This means the status quo of the PNM and the UNC each having four seats in the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation, following Monday’s Local Government Elections remains unchanged. PNM general secretary Ashton Ford said in addition to this, the party also won the recount in the Caura seat in the Tunapuna/ Piarco Regional Corporation yesterday.

Rowley also said data gathered by the PNM showed that the turnout in Monday’s local government elections was approximately 34 percent and not the 17 percent which certain analysts and segments of the media.

The Prime Minister said these groups did not have reliable data to make a proper assessment of the voter turnout and the analysis they were doing was, “pontification without the data.” In a release late yesterday, the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) said the official results of the elections will be released today.

Rejecting Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s that the PNM claimed victory in the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation on Monday, Rowley supported the position taken by party chairman Franklin Khan at a news conference at Balisier House on Tuesday about the PNM retaining control of this corporation.”Once the results were clear enough to us and we sought proper legal advice,” the Prime Minister said.

“We got it and as soon as we got it, we made that advice available to the public.” Saying the UNC reacted as expected, Rowley declared, “The fact of the matter is that under law, we retain the chairmanship and control of the Sangre Grande Corporation, not by any favour and not by any coalition.” The Prime Minister reiterated, “The law provides for us to remain there and we sought legal advice before we spoke and that’s how the PNM conducts its business.” Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young said the ability of incumbent chairman Terry Rondon to remain in office is contained in the provisions of the Municipal Corporations Act and in other pieces of subsidiary legislation. Section 15 (2) of that Act allows a mayor or chairman to remain in office unless he resigns, ceases to be qualified, becomes disqualified or is removed from office in accordance with the Act. Saying the PNM and the UNC each have four councillors (and each have two aldermen) in the corporation (for a total of six votes each), Rowley said Rondon will remain as chairman and has a casting vote in terms of the corporation running its business. He explained that the last time he checked, “seven is more than six.” PM HITS MEDIA Explaining his response on Monday to a reporter’s question about an alleged 17 percent voter turnout, Rowley said, “My reaction was to the misinformation that was being peddled and it was aggravating to me.” While he retained confidence in the media to do its job, the Prime Minister was concerned that segments of the media were misled by, “people who did not want to face another defeat “, who, “organised themselves to feed misinformation to those who were informing the public.” Saying certain sections of the media and certain analysts did not have credible data to assess the voter turnout, Rowley said, “Our (PNM) information is that in many areas, the turnout was as high as 40 odd percent.

Most areas were in the 30 odd percent. The average was 34 percent.” He stated the lowest voter turnout was 22 and 23 percent in Port-of- Spain and Diego Martin respectively, “where incidentally, the PNM won all 22 seats by upwards of 70 or 80 percent.” Rowley said while the PNM went in with 83 seats and won 82 of the 137 seats on Monday, “ somehow the people who won 55 seats were somehow getting the media to say, they won the elections.” The Prime Minister declared that contrary to the Opposition’s claims, the PNM’s vote declined by only eight percent to its vote in the 2013 Local Government Elections. However he said the UNC’s vote declined by 30 percent from 2013 to now. “I have not heard that being said as part of the conversation.

We are not the party that lost 70,000 (votes), that is the Opposition,” Rowley quipped.

Rejecting Persad-Bissessar’s claim that the UNC “wrestled 12 seats” from the PNM, Rowley declared, “ There are seven corporations in which the PNM alone won seats. We have seats in every corporation, bar one, Penal/Debe.” He continued, “We polled more votes in some areas than we did in 2013.

In some cases we polled more votes in those areas but we did not in fact win the seats, we lost the seat by very narrow margins.” Rowley said the PNM won a newly created seat and also won a seat in San Fernando which it had not won in 24 years. In contrast, Rowley said the UNC did not win back the Chaguanas Borough Corporation as Persad-Bissessar alleged.

This was the prevailing sentiment at the funeral service yesterday for the girl who an autopsy showed, died as a result of blunt force trauma. Simply put…

she was beaten to death.

Through tears, her uncle Fenton James said the way Jenice died was “barbaric”. He insisted to mourners gathered at the house of mourning in Whiteland that justice must be served.

“Jenice’s life was snuffed away in a barbaric manner. She was an innocent child loved by everyone within the community. My heart goes out to this innocent child. Why,” James cried as he was consoled by other relatives. He continued, “Last month we observed International Children’s Day.

