A screenshot from a YouTube video of the Trinidad and Tobago edition of Anthony Bourdain's show, Parts Unknown, which airs on CNN. American celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain caused a stir when he visited Trinidad and Tobago earlier this year, with many who met him posting selfies and hashtagging the heck out of Facebook. But the effect that the edited episode of his show “Parts Unknown” had on residents of the twin islands was far greater. At first, the main bone of contention was with Bourdain's assessment of the country's crime situation, which many netizens had to admit was not an exaggeration. One blogger suggested that the show did not do enough to highlight the wonders of the country — a stance which others firmly countered — and Facebook user Niala Maharaj was struck by the silence of women in the episode, saying that modern-day “iron chefs” have “wrenched food preparation from the realm of nurturing and bonding into the arena of winners and losers.” However, the online ire soon turned towards a segment of the show that featured members of the country's Syrian-Lebanese community (many of whom are well-to-do) in which businessman Mario Sabga-Aboud described the group as “the most powerful”. Peter George, a community elder, also said that there is now “a measure of concern” because the “huge middle class” which acted as “a security in terms of any possible conflict between the haves and the have nots” has been eroded. The comments sparked outrage. Poverty levels in Trinidad and Tobago have been steadily rising; it is estimated that at least one in five people live below the poverty line. Muhammad Muwakil, a spoken word artist, musician and social activist who was also featured in the episode, commented on Facebook: I was really taken aback by his description of the middle class as ‘the security’, a buffer zone which exists solely for the protection of the ultra rich and the life they have carved in this Trinidad that has been ‘good to them’. An ugly truth, a truth for him nonetheless. […] Things can change though, this we believe. I […] want you to know that it is more than within your scope and ability to change the situations about which you lament. And as you rise so will we all. My hope is that you and others of your ilk recognize that you have as much a role to play as we, the powerful, in making this a safe country for all of us. His post attracted 88,000 views, garnered more than 300 comments and was shared nearly 1,800 times. Social media was immediately in a big hullabaloo over the statements, with some netizens quipping that they “now know the purpose of the middle class”. One citizen, Ian Smart, staged a one-man protest outside a branch of the coffee shop chain that Sabga-Aboud owns. In an interview with Loop TT, he railed against everything from “the thinking of the one percent” which he blamed for “preventing renewable energy from taking root” in Trinidad and Tobago, as well as a host of “economic and social ills”. Mr Smart says his protest is not against the Syrian ethnic group but rather the 1% who contribute to economic inequality in T&T @cnewslive pic.twitter.com/qwJ2q26uWr — Peter Christopher (@petedchris) June 27, 2017 A subsequent radio interview he gave was problematic, and most netizens did not take his “cause” seriously.