Father of one Godfrey Phillip sought salvation from the head of government. “I want Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to look upon us and have mercy,” the 32-yearold man cried. He was one of dozens deemed by the State housing agency as illegal occupants of the condemned buildings. At least 50 children are among the lost evicted by the HDC.

Buildings 1 to 5, each has 20 apartments and all were occupied.

The illegal occupation of the decrepit buildings started a few years ago when persons, learning that the structures were condemned, repaired the vandalised apartments and quietly moved in. Yesterday at 9 am, HDC officials and work crews arrived with protection in the form of heavily armed police officers from the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF).

The occupants were ordered to remove their belongings from the apartments and leave. Up to late yesterday, many were still outside the buildings with their possessions on the side of the road, pondering their next move.

Those evicted, who spoke with Newsday, said they knew they had been illegally occupying the apartments but thought they would be allowed to stay until this applications for HDC homes would be processed and approved. “Why can’t we be afforded shelter? These apartment buildings were condemned.

How fair is that,” Phillip asked. He has been at the apartment for the past three years.

A mid-morning shower added to woes of the evicted families as household electronic appliances, clothing and mattresses got wet.

Phillip’s sister Alyssa, who was also evicted, recalled what took place yesterday when HDC officials arrived.

“This morning my husband and I lie down sleeping and we heard knocking on the door. When he opened the door, officers just walked in and told us we had to pack up leave,” she said.

She added that occupants received no warning notice of the eviction. Alyssa said the families are willing to pay a mortgage or rent for the apartments. “People fixed the electrical, plumbing, leaks and other problems. We spent money on these apartments and now we have to leave?” Acknowledging that they broke the law by illegally moving into the apartments, many of the evicted people said this was the best they could have done.

“We didn’t have a choice,” cried mother of two Marissa Summer Toppin. “Okay, you came and put us out. This is not just the work of the HDC, but the work of the government.

I know we did wrong but you think if we had another choice we would have been here? “I have been to numerous ministers, numerous places to get a house. I know we did wrong, but we applied for housing and nothing was forthcoming,” Toppin said.

“I am willing to pay a mortgage.

I have a file number at the HDC since 2007 and cannot get a house.

I fed am up!” HDC Head of Communications Marissa Findlay reiterated to Newsday that the buildings in question were not fit for occupancy. “They have not been allocated to anyone so those families are trespassing and doing so possibly to their own detriment. We have repeatedly removed illegal tenants from these buildings, we have repeatedly noted that caution signs have been placed at these buildings but even these signs have been illegally removed,” Findlay said.

Saying having an application on file does not entitle one to housing, Findlay added that the HDC does not have enough units to meet current demand for housing and advised those desperate for housing to visit the HDC and apply under the ‘Emergency Housing Portfolio’.

“If not, they must seek shelter alternatively by perhaps going to relatives or to the Self Help Division.

They have to take charge of their lives. Adults have to find ways in which to manage their situation.

If you are a parent, it is essential for you to find a way to raise your family but they cannot continue to occupy these buildings which have been deemed unsafe due to structural and physical conditions. It is illegal,” Findlay said.

“I understand their situation but they have to find rental accommodation within their economic means. We cannot endorse illegal activities and they are putting themselves at risk because the buildings are structurally unsound.”

Garcia and other ministry officials met with the students and their parents at the school compound yesterday morning. He said the students and their parents were given an opportunity to speak before he drew his conclusions. “All four students are culpable. There is no one student who can escape blame, even the student who was beaten. That student also has to accept some responsibility.” Asked what the beaten student did to warrant suspension, Garcia said, “I do not want to disclose that because it is children we are dealing with and I don’t think it is right for me to disclose that to the national community. But I can safely say she was equal to blame.” The incident was recorded and a video uploaded to social media .

The mother of the beaten student said she could not say whether her daughter was “equally responsible or not” because she was not present during the incident. She assured that a pink scissors her daughter was seen holding in the video did not come from home. “She told me she got it in school to defend herself .

From what the girls said, they were all provoking each other since the Friday before up until what happened on Tuesday,” the woman said .

