She assured this is not a ploy to win votes for the next general election, saying such “callous and insensitive remarks” have no place in a nation of immigrants that itself has so far been spared from natural disasters.

Her remarks came in statement in her role as chairman of the People’s National Movement (PNM) Women’s League.

Robinson-Regis said the league fully backed Rowley’s call for Trinis to open their homes and hearts to the citizens of Dominica rendered homeless by Hurricane Maria. Noting TT’s historical willingness to help our Caricom neighbours after any natural disaster, she said Rowley offer of accommodation was apt given TT’s economic situation.

“In the midst of the negative comments already raging, the Women’s League reminds citizens that the PM’s call was for persons who have family, relatives or friends in Dominica and who are able to accommodate them, to step forward at this time and join with the Government in providing relief.

NOT WELL THOUGHT OUT However, an Opposition UNC source said that while it is good to help Dominica, Rowley had not fully thought out the details.

The source asked if Government will test potential local host families for their ability to take care of any Dominican guest.

“What happens if the families then having a falling out?” The source asked if the guests would be sitting around doing nothing for six months, or would they be given work permits? “What if they are under financial stress? Would we have to provide a financial assistance programme, or pay them a stipend? “What happens at the end of the six months, if they have not got enough resources to go back to Dominica? What if they need significant medical attention?” Looking at TT’s crime wave, the source asked, “How will we protect the women? And the children and the aged?”. The source wondered whether it might be better for TT to help supply Dominica with items like generators, galvanise sheeting and lumber to help residents re-establish their lives there, rather than re-settling them here.

Both mother and daughter were stabbed outside their South Trinidad home on Wednesday by a man after the mother petitioned the courts for a restraining order against him. Residents who assisted the woman and her child, later found the man in some bushes and gave him a sound cuttail before calling the police.

The man remains warded in a different ward at San Fernando General Hospital where his victims are also warded. Police said a decision was made to beef up security around mother and daughter and to also manage and limit the number of people allowed to visit them, after death threats were sent to the child. Police sources said that the death threats were made by associates of the male suspect who is handcuffed to the iron rails of his bed. The schoolgirl remains listed as serious but stable. The suspect was expected to appear in court next Friday when the case filed by the woman for a restraining order, was expected to be heard.

Police sources said that the man, when he is discharged from hospital, could face two charges of attempted murder as well as several charges of sexual assault against the child. The mother was stabbed in the chest and hand.

The seven, including a woman, were taken to the nearby Port of Spain General Hospital where one succumbed while the others were receiving treatment up to press time. No identity of the victims were forthcoming from police.

Speaking at a function at City Hall on Thursday night to commemorate World Day of Peace and make San Fernando a “Peace City,” Kokaram said the legal system which had been fostered on a people to resolve disputes instead served in most cases to exacerbate broken relationships.

“An adversarial system which sanctions civilised warfare between disputants. A system which has recoded physical violence for a far more insidious type of violence, of language which is socially acceptable and socially destructive.” Taking some responsibility for the system which he represents and symbolises, Kokaram pointed out that the system made it socially acceptable for someone to stop talking to their neighbour and instead send off pre-action protocol letters.

“It is a system which tells you don’t talk to your opponent, let your lawyers do that, conditioning you to remain in your private silos. impervious to alternative realities.” He cited real examples of family disputes between parent and child which had reached the court, and lamented the need for both parties to be respected and acknowledge each other’s importance in the family unit.

“Who is having that conversation?” he asked.

“Institutionally, the legal system as the force of the State compels people, orders them to do things. The force of the law legitimises violent acts such as the destruction of homes, the removal of crops, the laying of oil pipes in forests, the taking of a life.

“We live in an adversarial society. We have been conditioned to the view that to achieve peace there must be a war of attrition of rights. To achieve an increase wages there must be strikes, to achieve respect there must be inflammatory language, to achieve better conditions of life there must be protest.” His audience included San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello, Australia’s smiling policeman and Rotarian Geoffrey Bernard William Little, District Governor from Suriname Waddy Sowma, Basheer Mohammed, president of the Princes Town Rotary Club which initiated the commemoration.

