Here in TT, Ruben Barbado, protection officer at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, continues to collaborate with the Living Water Community. An article in the Express on August 5 highlights the fact that there is a rise of refugees in TT. Barbado stated: “In 2017, in just the first three months, asylum applications have more than doubled … there are currently 640 refugees, asylum seekers and other persons of concern in TT … Detainees at the detention centre have complained about the squalid conditions at the centre, with one case of a Chinese national attempting suicide. There is also a case of a detainee who has been imprisoned at the detention centre for five years… “TT does not have legislation to legally help refugees, but he said a refugee policy adopted in 2014 by the Cabinet envisions the Government providing recognised refugees a permit of stay, work authorisation and access to public assistance… “UNHCR figures at the end of 2016 show 65.6 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide and, of this, some 22.5 million are refugees. He noted ten million are stateless and, of this lot, only a mere 189,300 refugees have been resettled.” Current images on social media of hundreds of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority burnt to death are heart-breaking. UN officials estimate the death toll at more than 1,000 and that the number of refugees who have fled to Bangladesh due to indiscriminate violence by Myanmar’s military has reached more than 400,000 since August 25.

The UK Guardian printed Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s letter to Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de facto political leader, stating: “We pray for you to speak out for justice, human rights and the unity of your people. We pray for you to intervene in the escalating crisis and guide your people back towards the path of righteousness again.” He has joined “the growing list of voices calling on Aung San Suu Kyi to do more to protect Myanmar’s persecuted Muslim minority.” UK Guardian journalist George Monbiot is just one of thousands of people calling for Suu Kyi to be stripped of her 1991 Nobel Prize, stating, inter alia: “She has denied the very identity of the people being attacked, asking the US ambassador not to use the term Rohingya … I doubt she has read the UN human rights report on the treatment of the Rohingyas, released in February.

The crimes it revealed were horrific. It documents the mass rape of women and girls, some of whom died as a result of the sexual injuries they suffered. It shows how children and adults had their throats slit in front of their families.

“It reports the summary executions of teachers, elders and community leaders; helicopter gunships randomly spraying villages with gunfire; people shut in their homes and burnt alive; a woman in labour beaten by soldiers, her baby stamped to death as it was born. It details the deliberate destruction of crops and the burning of villages to drive entire populations out of their homes; people trying to flee gunned down in their boats … malnutrition ravages the Rohingya, affecting 80,000 children.” Malala Yousafzai, the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize winner, said recently “the world is waiting” for Suu Kyi to act and to condemn the “tragic and shameful” treatment of the Myanmar’s Rohingya people.

Let’s pray and work for peace in our country and in the world.

Leela Ramdeen is chair of the Catholic Commission for Social Justice

Shiva Boys are the only team with a 100-percent record thus far, and they will be fancying their chances to remain atop the standings when they host the eighth-placed QRC at Penal.

If Shiva Boys drop points today, then Presentation San Fernando can move up one spot to first place, providing they can overcome the winless 14th-placed Signal Hill at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre.

St Augustine (thirdplaced), St Anthony’s (fourth-placed), Carapichaima (fifthplaced) and Fyzabad (sixth-placed) have six points apiece. St Augustine will be entertaining Carapichaima, St Anthony’s will be hosting 10th-placed Naparima, and Fyzabad will head to Trincity to oppose seventh-placed Trinity East.

Other games scheduled for today include St Mary’s versus St Benedict’s at the St Mary’s Ground in St Clair, Fatima versus Speyside at the Fatima Ground in Mucurapo, and San Juan North versus Trinity Moka at San Juan.

Today’s matches will all get going at 3.40 pm.

However, he was uncertain whether there were any tangible returns on this investment, in terms of reducing crime in the country.

He wondered whether more money could be invested in education or in the courts, as other avenues to reducing crime. Roach also questioned whether parliamentary time was being efficiently used to treat with this kind of legislation. He said while Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi was well intentioned in bringing this bill to Parliament, the legislation must be communicated to the citizens in a way that would allow them to understand its benefits for them.

Those hospitalised have been identified as driver Jamie Loubon, 28, his girlfriend Cassie Fonrose and their three children, four-yearold Emmanuel, two- year-old Candy and ten-month-old Jamieson all of Penal Rock Road, Moruga and Private Denzil Toussaint. Jamie is reported to have lost his right arm.

Fonrose along with Privates Kendall Morris, Jonathan Mohammed, Kevin Carter and Jerome Samaroo were all treated and subsequently discharged.

A police report stated that around 8.20 pm on Monday, an army jeep was travelling along Moruga Main Road, Bois Jean Jean, Moruga when the driver swerved to avoid colliding with another vehicle that came into its path. The jeep crashed into Loubon’s car, injuring his girlfriend and children.

She also called for improved dialogue between business and labour, saying this was the time “for all hands to be on deck.” Thomas-Felix, later, welcomed the decision of the Labour Movement to rejoin the National Tripartite Council of Trinidad and Tobago (NTAC).