The four students, including the student who was knocked unconscious, were suspended for seven days. Yesterday, Garcia instructed the principal to apply for an extension of the suspension. Still, punishment may not end there as Garcia is considering expelling “some of them.” Schools must be a place of “relative safety” for students and teachers Garcia said and infractions like these require corrective action .

“And in this case corrective action might mean a prolonged period of absence from school and perhaps it might even mean expulsion.” Expelled students can be enrolled in learning enhancement centres in an effort at behaviour modification .

Chief Education Officer Harrilal Seecharan said that last Tuesday’s incident was the result of a breakdown in systems to deal with indiscipline. The school has a disciplinary plan, said Seecharan, but the plan has gaps in terms of the roles and functions of everyone involved. He assured that the ministry will be putting the necessary systems in place in a “very short time.”

Browne (K) is charged separately with illegally disposing of a body.

Browne has two former convictions for illegal vending and simple possession of marijuana while his ex-wife has a prior conviction for wounding and a pending case of obstruction. They are to return to court on April 18.

PC Joseph was reported missing on March 9 when she did not appear for work and relatives tried to contact her without success.

Her body was found by a fisherman in the Gulf of Paria on March 16. Cause of death could not be determined by the pathologist.

PC Joseph worked at the Morvant Police Station and was the mother of a four-year-old girl.

At yesterday’s hearing, attorney for the two Criston J Williams complained to Chief Magistrate Ayers-Caesar of the conduct of the police involved in the investigation.

He said his instructing attorney Shirvani Ramkissoon wrote to acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams and director of the Police Complaints Authority David West.

Williams said his client Kenneth Brown made very ‘damning allegations’ of unfair interrogation techniques by police. The letter also alleges that police used sleep deprivation on Browne.

Williams said his clients’ right to an attorney was also breached by police.

He complained that lawyers seeking the interests of the Brownes, including Richard Clark-Wills, Celeste St Louis- Clark Wills, Melissa Mano, Seena Baboolal, Shane Patience and Kirby Joseph were treated with contemptuous behaviour by police.

On Thursday last, Justice Nadia Kangaloo had given the police up to 4 pm yesterday to either charge Browne or release him.

The Brownes were charged late Sunday.

Saying that their children are too afraid to attend classes, the parents decided that “enough is enough” and staged the protest to publicly highlight the fact that one child is affecting the education of the school’s entire student population.

Spokesperson for the parents Savitri Persad said parents believe if the problem is not addressed, a student or member of staff could be seriously injured by this child who grows bolder as his transgressions remain unpunished.

Persad said that the problems surfaced at the school in 2015 when the student, who is now a Standard Two pupil enrolled.

The boy who lives in Rio Claro attending another primary school but was transferred to Santa Anita over his violent tendencies.

“If this was a small problem we would not have been here protesting.

This is bigger than you think. This little boy needs help desperately and we have said that over and over and no one seems to be taking our cries seriously,” Persad said.

She claimed that earlier this year, the student attacked two teachers who since transferred to other schools. “A teacher asked him to place his school bag on a chair and he refused. When the teacher placed her hands on the bag, the boy began to kick her.

Another teacher intervened and the student pushed away that teacher as well,” Persad said.

Then two weeks ago, the bully student choked another student and refused to let go of that student’s neck even when ordered to do so by teachers. “He held on to this boy’s neck during a fight and kept choking him and did not want to let go…he could have killed that child. Not only are the children afraid of him but so too the teachers,” said Persad.

“There was another incident earlier this year where he began beating another student and pulled out a sharpened pencil to stab him. He (the bully) had to be held down and was screaming and kicking for so.” From all complaints received from students and teachers, she said, the child cannot be controlled and needs professional help.

“He is a terror and parents are afraid to send their children to school with him being there,” Persad said.

Contacted for comment, an official of the Education Ministry would only say that there were aware of the issue and the boy is receiving counselling and guidance from the Student Support Services.

TT Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) President Lynsley Doodhai yesterday said he is monitoring the situation.

By this he likely meant the duty of the poet is separate and apart from any programme, any agenda. Yet, poetry does have a function and purpose in any society. It is a vital part of the arts, involving language, imagery and ideas that have the potential to make us question, understand and think about the tangible world.

