The Role of The Panyard In Child Labour

The American Civil War, was fought to protect the institution of slavery. The defenders of slavery included economics, history, religion, legality, social good, and even humanitarianism, to further their arguments.

Role of the Pan Yard - Pan Trinbago Speaks states that:

“Steel bands were developed mostly amongst people of the underprivileged and depressed communities by young men who seldom had opportunities to improve their lives…”

“In the Pan yard is where a lot of youths developed their social skills. Other than learning to play the instrument, they learn music, how to arrange music, some learn to make the instruments, some learn welding and fabricating and many other career driven skills: at whose expense?  “The Pan Yards are not a place of children exploitation as maliciously introduced by some of our social media scientists, but a place of children development and learning. It is a place of social, cultural, spiritual and educational activities. The parents appreciate the accomplishment and progress they see in their children after a short stint at the pan yard  and are very proud to see them on the panorama stage or any stage for that matter, and are quite satisfied with their children's achievements coming out of the Pan Yard. And they keep sending them, realizing that there is some technique in the Pan Yard that the schools don't possess.”

Defenders of slavery argued:

"Taking Africans actually benefited them. They argued that African societies and cultures were unskilled, uneducated and savage. For example, Michael Renwick Sergant, a merchant from Liverpool claimed: ‘We ought to consider whether the negroes in a well regulated plantation, under the protection of a kind master, do not enjoy as great, nay, even greater advantages…”

Defenders of slavery argued that slaves were better cared for. They said that their owners would protect and assist them, as they were left to fend helplessly for themselves in their homeland. That the institution was divine. Slavery was, according to this argument, a good thing for the enslaved.

Thomas Roderick Dew (1802–1846) was an economist, professor of law, and president of the College of William and Mary. His influential Pro-Slavery Argument offers theological, historical, and political evidence in a point-by-point refutation of the anti-slavery arguments of his day. In Dew's view, the relation between master and slave rivaled that between a parent and child. According to Dew, threats to security and prosperity came from strangers and lunatics who did not understand that love bound slaves to their masters

Role of the Pan Yard - Pan Trinbago Speaks states that:

Some parents in the communities use the Pan Yard as a day care center by dropping off their children for a few hours, knowing fully well, that they are in a safe and clean environment, equipped with instruments of learning, water, lights, toilets and toiletries, all free of charge. “

Defenders of slavery argued;

Never before has the black race of Central Africa, from the dawn of history to the present day, attained a condition so civilized and so improved, not only physically, but morally and intellectually. (John C. Calhoun)

Conclusion.

The Rant of A Madman defending the continued practice of child labor, where an institution existing since The UN General Assembly met for the first time, seems unwilling to want to attract active adult involvement, as children are not aware of the requirements of transparency, accountability and democracy exclaims in one breath:

 “Have any of you social media rabble rousers, ever looked at the cost of maintaining a Steel band and its facilities through the year? Do any of you know the cost of mobilizing a small unsponsored Steel band (Why can’t philanthropic community service and goodwill for over three score and ten years attract a sponsor?) for the Panorama? Do you know the kind of sacrifice some leaders make because of love and commitment for the Culture? Most of us are addicted to the arts and money is not the main factor, but, we are fully aware of the value of our contribution to the nation's stability and the returns to the treasury coming out of the national festival.” (Many pro-slavery campaigners played on paranoia about empire and indicated that the prosperity of the British Navy, the merchant navy and the Caribbean itself all depended on slavery. Destroy this slavery, they argued, and the British Empire would collapse), and without skipping a beat, or a paragraph unashamedly and disgracefully exclaims in the same breath, “So, of course there are legitimate expectations.” What are those legitimate expectations, asks this social media rabble rouser, this newbie, who may have attended some school of higher learning and left with five stack of papers?

The author of those contradictory foregoing thoughts, as the British would exclaim, IS AS BENT AS A NINE BOB NOTE”.

 

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  • Has THE TADPOLE which is PANORAMA that hatched in 1963 out of eggs laid by the pioneers of pan just continue to grow, becoming  AN ADULT TADPOLE, and never METAMORPHOSED into THE FROG it was expected to become ?

    • When yuh growing up and living on a starvation diet, it’s very hard fuh yuh body to mature to its fullest capacity.

      We are now living in an age of fast food diet, with genetically engineered food products. In science dey say we only using 20% of our mental faculties the other 80% is underdeveloped. In the meantime, the financial engineers are finding new ways to make their PROFITS in PANORAMA.

