‘I hated Diaz when I was five and I hate him even more now’

The older children of Philadelphia murder victim Pramatee Celestine vowed yesterday to do all that is necessary to gain custody of their younger siblings, Michael and Randi Diaz, who are now in the care of the Philadelphia Department of Human Services. Vidyawatee and Alvin Deopersad, the first two children of Pramatee said yesterday that it would have been the wish of their mother that the children return to Trinidad and be in their care. The two will be approaching the American Embassy shortly to secure visas so that they could petition the court for custody of their brothers Michael,14, and Randi, ten. Vidyawatee said yesterday that she is concerned that the Diaz family is seeking custody of the children, especially at a time when a relative of that family is charged with the murder. “Those children could never be comfortable with that family,” she insisted. She pointed out that when her mother divorced her father Seepersad Dookram in 1980, she went to live with her mother and Cyprian Diaz.

She added that she took care of Michael and Randi, while her mother sold food at the Tunapuna market. “My mother was beaten almost daily by Diaz, and every time she left, he would find her, force her back home and then beat her for leaving,” said the grieving woman. She claimed that Diaz even ill-treated her during her stay with him and her mother. After ten years of abuse, scars and emotional pressure, Pramatee left Diaz and went to the United States with Michael and Randi. She got a job as a baby-sitter but after several months on the job Diaz found out where she was staying, and beat her so badly that he broke her ribs. She claimed that Diaz returned to Trinidad, and her mother who could not take care of the boys, telephoned her and asked that she keep the children until she recovered. “Shortly after, Diaz found out that the children were with me and he started visiting them. He then took them to Tamana and later all three returned to the United States,” she said. Vidyawatee denied reports that her mother was living with both Celestine and Diaz. “My mother telephoned me one week before her death and said that Diaz was always harassing her and she was fearful for her life. She even telephoned her father in Lopinot and told him that she had a feeling that she would die before him.” She described her mother as a good person who only wanted to feel a sense of safety, and love. “I hated that man when I was five years old, and witnessed the beatings, and I hate him more now for taking away the one and only mother that I had,” said Vidyawatee.