Social Media Goes Off the Deep End Over Politician’s Planned 30km Protest Swim from Tobago to Trinidad · Global Voices
Fast ferry, the T&T Spirit, waiting to leave the port at Scarborough, Tobago, bound for Trinidad. Photo by <PERSON>, CC BY-NC 2.0.
A politician has promised to swim the 30-kilometre distance between two Caribbean islands as a mark of protest. A veteran swimmer has said he doesn't stand a chance. The national Coast Guard service has said it cannot guarantee his safety. But he is taking the plunge anyway.
Trinidad and Tobago may be one country, but it comprises two islands connected by a domestic airbridge, as well as an inter-island ferry service that transports both passengers and vehicles. The ferry service has recently come under public scrutiny, after the procurement process for the new Ocean Flower 2 vessel fell flat.
When the vessel's supplier, the Canada-based Bridgemans Services Group, had twice failed to meet its delivery deadline, the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (PATT) moved to terminate the procurement contract with a view to putting out a tender for a new ferry. 957
This left just two passenger vessels in operation between the two islands — the T&T Spirit and the T&T Express — and one cargo ship, the Cabo Star — since the MV Superfast Galicia was pulled from the route in April 2017.
There have been calls from both the opposition and civil society groups for police probes and commissions of enquiry into the debacle, to determine whether or not the procurement process was transparent.
The public pressure became so great that Prime Minister <PERSON> felt the need to apologise “to the affected citizens, particularly the people of Tobago, for whom the service is more of a life line”. He also called on PATT to secure a new vessel “in the quickest possible time” and appointed an investigator into the ferry procurement scandal in the form of “seasoned and successful businessman” <PERSON>.
This appointment acted as the catalyst for the second chapter of what has come to be known online as the #FerryTales.
‘Water is Coming’
<PERSON>, the president of the Public Services Association (PSA) and the minority leader of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) swiftly demanded <PERSON>'s appointment be revoked. Despite <PERSON>'s considerable business experience, <PERSON> said, the position required “someone versed in public procurement policies and the rule of law”; an opinion that was shared by the advocacy group Fixin’ T&T.
Then, in what many netizens interpreted as a dramatic political ploy, <PERSON> declared that he would swim relay-style from Tobago to Trinidad in protest over the procurement glitches and unreliable ferry service. As of this writing, <PERSON> was set to be accompanied on his swim by the other members of the minority council and a smattering of Tobago fishermen.
The big event is scheduled to take place on August 28, 2017. While several athletes have tried with varying levels of success, it cannot be confirmed whether anyone has ever completed the roughly 30-kilometre swim.
Knowing this, netizens have been reacting to <PERSON>'s grand gesture with picong and sarcasm.
Facebook user <PERSON> wondered whether <PERSON> would transfer his on-land political modus operandi to the sea:
Facebook status update by <PERSON>, which says, “An idle thought:
<PERSON> could swim, or he planning to shout at the water until it agrees to support him?”
Riffing off the Trinidad and Tobago relay team's 4×400-metre victory at the IAAF World Championships, <PERSON> quipped:
Facebook status update by <PERSON>, which reads, “Are other union leaders joining <PERSON> on his relay swim? Who is anchoring this swim?”
Journalist <PERSON> posted a series of hilarious one-liners about #TheGreatSwim that ranged from saying she hoped <PERSON> had a GoPro to wondering whether he had a stunt double.
The memes came thick and fast, like this one from the Facebook page Caricomedy:
A meme from Caricomedy about the <PERSON> protest swim, which translates as: “<PERSON> is swimming from Tobago to Trinidad for the people, but your boyfriend from Arima (in east Trinidad) is complaining to come visit you in Diego Martin (in west Trinidad). <PERSON> is the kind of man to have.”
But it was after <PERSON> posted a photograph of himself in a wetsuit and life vest staring out to sea that social media really went into overdrive. 957