Maxi-taxi drivers have been singled out for special condemnation for sexually exploiting schoolgirls, in a report commissioned by the Ministry of the Attorney General which was recently laid in Parliament. Shocking revelations were made in the Second Periodic Report on the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Attorney General Glenda Morean officially launched the report yesterday at the Hilton Trinidad. Addressing Article 34 of the Convention, on Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, the Report said: “There is general agreement among stakeholders that commercial sexual exploitation is growing. The situation of adolescent schoolgirls and minibus drivers is particularly alarming since this phenomenon has been identified across socio-economic strata and geographical boundaries. Key informants suggest that it is now part of the secondary school culture in Trinidad and Tobago.”
The report listed different local forms of commercial exploitation of children, including: “Schoolgirls who establish sexual relations with ‘minibus’ men/taxi drivers in exchange for free transportation, designer clothes, jewelry, food and other material possessions.” Other forms of sexual exploitation listed were: “Children and adolescents involved in formal prostitution, adolescents involved in prostitution in the school system, runaway adolescent girls who are recruited from the ‘street’ and ‘kept’ by older men, children and adolescents sexually abused in the home by the ‘breadwinner’/stepfather or other adult relative, sexual exploitation of primarily male street children, adolescent girls and boys involved in sex tourism in Tobago.” The Report also noted: “There is some organisation of female commercial exploitation in a network involving some fashion houses, night clubs, and dating and escort services. There is a market of business and tourist visitors for teenage prostitution. The commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in Tobago appears to be mainly associated with the tourist industry. Erotic dancing and stage performances by females in nightclubs were found to be a common practice. While there is no evidence of any connection to the drug trade, drug use is one factor influencing child prostitution”.
The Report said that since no State agency collected data on child sexual exploitation, its findings were based on anecdotal evidence. The Report, in a chapter on the Economic Exploitation of Children (breaching Article 32) also said: “Based on information obtained from some of the interviewees and a key informant, there are about 40 female children working in prostitution in the Port-of-Spain area…Commercial sex workers are known to have been stabbed, while others have been infected with HIV/AIDS and other STDs”. The Report cited police statistics which reported some 258 sexual offences against juvenilles in 2002, including 103 with females under age 14, 129 against females age 14 to 16, 20 against an adopted minor, and six offences of sex with a male under 16 years.
EIGHTEEN-year-old Candice Sharma has allegedly been kidnapped by a man she knows. Anti- Kidnapping Squad (AKS) officers said they are going to investigate the matter, but for the time being are treating it as an abduction. Yesterday, Sharma’s father, Sookdeo Boodoo, told Newsday that the person who snatched his daughter Tuesday morning called his home later that day and said if he wanted his daughter back, he would have to find $1 million. “Where am I going to get that kind of money?” Boodoo, 52, of Mundo Nuevo Village, Talparo, enquired. The Pres-T-Con semi-skilled labourer added that he spoke to his daughter on the phone before the man asked for the money, Boodoo said he asked his daughter if she was “damaged” and that she replied in the affirmative. He said the man then took the telephone and said: “I love your daughter and if you want her back, pass a $1 million.”
At the time of the alleged abduction which occurred around 10.30am Tuesday near Sharma’s home, the victim was in company with 14-year-old Christine Anika Ali. Ali, in a telephone interview, told Newsday that she and Sharma were going to a shop in Mundo Nuevo when a car passed them then turned around and stopped by a church. The young girl said they turned around and saw a man they know come out of the vehicle. “He just grab her, cover her mouth and put her in the back seat,” she said. Ali added that there were two other people in the vehicle. She said a report was then made to the San Raphael Police Station, who confirmed receiving the report, which they described as “just an argument between two people.” Boodoo, however, does not believe that. In fact he feels his daughter’s life is in danger. He alleged that officers of the Arouca Police Station at one time rescued his daughter from a man who allegedly wanted to kill her. Arouca police confirmed and said at that time Boodoo said his daughter was abducted at a shop about two weeks ago and a fight ensued on the roadway. Police also said that she was given advice then.
