Letter: Discrimination hurts

It hurts me to know that I was a victim of racial discrimination. 

This discrimination flourished under the PNM with respect to the award of scholarships by the Ministry of Culture. 

I filled out an application form for a scholarship in 2004 but I never received a response. I even wrote the minister on three occasions pleading for financial assistance. 

I informed the minister of the fact that I did not have any parents and that I was living with my grandmother who was a pensioner and the sole provider for my two younger siblings and I. I knew that an education was the only way out of a life of poverty, but unfortunately I was unable to afford an education at that point in time.

What is interesting is the fact that I am an East Indian and I live in Debe, which is not a PNM constituency. I was sure that, based on my financial status, I would have qualified for a grant. 

However, as the Equal Opportunity Commission report disclosed, there was racial discrimination in the award of scholarships under the PNM, with only seven per cent of people of East Indian descent receiving funding while 97 per cent of the scholarships went to non-Indo-Trinidadians. 

The PNM should be ashamed of its actions.

Nandram Balgobin | Debe