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  • 1 year ago
At a cost of $42 million, the La Horquetta Public Library was generating much conversation, even before it was opened to the public. At the official opening today, government ministers and NALIS sought to defend the investment, which they say is worth every penny. Rynessa Cutting has more.
Transcript
00:00As cries for betterment reverberated from a resident's stereo nearby, the brand new
00:12Larketa Library was officially opened, a $42 million investment which the MP for Larketa
00:21Talparu describes as a lifeline for the community.
00:26The question of overcrowding and community noise, because some of these units are very
00:34close together, poses a great challenge to our students.
00:40Internet connectivity is also an issue for some persons with challenges, because if you
00:47have to make a choice between paying flow for your internet or buying a bag of groceries
00:52to feed your family, I suspect you know which one will go first.
00:58And therefore for the students of Larketa, this library represents a lifeline.
01:03On Monday night, amateur footage of the new construct leaked on social media, generating
01:08criticism from some members of the public.
01:11At the official opening today, Knowledge Chairman Neil Parsonal hit back at the critics, as
01:16he reiterated an earlier call for young men to join a library and save their lives.
01:22The question of race and race relations in Trinidad and Tobago is a discussion that we
01:26must have.
01:27We need to stop pussyfooting around it, we need to address it.
01:30A lot of the comments we've seen on social media with respect to why are you building
01:34a library for those people, why are you building a library up there, will they ever use it,
01:41do they have books on guns, it's really about class.
01:45It's about a set of people who want to keep another group of people where they think they
01:50should be.
01:51And as NALIS, as the Chairman of NALIS, all of us at NALIS, we are intent on ensuring
01:57that every single citizen of Trinidad and Tobago has access to every possible resource
02:03so they can lift themselves from wherever they are.
02:06Parsonal further sought to explain that a library is not just a building filled with
02:10books, and describes the foot traffic at the various libraries as phenomenal.
02:15We see it in the mothers who are unable to finish school and now come to our libraries
02:21to improve their literacy and to seek out jobs.
02:25We here at NALIS see it in the children and women who use our libraries as their only
02:30safe space in the ongoing battle with domestic and child abuse.
02:36We here at NALIS see it in the communities where our libraries are the neutral spaces
02:43where people feel safe and protected, where the only border they have to cross is the
02:50one that limits their minds.
02:52With this in mind, NALIS has taken the decision to keep the library open daily until 10pm.
02:59What security measures will be in place to complement the extended hours?
03:04All the security, all the measures that we are accustomed to take in Laoketa is no different.
03:08We will not engage in anything that is different from what any other public library.
03:12And again, those are the questions that tell us that people are looking at Laoketa and
03:16the public library in a particular way and we at NALIS will have none of it.
03:21The library also features an amphitheatre and commercial spaces, the only three-storey
03:26building in the community.
03:28$42 million in the context of this public library, it's a three-storey building, it's
03:34not just the land, it's preparation of the land, it's outfitting, it's furniture, it's
03:38fittings, it's every single thing that you see here.
03:42But to compare $42 million and say it's too much, what is the value of the non-education?
03:49What is the value of keeping people in ignorance?
03:52Compare that cost and tell us what you come up with.
03:55Renassa Kutting, TV6 News.
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