TWO cousins were shot yesterday and are reported to be in “serious but stable” condition at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. The victims have been identified as Andrew Sitney, 28, of Espinet Street and Joel Peters. Reports are that around 11.55am yesterday, the two were on Espinet Street when a man with whom they had an altercation, approached them and fired shots. Both men were shot in the abdomen. They were rushed to the city hospital. A report was made and a party of officers from the Besson Street Criminal Investigations Department (CID) under Cpl Grant and including PC Brown visited the scene and conducted investigations. No arrests had been made up to late evening. Cpl Grant is investigating.
SUNRISE over the sugar belt of Central Trinidad today will see the closure of Caroni (1975) Limited. However uncertainty remains over what the closure of the 28-year-old company — which has brought no shortage of headaches to successive PNM, NAR and UNC governments and taxpayers — means for the nation’s social, economic and political future. After months of struggle on political platforms and in the Industrial Court, Caroni’s 9,000 daily-paid employees will be collecting their VSEP packages at various locations which the company has deliberately kept secret, reportedly to protect workers from being targetted by criminal elements. Former Food Production Minister Trevor Sudama told Newsday, today marks the beginning of “the liquidation of the sugar industry” in Trinidad and Tobago. According to Sudama, the PNM Government was focussing too much on relieving Caroni’s burden on the Treasury and did not spend enough time putting proper programmes in place “to secure employment” for any of the separated Caroni workers.
“Government is taking the easy way out,” he stated grimly. Sudama added that all of Government’s announcements about lands for agricultural and non-agricultural activities were nothing but “ole talk.” He predicted that within the two years, there will be “a great deal of distress” in sugar-producing areas in Central and South Trinidad as the implications of the VSEP begin to bite. Sudama also wondered if Government was really putting systems in place for cane farmers to produce all the cane for the new Sugar Manufacturing Company of TT and felt it was unnecessary to have a state-controlled sugar company where only 1,000 people would be employed. However the former minister said Government alone was not to blame for Caroni’s demise and the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers Trade Union (ATSGWTU) had to accept its share of the blame. “The union capitulated,” Sudama lamented. He claimed whatever VSEP monies are paid to Caroni workers would be spent within a short space of time. ATSGWTU President-General Rudranath Indarsingh disagreed with Sudama, saying the union did all it could to protect the workers’ interests given Government’s “intransigence” towards Caroni.
“Once you fulfill your duty, you can sleep very comfortably,” he said. Indarsingh maintained that the VSEP was rammed down the throats of Caroni workers, with the only alternative being retrenchment. “Today is a very sad day for employees of Caroni,” Indarsingh lamented. The ATSGWTU leader added that while the union is supportive of Caroni’s restructuring, it maintains that it be done on a phased basis. Indarsingh said Caroni’s closure would impact heavily on workers in the age bracket of 18 to 50 and this could give rise to higher levels of crime in sugar-producing areas as the have-nots “naturally gravitate to take things from those that have.” Like Sudama, Indarsingh also wondered whether Government would keep its promises to the cane farmers. The Trinidad Islandwide Cane Farmers Association (TICFA) was not worried about that or Caroni’s restructuring. TICFA PRO Lallan Rajaram said the farmers were aware that Caroni’s problems could not be solved overnight. He said farmers needed a three-year transition period, the necessary amenities and a cane price of $200 per tonne in order to perform their intended role in the new company and these proposals have been submitted to the Government.
Passengers travelling to Tobago via the 11 pm sailing on the MV Panorama on Tuesday night were inconvenienced as the boat experienced minor technical difficulties. Port Authority’s Communications Manager, Betty Ann Gibbons, told Newsday yesterday there was a problem with the air-conditioning system, as a result of a leak which had developed in one of the lines. As a result, Gibbons said the captain took the decision to have the problem repaired before sailing in the interest of both the passengers and crew. When Newsday visited the port at around 10.30 am, we were told the leak was being repaired and that passengers who had chosen to wait at the port from the night before, were being allowed on to the boat for breakfast.
Gibbons confirmed this information while apologising for the delay and the inconvenience caused. At the time of the interview around 11.30 am, Gibbons said she had been informed that the last two passengers were boarding as the leak had been repaired. Passengers from the scheduled Tuesday’s 11 pm sailing were accommodated on yesterday’s noon sailing, while other passengers who may have left would have been accommodated on the 2 pm sailing yesterday, Gibbons concluded. She also assured that there will be no backlog of passengers due to the delay.