However, the potential of poetry to move and to astonish is sometimes overlooked. In a world dominated by social media, attention spans have shrunk and the literary arts as a whole face a challenge of competing with vibrant, diverse tools of narrative that technology has birthed. Film is the dominant art form of our times.

Yet, there is still a place for poetry in our world and in Trinidad and Tobago society. Today, as we join those who commemorate World Poetry Day, we highlight the need to ensure poetry is not left behind in our consideration of the arts.

Our region has produced many outstanding poets of regional and international acclaim. The passing of St Lucian poet Derek Walcott last Friday has brought back to the fore his formidable achievements as a poet. Walcott’s output has placed him alongside the likes of Seamus Heaney, Robert Frost, WB Yeats, Maya Angelou and the like.

While both Prime Minister Keith Rowley and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar both praised Walcott’s legacy, his life story demonstrates how much more work our statesmen need to do to nourish the arts.

Walcott made Trinidad and Tobago his home in the 1950s.

The Trinidad Theatre Workshop (TTW), which he founded in 1959, became a key avenue through which he brought many of his plays to life while also showcasing and launching many local dramatists.

Notwithstanding Walcott’s many international laurels, including the Nobel Prize in 1992 and the TS Eliot Prize in 2010, the TTW remains without a permanent home.

As Walcott once observed, “Where are your monuments?” Today, upon entering the TTW lobby in Belmont, you can still see an old, worn, faded petition which reads, “We the undersigned petition the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to dedicate the building location known as the Old Fire Station…for the exaltation of the arts as well as a well-deserved homage to Derek Walcott, Nobel laureate 1992.” Theatre and poetry have a clear nexus — as anyone who has read the plays of Shakespeare can tell you — and it is doubly ironic that today, as we celebrate World Poetry Day and continue to grieve the loss of Walcott, that the TTW’s predicament is more or less the same as it was all those decades ago. We hope this year, however, the State reflects on the need for not only fitting tribute, but also a more robust approach to the arts.

For example, we praise those entities, including State companies, that have supported the NGC Bocas Lit Fest. The festival, which will launch its seventh edition tomorrow at the National Library in Port-of-Spain, is an annual feast for those seeking Caribbean literature which reaches all over the world. It runs from April 26 to April 30. All readings, panels, and performances are free and open to the public and an exciting line-up is expected to be formally unveiled at tomorrow’s launch.

But in a time of crime and violence, in a time of economic turbulence and uncertainty, in a time when global affairs appear to be sitting on a knife’s edge, with the rise of far-right groups, Brexit and Donald Trump, what is the use of championing literature and poetry? What is the use of the arts? To those who ask these questions, we turn to Martin Carter’s famous line, “this is the dark time.” Poetry gives us a tool to express our humanity. It also reminds us that we are not alone. It can bridge gaps, bring people together, and move us to new understandings. Today, we call for more to be done to ensure that the legacy of Walcott lives on.

And to remind us of the power of the written word.

Picket action and marches have been legitimate options which TTUTA and other unions have consistently used to convey strong messages of discontent and dissatisfaction.

In our history these actions were always peaceful.

While many government officials and commentators may have expressed dissatisfaction with the action, even seeking to have injunctions issued by the courts to prevent such action, in the case of TTUTA compliance with the law always ensured that picket actions and marches were a held without the threat of violence.

It is therefore extremely disheartening to know that that clean record has been blemished by none other than the very students who teachers fight to nurture and protect.

The recent display by students at a secondary school in the Victoria Education District must have sent shivers up the spine of all right thinking citizens who understand democratic principles.

While many may not agree with the stand taken by teachers on issues from time to time, in modern democracies we all accept that while we may not agree with the views expressed by someone, we will fight for their right to express them. This must continue to be a fundamental pillar of our democracy and one which we must all jealously guard.

It is obvious that those students who threw missiles at the protesting teachers knew nothing about these fundamental democratic principles and freedoms that we are proud to embrace as a modern and civil society. As minors they can’t be held responsible for their action in the strictest sense of the word since they were obviously acting out of ignorance.

This level of miseducation of young people is troubling to say the least. When taken against the background of the era of alternative truths and misinformation that characterise social media, these fundamental freedoms and rights can no longer be taken for granted.

