Consultants tell us what we already know

THE EDITOR: The state of the Royal Jail and sections of the Golden Grove prisons have been unfit for prisoners and staff alike for decades now. I have read articles over the years written by prison officers and prisoners lamenting the unsanitary and dehumanising conditions that exist and Penal Reform Intl wrote a report substantiating this reality not more that 5-6 years ago when a Ms Wendy Singh visited our shores. Now in 2004 Amnesty Intl reveals their findings which, I am sure shocks no one who lives in TT.

The reality indicates that only oil, gas, hosting intl secretariats and maintaining political power matters to those who can make a difference because if it were not so, things would be alot different by now, don’t you think. I guess we’ll need to spend a few more million US dollars for some consultant to fly in to inform us once again on how to improve things, only to have it accompany the many other shelved reports that have pointed to the same over the many long years. Peace.

GREGROY
SLOANE-SEALE
National Youth Outreach Director - YMCA of Trinidad and Tobago
Executive Member - TT Coalition on the Rights of the Child (TTCRC)