On weekends after she does her homework I play hopscotch, football or moral with her. Or maybe we lie on either side of her mother while reading, watching TV, or inventing some ridiculous game. Her body is changing so I cannot roughhouse with her too much anymore.

The point of all this? I love my daughter and she is happy.

She still has that childish innocence.

She knows where babies come from but the idea of it is so foreign to her young mind she’s barely curious about it.

Why? Because she is only ten.

So when news comes out that an eight-year-old girl is sexually abused over and over again, it rocks me to my very core. When an adult plies a child with alcohol with hopes of drunken sex, it hurts us all.

When a woman lures a child so her man could fulfil his crazy fetish and fantasy, it kills us all a little inside.

How could a grown man — really, a two-legged, human- shaped sack of depravity — watch an eight-year-old with lust and not love? How can a man watch an 11-yearold girl and deprive her that age of jump-rope, ponies and rainbows? Why would a logical, sane adult destroy that innocence? Can’t get a woman? The child is pretty? She didn’t say no? Abused as a child? Voices in your head? No! You are just sick and sick-minded.

We have progressively gotten more depraved as a society where anything can happen once the opportunity is there.

Everyday I open the newspaper to see another young girl missing. Some of the missing girls left voluntarily and misguided, some were forced.

Parents, please foster a good relationship with your children.

Let them not be afraid to speak up and speak out. Something could be happening with your child and you don’t have a clue. Love them, hug them, reprimand them, whatever, but talk to them.

Men, let’s stand up and be men. Court a woman and if you are so inclined court a man, but leave the children to be children. Please.

There are good husbands out there, good fathers, good men. Maybe when my daughter grows up you can introduce her to your son or maybe your grandson. But in the interim, for my sake and especially yours, leave my ten-year-old daughter alone.

NIGEL NEVERSON via email

Worldwide women continue to contribute to social, economic, cultural and political achievements.

Let us endeavour to bring everyone together and achieve gender equality. Men and women can pledge to take a concrete step to help achieve gender parity quickly.

Women are incredible human beings. Examples include grandmothers, mothers, wives, aunts, sisters, daughters, nieces. They are equals with men. They have value. They have a voice.

They should not be afraid to use their voices to protect their rights and make our world a better place. Marley sang, “No woman, no cry.” Ever thought about a day without women?

AV RAMPERSAD Princes Town

While some people claim Islam is a religion of extremists and promotes suicidal attacks or terrorism, nothing could be further from the truth.

Islam has prohibited all forms of suicide and there is no justification for suicide and terrorism attacks.

Such heinous acts lead to murder and barbaric slaughter of innocent women, children and members of the public.

Such acts are contrary to Islamic teachings. Islam permits warfare as a defence where war is forced on Muslims (Q 22:40).

There is no need to fear Islam. It is not a religion of extremism. There is no need for Islamophobia because Islam teaches peace, mutual respect and tolerance.

Islam upholds human values and protects the honour, dignity and freedom of all.

There are some extremists and socalled Islamic groups that perpetrate the worst forms of brutality in the name of Islam. The Qur’an makes it clear that such acts are not permitted or justified (Q 22:40).

Faith is a matter of the heart and there should never be any form of compulsion in religion. Allah says that if anyone wants to leave Islam let him go (Q 5:55). Islam says that justice is the foundation on which peace is built.

Publicity is the oxygen sustaining terrorist and extremist groups. The media influence public opinion and should use their power as a force of good and peace.

Terrorism was never justified by Allah and Prophet Muhammad nor Jesus. Terrorism is the use of violence and intimidation, especially for political purposes, which Islam has forbidden.

AHAMAD KHAYYAM Curepe

I reported a matter over the phone to Officer Swahra Renne and within 30 minutes a team of officers responded and the man about whom I called was apprehended.

Now this is service from a great team of officers.