Why is it that a child has to go through such traumatic experience.

But God is good and I know that Jenice is in a better place,” he cried.

“Nothing must be swept under the carpet and I know justice will prevail,” he said. Last week Thursday, Jenice was found in an unresponsive state lying on a mattress at her home.

She was rushed in an ambulance to San Fernando General Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. An autopsy at the Forensic Science Centre revealed she died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head and stomach.

She was a student of the Whiteland Early Childhood Learning Centre.

Delivering the eulogy, Jenice’s aunt Kimberly Lee described her niece as an angel. “Jenice loved dancing, singing.

She was free spirited, well-mannered and full of energy,” Lee said. She added that her niece like every little girl, loved playing doll house.

“Farewell my precious jewel…you are an angel in Heaven watching over us. She was a princess,” the woman cried.

Rev Deena Ramnarine in her sermon called on parents to instil values and morals in their child/children.

“As parents we need to set good examples for our children, they are watching us, so you cannot live a careless life…the children are watching,” Ramnarine said. Jenice’s mother Shana Charles wept over the body of her only daughter who was dressed in pink dress and had a silver tiara on her head. Jenice was laid to rest at the Poonah Whiteland Cemetery.

Police are yet to detain anyone in connection with the child’s murder.

When Newsday visited the rural community at Tattoo Trace off the Toco Road yesterday, residents wore dazed looks as they struggled to comprehend the loss of two innocent lives.

The victims’ three other siblings are now homeless and were staying at the homes of relatives.

Autopsies are expected to be done on the tiny, charred remains of the brother and sister at the Forensic Science Centre in St James for an official cause of death.

Villagers who spoke with Newsday did not mince words as to their thoughts on what caused the deaths of little Miracle and Mawaki – gross negligence. “Aye hear nah man, this is negligence of the worst order. How could you leave a four-year-old and two-year-old in a house unattended? All alone,” newly elected councillor for Valencia Simone Gill said. “I am not a mother, but as a woman, I do not understand how two children could be left home alone when there are avenues in which you could find a way to take care of your children. Poverty is not an excuse! “My grandmother grew up four children in a life of poverty and my other grandmother grew up 13 children and they always ensured that no matter what the safety of the children was first priority. They made sure that the children were safe. So I will not accept poverty as an excuse for what happened here,” the youthful councillor said. Gill was moved to tears while explaining the circumstances surrounding the fire.

It was reported that at about 12.40 pm yesterday, officers of the Valencia Police Post along with officers of the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service responded to calls of a fire at Tattoo Trace but when they arrived the small, wooden house was already gutted and the whereabouts of the siblings could not be ascertained. When officers made preliminary checks, they found two charred corpses in the burnt out ruins of the house.

Police sources said that the two tiny bodies were found in an embrace at the entrance way to the structure leaving investigators to theorise that Miracle and Mawaki reached as far as the locked door before being overcome by the smoke. They lay next to each other and died in an embrace…a final act of sibling love in the face of impending fiery death. The district medical officer later ordered the bodies removed from the scene.

Newsday was told that neighbours smelled smoke but assumed that someone was burning garbage. It was not until they heard the screams of a woman that they realised something was wrong and called the authorities. Sources said when police interviewed two relatives of the dead children, they said that they had just left the house and when they looked back, they saw the house engulfed in flames. Newsday understands that when investigations are concluded, police may seek advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

One relative is said to be a hair dresser while another is a taxi driver.

Judith Daniel, a villager, claimed this was not the first time that the children were left home alone. “This is not the first time. They accustomed leaving them children. At that age, they should have been in a daycare centre if those people could not stay with them. There is absolutely no reason except negligence for this tragedy to happen,” Daniel said.

According to a “Tuna – December 2015” report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), “for the first time in history, US imports of air-flown fresh tuna were higher than that of Japan and this could become a common feature in the future as well.

On November 1, Japan’s non-resident Ambassador to SVG, Mitsuhiko Okada, visited St Vincent to formally handover US$4.6 million of grant aid. It was given to St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) in the form of cooling equipment for six fisheries facilities, a refrigerator truck and a submerged type Fish Aggregating Device (FAD) to help transform the country’s seafood sector into “a major engine for economic growth and development.” Fisherfolk in SVG regularly catch yellowfin tuna while, according to KFM’s Manager, Dunstan Johnson, “there is an abundance” of conch and lobster in the country’s territorial waters.

