God is a citizen here.

If you are a citizen of the beautiful twin island Republic of Trinidad avd Tobago you will chuckle at the heading, shake your head and whisper under your breathe, yes God is a trini.

During the hurricane season it is one of the most repeated slangs and in recent times one of the most controversial, reason being year after year we are spared the onslaught of major hurricanes or storms that threaten the islands

 The rains are here, and yes God  has been good to us along with serious drainage and infrastructure work, resulting in fast water run off and less damaging floods.

Now with the use of the latest technologies in weather forecasting we can see from digital tracking of the storm that in every instant those storms would approach with  titanic force only at last minute to either pass between the islands, over the islands or just completely divert.

So was the case last week with hurricane Bonnie, as for over one week the weather system was tracked as it formed and headed towards the Caribbean, we were told to prepare as by up to two days before we were in line for a direct hit.

June 28th 6pm was the scheduled landing, my fellow citizens braced for the expected onslaught as the supermarket lines became long and extended, vechiles backed up at the gas stations as persons yielded to the pressure to panic buy, all ears glued to the media for updates.

Schools were closed, businesses were shut, traffic stopped, fishermen secured their boats,flights cancelled, emergency and frist responder units were engaged to respond, the news rooms and media personnel  preped to camp the night as  engine of  the country ground to a halt. 

 By 6 pm  a heavy thick black cloud hoovered overhead, bringing wind and rain to some communities. But in others, it was one of the quietest nights ever, there was an errie silence over the land, so much so you could hear the hum of your neighbours air-condition unit, no radios blarred, no vechiles in the street, not a sound as we waited.

The updates said 8 pm as the rains  continued to pour down  in some areas while other places were just hot as not even the wind blew, the calm before the perfect storm

And we prayed as we had been doing all week for God's mercy, because coming on the heels of the repercussions of the pandemic, it would be devastating, although some seem to be excited about the impending action,ignorant  to the destruction such action would bring with it.

By 9pm the updates said 10 pm and so the night went on, in silence we slept to wake up to heavy showers in some areas and overcast weather in some, and the news that the storm had passed over, with satellite images showing its moving over the islands, you could have heard a nation breathe a sigh of relief as thanksgiving went up, but strangely enough we also heard voices of dissent that questioned, were the weather reports misleading?

Persons were chastised for repeating the adage God is a trini as local prophets of doom declare its just the trailer to mass destruction to come

Whatever it is, I believe my God answers prayers, and , I am grateful he saved us yet again from destruction, I also believe our strange weather patterns are as a direct result of climate change, coastal erosion continues, the invasion of the segrassum weed on the islands beaches, the appearance of schools of sharks near the shoreline are all indicators that nature is hurting. I have seem frist hand the effects of hurricanes on the other islands and I can tell you my fellow citizens dare not wish for such.

We as a nation are always the frist to respond to our neighbours, when trouble strike, because we can, some in the smaller islands may themselves be affected and unable to assist us, its a costly exercise and determental to the most vulnerable although no one is spared 

So do I believe God is a trini? I do not take that for granted, but he's definitely welcomed to continue to reside here. 

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