THE CLOSURE of Caroni (1975) Limited would not impact too heavily on the traditional support base of the United National Congress (UNC) in Central Trinidad. This was the view of former Food Production Minister Trevor Sudama yesterday, 24 hours before the final working day for Caroni’s 9,000 daily-paid employees. Referring to last October’s general elections and the July 14 Local Government Elections, Sudama conceded that there was “some fallout” in UNC heartland but it was “not significant” enough to cause the people of Central Trinidad to shift their support to the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM). He said the PNM used State resources and mechanisms such as CEPEP to gain “beach heads” in Central for their assault on the UNC citadel and got some support because of people’s disenchantment with Basdeo Panday and the UNC. “They (PNM) have not achieved anything,” Sudama stated.
The former minister added that most Indo-Trinidadians in UNC heartland showed their disappointment in the party by abstaining from the July 14 polls and only a few supported the PNM. He said by and large, Indo-Trinidadians remain loyal to the UNC, but will not come out unless they are motivated to do so. Sudama also said if UNC voters who went over to the PNM feel the ruling party reneged on its campaign promises they would either abstain or “return to the fold” in future elections. The latest NACTA poll on Monday, said Panday is the PNM’s biggest asset to staying in power and predicted the PNM would consolidate itself in government by winning four additional seats in the next general elections.
PRINCES Town police who are investigating the death threats against UNC alderman in the Princes Town Regional Corporation (PTRC), Zaniffa Fakira, yesterday reported no new leads in their investigations into the matter. Sources told Newsday the police are treating the incident very seriously especially since in one incident on Monday night, shots were fired at Fakira’s home with a glass pane being shattered by a bullet. In addition, Fakira, who was sworn in on Tuesday, reported receiving a threatening letter in her mail-box which was accompanied by a live .38 calibre bullet which was wrapped in toilet paper.
When questioned by Newsday reporters, Fakira, a retired school teacher, would only disclose that the note warned her to “decide the future of you and your family or else.” The alderman claimed not to know the reason behind the attack and the threatening letter, but her husband, Fyzool Fakira, said he believed the incidents were politically motivated since they began after she made the decision to join the Regional Corporation. Cpl Renwick of the Princes Town police station is the lead investigator in this incident. Up to late yesterday, no arrests had been made.
The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) has adjudged Trinidadian scholar Paul Heath the Most Outstanding Physical Therapist student award winner for 2003. Heath received the award from the APTA student assembly, who presents the award annually to one student who demonstrates excellence in academic and clinical performance, leadership skills and community activities. A former Trinity College student, Heath is the son of Harold and Stella Heath, of Diamond Vale, Diego Martin. He obtained his Master’s degree in this year’s graduating class at Howard University, Washington DC, and has served as Vice President of the Class of 2003 of the University’s College of Allied Health Sciences. Heath also has the distinction of being the only student to present a paper at the third annual World Neurological Conference in Venice, Italy, titled “Traumatic Brain Injury and Acute Care Management.” Additionally, he has co-authored a research paper entitled “Health Knowledge and Beliefs of Caribbean Women Living Abroad and in North America,” which was published in the conference proceedings of the International Latino Women Congress Summit 2002.
Hailed as an academic standout and winning several scholarships, Heath was also a member of various councils and committees of the University and APTA. He is also developing a regional network of schools of physical therapy in Washington and surrounding areas to improve communication between programmes and to recognise students’ accomplishments. APTA President, Ben Massy Jr, stated that Heath’s academic leadership and dedication to the physical therapy profession made him deserving of this award. Massy Jr added that he expected Heath to make outstanding contributions to the field of physical therapy and to APTA as his career progressed.
FIRE tenders, ambulances and other emergency response vehicles raced through the streets of Marabella on Tuesday morning as over 250 persons participated in an emergency evacuation drill at Petrotrin’s Pointe-a-Pierre refinery. The drill was designed and carried out to test the company’s Integrated Emergency Response Management System and included simulated incidents at the No 8 Crude Distillation Unit and the Guaracara River. Test evacuations were done at Mango End Road, Battoo Avenue, Marabella and within the Refinery’s compound.
