ACTING Commissisoner Everald Snaggs is proving to be the kind of no-nonsense Police Chief that the country needs. Proof of this can be seen in his prompt reaction to the mysterious killing of 23-year-old Shaun McLeod who died in police custody on Friday night shortly after he was arrested for using obscene language. Mr Snaggs’ quick action demonstrates his concern over such an incident and gives us assurance that the killing will be thoroughly investigated.
The CoP has ordered reports from four corporals and one constable involved in McLeod’s arrest. He has also assigned a homicide detective to investigate the killing of the arrested man. Mr Snaggs’ rapid response to this questionable incident will help to build public confidence in the Police Service since he is treating it with the urgency it deserves and, at the same time, sending a message that there would be no cover up about the police treatment of arrested persons. How did Shaun McLeod die? An autopsy conducted by pathologist Hughvon DesVignes has revealed that he died from head injuries. There seems no escaping the fact, then, that McLeod was beaten to death after he was arrested in San Fernando by a team of police officers. According to the story given by Seon Andrews to McLeod’s common-law wife Mackiba Cowan, he and McLeod were walking to the Royal Castle outlet in San Fernando when policemen alighted from a van and arrested McLeod for using obscene language. They then attempted to handcuff McLeod to a nearby post. When Cowan heard of her husband’s arrest, she went to San Fernando where, at the Library Corner, one eye witness told her, “They really beat that man and carried him down.” Cowan got to the police station around 10.10 pm and was told that her husband was taken to the hospital after he had collapsed in his cell.
The distraught woman then rushed to the San Fernando General Hospital only to be told at the Accident and Emergency Department that McLeod was dead when the Police brought him in at 9.30 pm. This scenario is a most disturbing one. How did McLeod sustain such fatal blows to his head while in police custody? He may have been drinking and he may well have been using obscene language. But is that reason for him to be beaten to death? Could not a team of policemen apprehend one apparently inebriated man without the apparent use of such violence. Mr Snaggs, we expect, will determine the truth about this episode and take the necessary action. We need hardly emphasise that acts of police brutality cannot be tolerated, even when an arrested person becomes unruly. We do not expect the police to handle hardened criminals with kid gloves, but we do not expect either that someone arrested for a minor offence should then meet his death as violently as McLeod did. Also, we need hardly remind Mr Snaggs of the several cases of prisoners being killed while in Police custody, including the notorious one of Abdul Kareem who was stabbed to death in St James in 1985 while being escorted to the station. And there is the most recent case of Anton Cooper who was killed in a Golden Grove prison cell two years ago. Mr Snaggs must get at the truth and let justice be done.
On July 31 2003, Cascadia Hotel, St Ann’s National Association for the Empowerment of African People (NAEAP) President Prof Selwyn Cudjoe urged the University of the West Indies (UWI) to follow the recent American decision to make race a criterion for university admission. At this function Cudjoe essentially implied that “80 percent of university students (in UWI) consist of one race… Our universities cannot be 90 percent East Indians and ten percent black people.”
Cudjoe’s racist statement was not viewed as important by anyone until the Maha Sabha took issue with it. This is perhaps indicative of the level of importance or lack thereof given to Cudjoe by the national community. However the ideas raised by Cudjoe, given his proximity to the government, demanded a response. The clarion call to implement affirmative action at the university has generated tremendous amount of discussion in the public arena since it was made. Yet with the exception of a single appearance on television by UWI Principal Dr Tewarie, the entire university has been loudly silent on this issue. The university in any society is supposed to be the seat of higher learning, yet the academics at UWI seem prepared to maintain UWI as a degree mill and totally aloof from the society which it is located. In the recent past, on very rare occasions has the university come out to engage society in meaningful debate. The university instead comes out only when there is a fund raising effort, the annual Carnival fete, or have its academics appointed to a government commission.