She said, “These relationships should be aimed at developing strategies that can impact on the survival and profitability of businesses and the promotion of sustainable, equitable economic growth in Trinidad and Tobago.” Speaking on economic inequality in TT, she said that as the country deals with the fall in energy prices and other challenges, “The gap between the haves and the havenots is widening.” Thomas-Felix talked about the possible link between poverty, inequality and crime, saying that crime and poverty have always been closely linked in this country, adding, “Despite our gains made in development, there is a shrinking middle class and an increasing number of poor citizens, including those who can be defined as the ‘working poor’–those who are employed but are still living below the poverty line.” She said crime created instability and fostered a semi-permanent culture of fear among citizens.

“Critically, this instability and fear also permeate specific sectors, particularly the business sector as they depress the entrepreneurial spirit, incur tremendous costs in terms of security provisions, limit customer activity and purchasing power and work to generally prevent businesses from thriving, particularly small businesses.” She said the country must “collectively and urgently address the root causes of this crisis.”

This game will get going from 5 pm and will be contested at the Guayaguayare Recreation Ground.

Guaya advanced by virtue of an 8-0 drubbing of Youth Stars in the second round last Wednesday while WASA needed kicks from the penalty spot to defeat Central 500 Spartans 5-3, after a 1-1 scoreline at the end of fulltime.

At 6 pm, the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT ), who eliminated Bethel United 2-1 in the second round, will host Police at the UTT O’Meara Campus Ground in Arima.

Police also needed penalties to overcome Queen’s Park 3-2, after the scoreboard read 1-1 at the end of regulation time.

Also at 6 pm, Defence Force will oppose Cunupia FC at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva. Defence Force advanced to this stage with a 2-0 win over Perseverance Ball Runners while Cunupia FC trounced Siparia Spurs 4-1.

The last quarter-final match will take place tomorrow with FC Santa Rosa battling Prisons FC at the Arima Velodrome, from 6 pm.

In the previous round, Santa Rosa pipped Club Sando Moruga 1-0 and Prisons whipped 1976 Phoenix FC 3-1.

Padarath top scored with 24, Sunil Sanasie made a valuable 21 and Nelson chipped in with 18 as Legends posted 106 for eight. Nicholas Boodoo (2/12) and Cuthbert McMayo (3/20) were the top bowlers.

Nelson snatched 3/11, Padarath took 2/4 and Sameer Ali grabbed 2/11 as For Ameuzment Only were limited to 78 all out.

For Ameuzment Only were led by Ariz Khan and Jubarry Toney, who scored 27 and 22 respectively.

SUMMAR I S E D SCOR ES: Legends 106/8 (Avinash Padarath 24, Sunil Sanasie 21, Lyndell Nelson 18; Nicholas Boodoo 2/12, Cuthbert McMayo 3/20) vs For Ameuzment Only 78 (Ariz Khan 27, Jubarry Toney 22; L Nelson 3/11, A Padarath 2/4, Sameer Ali 2/11). Legends won by 28 runs.

El Dorado 74/5 (Agustus Ali 29) vs Surrey One Stop 60/5 (Ricky Benjamin 22; Dave Ragbir 3/15, Ashmeer Dhanwarie 2/9).

El Dorado won by 14 runs.

Morefire 88/8 (Mikael Bharath 39, Ravi Khan 25; Dinesh Ragbir 2/10, Carlos Samlal 2/12, Junior Boodram 2/14) vs Hard Drive 47/6 (Nigel Sieunarine 16, Hyden Rampersad 11; Bobby Dookran 4/8). Morefire won by 41 runs.

4&G Xmen 105/4 (Colin Roberts 63; Floyd Coppin 3/18) vs A&W Combined 72 (Floyd Coppin 15, Steve Garib 15, Fitroy Jabba 13; Curt Smart 3/3, Carl Soloman 2/6). 4&G Xmen won by 33 runs.

90.5 Bamboo All Stars 57/6 (Ravindra Singh 14) vs Suicidal Crew 53/9 (Damian Peters 2/6, Rene Bedasie 2/12, Brandon Joseph 3/5, Roger Muttoo 2/10). Bamboo Allstars won by four runs.

Tigers 66/6 (Richie Wight 22, Rene Medina 14, Anthony Locario 11; Dexter Samuel 2/5) vs Acono Youths 67/3 (Dexter Samuel 20, Ryan Saroop 17, Anthony George 12).

Acono Youths won by seven wickets.

Rampage 41 (Roshan Hosein 11; Rick Cassie 3/10, Keshore Boodoo 2/10) vs Rampant Recruits 45/2 (Rick Cassie 20, Ryan Cassie 19; Rishi Bharathsingh 2/9).

Rampant Recruits won by eight wickets.

Culture 51/5 (Rohan Dalip 13, Newlin Paul 13; Fareed Karim 2/6) vs Gameover 52/1 (Johnathan Narine 24, Juan Carlos Narine 16).

