Kamla Persad-Bissessar, current Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago, at an April 19, 2013 Organisation of American States (OAS) event in Washington, DC. Photo by Juan Manuel Herrera/OAS via OEA – OAS on Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. Trinidad and Tobago, caught in a loop of race-based politics that polarises many voters according to their ethnicity (the country's two largest racial groups are African and Indian, almost evenly split), now has a new incident to add to its shameful list of racial slurs. During a speech at a United National Congress (UNC) meeting in Princes Town, a predominantly East Indian area that is one of the party's strongholds, Leader of the Opposition Kamla Persad-Bissessar took issue with Minister of Housing Camille Robinson-­Regis referring to her by her full name at a People’s National Movement (PNM) meeting in Arima a few days prior: This lady went on a platform last week, and three or four times: Kamla Susheila Persad-­Bissessar. Isn’ that a beautiful name? What problem you have with my name? What's wrong with my name? Camille, at least I have a name from my ancestors. Where you got yours from? Your name is that of a slave master. The PNM, which enjoys a strong Afro-Trinbagonian support base, is currently in government. On the hustings, Persad-Bissessar has referred on numerous occasions to its leader, Prime Minister Keith Rowley, by his full name. Reaction to her comment was swift. Marla Dukharan, a Trinidad-born, Barbados-based economist who some perceive to lean politically towards the UNC, started a petition on Change.org to have Persad-Bissessar removed from her seat in Trinidad and Tobago's parliament over the comment, explaining: Racism has NO PLACE in our country, ‘where every creed and race finds an equal place.’ She needs to go. And everyone who shares her racist views need to get a clear message that this behavior will not be tolerated in Trinidad and Tobago. It ends now. In one Facebook comment thread, however, social media user Coral Smith-Alleyne maintained: No I will not sign any stupid baseless petition!! Kamla was reacting to an unprovoked, malevolent racist comment from race-baiter in chief Camille Robinson Regis. Let those two sort it out between themselves. Let us not lose sight of the fact that we have many important issues to address in this country. Let's not be distracted by nonsense!!! She was one of several netizens who felt that the provocation came from Robinson-Regis, and others who believed the whole affair was a distraction from more urgent issues the country should be dealing with. This view that the ridicule began with Robinson-Regis’ alleged mocking of Persad-Bissessar's Indian heritage was backed up by the UNC's public relations officer, Kirk Meighoo, who proffered that Persad-Bissessar's statement was a “bitter truth” but not racist. It was an angle parroted on various social media platforms: But did she lie? — Hand in Lion Mouth, tek time draw it out (@MidIslandCynic) June 3, 2022 One Twitter user quickly replied: This is crazy. One legacy of colonialism is that people of African descent were stripped of their names and replaced with Slave masters’ name. But for a leader to rub this negative effect of slavery on African people is nothing short of lack of historical empathy for us. — Dr. Oneil Hall🇯🇲🇬🇩🇰🇾🕎 (@hall_oneil) June 3, 2022 Another added: @MPKamla, dear, the ‘ancestral’ name yuh boasting about is no legacy, it is at best clean rags to cover the nakedness of penury. Never forget that those ancestors were shedding multi-generational slavery & destitution. Those with slave master names were forcibly dragged here. — Zadie Neufville🇯🇲 (@zpnine) June 4, 2022 The Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago, which called for unity, told the Trinidad and Tobago Newsday that it could not identify what it was about Robinson-Regis’ use of Persad-Bissessar’s full name that triggered such a response. Robinson-Regis has herself denied calling Persad-Bissessar's name in a derogatory tone. An editorial in the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, which acknowledged that “ethnic discord is frequently exploited to score political points,” chided: The UNC leader has again skidded down the slippery slope of race-baiting and stereotyping with her comment about ancestral and slave names, offending and alienating a huge segment of the population she aspires to once again lead. As a former prime minister, she should have known better. T&T needs leaders capable of bridging the ethnic and cultural divide to build a stronger nation but such people do not seem to exist in our fractured political arena.