The transportation of “casualties” to the Augustus Long Hospital, as well as the diversion of traffic, was part of the mid-morning’s exercise. The drill, which started by the sounding of the “general alarm” warning at 9.45 am, was supervised by Petrotrin officials as well as members of various State National Security entities, including the Police, Fire and Emergency Medical Services. Afterwards, Petrotrin’s Corporate Communications Manager, Arnold Corneal, expressed satisfaction at the exercise, telling Newsday the Company’s emergency response time was comparable to international standards.
Describing the dismantling of the old Caroni system as “one of the biggest events in the history of Trinidad and Tobago,” former Government Agricul-ture Minister Kamaluddin Mohammed said yesterday that Government had to “guide and help” those 9,000 people whose lives would now be “completely upset” by the transformation process. He added that no amount of promises about “30 per- cent more” in severance benefits could mitigate against the traumatic impact of “asking generations to change their patterns.” “And I am not taking any political sides…I think it (the restructuring) was rushed. “ It should have been given more time …But the Gov-ernment now would have to have a serious responsibility to guide these people and really help them to embark on things that they would be able to make a living with,” he said. Mohammed said he was very very worried about the whole scenario. “Really it is not an easy thing,” he stated, adding: “People brush it off and say okay the Gove-rnment waste so much money on Caroni. But look at it not in political terms but in realistic terms.
“The criticism made by some people is that Government is prepared to spend $400 million in CEPEP. They (Government) say that Caroni is losing $500 million. But the people at Caroni were doing something…they were occupied.” Mohammed suggested that former PNM leader Dr Eric Williams continued to sustain Caroni because “he himself did not want a social problem…That is why he was saying he wanted to get a plan that would work,” Mohammed stressed. The former Minister said he thought it was a “colossal mistake” not to go with the (UNC) plan to sell parts of Caroni to private enterprise. “For example, if Angostura had bought out part of Caroni, it would not have involved displacing people, just changing owners,” he said. Mohammed said if one went down to the area and saw how the people lived, in places like Orange Field, working hard and educating their children, one would understand. He stressed that while there was need for change, Government should set up machinery and organisations to help people continue to be productive in their own enterprise. He said the far-reaching effects would not only be felt in the area of Caroni but “outside.” “So many businesses places and people’s way of life “would be affected.” And he sought to link what would happen to Caroni, with what had happen in Caroni after the highway was built and there was no stop-over crowd as people made their way to San Fernando.
He recalled that when Point Lisas was built and the highway was created, the whole of Couva went dead. “It never recovered from that time, he added. Before the highway was built people used to pass through Couva and engage in different activities. But after the highway was constructed, Couva lost a lot of commerical activity. He added that for those working at Caroni, getting a secure income for decades, it was not easy going home, with no plan of what they would do. “It is a revolutionary thing. And I really hope that the Government and the unions get together and help those people because it is going to be a big, big blow to them,” he said.“You can’t say ‘we sever you, go and open up a parlour’. Who you going to sell to? Because the very people are displaced who you going to, they have no income,” he noted. Mohammed said if even Government gave each worker a piece of land, it would not be easy for them “to grow something and sell it right away. It would require a lot of organisation. You just can’t say everybody would go and plant…Plant what? Eddoes? Beans? The market is flooded.” Mohammed said now that everyone — union and workers — had accepted what the Government had decided upon, Government could not afford to take the position of “pay them off and let them do what they like.”
Asked whether many of the workers were enterprising, Mohammed said a livelihood in independent farming had to be planned. Citing the farmers of Aranguez and Debe, he said, “Sometimes when you grow tomatoes the prices are so cheap it does not cover the cost of production.” They need a psychological, sociological and economic plan to fit these people in, he said. During the 1981-86 period while Mohammed held the portfolio of Agriculture Minister the then PNM Government began the diversification of Caroni into citrus and rice aimed at using some of the workers involved in the planting of cane in the production of other crops. But the plan failed. Mohammed said it was never implemented properly and there was no follow up. But he said he could not remember much of the past and preferred to look to the future.