In this discussion a serious indictment has been made against the university admissions office and selection office. Cudjoe (“On willful recalcitrance and ethnic blindness” Newsday 22/8/03) announces “we know that UWI students are not selected on the basis of grades alone” and later speculates that this is “how ethnic and religious biases can play themselves out in admissions office.” Later in the article Cudjoe goes on to assert that “since the selection of these students involve subjective judgments one must always consider the biases of the selectors…. In other words it is not preposterous to suggest that an 80 percent student body at UWI or TTIT is not and cannot be the results of the students grades alone.” The staff composition of UWI is also called into question. Dr Cudjoe asks “one would also like to know what percentage of the faculty is Indian?” The implication is that even the faculty staff is dominated by Indians at UWI adding to the accusation stemming from the admissions committee. Dr Cudjoe is again calling the appointment of the Principal of UWI into question as he comments ‘the principal of UWI achieved his position because of his ethnic affiliation rather than his academic achievements.”
Dr Tewarie were you indeed given your position under the United National Congress and the Panday Administration merely because you were an Indian and the Administration emerged from an Indian support base? Indeed what was the role of the other Caribbean nations that were required for this appointment? Did the so-called corrupt UNC also corrupt the rest of the Caribbean in appointing the principal? This accusation made repeatedly since the appointment of Dr Tewarie has seriously undermined the position at the university. Too often lecturers and department heads snicker at the Indian principal, and guess at his ethnic bias. The ethnic composition of the faculty and the role ethnicity played in the appointment of the principal demands attention and a response when married with the racist statement made in follow-up commentary by Dr Cudjoe. “Every Trinidadian knows that once an Indian gets into an institution their communal tendencies are to bring along another member of their group with them.” (Sat Maharaj’s Delusion 7/9/03) Like most of the statements made by Cudjoe, these racist observations are not supported by hard facts or figures but merely made for media attention with their wild, wicked, vindictive, skew. Dr Tewarie is the admissions of UWI flawed and bias as Dr Cudjoe implies? Clearly this accusation is an assault on the integrity of UWI and indeed can have an impact on the accreditation of the institution.
Indeed, Dr Tewarie, is a serious issue as the discussions have even managed to touch the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. Yet the university still remains deaf, dumb and mute to the issues to which it is most relevant. A typographical error in the Maha Sabha Secretary General Sat Maharaj weekly newspaper column responding to Dr Cudjoe’s article further exacerbated the issue. Maharaj’s column, which read: “The problem with Cudjoe, Afros and education is essentially one of culture. This is not only a Trinidad problem, more a genetic one.” The sentence should have read “nor a genetic one.” (September 3, 2003) Despite a correction, which subsequently appeared in the offending newspaper Cudjoe malevolently exploited the newspaper’s error to label the Maha Sabha in a virtual media campaign in the most abhorrent terms. With both Maharaj and Cudjoe threatening to resign from the Prime Minister’s Race Relations Committee as a result, Prime Minister Manning said neither Selwyn Cudjoe nor Sat Maharaj would be allowed to resign from the Cabinet-appointed committee on race relations (September 5, 2003). Importantly Dr Tewarie what is the university’s position on the recommendation of Dr Cudjoe that some sort of racial quota system should be employed in the admission criterion? Are grades are as Cudjoe suggests “at best dubious and incomplete measures of one’s ability to be successful at a university?” These issues cut at the heart of the discussion and demand a response from the academic world. Where are those closely associated with the university and the media, such as Dr Hamid Ghanny, Dana Seetahal, Dennis Pantin, Dr Selwyn Ryan, Dr Kirk Meighoo, etc on this matter. Will the university remain silent on this and in essence give tacit confirmation that Cudjoe is correct?
Yours in Dharma
Parsuram Maharaj
Executive Member
Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha Inc.
THE EDITOR: I think that Mr Patrick Manning is the best example that this country can have to follow.
