STABBING OF SISTER PAM

Wednesday’s stabbing of former Government Minister, Pamela Nicholson at her Mount Pleasant, Tobago home drives home forcefully the steady increase within recent years of crime in Crusoe’s Isle. Miss Nicholson, along with her sister, Pat, a former secondary school teacher, was attacked and stabbed by an intruder. It was a cowardly attack on two defenceless women who each in her own way has made a contribution to the development of Trinidad and Tobago, one as Minister for Sport and Youth Affairs and Member of Parliament for Tobago West, the other as a secondary school teacher.

It is perhaps less than likely that the intruder could not have known of the former Government Minister nor her sister, and that they lived at their Mt Pleasant home. The public’s mind, already troubled by the growing incidence of crime, must be set at rest. Police will have to move with dispatch to find and arrest the assailant, charge him and bring him to justice. No motive has yet been established for the brutal attack on the Nicholson sisters. In turn, reports are that Miss Pamela Nicholson, widely known in Tobago as “Sister Pam” was attacked and stabbed when she went to the defence of her sister who had been allegedly attacked by an intruder. Robbery could have been the motive. Because of Miss Pamela Nicholson’s high profile as a former Cabinet Minister and Tobago West MP the regrettable incident is likely to be exploited by some of the international Media to the detriment of Tobago’s image. Tobago, a tourist resort, has been seeking to regain its visitor appeal following on a downturn triggered by September 11, 2001, and with much success.

Meanwhile, the Police, even if this means sending in additional specially trained officers from Trinidad to assist their counterparts in Tobago, must move swiftly to apprehend the intruder, who reportedly attacked the Nicholson sisters. People, both residents of and visitors to Tobago, and indeed Trinidad as well, should be entitled to feel safe in their homes and hotel or guest house rooms or wherever they may be in the country. The attack on the Nicholson sisters was cowardly, but then people who, under cover of night, break into other people’s home are not heroes but cowards. We wish the Nicholsons a speedy recovery and we hope the Police will lay hands on the cowards in quick time.