Today on what should have been Carnival Sunday, I find myself in a place where darkness and light have fiercely contested for attention throughout the preceding week. The contest between darkness and light has been triggered, on the dark side, by the murder of Andrea Bharatt; and, on the light …
Read More »Media Monitor 2: An Obscene Farce! St Vincent St, Independence Sq, Memory Lane and and Shit Street
“Nah, sir!” Two words, no more. But I know I heard controlled anger. I know I heard complete disbelief. “You mean you read (she used the present tense) that Sunday Guardian editorial,” she said, her voice almost breaking with the effort not to lose control, “and only see grammatical errors?” …
Read More »Dear editor: ‘Women and children deserve to feel safe!’ Three ways to address gender-based violence
“[…] The reality of Trinidad and Tobago does not allow women and girls to enter into public spaces without experiencing some form of fear and discomfort. “Socialisation of our men and boys must be acknowledged as a significant contributor to violence against women and girls, which must be addressed with …
Read More »Dear editor: ‘As a mother, I’m paralysed with fear; as a woman, I’m filled with tremendous anxiety’
“[…] As a woman, I am filled with tremendous anxiety. I am fiercely independent, but I feel that independence disappearing—as I constantly have to adjust my movements to try and ensure my safety…” The following Letter to the Editor was submitted to Wired868 by an anonymous contributor, under the pen …
Read More »TTPS: Body of 23-year-old kidnap victim, Andrea Bharatt, found
The following press statement on kidnap victim Andrea Bharatt was released by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS): The search for kidnapped victim, Andrea Bharatt, ended this afternoon after her body was found down a precipice along the Heights of Aripo. According to reports, around 12.20pm today, a motorist …
Read More »What should women with dodgy transport options do? Rowley: ‘Just be careful’
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said there are still ‘monsters’ around us, when asked to comment on the rape and murder of 18-year-old Ashanti Riley, who was abducted sometime after she left home in a ‘PH’ taxi on Sunday 29 November. Rowley noted too, at a press conference this afternoon, …
Read More »Dear editor: Is TTPS really pleased with a 20% solve rate and 1% conviction rate?
“[…] For years, the murder detection/solve rate has been less than 10%. No lie. I have been monitoring this since 2007. Typically, the ‘solve rate’ hovers between 4% to 6%. “This year, 2020, TTPS has risen to heights hitherto unseen, by reaching a whopping 20% solve rate. Of course, that …
Read More »Will there be march for two-year-old Aniya? Griffith slams ‘selected outrage’ by public
“[…] When will I expect to obtain the requests for marches, and protests against such acts of barbarous brutality against our children?” In the following press statement, Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith claims that there is ‘selected outcry’ against wrongdoings, after the murder of Tunapuna resident Stefhon Mc Cloud and his …
Read More »Daly bread: A more fearful future; soaring crime, falling oil prices and coronavirus
We washed and put away our sailor costumes last weekend. That induced a stronger nostalgia than usual for the carefree days of Carnival generally and, in particular, for Carnival Tuesday as All Stars sailors. The nostalgia was a brief antidote to the keen awareness that murders—albeit unrelated to Carnival—remained an …
Read More »Hilarant! Haiti is sorry for T&T as local crime mess creates Caribbean tragicomedy
Full circle. Just about 30 years ago, David Rudder was singing “Haiti, I’m sorry.” Nowadays, however, my Haitian friend is sorry for us. And all he needed to sum up the situation of those of us who, trying to escape from the UNC, voted for the PNM was four words. …
Read More »Daly Bread: Facing the music; the problem of accountability in crime and in pan
Last week commenced with the prime minister making more shallow statements about the prevailing rampant murder in response to meek and mild interview questions. In local parlance, the TV interview was sorf. Today I am asserting that facing the music is a common problem for the prime minister regarding rampant …
Read More »Daly Bread: Grow room of topics; the bad news never ends in T&T
Trinidad and Tobago lives on nervous energy. We are constantly rattled and are set talking, messaging and posting, prompted by extraordinary and usually negative events. At times, things happen so quickly that another event erupts into the headlines before the shock and full implications of an earlier one can be …
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