Kokaram said simple issues had mushroomed into national controversies because of missed opportunites for working peace plans.

“The highway reroute conflict, the judiciary controversy, the ferry fiasco, the Couva hospital: all of these national controversies have mushroomed from simple desires to better the human conditions but that desire is now lost in our conditioning of positioning, leveraging, The judge knocked the celebration of peace in the face of humanitarian atrocities such as the persecution of the Rohingya Muslims, the Isis campaign declaring war against established order, the sabre-rattling of the United States and the North Koreans, human-rights atrocities in Venezuela and the violence which erupted in St Maarten in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, with groups turning on each other, “the proverbial man crab betraying the social inequalities that existed under the mascaraed of the island paradise in the Caribbean sun.” Saying the system was outdated and there was need for a new way of doing things, Kokaram suggested that peace be the centre of focus in a new paradigm.

“Instead of doing things to people, institutions should devise a way of working with people. Our jurisprudence and our system of justice should work with people and not against them, towards finding results which allows them to enrich their lives and not destroy it.” He said the system should be more human and more humane.

After the function, the audience, led by the cadet corps, joined in a candle-lit peace march around Harris Promenade, which ended in front of City Hall, where Regrello planted a peace pole to mark San Fernando as a “Peace City.”

The budget, he added, is already a done deal and won’t be influenced by such a debate.

Maharaj, in a press release, said Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young’s disclosure of the discussion is “a political mamaguy” that insults the population’s intelligence.

“Since Government assumed office they have been lamenting the state of the economy they inherited, instead of dealing with the economic challenges,” Maharaj said.

“So what else new will they be adding to the national debate on the economy other than showing their incompetence to deal with the challenges? Is not the budget address by the Minister of Finance presumed to treat with these fundamental issues?” Maharaj said that as a former public servant and cabinet minister, he knew that, at this stage, the budget was virtually, “cast in concrete.” Budget documents, his release added, had already been printed and some agencies already had an idea of their anticipated allocations.

Projected revenue streams had been factored into projected expenditure in PSIP (public sector investment programmes), recurrent expenses, developmental projects, etc.

Budget consultations and planning began as early as April and it was at that point that any serious consultation should have been conducted.

Every public servant in the Ministry of Finance knows this fact, so this last-minute consultation is a farce, Maharaj said.

He wondered if participants at this consultation were to suggest some truly innovative idea, would Government “burn the already- printed budget documents” and have public officers rework the figures to fit these new ideas.

Angela Ramjattan, a ward at the Christ Child Convalescent Home in Diego Martin, was last seen at her Diego Martin school last Thursday, at about 2.45 pm.

She was last seen wearing her school uniform – a white shirt and a plaid skirt. Ramjattan is five foot two inches tall with a brown complexion and black hair.

She is of East Indian descent.

People with information on her whereabouts can contact the police at any station or dial 999, 555, 911 or 800-TIPS.

The renaming of Queen Street is indeed an exciting and significant time in the history of our city and our country. Research indicates that Queen Street was called Calle San Luis by the Spanish; the French translated this to Rue Saint Louis. After the conquering British forces took over Trinidad, naming the streets was an important aspect of solidifying their presence and identity.

Port of Spain streets were named for their kings, queens and war heroes. The British had called the first east-west street King Street, so this second one they called Queen Street.

I have often wondered why Port of Spain has been so neglected, why no one in charge over the decades has articulated a vision and philosophy for our capital.

When the streets still had Spanish names, they were paved with limestone from the Laventille hills. At other points in history, a drain ran down the centre of the town, dogs and pigs roamed freely and residents threw human waste out their windows shouting “Gadé liu!” to warn people walking below.

Naturally, before the procession to rename the street sign, frenzied cleaning and painting took place, but it is not good enough.