      The ADULT TADPOLE is still living on a starvation diet, unable to achieve its fullest potential, a case of being developmentally CHALLENGED but we call it THE FROG

      • Calypsonians too raise up their head

        NO MORE rum drinking ....

        REALLY??????????????

        • Get a SCHOOL and TEACH the youths HOW to SING...Ole Time Calypso

  • My children you can say was born in a panyard 4 of them, while the mother of my children was pregnant she was still behind her bass playing, when our first was born in march by june we was in the pan yard learning music in NY and the kids will be in their stroller with the elders of the band who was like mothers. now they are of age they are ready to go to the panyard b4 we are and they do play well use to they in college now, but they learned a lot from the yard.

  • Please permit me the opportunity to scrutinize and analyze some key statements in the responses to the discussion I have initiated

    • Noah, makes these key statements in the following order in separate responses:
    1. "anybody who looks at a pan yard and thinks "child labor" and now "slavery" should probably find a new interest..."
    2. "...imagine how many bands are fighting for players in the rounds before."
    3. "...It doesn't help that medium and small have become dominated by bands that clearly have no intention of going anywhere."
    4. "Why are so many steelbands in panorama if there apparently aren't enough players?"
    • Does the last three compliment the first or contradict it?

    • Glenroy R Joseph, makes these key statements in the following order in separate responses:
    1. "...the use of kids in steelbands is necessitated by the demands of panorama."
    2. "so the question needs be asked, is panorama a business for financial gain, or a cultural activity?"
    3. "A business would be geared towards profit, and their should be little if any government interference or support."

    Why then are so many bands continually entering a competition with the intention of going anywhere with the annual cry of the unavailability of players to make them sustainable and successful? The premier bands, let's use the Big 5 as an example do not have a high turnaround in players from Panorama to Panorama, it is not that easy or simple for any "crackshot to walk off the street into a premier band and displace a seasoned player.

    1. Why then is there an annual shortage of players, when people like the PRO of Pan Trinbago keep blowing their trumpet about all these "YUTES DEY TRAINING" year in year out Mr. Wayne Cezair?
    2. Don't these children grow up into adulthood Glenroy R Joseph?
    3. Where are they with the skills they have acquired in these panyards Wayne Cezair?
    4. Why are bands like The band of The PRO of Pan Trinbago not growing Noah?
    5. Why then is there such a high annual turnover of CHILDREN in many of these bands at Panorama Noah?
    6. Is it that as the children get older they get wiser and disassociate themselves from most of these crooks Mr. Wayne Cezair?  

    Therefore is it unreasonable to conclude that the attraction of the government remittance to players at panorama eliminates the responsibility of many band leaders/owners to equitably distribute prize monies, subventions i.e. assistance to bands, appearance fees, contributions from supportive corporate sponsors and generous individuals etc., and motivates unscrupulous band leaders/owners to mobilize CHILD LABOR from among its communities under the guise of the reasons presented, to ensure that they make up numbers "TO BRING AH BAND", just to cash in as panorama comes around? Hence the continued practice of many preying on the vulnerability of these children, proliferating the practice of CHILD LABOR, and using their social deficiencies as an excuse, a means of annually defrauding the national purse?

    • Issue is it has plenty players but more bands than players, not every band is out to make a name but more to make money. out of lets say 200 bands in Trinidad how much of them are active year round and just panorama!

  • But RUSSELL PROVIDENCE devoted HALF HIS LIFE TO PAN and is a HIGHLY RESPECTED MEMBER of the STEELBAND COMMUNITY in TRINIDAD and TOBAGO -- THE MECCA OF PAN. That man ain't NO EXPAT living in a DREAM LAND PAST about the PAN.

    • Again I say  that before we talk about child exploitation , if we want to look at the use of children in panorama steelbands ,we should consider , along with the mercenary  "crackshot" issue , that these are both symptoms of a problem that many refuse to even consider,

      The real problem is the panorama itself , its structure , and the demands it places on steelbands.

      Without panorama there would be no need for so many kids to fill out steelband rosters.

      So again I say , maybe it is time to consider whether having panorama in its current format as it's primary focus is the best way to advance the steelband art-form into the future.

      But of course , we refuse to look at real issues and consider all practical solutions,

      That might demand change , and change is always extremely difficult.

      • Glenroy you have a very interesting perspective.

        Glenroy I am willing to completely drop the child exploitation argument and come over to your side of the fence if you can get all steelband management to agree to one band per player. 

        I doubt you can get that to happen because such a rule would expose the deficients in steelband management.   

        bugs

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