TT seen as ‘wajang’ society

Sookhai, in a media release, said his chamber is extremely concerned about the licks TT’s international image is receiving as a place to do business, the birthplace of steelpan and the home of Carnival.

“Instead, we have recently found our country labelled by a US counter-terrorism expert as having more terrorists than the seven predominantly Muslim countries whose citizens have been banned by US President Donald Trump from entering the United States,” the release stated.

He said while TT is grappling with the negative stigma of terrorism, the behaviour of citizens is not helping TT’s image.

Referring to videos of women fighting like wild animals at Piarco International Airport and at the Boardwalk in Chaguaramas, Sookhai said, “At a time when we look towards tourism as an avenue for diversification of the economy, with such displays, foreigners would think twice about visiting our shores as a leisure destination.” Sookhai also lamented the tardy response by the Airport’s security personnel saying this fight could have been a precursor to testing the readiness of the security forces.

“A fight in an airport or in high-traffic and high-tourist areas should never be taken lightly. In these times of terrorist activities there are too many ways to distract from plots afoot or to test the capabilities of our security forces,” he stated, adding the response was, “seemingly slow and lacking in commitment to ending the fight.” This does not auger well for either local or foreign investment in our country, the release stated, nor for the tourist dollars that we keep hoping will flow into the country and help diversify the country away from its dependency on oil and gas.

“Are we setting ourselves up for being the laughing stock of the world,” he asked rhetorically in the release.

“(These videos) sends the message that this is a country where so-called ‘wajang’ behaviour reigns supreme and where safety and security are not of the highest priority.” Sookhai observed that while those persons involved in the airport fight have been given community service to greet tourists at the airport, he pointed out they should be sent for anger management counselling and proper protocol training before being “unleashed” on poor, unsuspecting incoming tourists.

He also suggested the Police Service set up a “confidential video and audio data bank” where anonymous persons can send their videos showing criminals in the act.