Gameover won by nine wickets.

Lances Bar 45 (Niven Mahase 10, Avin Rampersad 2/2) vs Gunners 50/3 (Brandon Ramoutar 27, Sanjay Jawahir 13). Gunners won by seven wickets.

Some of the affected residents are from the Cedros, Santa Flora and the Penal area.

The Siparia Regional Corporation (SRC) estimated yesterday that at least 20 houses were severely affected by the flooding at Bonasse Village, Cedros.

Vice-chairman of the Cedros Village council Anthony Steele believes a heavy overnight downpour on Monday and the discriminatory dumping of garbage are mainly responsible for disaster faced by residents.

“My neighbourhood has to understand that they cannot dump garbage and things like bottles, old mattresses and pillows. The water was so much in such short space of time. I cannot saw how much inches fell, but it was more than we ever witnessed in a long time. What made it worse, tide was full so the water couldn’t go anywhere,” Steele said.

Steele, also a community activist and worker of the Disaster Management Unit of SRC, added that contractors were repairing a bridge and so, water had to be diverted in the interim. He noted that while it contributed to the flooding, it was not the major factor.

Among those affected was 82- year-old amputee Jane Abraham.

Abraham has diabetes and hearing problems. Residents, using a pump borrowed from the nearby contractors, had to bail out water from Abraham’s home and removed her to safety. They also used buckets to bail out water from her home and other affected residences. Steele called on the ODPM to facilitate residents with a pump “for situation like this in Cedros”.

Councillor for Cedros Shankar Teelucksingh yesterday visited the affected residents among them Abraham. He added that about six weeks ago works started on the bridge which he said contributed significantly to the flooding.

Teelucksingh added: “Due to the work, the water had to be diverted and the volume of water was too much to handle. I am not blaming the contractor but the Minister of Works. My heart went out to those people and we are lending a hand.” At Santa Flora, murky brown flood waters surrounded several homes and residents said they expected it to recede by evening.

One home was surrounded by water and residents said it was a “normal” occurrence whenever heavy rain fall. They said that the water “normally” subsided in a few hours. Along the SS Erin Road, Quarry Village, Siparia, near Bajnath Trace, a tree fell and SRC workers had to cut and clear the debris from the road.

There were also reports of flooding along Penal Rock Road in Penal and environs.

According to reports the NLCB Lotto operator left her business place near Lopinot Junction around 2 pm with a bag containing $32,000 which represented sales from last week. The woman had intended to deposit the cash at a nearby bank when she was accosted by the suspect, who grabbed the bag and ran away. The frantic woman started shouting “thief!” “thief” which resulted in alert villagers responding with haste to the woman’s cry for help. A group of young villagers gave chase and detained the man who was slowed by the weight of the bag.

When cornered, the man began pleading to be freed saying he was sorry for his actions but the angry villagers said they took pride in keeping their community crime free and wanted to send a message to others that such actions would not be tolerated.

The man was given a sound beating before officers of the Arouca Police Station led by Sgt Almond were contacted.

The bag of cash was returned to the relieved operator who then had some choice words for the suspect.

The woman thanked the villagers for their quick response and said that she was heartened that people still looked out for each other. The suspect was taken to the Arouca police station and was expected to be placed on identification parades for other robberies.

Newsday understands that the Lotto operator promised to give a small reward to the villagers who responded to her distress call yesterday.

Chief Justice Ivor Archie said a sitting judge being appointed to the JLSC was “perfectly permissible” within the boundaries of the constitution.

The Commission’s constitution states that its members should include the Chief Justice, head of the Public Service Commission, a sitting or retired judge and two persons with legal qualifications.

Earlier this year, the United National Congress, challenged the composition of the JLSC claiming that a retired judge does not fall in the last category, which was meant for lawyers.

In dismissing the lawsuit, the Court of Appeal agreed with State attorneys who claimed that judges were attorneys before their appointment and were still qualified after retirement, albeit without permission to appear before courts for ten years. The UNC has since taken the matter to the Privy Council.

Speaking about Pemberton’s qualifications, Archie said those made her a very valuable addition to the JLSC. He said she held a diploma in International Arbitration and she was the first person in the hemisphere to achieve a perfect score.

“That is testament to her commitment to excellence and meticulous attention to detail which is one of the qualities I know she will bring to the work of the JLSC,” he said.

Archie said it was a happy day for the country because in spite of the vilification and attacks people go through because they want to serve their country, Carmona had been successful in persuading people of this calibre to offer themselves to national service and the country could be grateful and proud.

Also sworn-in yesterday was Chairman of the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) Dr Fazal Ali and its members, Joanne Joseph-Hannays, Elizabeth Crouch and Anushka Anya Alcazar.

He said the Commission was a very important group of people who had acquired competencies to deal with all that awaits them.

He said, “In producing teachers who help students pass exams we also need to produce teachers who build human capacities, great human beings that is what we need in TT,” he said.