JO-ANNE COURTNEY PENCO Chaguanas

I have previously listed several research reports that found that bullying is widespread in the schools of TT. Even at a prominent denominational boy school in Port-of-Spain, authorities had to construct a BRC enclosure to protect new students from bullying by older students.

In the face of this disgraceful epidemic, it is alarming that up to this time the Ministry of Education has not taken decisive action, but continues its customary denial, passing off bullying injuries as collateral damage from students at play.

TT UTA’s recently elected leader has demonstrated great skill in shielding his members by alluding to injuries from play, and by blaming parents, accusing them of being negligent in supervising their children’s viewing of inappropriate TV shows. Last week, TT UTA’s leader contributed another questionable solution that involves the recruitment of additional custodial staff for lunchtime supervision of students.

I totally reject the latter because school attendance is compulsory for children between six and 12-years-old and parents must have reasonable expectations that their children are to be supervised by educational professionals who have been trained in child psychology, classroom management, supervision and other related subjects.

From my perspective, parents cannot be compelled to send their children to school to be supervised by ancillary staff who lack professional training in education. Indeed, the leader of TT UTA is unwittingly advocating a measure that can undermine the teaching profession.

Would it not be more practical to simply roster some teachers for earlier lunch periods, leaving them free to supervise students during lunchtime? Once the authorities recognise that bullying is widespread in the schools, certain measures should be introduced to bring this untenable situation under control.

For example, the ministry can engage a competent research team to identify the characteristics of schools where bullying is prevalent, and the profiles of both bullies and victims. Online professional development workshops should then be organised to help school management personnel to address the indicators found by the research.

The school curriculum should be amended to introduce strategies that can positively shape the consciences of students so that they feel guilt at the mere contemplation of bringing harm to another.

There are several effective teaching strategies for achieving this purpose. The ministry can establish (with the necessary safeguards) a method by which students can report bullying directly to a ministry website for subsequent inquiries by school supervisors. Furthermore, school supervisors should urgently investigate the level of bullying that exists in the schools under their charge, to be followed by appropriate action. Principals of schools without bullying should have opportunities to share their methods with others in the education system.

I am appealing to the authorities to act urgently to bring to an end this disgraceful scourge of bullying in our schools. Who can learn in an environment that is threatening, where one is afraid to attend school because of bullies, and where even when one’s arm is broken by a bully, the authorities are prone to denial and cover up? DAVID SUBRAN via email

On Thursday coming from the west heading on the Audrey Jeffers Highway, I encountered the usual traffic from the Hasely Crawford Stadium all along Wrightson Road.

Like the good citizen that I am, I stayed in the lane and endured it, only to see the road hogs, who seem to be in more of a hurry than the rest of us, speeding along on the inside emergency lane to get a few car lengths ahead of the rest of us.

While this is dangerous to pedestrians as there is no pavement around the stadium, it is also not fair to us law-abiding citizens.

My simple recommendation is one motorcycle police officer stationed on the emergency lane.

I need not say another word to those with a brain in their heads.

The same thing happens heading west on afternoons on the foreshore by the lookout. Another officer is needed there. Just two officers, maybe three and that problem will be sorted out.

Surely, two or three officers can be spared to control this unmannerly and lawless situation that we have to put up with.

Oh, and by the way, I would like to suggest that the charge for such an offence, as trivial as it may seem to the offenders and others, should be hefty enough to discourage re-occurrences.

W DOPSON Woodbrook, PoS

To put more garbage into the fracas, the Minister of Education said he was not aware of any protest by the teachers against the principal. So the employees’ protest is unknown to the employer.

But we “jamming still.” I have said previously that crime is all of our concern and we must stop the blame game.

We must stop seeking to shift our shortcomings as parents, teachers etc onto the Commissioner of Police and the Minister of National Security. Where are the inputs from the NGOs, churches, trade unions and others? Where are those with their doctorates who have presented so many papers on school violence? Dr Rat (deceased) of Renegades fame could have done a better job, for he and others used to lecture to young people about the ills of following bad company and warned that failure to adhere to the law leads to punishment.

