Just what we need, more ole talk on crime

THE EDITOR: Ladies and gentlemen, Paradise has gone to hell, all thanks to the wannabe, badjohn politicians who have skillfully managed to maintain control of this town. Of course it won’t be politically correct for Manning or Panday to admit this. All hell would break loose if Manning were to admit that he and Chin Lee doesn’t have a clue as to what their next move should be. So what Bim and Bam do is blame each other. And while they blame each other, citizens of Paradise continue to live in fear. One wonders, do these two individuals, and by extension, the gangs they represent, recognise the economic fallout of the crime situation in the country? Evidently not! The “average citizen” is forced to sleep with one eye open, many turning to prayer, several not knowing when their numbers would be called; others believing it is only a matter of time. People go to sleep not knowing when bandits posing as police or vice versa would kick in their doors and add mass mayhem to their already fragile lives. And the advice from Mr Nice Guy is that crime prevention is everybody’s business.

Well Mr Guy, if crime prevention is everybody’s business, and I agree, then everyone should have the right to bear arms to protect themselves and their loved ones. Should I be brave enough or stupid enough, (and there is a fine line that distinguishes the two) to go to someone’s assistance knowing that the perpetrator is most likely armed? Would I be willing to be my brother’s keeper in a state where witnesses are neutralised to prevent them from testifying in court, while the present AG plays politics instead of putting in place a meaningful witness protection programme that would actually protect witnesses. And what about “criminologist extraordinaire” and senator, Ramesh Deosaran? What does he do in the midst of all the bacchanal? He flies off to Italy to engage in a “crime conference.” How convenient! He is off to Italy where he will discuss “Crime in the Caribbean.” Here is an individual who cannot deal with crime in any chosen area of Trinidad, yet wants a bite of the whole Caribbean. Just what we need! More ole talk which they conveniently term “conference” where meals with wines are provided at tax-payers expense, while paradise goes to hell. At the end of which a boring paper will be presented listing theories A-Z in an appendix format. Thanks a lot “professor.” We need that. The people of TT will sleep much better knowing that you are on your way to Italy to attend a “crime conference” where TT will be well represented, I am sure! Let it be stated here that there are no easy answers to the crime problem. The crime problem experienced is but one part of the social problems, and to a large degree attributable to the education system which has failed TT miserably.

The generation of bandits all came through the education system. Something evidently went wrong somewhere, while TTUTA and the teachers were on strike, or too busy giving lessons under their homes to those who could afford to pay, while students in the classrooms suffered, or yet were labelled inappropriately. But leave it to those in authority, they will probably blame the “deportees.” You gotta blame somebody, right? Accepting responsibility for one’s behaviour is perhaps the defining moment in the maturing process. The pack of politicians/opportunists should, by now, be able to stand up and face the nation with courage and stop insulting our collective intelligence. Support for the Kidnapping Bill is not going to prevent kidnapping anymore than the death penalty prevents the murder rate from escalating. What TT needs is a new generation of leaders, (and here again, there is a fine line between leaders and misleaders) who can take the proverbial bull by the horns and deal with the issues that confront us as a nation, not as a political party. We do not need another manifesto from party A, B or Z. TT needs a national agenda which the elected body must adopt and stop spending enormous sums of our tax dollars on witch hunts trying to discredit regime after regime. More later.

RUDY CHATO PAUL, SR
D’Abadie