Dear Editor: PNM red-faced and unready for crime, so let us pray for them

“Time and again, prayer is said to be the best crime plan, as the entire nation is converted into one big “hot spot” and “the Devil” and ‘evil’ get full blame.

“While the clueless, talking heads in khaki uniforms boast of how many days Laventille has been “murder-free,” they have collectively failed to comprehend the seismic shift in criminal activities.”

The following Letter to the Editor on the PNM’s failure to deal with crime in T&T was submitted to Wired868 by Rudy Chato Paul, Sr, of D’Abadie:

Less than 48 hours after being reported missing, another one of our females was found murdered. And the silence from those in authority continues to be deafening.

These are the same people in red who condemned the previous regime, arguing that if the government could not solve the problem of crime in the nation, then “the government is a part of the problem.” They, of course, were “red and ready.”

When I speak with citizens of this nation, many of them young women, they express the feeling of being sitting ducks, simply waiting for their number to be called. After 18 months of Dr Keith Rowley’s PNM being in office, the nation is now endowed with an insatiable murder appetite.

Yet time and again, prayer is said to be the best crime plan, as the entire nation is converted into one big “hot spot” and “the Devil” and ‘evil’ get full blame. So while the clueless, talking heads in khaki uniforms boast of how many days Laventille has been “murder-free,” they have collectively failed to comprehend the seismic shift in criminal activities. Evidently this has eluded them.

Ella Andall had warned us about “a missing generation;” apparently they have found us.  Yet we have a regime comprising a pack of clueless jokers, all of whom have found themselves in positions for which none are fit. Every last one has demonstrated his or her total incompetence.

The nation is forced to look on helplessly, acknowledging that we have gone from “wuss” to “wusserer” in a very short space of time; we have gone from the proverbial frying pan into the fire, where as simple a thing as the purchase of US dollars is a challenge.

It is an indictment against this nation when one individual in this nation, Phillip Edward Alexander, is making more noise and expresses greater outrage than the political parties, unions and pressure groups combined. The Opposition, who have no credibility anyway, are dead silent.

Where are PLOTT, Womantra, Fixin T&T, David Abdullah, Hazel Brown and the 1.3 million other “concerned citizens?” Where is the outrage? Where are the priests, pastors, imams, pundits and other clergy members?

More and more of our young people are being murdered without so much as a hint from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) as to the cause of death. In most cases, I have noted, they even “lack a motive.” When info about as simple a thing as “motive” is lacking, how then, pray tell, does one initiate an investigation?

How do the police authorities determine where to begin, whom to question?

A motive, as vague as it may be, provides one with a starting point. Translated “no motive” means “no place to start.” This explains, at least in part, the sorry murder detection rates across this nation—less than 10% annually.

Victims’ family members are thus given merely a promise—“a comfort to a fool,” remember—when they inquire about an update; they are told that “The investigation is ongoing.”

Meanwhile, back at the Forensics Centre, bodies continue to pile up, with many cause of death examinations being described simply as “inconclusive.” My question becomes: do the overworked pathologists at the Centre conduct extensive inquiries or do they just take a cursory glance at the body and determine that the cause of death exam is inconclusive?

And when a body is found and cause of death turns out to be inconclusive, can someone be charged with murder? Perhaps someone can also explain why there is the need to determine “cause of death” on an otherwise healthy victim—usually someone who was liming—who has been shot a total of 15-20 times?

As a pseudo-professional, it is my analysis that T&T has issues greater than crime with which we are confronted. Failure to deal with them in a meaningful manner will result in our spinning the proverbial top in mud. One of those issues is the inequalities built into the social institutions, beginning with the classroom and continuing for generations. Another issue is the lack of trust, with no one trusting any else.

Trinidad and Tobago is recognized as one of the wealthiest nations in the region. It is well recognized by social scientists that the bigger the income gap, the more social problems a society will experience.

It is also well known that social problems are often related to a society’s distribution of wealth. That we continue to experience some of the most challenging social problems is great cause for concern.

A report made public sometime last year indicated that 300,000 of our citizens live on less than TT$985 per month. Fixing that is really a baby step for our managers but a giant leap for mankind in T&T.

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Rudy Chato Paul Sr

Rudy Chato Paul, Sr, is passionate about gardening, music and writing and boasts post-graduate certification in Anthropology, Criminology and Sociology. He also studied Theology, which is why he is actively seeking to make Trinidad a better place rather than waiting for divine intervention.