We the parents and teachers are to blame for the situation for we spend most of the day with the children. And isn’t it ironic that we borrow thousands of dollars from the banks and credit unions to buy textbooks for our children and the end result is them pelting teachers with bottles after school and returning to their homes with pride? Yes, times have changed but parents too. There are few daddies and mummies. Where are the daddies and mummies like in the past?

ATHELSTON CLINTON Arima

We wish to thank our supporters, local and international, those who supported in person as well as those who supported online by viewing our performances on social media. Every single smile, high five, or mouse click means the world to us – you are the reason why we do what we do with passion.

We thank the Klassic Ruso Calypso Tent for partnering with us as hosts of their tent at our panyard this year. We hope this will be the first of many more. We thank Roy Cape All Stars, Bunji, Fay-Ann, and the Asylum Vikings, The A-Team, Arturo Tappin, Kees Dieffenthaller, Milko and all the guest artistes who made this year’s Soca By the River fete and our thank you celebrations the biggest we have ever hosted.

Special thanks must go to our sponsors Massy Holdings Ltd for their support throughout the season –you are always a phone call away and never hesitate to respond to any request for assistance.

Your physical presence and raw enthusiasm at our performances also means the world to us.

Gratitude must go out to everyone who worked in the background to ensure a successful season – our tuners, printers, masquerader, cooks, helpers, the various press, too many to mention. Our fellow steelbands, especially those we competed against during the Panorama competition, must be commended for the extremely high level of performances this year. We compete for one month but spend the next eleven as brothers in the pan world, supporting each other, lifting each other up and celebrating each other’s successes.

When one of us succeeds, we all succeed, and we wish to congratulate each band for their excellence this Carnival.

A very special thank you and congratulations to the Ultimate Rejects for wonderfully marrying the old and the new to produce a new sound of soca in Full Extreme, the 2017 Road March and our Panorama selection.

Although he is one of us, it would be remiss of us not to congratulate our beloved arranger Leon “Smooth” Edwards who won his 10th Panorama title this year (nine national, one international), a milestone achievement.

Thank you Smooth for going the Full Extreme with us this year and may you be blessed with many more.

Finally, thanks to the Almighty, the creator, from whom everything comes. We pray that His blessings will continue to flow as we do our best to use what we have been given to bring glory to His name. We have plans for many activities this year, and none of them can come to fruition without the blessings of the one above.

DARYL JOSEPH PRO Massy Trinidad All Stars Steel Orchestra

She left Trinidad at a tender age and was adopted by a Rita Huggins.

I have not seen nor heard from my daughter since. If anyone has any information on her whereabouts, please help me.

RITA CASTILLO John Lane, D’Abadie

The excuse given was that it was not reported as a case of sexual abuse. The authority recognises that it is required to respond to all reports of abuse but was only motivated to act in this instance when the matter became public.

This is an agency which our upstanding AG is prepared to defend in the face of the foregoing failure.

One cannot help but wonder if the child had been beaten to a frazzle, had broken bones and disfigurement to her face, whether that would have been serious enough to warrant their intervention. Or is it only when allegations of a sexual nature are made that action is taken.

It calls to mind the question raised by a person claiming to be a child rights advocate, who questioned the court action taken by the parents of a schoolchild, whose arm had been broken, against the police for not investigating their report.

Her question was whether the police were expected to arrest the alleged perpetrator.

The question of arrest is a matter for the police; no one has the right to tell the police to arrest anyone, not even the Minister of National Security.

All that can be expected of the police is that they should investigate complaints made by members of the public.

It is passing strange that a so-called child rights advocate would take issue with parents wanting to protect the rights of their child.

That person must have the same unfailing confidence in the Children’s Authority as the Attorney General.

KARAN MAHABIRSINGH Carapichaima