcome everyone, regardless of ethnicity, to their virtual forum held every Sunday from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM EST. Although based in the Caribbean, it is international in content and scope.
Now, Dr. Mahabir and his team are undertaking another non-profit initiative: the ICC Indian Diaspora Country Tours, which aim to bring people in the Indian diaspora together physically – even if only once a year – in all the former colonies where the ships carry immigrants. accepted Indians had once anchored.
Organizers state: “We hope to continue the Indian tradition of extended family gatherings. Family may not necessarily be defined by blood ties, but also by historical, heritage and cultural ties, as we are seeing with the ICC ZOOM family. As Trinidad and Tobago is the home of the ICC, we welcome all of you in the Indian Diaspora to this inaugural ICC Tour to the Country of the Indian Diaspora from 4th to 11th August 2022.
Invitations have been extended to tourists to come and enjoy the tastes, sights, sounds, flora, fauna and peoples of the picturesque twin island republic, where 143,939 forced migrants came and created their legacy. The cultural experience would include a drive to Debe in the South for delicious dips, expensive food and wonderful desserts.
On the return journey, visitors would pass through the Montserrat Ward in Central Trinidad – the ward in which the largest number of land grants (7,875 between 1871-1879) were accepted by Indian treaties rather than the return passage to India. They would visit the Caribbean Indian Museum, the world famous Sea Temple and the unique and sacred 85 feet Hanuman statue. The next day, they would return to Central to visit the library at the National Council for Indian Culture (NCIC) and shop at Indian displays for authentic Indian clothing, shoes, jewelry, skin care products, and cosmetics. They would also be taken to the Lion House, immortalized in the book A house for Mr. Biswaswhere author Sir VS Naipaul once lived.
Part of the cultural experience would include Hosay/Muharram in St James, North Trinidad. Visitors on the tour can take part in a unique procession in the Western Hemisphere that only happens once a year. In St James – known as the ‘city that never sleeps’ – visitors can enjoy the nightlife and eat hot roti on site.
For nature lovers, Naema’s Estate in the picturesque Maracas, St Joseph Valley, is where they can immerse themselves in a verdant environment and reconnect with nature as they explore and learn about the various medicinal plants that thrive on the grounds. They can choose to walk in the pool or choose to take a 10-minute scenic walk along a path to a majestic mountain for a stunning view of Trinidad.
Before leaving for home, tourists can tie the brotherly threads of Raksha Bandhan.
Accommodation options include Morton House – the historic 141-year-old home of Reverend John Morton. Morton was a Presbyterian missionary from Nova Scotia, Canada, who, of his own accord, came to Trinidad in 1868 to minister to the East Indians just one year before the first land grants were made to indentured Indian laborers. According to author Gerard Tikasingh, “His diary represents perhaps the only first-hand account of Indians in settlements and villages during the late 19th century and remains an invaluable source of information.”
The attractions of this location and other details, including the country’s COVID-19 protocols, will be shared with interested parties. Please click on this link and complete the form as an expression of interest to join the ICC family for our Caribbean “lime” in Trinidad and Tobago from August 4 to 11, 2022.