I found out that he cut himself off from certain married persons when he found out that they were involved in outside relationships. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that holders of high office could be so moralistic. I would like to recommend that the rest of the country follow suit. If your friend, neighbour, co-worker, sibling, parent or any other married person you know is involved with another person on an intimate level cut them off from your life. Not just your social life but your entire life until they decide to be a decent human being.
Think about it, if this person can lie, cheat and disrespect her/his spouse then what can s/he do to you or your loved ones. They are not to be trusted. Take no chances; cut them off, you don’t want persons like that near you. Society needs to make some ground rules, do not just say, act. Infidelity, or horning, is rampant and it destroys the moral fabric of our people. Let them know that a commitment is sacred, if you can’t stand by it don’t make it. When you see the changes that will occur if everyone follows this advice the whole country will be able to progress and a new day will emerge. This is a promise.
A JOSEPH
Port-of-Spain
THE EDITOR: ACP Trevor Paul is on the right track and ought to be commended for instructing his wrecking crew to remove vehicles some belonging to his colleagues who parked in a no-parking zone outside the city Magistrates’ Court.
Mr Paul was simply executing his duties without fear or favour while ensuring that the laws of the country are enforced. Mr Paul owes no one any explanation or apology, in fact we trust that his peers follow suit and will act positively and decisively when necessary to ensure that every single law of the land is enforced. Go clear, Trevor, we’re on your side.
G WILDMAN
Glencoe
THE EDITOR: Sir, there are few in the Laventille community who have given more in the name of community than one whom I consider a good friend and Laventille-centric philanthropist. I refer here to none other than the hardworking and dedicated Mr Lennox Smith. From my personal knowledge, he sprang into the limelight from very innocuous beginnings, fuelled by strong emotions.
These emotions orbit around fairness, a sense of justice, love and concern for one’s fellow man. These were qualities that were instilled in all who came in contact with “papa Emmanuel Smith”, Lennox’s father. Papa Smith was stern and industrious, but always willing to assist a neighbour or two. I am therefore not surprised that Lennox chose the path of service to his fellow Laventillians. All who know will tell of his incessant discourse on the socio-economic situation in Laventille. Every Government since the NAR has received position documents on how to address the Laventille issue from this experienced man. I know of no other (past or present) who has put in such clarity the complex amalgam of leadership, training needs and the potential economic prospects of Laventille, utilising the existing human and physical resources of the area. It is always a pleasure to hear him espouse these subjects on the many media programmes that would have him. It is now becoming common place to regurgitate the “leader rubric” he has analysed.
Similarly people are realising that Laventille sits on potentially the most expensive piece of real estate in the country. I certainly have, after listening to Smithy’s explanation. He displays an academic prowess as any I know. Maybe it comes from his teaching background or the many academic and practical experiences to which he has been exposed over time. Few are unaware of his interest in law, entrepreneurial development and criminology; the latter two for which he is amply qualified having, received a Commonwealth Secretariat Scholarship to the Barbados Institute of Business and Management and the holder of a Diploma in Criminology from the Institute of Applied Science since 1980 (in the United States). I think the first stage of the transformation for Laventille is taking place in the minds of residents. With every initiative, Lennox has demonstrated what is possible with clarity of thought and a good plan with incremental measurable successes. The MLIO Trade School from which thousands of at-risk youths graduated to the police service, the army and major industries; in addition to the implicit training of those who now dedicate their lives to indigenous service organisations dedicated to Laventille, his institution of welfare projects and a continuous programme of self-development, self-initiative and self-reliance are now beginning to seep into the psyche of Laventille. As he would say, “We Can Make It If We Try”; and the cliche must be “If Laventille Can Do, Any Other Part Of The Country Can”. In short he influenced many lives in positive ways.