Driving on our main streets is reminiscent of those early days, when the roads were so uneven.

Homeless people defecate on the streets, while traders and business people are just as responsible for the rubbish as pedestrians.

Renaming the street is crucial to national identity. However, the historical features of the city must also be preserved. It is one of the ironies of history that a short distance away from the new sign honouring Penny is the empty lot on Frederick Street opposite Woodford Square where a church had stood for 100 years.

The church was demolished by the businessman who purchased the “property,” despite protests by citizens and government representatives.

The only saving feature of this sad story is that the iconic Desperadoes steelband used this space as its base for Carnival.

Maria Nunes, who documents our culture and heritage through photography, took a photo of the band through one of the gates of the original structure. As she describes it, the image is a sharp reminder of the ongoing conflict between the past and the present.

For me, the conflict is not necessary and would not exist if our leaders had a better sense of who we are, and what is important to our continued growth. Thus, the renaming of Queen Street is a bittersweet moment.

As we celebrate, I am reminded of the complex history of the city, with the bones of our First Peoples buried under the Red House, a statue to Columbus, places of worship from Muslim to Christian traditions, history, heritage and traditions all around us. In reality, our city has the potential to be transformed into a living, breathing institution of learning.

For now, we settle for the name.

Shakespeare asked “what’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” For Juliet, Romeo’s family name did not matter; she still loved him.

But as our nation searches for its sense of self, for us the name is essential.

Dara Healy is a performance a tist and founder of the N G O , the Ind i g e – n o u s Creative A r t s Network – ICAN

“Some people may refuse to go to the courts to resolve issues. One of the spouses may not have enough money to pay a lawyer to fast track the matter so there are several issues and I don’t think we should just jump and arrive at a conclusion to what the Chief Justice said. Let us do a comprehensive research that is required.” Dottin continued, “I think we need to do a lot more research before we arrive at conclusions.

There is a shift in values.

We continue to experience a cultural shift in values but, I believe that cultural shift continues to hurt us.” Dottin said that he is seeing more and more single parents in society and a lot of young people are out of control.

He said there has been a significant increase in the acceptance of responsibility by churches and counsellors.

“I know a number of churches have been involved.

Our church has a marriage enrichment programme that is seeking to bring families together…”

He said Rowley should have gone to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), rather than Minister of Foreign Affairs Dennis Moses.

Saying Moses will today face empty seats in his address on the assembly’s last day, Charles said that had Rowley attended, he would have spoken much earlier and so addressed most of the 187 delegations (under UN protocols that give heads of government precedence over ministers in speaking.) “He will therefore miss a golden opportunity to inform a larger global audience on the urgent need for regional, financial and other assistance from international aid agencies in the wake of recent hurricanes.” Hurricane-stricken Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne on Thursday highlighted his country’s plight and pleaded for international assistance.

“Dr Rowley, instead of offering piecemeal help like temporary residence status, could have used our national and regional clout to argue frontally for debt relief for Caricom countries ravished by natural disasters.” He said Dominica’s debt-to- GDP ratio is a hefty 93 per cent, while Antigua and Barbuda’s is 67 per cent.

“This Keith Rowley Government must grow up and realise that it has to develop strategic and well-thought-out policies, plans and programmes to confront and overcome our national and regional challenges.

“TT missed an opportunity to demonstrate decisiveness and leadership at the UNGA. Our regional brothers and sisters would have been much better off had Dr Rowley chosen to exercise that leadership by being present in New York.”

Pepper spray is a great non-lethal weapon to have in one’s possession, especially if travelling alone at night. It is an invaluable instrument of self-defence since it possesses the remarkable ability to inflame the mucous membranes of the attacker’s eyes, nose, throat and lungs.

The criminal is temporarily blinded and also experiences breathing problems as the pepper spray is extremely pungent.

The effects usually last long enough to allow the victim to escape.

Pepper spray in a woman’s is a powerful tool that can save lives and mishaps of the worst kind.

CHELSEA BEDASE El Dorado