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Through the eyes of Emile
Not many of us can pinpoint one specific day in our lives that we were changed in some way. But Emile Elias can. As a past president of The Family Planning Association, Mr Elias holds within his memory great stories of the challenges, sacrifices and changes of the Association and its members. It would not do, to let these memories go undocumented. The following is the story of FPATT, through the eyes of a contractor who, on one unforgettable day, had his life’s mission altered.
Once upon a Maraval morning, a young contractor lay in bed dreaming of brick walls and reinforced foundations when all of a sudden he was awakened by an unusual sound echoing through the hills. An English woman’s voice was emanating from his neighbour’s radio and carrying across the plains of Maraval a message so ridiculous, he sat up with a jolt.
Unsure if he was still lost in a dream, he continued to listen.
“You must space your children, like a farmer spaces his plants,” said the clipped British accent.
“This woman must be mad,” thought Elias, “‘like a farmer spaces his plants?’”
Unable to breathe rationality into the message merely by listening to it, Elias decided to place a call to Mrs Nicky McBride at the FPA. With the forceful, authoritative tone that is his way, Elias informed Mrs McBride that this message will not do. You must realise that your messages need to impact the lives of the people they are meant for. What do our people know about spacing plants? If you can afford to have media access then you must do better, Elias said. To which Mrs McBride promptly responded, “If you think you can do better then by all means come down and help.”
Quite taken aback and hit with the realisation that he was passionate enough about this issue to take up the offer, Elias joined the FPA in 1962 ready to battle everyone that got the way of progress. While he was already involved in FPA as a businessman to assist with the signing of the bank guarantee for the acquisition of the first building, he was never involved as a member. Once this changed, so did the idiom of the FPA.
It was the 70s and Trinidad was drowning in political turmoil. By April, Dr Eric Williams, the then Prime Minister and leader of the People’s National Movement, had not held a press conference in five years and was not prepared to respond to the challenge of the Black Power Movement (BPM) that was spreading across the Caribbean. The National Joint Action Committee (NJAC) introduced the BPM to Trinidad and Tobago in the hope of bringing fundamental changes to society. The uprising that resulted led to a complete breakdown in society as the government continued its focus on economic matters. The population was expanding, but the oil industry needed fewer workers because of retrenchment and automation, so unemployment increased to 17 percent.
Amidst this backdrop of social and political unrest, the core of the FPA went from a few English women spouting unclear messages on the radio to creating links between skyrocketing crime, unemployment rates and the continuing occurrences of unwanted pregnancies.
Elias along with the other members of the FPA formed a public relations committee. Their goal was to bring to the forefront the need for information and education on family planning to reach the masses, particularly the unemployed and the underserved. They were also developing plans to convince the government of the link between poor family planning and crime and birth rates. With the determination to forge ahead the team came up with original campaigns that sought to change the face of family planning forever. In 1971, capitalizing on the single minded focus of citizens concerning Carnival, FPA decided to bring out its own band for the season. The band wore t shirts imprinted with messages that were viewed as blasphemous and uncouth to many, particularly the Roman Catholic Church and its avid followers. Slogans like “ Yes I will, I am On the Pill,” “ Rubbers Erase Worries”, “ Make Love not Babies”, and “ Loop before you Leap”, created quite a sensation shoving FPA into the spotlight of the national community, a place it was destined to be.
With the mission to get FPA noticed accomplished, the focus now developed into getting support from the Government. In 1973 Elias was appointed Chairman of the Board, when Mrs McBride decided to retire. His first order of business was to form a committee with individuals outside of FPA with Mrs McBride as liaison. The committee was set up to increase FPA presence in the media. With Mr Elias as chairman and the illustrious Sir Hugh Wooding as President, the FPA soon became a force to be reckoned with. The Association was giving the Catholic Church enough fuel to keep it spinning webs of religion around its followers for years to come.
With the death of Sir Wooding in 1976, Elias was offered the role of President. He became the voice of the FPA, fighting for the Association in the most vocal manner since its inception.
Elias remained President until 1999.
Sitting at his office on Long Circular Road, he slowly flips through old newspaper clippings, reminiscing of his time at FPA. He searches through interviews he did over the years, talking about each one, recalling the impact they made on people, remembering the past like a man slowly making his way back in time. He looks up and recalls one of FPA’s longest ongoing battles. The battle with the Government for increased funding. It was something we have all heard over the years. Yet listening to the story from the mouth of one of the volunteers that made it a reality, was quite the experience.
In the words of Mr Elias, this is a recount of what occurred:
“We started in 1973 asking the Government for an increase in subvention. The subvention at that time was $60,000 a year and remember when you talking history of FPA, Dr (Eric) Williams was the person who launched the national programme and gained recognition for FPA and a subvention. And this was largely through the intervention of Dr Max Awon. But in 1973 I started to ask for more money and it took four years, we were in the middle of an oil boom, for the government to raise the subvention from $60,000 to $300,000. It remained at $300,000 for 16 years! It was in 1993 I went to see Wendell Mottley and I figured I understood how the budget process worked and I said to him , ‘ Just put in a million dollars for us, nobody would even know!.’ So said so done,” said Mr Elias.
“The following year, he agreed to increase it to two million, but unfortunately the presentation of the budget document was altered and they lumped the two million into one, ten million dollar figure for all NGOs. And now 13 years later, the Association still has the same subvention,” he continued.
Elias, now a life member of the FPATT, has never let the Association stray far from his heart. He continues to give support in every way he can. His voice still resounds through the media urging citizens to take care of their sexual and reproductive health, and chastising the Government for their lack of support.
He is truly considered a great volunteer in the creation of the FPATT which exists today.