We must not falter as a community. The national community is watching at how we address social issues. In this regard the recently concluded seminar/workshop on Crime Eradication In Laventille hosted by Laventille (Held at the Trinidad Hilton, the Hotel Normandie, Despers Facility and the Crowne Plaza); and the success or failure of it will be the measures by which the rest of the country who will judge our maturity and collective will to divest ourselves of the stigma, alienation and negative battering Laventille has been receiving. The responsibility is on all of us. Mr Smith, Episcopus Archbishop Barbara Gray Burke, Mohammed Shabbaz, Sean Francis, Petty John, the religious leaders, Keith Smith and politicians by themselves cannot do it. It is all of us working together, the resident teachers, police officers, the nurse, the prison officer, the parents etc. must be involved in this process of Laventille transformation.
ALFRED GEORGE
Trou Macaque
THE EDITOR: I hope that you will give me a little space in your newspaper to help bring some sort of sanity back to this country. We complain about the crime, indiscipline, adultery, bad driving, being ripped off and total lack of respect for everyone and everything and each and everyone of us to blames everyone else.
Well it’s time that we start to pinpoint the origin of these and put things right. Problem — People do these things because they are allowed to get away with it. Solution — Starting now don’t let anyone get away with anything again, no matter how small, eg if your son takes a piece of candy without asking, punish him, not severely but enough that he won’t do it again. One day he will not rob or kill someone for his shoes. Another example, if you visit a store and the price is way too high, leave and spend your money elsewhere. It will help stop these businesses from stealing from poor people. If your husband is not being a father and husband, that it, doing the needful, being there for you, providing for the family, demand that he starts to fulfil his obligations. You did not get married to be a single parent and you will make a better family for all, your children and grandchildren.
To a new beginning.
TREVOR LYNCH
Arima
THE EDITOR: Somehow we have forgotten all about the topic of sexuality/reproductive education for our nation and have been solely focusing on the morality aspect of abortion. This trend is counterproductive and will get us nowhere fast. ASPIRE cannot make a Catholic see their side of the story, and a Catholic cannot convince ASPIRE of their beliefs.
But we are forgetting something here. Whether you believe that abortion is an immoral, evil sin forbidden by God him(?)self, or whether you believe abortion is a woman’s right to choose, we are forgetting that there are thousands of young people in our country having unprotected sex as you read this. This is a fact. At one point it was proposed that our schools would begin to teach students about safe reproductive choices. Has this happened yet? No. Sven Mikki Grant took the matter into his own hands and made the bold move to distribute condoms to our youths, much to the shock and horror of our closed-minded and backwards society. That sparked conversation, but still no nationwide sex education.
We are still as ignorant and irresponsible as before. None of this changes the fact that they are still out there having unprotected sex. Right now as I type, there are youngsters out there ignorant of what they are doing and they’re getting pregnant, STDs or HIV/AIDS and spreading it around too. No amount of Bible thumping will change that. No amount of well written articles will change that. We need to stop arguing over morals and start a nationwide campaign to educate our population or we are all going to literally screw ourselves to death. So enough fighting; let us all stop trying to convert the other side and focus on the problem at hand — the need for sexual education to prevent pre-marital sex, to prevent unwanted pregnancies, to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and prevent, believe it or not, abortion.
EMILY DICKSON
Port-of-Spain
THE EDITOR: I really wonder what is happening in primary and secondary education in this country. It seems extra lessons are the order of the day — lessons for Common Entrance (or whatever it’s called now), lessons for CXC, lessons for this, lessons for that.
It appears that we have a section of the teaching population who are intent on convincing parents that their children, no matter how bright and successful at school, need extra lessons. Seems to me there was a time when extra tuition was thought necessary only when students were backward in their work. Many parents are saying that teachers are deliberately taking a casual approach to their syllabuses so they can make extra money running classes in the evenings. Children spend six or seven hours in school Monday to Friday. What on earth are they doing during all that time. Aren’t the teachers teaching? Or are they perhaps marking time until three or four o’clock when they can get on with the real business of making money with their extra lessons.