Business Day spoke with Johnson recently, while on a tour of the refurbished KFM, about how the facility can fully capitalise on its portion of the grant aid.

“We have dolphin, marlin, king fish, yellowfin tuna…’Red species’ such as snapper, butter fish, hind, grouper (and) we have an abundance of lobster and conch. The problem with St Vincent, I do believe, is the marketing and the consistency of the landed catch; it needs to be more consistent in order to attract the foreign market.” Asked about the demand for yellowfin tuna, Johnson said “unlike Grenada and other countries, SVG has not developed a steady market that we can supply. We will have to carry out a massive re-training, re-education programme because there are certain quality standards that must be met here if we are to get (top dollar) for our yellowfin tuna.” He explained that this includes “processing the fish as soon as it is caught. The pirogues (our fisherfolk) use don’t have the capability to process the fish at sea. We do all of that here for them here at KFM, then the fish is iced up and put in the chill room until it’s sold.” While fisheries facilities across SVG can now process and store fresh and frozen fish more efficiently and for longer periods, thanks to the Japanese grant aid, there remains the issue of illegal fishing in the country’s waters.

Johnson likened SVG’s current ability to harvest its own seafood to “having a gold mine but mining the gold with a spoon. In other words, SVG does not have the resources and equipment to actually take from the sea what others are taking out at present.” He explained that “others” was a reference to trawlers operating illegally in SVG’s waters while the majority of the country’s fisherfolk are still using wooden pirogues.

“The Fisheries Division (of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Transformation, Forestry and Fisheries) has to look at where the resources are and determine how to properly manage them, such that we don’t deplete what we have while (reducing) the number of vessels from other countries coming into our waters,” Johnson stated.

Regarding the upgrades at KFM, one of the market’s ice machines was replaced while nine compressors were repaired. Asked how this has improved things for fisherfolk and vendors at the market, Johnson told Business Day that better quality fish means more potential revenue for KFM’s clients.

“The upgrade that was done to the compressors assisted greatly with the whole refrigeration system. Before, the temperature of the chill rooms would fluctuate between -15 degrees to -18 degrees Celsius when ideally, we want it to remain at -18 degrees Celsius…

Thanks to the Government of Japan, our chill rooms now have a consistency of -18 degrees Celsius,” Johnson said.

That was the prevailing emotion among villagers of the North Coast fishing villages of Toco, Grande Riviere and Matelot who are today isolated from the rest of the country as torrential rainfall overnight Tuesday and all day yesterday, triggered massive flooding, sea swells and landslides trapping thousands who live in the communities.

Up to 3,000 villagers in these vulnerable rural areas are in desperate need of food, water, mattresses and in some cases shelter as heavy winds blew the roofs of an undetermined number of houses. Up to late last night, many were without power, as electricity poles were pounded down by the wind and rain. Water lines were also broken, according to reports, and damage to the infrastructure has been described as extensive.

Fishing boats either sank or were pitched on shore by raging waves that battered the coastline. Government is expected to send up ministerial teams to assess the devastation and map out a plan for aid and reconstruction. “It is a terrible situation,” lamented Waziz Rambhajah who lives in Matelot. An estimated 2,000 villagers have been affected by the disaster, he said, declaring with regret, “that everytime the rain falls and there are landslides residents have to go through this.” When Rambhajah left his home at about noon, on his way to conduct business out of the village, the road was still passable although a steady stream of water flowed along it. He then got a call that the condition of the road had worsened and turned back. He was told that Shark River bridge was swept away by flood waters. In neighbouring Grande Riviere, Leslie Peters reported 15 houses were damaged and said there were as many landslides between there and Montevideo.

Up to 6.30 pm, the villagers were in darkness.

1,500 NEED AID “There is a total blackout, all the power lines are down,” Peters told Newsday. Flood waters eroded the roads, with some sections washing away, Peters said reporting that the St Helena/Matelot bridge had been destroyed. He estimated 1,500 villagers are in need of aid.

Continuous rainfall hampered the clearing of debris and landslides, as backhoes, bulldozers, excavators and trucks from the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation remained parked up as the roads to the villages were impassable.

Army trucks too could not pass and members of the Defence Force had to use chainsaws to cut their way through felled trees to get to the villages. Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission crews were also set back in repairing lines to restore power. The Strategic Services Agency’s Air Division carried out aerial sweeps from Maracas to Toco surveying the extent of the damage, which was concentrated in Matelot and Grand Riviere.

