We Grow Up With No Fadda

Where Did It All Go

Even in its day of glory, Laventille was known for something else more sinister.

Those same steel pan bands, where known for there brutal wars among each other.

We will refer to this as the pan wars. It was a known fact that when two bands met, on the same street during the carnival celebrations.

Pans would fly through the air, knives, machetes, razors, pieces of irons and wood would become weapons of mass distruction as blood would flow, teeth would be knockout and heads would be busted open.

Those days, the playing of steel pan was considered a man's past time, women playing pan was unheard of.

Even fatal casualties  would sometimes be the end result, of this clash of the Titians.

Laventille had a dangerous side as well, as we can clearly see with majority of the bands orginating in the vast area known for it hills and tracks.

Apart from the pan movement and the pan wars, The ever present stigma of the " crab in the barrel" syndrome, has haunted this community for decades as neighbourhood women have been known to have disputes with each other.

The ever present "cussing out" and arguments have been and still is a feature of women in this community.

Steaming from the days of slavery where discord were sewn among the slaves(men/women) to keep them from unifying to fight the oppressive slave masters who for a fact were out numbered greatly.

This mental slavery has not yet run its course as generations to this day still indulge in this practice. The method used  by the slave masters would work for no less than 300 years and if instituted correctly will last for thousand of years.

In essence emancipation was just physical freedom, the minds of these people remained enslaved and those cords of distrust and envy remained in the minds of the generations that would come after. 

Hence the reason that as morning broke and the sun raised over the hills, Mabel and Ma Patsy would look over the galvanize fence that divided them and  start a conversation which eventually lead to a war of words so to speak.

One day,  Betty, Ma Pasty daughter over heard her mother quarreling with Ms Mabel, and decided the next day not to say good morning to her when she passed her in the road on the way to school.

Ms Mabel the disciplinarian that she was held Betty by her hand, taking  off her 3 inch thick leather belt and giving her 4 lashes on her back.

Upon reaching the door Ms Patsy who had not seen what transpired was told what her daughter did.

Later that evening as soon as Betty arrived from school she didnt even get time to tell her mother on Ms Mabel as Ma Patsy punched her in her mouth.

With a warning "no matter what me and Ms Mabel have you are still my child and u will have respect for her or  any adult."

This practice is now a forgotten thing of the past in this present time. You dear not discipline your neighbours children. One may end up dead for even talking to them stern.

I am still looking for it, where did it all go.