I even heard of one teacher who wouldn’t teach during the day (the building was supposed to be unsafe), but was rolling up in the afternoons to give lessons in the same building. I know what the offending teachers are going to say in their defence; they are going to claim that normal school hours are insufficient to properly cover the curriculum, and extra lessons are an absolute necessity to get the work done. That sounds to me like balderdash; it would mean that the Ministry is giving children a syllabus that is too large to cover in the alloted time; in that case school vacations should be abolished altogether in order to provide more time in school.
These teachers are cashing in on parents who are afraid to deny these extra lessons to their children. These parents want to feel they have done everything as far as their children’s education is concerned, so they aren’t taking any chances.
JEREMY BOYD
Gulf View
NATIONAL midfielders Kathy-Ann Nixon and Leslie-Ann James each scored a double as Jane Public slammed Pro Sports Central United 7-2 at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya as action in the Trinidad and Tobago Women’s Football Association (TTWFA) 2003 season continued on Saturday.
Also finding the back of the net for Jane Public were Trinidad and Tobago strikers Avionne Douglas and Stephanie Barrow, who netted once, as well as Nicole George. Avion Simon and Atisha Brown scored the consolation items for Central, who are currently seventh on the 12-team table. The Macoya-based lasses are now six points behind leaders TIAHCO Stingrays, who had a 3-0 default victory over the bottom-placed Arima Ball Masters at Frederick Settlement, Caroni. Real Dimension was also the beneficiary of a 3-0 win after St David’s United failed to show up for their scheduled clash at the Queen’s Park Savannah, while Moruga defeated Cruz International by a similar scoreline at the Aranguez Savannah. Memphis got a hat-trick from Roxanne Toussaint and another from Kermica Alexander as they defeated the struggling Diego Martin Copius 4-2 at Diamond Vale. Port-of-Spain Net Shakers saw their two scheduled matches cancelled until further notice —- Saturday’s encounter against Petrotrin at the Police Barracks, St James and Sunday’s fixture against Toco at the Anglail Road Recreation Grounds, Cumana. Competition resumes on Saturday.
Current Standings |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Pts |
TIAHCO Stingrays |
8 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
44 |
2 |
24 |
Jane Public |
7 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
40 |
7 |
18 |
Petrotrin |
6 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
41 |
1 |
15 |
Real Dimension |
7 |
5 |
0 |
2 |
20 |
6 |
15 |
Net Shakers |
6 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
20 |
7 |
12 |
Memphis |
6 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
20 |
15 |
12 |
Central United |
8 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
18 |
25 |
12 |
Moruga |
6 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
12 |
16 |
10 |
Diego Martin Copius |
8 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
13 |
25 |
6 |
St David’s United |
8 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
10 |
42 |
5 |
Cruz International |
9 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
3 |
43 |
1 |
Arima Ball Masters |
9 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
4 |
56 |
0 |
TRINIDAD and Tobago’s Sobenna George was among 202 persons awarded national scholarships from the Ministry of Education last week.
The lanky George was rewarded for her academic excellence with an Additional National Scholarship for Mathematics after she got Grade As in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry, as well as a Grade B in General Paper at the 2003 Cambridge “A” Level Examinations. The 18-year-old ex-St Joseph’s Convent, St Joseph student was also a recipient of a swimming scholarship from Princeston University in the United States, and left Trinidad last week to start her first semester with the famed institution. The soft-spoken George, one of two children to Herbert and Dr June George — an engineer and a UWI lecturer respectively — was appointed head girl prefect of her school for the 2001-02 academic year. George also accumulated a large haul of medals and trophies for her club Marlins, which is based in Westmoorings, and Trinidad and Tobago at a number of local and regional meets, including the annual CARIFTA Swimming Championships, since the age of 12. The combination of academic and athletic success is nothing new to the George’s household. Sobeena’s brother Kemi, another national and Marlins standout, was also awarded an additional scholarship in science three years ago. Currently a senior in his final year at Harvard University, he is also the co-captain of the university’s swim team.