Grande Riviere villager Dennis Charles was troubled by the landslides, and as night fell worried about the lack of power. “It’s very troubling everything that’s going on at this time right now there are a few people without electricity and it’s getting dark. The soldiers and other persons are advising us to stay indoors.” Len Peters said in the 20 years he has lived in Grande Riviere this was the first time he witnessed weather of such intensity.

“This began at around 2 am Wednesday morning, the lightning would stop at two-second intervals and the rain fell without stopping.

Some persons houses were damaged beyond repair from the rainfall,” Peters said. He disclosed that MP for Toco/Sangre Grande Glenda Jennings-Smith made arrangements for residents whose homes were damaged to spend the night in hotels. “It was truly a bad day, but the councillors and the Member of Parliament for the area were here with us every step of the way so that gave us some encouragement,” he disclosed.

‘WORST EVER SEEN’ Matelot resident Anderson Zoe and his family spent all day, salvaging galvanise and materials to rebuild their roof as it was partially blown off with the heavy rains and winds. He described the heavy rainfall as something, “he has never experienced” before. Zoe told Newsday he and his family went to bed early Tuesday evening as they usually do. “Then about one in the morning, it started to rain and then current went. Then after that the rain started getting heavier and all you heard was the rumbling of the thunder and all you saw was the lightening flashing. Then after 2 am, the wind howled and the rain never stopped until three hours later,” he said.

Zoe, who is a fisherman and teacher in the Matelot area, said the wind appeared to be in a cylinder shape.

At about 2.30 am, Zoe said he heard a loud sound but did not know what it was. His daughter, soon after wanted to use the bathroom.

While walking her to the bathroom, he looked up and he felt rain drops in his eye.

“When I shined the light up I see my roof gone. So we hurriedly covered what we could but the water was already inside the house up to my ankle. We had to use some of our spare mattresses to block the water from entering our living room,” he said. Once the rains cleared, Zoe walked through his village and learnt that the roofs of 25 houses were blown off.

“This is the worst I have ever seen.

There is a bridge in Matelot that has been washed away completely, all of the power lines are down. The fishermen in the area were affected also, five boats are underwater in the harbour. There is no water in the pipes. This is the worst I have ever seen. Right now we are trying to survive, our Christmas is going to be a bleak one,” he said.

Outgoing chairman of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation, Terry Rondon in an interview with CNC3’s Morning Brew yesterday called on the country to assist the people in Matelot. The Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Office, in a bulletin issued at 5 am yesterday, said the inclement weather conditions was related to local dynamics in a moist and unstable atmosphere.

(See Pages 8 &9)

They were unable to say exactly when the results would be released.

However, Newsday understands the commission will meet soon to assess the status of the exercise.

The EBC declined to comment on the argument between the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) and the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) about which of them controls the Sangre Grande corporation. Officials explained, “The EBC’s job is completed when we allocate the numbers for the aldermen, what happens after is up to the corporation.” They said all political parties submitted their lists of aldermen for all local government corporations to the EBC on November 7 (Nomination Day).

The officials explained that once the final election results are released, there is a four-day period in which the commission makes an allocation of aldermen to each corporation.

The corporations have four days within which to submit their respective lists of aldermen to the EBC. There are a total of 24 aldermen candidates for the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation.

Within this number, the PNM and UNC have eight candidates each.

The EBC officials said the appointment of a mayor/chairman and deputy mayor/deputy chairman of a local government corporation is guided by the provisions of Section 14 of the amended Municipal Corporations Act. Section 14 (3) of this Act states that the election of the mayor and deputy mayor will be by motion duly seconded and presided over by a councillor or an alderman who is not a candidate for the office of mayor or deputy mayor.

Contacted yesterday, PNM general secretary Ashton Ford said the recount for the Barataria district in the San Juan/Laventille Regional Corporation ended with the district remaining with the PNM.

UNC chairman David Lee said the party was keenly watching the recounts of the Sangre Grande North-West district and a district in the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation. Lee was uncertain when these recounts would be completed but reiterated that the Sangre Grande recount was particularly important given the outcome on election day.

PNM chairman Franklin Khan cited the proportional representation rule brought by the former People’s Partnership (PP) government to claim an “outright victory” in Sangre Grande and declare that the PNM would control this corporation again. However, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar rejected Khan’s declaration as “false and misleading.” She said the law was clear on how a chairman of a corporation was to be elected.

