Steelband keeping Tobago youth in check

Steelband keeping Tobago youth in check

By Sheldon Osborne

THE steelband movement is having a positive impact on the young people of Tobago, and hopefully the trend would soon spread to Trinidad.

Youthful Tobago players shot into the spotlight earlier this year when a communication mix-up caused Tobago steelbands to arrive in Trinidad for Panorama before accommodation was arranged.

The mostly teenage boys and girls had nowhere to stay after arriving in Trinidad for the Panorama Semi-Finals.

The problems were quickly resolved with the intervention of Culture Minister Joan Yuille-Williams, but the discipline of the teenaged players didn’t go unnoticed.

Despite the difficulties, the young people’s behavior was in stark contrast to other adolescent groups making the news during the short Carnival season.

Manager of Tobago band, NLCB Buccooneers, Mervyn Solomon, feels that over the years, a golden opportunity to guide youth towards positive and disciplined lifestyles through steelband membership has been missed.

NICKOCY PHILLIPS

NICKOCY
PHILLIPS.

MERVYN
SOLOMON.

Solomon told TnT Mirror that in Tobago, the steelband has been very effective in “keeping youths off the street”.

He had some advice for parents with troublesome teenage children: “Get them to come to the panyard.”

Solomon said that like young people anywhere, young Tobagonians like to lime in the streets.

However, membership in a steelband can help to channel their youthful energy in a positive way.

Young Renegades

Young Renegades at the 2006
Carnival launch last Sunday.

The young Tobago pan players learn valuable lessons in discipline, responsibility, and most importantly, teamwork.

According to Solomon, if a band recruits just a few young people in the neighborhood, the positive effect continues and could eventually lead to a reduction of crime in a community.

“In Tobago, we use the youths we have in the band to get others to come,” said Solomon.

He added that he is already seeing an improvement in the behavior of young persons in his community.

Buccooneers band member Nickocy Phillips, himself a teenage player, echoed Solomon’s sentiments: “I might have gone the wrong way if it wasn’t for the band,” he said.

The band won the $10,000 TSTT’s “People’s Choice” Panorama prize earlier this year.

Other bands in Tobago, and several bands in Trinidad are also making efforts to attract young persons in their communities.

Renegades, situated on the western edge of the East Dry River area in Port of Spain, and Exodus in Tunapuna both have many youth members, but only time would tell if the trend would spread and put a dent in crime.

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