Other employers harbouring farright extremist views must be delighted that, alas, innocent people can be incited to violently attack others engaging in legitimate protest action. The consequences of this development must be a source of worry and concern for all trade unions operating in this country.

We have certainly entered a new era.

Most bewildering of all is the fact that presiding over all of this is a minister who boasts of a long and distinguished career as a vociferous and sometimes militant trade union leader who would have proudly led his members in many a peaceful protest/picket/march to defend their rights as workers.

Instead, the condemnation has been reserved for the teachers who were simply exercising their legitimate right under the law. Unfortunately, many who condemn the teachers are not in possession of all the facts pertinent to the matter yet are quick to jump to conclusions and pass judgment.

Media reports form the basis for judgment by many, including those in authority.

TTUTA as the recognised bargaining unit for all teachers has always consistently prided itself with exercising restraint and exhausting the dialogue process before it resorts to protest action in order to resolve any issue. This position often allows the union to be accused by its own members of dragging its feet and allowing the Ministry of Education to delay the resolution of issues for years.

Unfortunately, the issues erupting in the public domain around this school is d?j? vu for TTUTA; uncanny how history repeats

Howill Pooran, 29, of Duncan Village, San Fernando was arrested last Thursday and charged with nine counts of fraud. He was released from prison in June 2015 after serving a term of imprisonment for similar offences. On Friday last, Pooran appeared in the San Fernando Magistrates’ court and was remanded into custody to reappear yesterday.

He pleaded guilty before Senior Magistrate Nanette Forde-John.

Court prosecutor Cleyon Seedan itemised each count which disclosed how Pooran went about fleecing his victims, six of whom are women. The magistrate read to Pooran all nine charges that between 2015 and January this year, he took sums of money from Jennifer Aquiller, Natalie Goodridge, Nixon Elcock, Melinda Dasyne, Zina Vesprey, Jemma Gomez, Gabriel Guerra, Christie Theodore and Zion Millan.

The monies listed in the charges are: $13,500; $12,000; $18,000; $16,500; $3,500, $18,000; $13,500; $3,500 and $4,300. Seedan said all the charges alleged that Pooran took money on the pretext that he will supply his victims with foreign used vehicles. Pooran pleaded guilty and when Magistrate Forde- John asked him why he committed the crimes, he replied, “I was in some problems.” Cpl Khalil Hosein and PC Brandon Solozano, of Fraud Squad laid the charges. Pooran was sentenced to four years imprisonment on each count but since the sentence was ordered to be served concurrently, actual prison time will be four years.

Pooran has other fraud-related matters pending in other jurisdictions and is expected to make several court appearances in the coming days

The State resumed leading evidence and called a police Inspector who testified that when he questioned the accused Anand Babooram, 41, about the killings, Babooram insisted he wanted to see his father.

Babooram is on trial before Justice Althea Alexis-Windsor for killing Ramlochan and her baby boy Ishmael Timothy Ragbir, at the victims’ home in Solomon Street, Mayaro. Sgt Nizodeen Mohammed who was a Crime Scene Investigator testified that on August 13, 2005 at Ramlochan’s home, he found a purse and a black coloured knife in a black casing.

He returned with members of the waste disposal unit of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation and after the cesspit was cleaned, he retrieved a brown handle knife.

He also took possession of a chequered boxer shorts. The two knives and shorts were shown to the jury. A light green-coloured and yellow-patterned pillow case which Mohammed seized, was also shown to the jury. Senior State Attorney Shabanna Shah is leading the prosecution’s case.

Attorney Rekha Ramjit, instructed by attorney Gina Ramjohn, is defending Babooram and she cross-examined Mohammed who in answer to some of her questions, said he did not examine Ramlochan’s house for fingerprints because it did not appear to have been ransacked or tampered with.

He said he also did not lift any fingerprints from the knives.

Inspector Fitzgerald George testified that he recorded two interviews with accused Babooram, but on both occasions he refused to sign the notes. He said that when he confronted Babooram in a room in the Mayaro Police Station about the murders, the accused told him, “Right now ah cyah talk. Ah could see meh father first? After I see he, I go see what happen.” The trial is continuing

In a written ruling yesterday, Justice Frank Seepersad said the comptroller failed in his statutory duty to institute court proceedings within a reasonable time to determine whether the seized goods should be released .