“Six weeks ago police investigated reports of child abuse,” Fabien yesterday revealed to Newsday during an interview at his home at Morocoy Extension, Corosal Road in Whiteland. “They had taken her (Jenice) away as part of their investigations but I guess there wasn’t sufficient evidence, so she was returned to the house.” Jenice was one of three children living in the house with her father Robert Figaro, 37, and a woman.

She was however, the only child for Robert and Shana Charles, 30, who are separated with the latter living elsewhere.

Fabien told Newsday that the youngster last saw her mother ten months ago.

On Friday last, when Newsday visited, Charles was too distraught to speak. “Such a sweet little girl who has been through so much in her little life,” cried Fabien yesterday as he said that days before her death, a cast was removed from the girl’s arm.

When he enquired as to how Jenice broke her arm, Fabien said he was told she was climbing and fell.

He also spoke of him taking her to Princes Town District Health Facility two Saturdays ago for treatment to her swollen eyes. “It is too much to speak of.

I really loved that child,” Fabien cried. Fabien said he and his son left home last week Thursday to go to the bank when they received a call to return home immediately.

When they returned Jenice was in an unresponsive state lying on a mattress.

She was rushed in an ambulance to San Fernando General Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. She was a student of the Whiteland Early Childhood Learning Centre.

Jenice will be laid to rest today at the Whiteland Public Cemetery following a funeral service. Police are yet to detain anyone in connection with the child’s death.

Sinanan said while it is difficult at this time to get a clear picture of what has happened in Matelot and environs, there is no doubt that this is, “a major disaster” and things are getting worse. He said the rain was still falling and until it stops, it would not be possible to make a proper assessment of what has transpired. Sinanan said he had only just returned from Tobago yesterday where his ministry had been doing some work. Sinanan also said he would be giving Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley a report on what has happened in northeast Trinidad but was certain that Rowley was already aware of the situation.

He added that the ministry was also taking two bailey bridges to the area. Sinanan said this exercise would not just involve cleaning but also some rebuilding as well.The Cabinet holds its weekly meeting at the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair today and decisions could be made about further assistance to Matelot and environs.Rural Development and Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein said he was going up yesterday to get a “first hand” look at the damage.

Hosein said the preliminary information he has received suggests that this is a crisis. The minister said he spoke with Sangre Grande Regional Corporation Terry Rondon, who has appealed to him for help. Saying he wanted to take a “hands on” approach and this was why he was going to north-east Trinidad yesterday, Hosein said he was aware that two backhoes which Rondon requested have been sent to Sangre Grande.

Hosein also said his ministry will be coordinating relief efforts with the Works and Transport Ministry, TT Defence Force, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Managament (ODPM) and other agencies currently on the ground in north-east Trinidad. He said resources from the neighbouring Arima Borough Corporation and the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation to bolster those from the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation.

“We will do whatever we can to help,” Hosein said.

Winless and second-to-last on the table, Hart’s tenure at the helm of local football has been cut short after three years following a string of poor results.

In football, it is the manager that is ultimately responsible for the performance or non-performance of the team. It is easier to change a coach than replace an entire team.

There have been varying opinions on whether the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) erred in sacking Hart, seeking to jump-start a stuttering campaign.

The question though is whether Hart deserved more time to turn things around or whether another individual can weave a bit of magic as Beenhakkker did 11 years ago after replacing Bertille St Clair.

Hart’s achievements seem to indicate that he was the best man for the job. Qualifying for the knockout stage in back-to-back Gold Cups is no easy feat, neither is topping a group which includes CONCACAF powerhouse Mexico.

In his term as coach, Hart has registered 16 wins, nine draws and 18 losses. Eight of those defeats came this year and Hart will feel there are mitigating circumstances to explain those defeats. The indiscretions of players — partying when they should be in camp (Kevin Molino, Joevin Jones and Mekeil Williams) brought questions as to the discipline of the team under Hart. Molino was eventually suspended for two matches last month which just happened to coincide with the hexagonal stage of World Cup qualifiers against Costa Rica (0-2) and Honduras (1-3) which TT both lost.

The rise of attacking midfielder Keron Cummings under Hart last year eased the blow of Molino’s absence due to injury, and the 28-year-old, nicknamed “Ball Pest”, grabbed the opportunity with both hands. But Cummings would play zero matches for this country in 2016 owing to a gunshot wound to his leg suffered early on the morning of December 27, 2015, after returning from a boat ride.

