Where is the justice?

THE EDITOR: Please spare me a space in your newspaper. This is an open letter to the Commissioner of Police. I am sitting here at 3.35 am on Tuesday May 12, 2003 writing this letter. Half an hour ago, a battalion of police came to my house and arrested my parents and two brothers. They claimed they had a warrant concerning an “incident in January.” This happened earlier this year also where they came and arrested my parents for “not appearing in court” for which my parents never received a summons. The people who are responsible for this never appeared in court and the case was dismissed. My parents had to suffer in a cell for not doing any crime. It’s such a shame, what type of law is this? These police could just come and arrest innocent people when the criminals are out there. They are not doing their job and they call themselves law protectors.

An incident happened here on Sunday which was Mothers Day, where a bunch of men came and stood knocking and shaking our gate, brandishing cutlasses and iron threatening to kill us. We called the police, they never came. That happened during the day, and they never came. It seems as though these police are “night men.” These bunch of men who came threatening us, we heard are being paid by a so-called “prisons officer” who claims he has “police friends” and this said “prisons officer” is in dispute with us because he and his family are fighting for the land on which we live. I wish to add that yesterday he was riding in an E999 jeep looking at us. What a coincidence the police came at 3 am this morning? My parents are law-abiding citizens and these incidents have tarnished their characters.

Mr Commissioner Sir, if you’re reading this I ask where is the law and justice? These police are not doing their job, something should be done about this. You need to do some cleaning up. There are some dirty mice hiding in clean places and it is your duty and responsibility to get rid of them. As of this moment, I do not feel safe in my house, neither my community because it seems to me I’m not going to be protected by law enforcers or as the saying goes “pay for protection” and well, if you’re poor, too bad for you. I must say that I don’t have faith in this police service and I don’t respect them.

R RAMKHALLAWAN
Chaguanas