“This failure now renders the continued detention of the claimant’s goods unlawful and unreasonable,” the judge said. Wholesale Liquidators and its director Ugrasen Rattan, challenged the decision of the comptroller to seize the consignment on March 8, 2016. Rattan, in his judicial review claim, said he paid all requisite taxes and fees on the shipment and on February 19, Customs officers entered Rattan’s warehouse at the Freezone Complex in D’Abadie and took various samples .

Rattan’s attorneys Jagdeo Singh and Kiel Tacklalsingh, argued that the comptroller failed to comply with Section 220 of the Customs Act, which provides for a magistrate to determine whether or not goods seized should be released .

They argued that these proceedings should have been instituted a month after the goods were seized .

In its defence, the Comptroller claimed there were issues relating to testing of the samples taken and this hampered the division’s ability to move forward with the case .

Justice Seepersad said, “The failure by the State to ensure there is a functioning testing facility and to effect testing does not and cannot justify the comptroller’s failure to comply with its statutory obligation for over 11 months.” “Citizens ought not to be deprived of their right to enjoy their property because of the State’s inability and unwillingness to ensure that systems which ought to be operational so as to enable and facilitate the discharge of statutory obligations are not,” he added .

Seepersad has given Customs and Excise seven days to release the goods to Rattan. Attorney Kendra Mark appeared for the State .

Separated by a fence, Copeland yesterday spoke with students of the Law Faculty who were protesting reports of their relocation without consultation, outside of the Teaching and Learning Complex while a UWI Council Meeting was taking place. During the morning hours of the meeting the students chanted, “No consultation.

No relocation.” President of the law students council Crystal Charles said that the students had been getting mixed information via the media from the UWI Marketing and Communications Office and Minister of Education Anthony Garcia about their relocation to the South Campus.

One report was that the students will occupy the South Campus from September, while another said the start up will be in January 2018.

Copeland explained that no decision had been taken on the start up of classes in Debe.

“The plans have not moved with any level of depth in going forward as far as South Campus is concerned. I am not sure what you have heard,” he said.

Copeland subsequently told the media that the university was still waiting on information from the contractors who will engage the project to finalise completion.

“We were hoping that by July construction would have finished.

“The earlier pronouncements that we could move in for semester one, that is no going to happen at all. We have to have all the other logistics in place,” he said. He added, “We have to make sure everything is in place. Do the walk through, which I will insist on and then we will decide when we will move in.” Noting that students were the university’s number one priority, he said a meeting with the law students is scheduled for Thursday.

“There is no way we are making a move without student involvement.” Recalling that UWI recently changed its GPA (Grade Point Average) system, he said, the Faculty of Engineering allowed the students enrolled at the time to ride out the old system, and allow incoming students to experience the new system.

“So nobody was compromised.

If that is the way we have to do it, that is the way we will do it,” he said.

As of now, he said, he did not know how things will go.

“Maybe we will have a facility up here. There will be connection between the two campuses.

It is not like everybody will be going down the road. For me to say what is planned, I have not seen the plan. The plan is still midstream,” he said.

Asked by student representative, Meshach Thornhill why did the campus management allowed students to demand an audience with the Campus Principal, Copeland said, he was told that a request was made to the office, but he had not seen it.

He said he had lost track of the number of countries he had been to in recent weeks because of the round of budget planning and council meetings he has had to attend for the year.

Contacted for comment, Education Minister Anthony Garcia said, “That is a matter that is in the hands of the university.

That is their baby, they are the ones who are responsible.

What I did in Parliament last week was to give an answer to a question that was asked by the Opposition and I made it very clear before I answered that we got information from UWI, with respect to the Penal/Debe campus.

“We would not want to intervene at this stage.” Minister in the Education Ministry, Dr Lovell Francis said, “In terms of completing that campus, government has already given to the UWI all of the funding required, so it is really not in our hands at the Ministry. It is really up to the UWI to deal with that issue.”