Hart’s scouts identified former England Under-17 captain, John Bostock, as someone who would alleviate his midfield woes, but FIFA red tape as well as Bostock pulling out of the last qualifier against Honduras after finally getting FIFA clearance left Hart without creative central midfielders.

The 56-year-old former Canada coach has always been able to get results with little resources but looked to have been backed into a corner this time.

Indiscipline suddenly creeping into the team, failing to qualify for the Copa America Centenario competition, missing out on automatic Gold Cup qualification, beaten in the first two World Cup qualifiers, Hart was living on the edge and the TTFA has decided to pull the plug on his project.

It is interesting to note that several players have spoken out about their admiration for their former coach, feeling they have let him down by their performances. Their utterances only solidify the widely held belief that coaches are judged by their recent results. Against Honduras, TT looked lost especially in defence, which does not bode well for competitive football.

Down 2-0 in less that 20 minutes away from home, there was only going to be one outcome.

Against Costa Rica, the Soca Warriors appeared tentative and unwilling to take the risk of going for victory. Their limp effort resulted in a 2-0 defeat.

Although Hart has done tremendous work in bringing TT football back to relevance, the TTFA can hardly be admonished for feeling a change is needed to get the 2018 World Cup campaign on track.

He wrote the script for a momentous period of our regional history and played an indelible part in the history of the Americas in the 20th century.

To the last, he polarised opinion.

He remained uncompromising and unbowed, attracting as much appreciation as deep opprobrium.

For most people in this country who were brought up in the 1950s onwards, Fidel mainly represented a cancer in our midst, although for others he was the bulwark against American imperialism in the region.

He certainly was the reason we got anywhere near experiencing the Cold War.

I was a child but I could never forget the urgency of the radio reports and the vivid newspaper images of the 1962 Kruschev-Kennedy stand-off that threatened to unleash nuclear war, caused by Russian manoeuvres and ballistic missiles in Cuban space, too close to the USA. These were acts of provocation.

The fear and excitement I picked up from all around me made me very curious about Cuba. I remember that no one I knew was on Castro’s side. There was vitriol over his audacity to attempt to challenge our way of life, our religion and good US supremacy. And, the same detractors spoke of the Cuban people as exotic, stylish dressers who resembled Trinis. I knew Cuba was the home of many of the popular Latin dances of the time. Our house was full of good Cuban music and American values overlaying an old-fashioned Trini-British way of doing things.

For those around me, the memories of WWII were fresh, at least, as international propaganda had shaped them. The Russians may have fought against Hitler but they were our enemies. We were fed the ideological rhetoric of the Cold War and it warmed our hearts.

Castro, I knew, had invited those aliens into our lives, cocking a snoot at the handsome President John F Kennedy.

If our newly independent government held a different view, it did not have household currency.

Anyway, nobody pressed the fabled red button to discharge nuclear weapons and by the time I was a teenager I too was in love with the even more handsome Che Guevara.

At university I read about the Cuban revolution, about why Castro and the group of young idealists had unseated a most despicable leader, one who had sold the soul of Cuba to American pleasure. They did not want Cuba to continue being a US nightclub and brothel.

They wanted, instead, good jobs and fair pay for Cuban citizens, and homes and the opportunity to realise themselves.

I learned that, contrary to what I knew, Castro never intended to establish a Communist state, but when the US failed to support the revolution and began to thwart it, he turned to the Communist bloc for support. Eager to get a foothold in the region, and on the US doorstep, the Russians were only too happy to guarantee the purchase of the Cuban sugar crop upon which Cuba became solely reliant.

Castro’s political position was dictated by circumstance, the ideology was constructed around it.

It had surprised me, in Britain as a teenager, that almost every English person I knew supported the Cuban revolution. They identified with the desire to be rid of a US cultural presence; increasing US dominance irked them.

Stories of endless failed US-attempted assassinations and the fabled length of his great speeches endeared Fidel to many, as did the ingenuity and suffering of the Cuban people, caused by the US embargo.

I first went to Cuba in the 1990s on a chartered flight, as regular UK flights were non-existent. I saw a remarkable experiment in independence and the triumph of a people over adversity.

I hope that spirit will not fade.

RIP Fidel Castro.