Hulsie Bhaggan

Hulsie has a long history of activism. As a final year University student, she led a national campaign against corruption in the construction of the Caroni Racing Complex. Soon after, she joined fellow villagers in Guayamare, Caroniand, for ten years, stopped works on the Uriah ButlerHighway until the residents were compensated and relocated. A founding member and first PRO of the United National Congress (UNC), Hulsie moved her activism to Parliament upon her election in 1991. When formal representations failed, she led protest demonstrations. Hulsie mobilized the population on rising food prices, and championed a petition signed by 100,000 citizens: she fasted one week on the Parliament steps. When Central Trinidad was submerged in flood waters for several days, she acted on behalf of those affected, including the elderly marooned in their homes and children in make-shift beds in their ceilings. Hulsie blocked the Uriah ButlerHighway, was arrested and spent seven days in jail insolitary confinement. The flooding problem was solved. Her activism for a potable supply of water for her constituentscaused her to be tailed for three monthsby vehicles of fully armed policemen. Hulsie’s populist politics and rising profile led to her expulsion from the UNC in 1994.. She continued to advocate for people to be placed before party and rejected the tradition of MPs toeing the party line. Instead, she called for a conscience vote on key issues. Hulsie is currently Administrator/Clinical Director at the New Life Ministries Rehabilitation Centres, consultant/resource person to Living Water Community and consultant/lecturer for the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business.