In a powerful editorial last Monday on the occasion of Divali, the Trinidad Express newspaper urged that we look around and see Trinidad and Tobago as it really is: “a country carried by the goodness of its people and their love for this place that we call home”. The writer …
Read More »Daly Bread: Pennywise manifestations; OSHA should consider safety of security guards
On Monday last there was another terrifying incident of gun killings in which high powered firearms were used. This took place around 5pm, in the vicinity of the Pennywise Plaza, La Romaine, in the course of an armed robbery of cash in transit. This Pennywise incident contains many manifestations of …
Read More »‘Strange fruit’ in Heights of Aripo; time to address our women’s pandemic of pain and powerlessness
“[…] The Heights of Aripo has long been used by criminals to dispose of bodies and evidence. In a bid to turn their neighbourhood into an unsafe haven for the criminals, the poor, frightened residents are requesting assistance and basic amenities. Nothing fancy, just streetlights, a police post and, maybe, …
Read More »Noble: ‘She made me do it’—T&T society is taught to distrust women; we see the bloody results
The news was blunt but not unexpected. The lead sentences (Express, 9 December 2021) calmly reported, ‘Shadie Dassrath was beaten to death in an apartment in La Romaine last Friday morning. An autopsy done on the body of the 31-year woman found she died of blunt force trauma and sustained …
Read More »Cox: ‘Society must own up to huge deficiencies in the socialisation of our males’
The following statement on the death of Andrea Bharatt was submitted by the minister of social development and family services, Senator Donna Cox: On behalf of the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services, I would like to extend condolences to the family, relatives and friends of Andrea Bharatt and …
Read More »Dear editor: Has T&T gotten too used to the dehumanisation of bodies—and, in particular, black bodies?
“[…] There is a human instinct to avoid dead things. A line between the living and the not living. We care for our dead because we knew them but generally we don’t play with them. “The historical instances in which humans have engaged in necrophilia are usually traumatic…” The following …
Read More »‘A good soul who wouldn’t hurt a fly!’ Football mourns murder of Prisons star Nathan Julien
Prison Service FC forward Nathan Julien was murdered last night during a drive-by shooting in Maloney. He was 28 years old. Unconfirmed reports suggest that two others were injured during the gun fire. A gifted player, Julien was comfortable playing on either flank or upfront and was the Trinidad and …
Read More »A turbulent fortnight: The unswearing of Le Hunte, Law Association gag and Mrs Broadbridge murder
Even as we were crossing Eastern Parkway opposite the Brooklyn Museum there was a brief warning. None of us making our way to Brooklyn Panorama last week Saturday into the grounds of the museum took the warning entirely seriously; but we should have. Two hours later, when we were drenched …
Read More »Russell Jr and Balondemu charged for murder; Defence Force star discharged
Promising 23-year-old Pro League football star, Ross Russell Jr, is among two recently discharged soldiers who appeared before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar in the Port of Spain court this morning for the murder of Diego Martin resident Selwyn Gaff. Russell Jr, who has two children, was charged alongside his cousin …
Read More »Chickens coming home to roost: Millette’s murder must be a tipping point
In 1963, Malcolm X referred to the assassination of President John F Kennedy as a case of “chickens coming home to roost.” He had made this statement in response to a question after a speech delivered in December of the same year. He was suggesting that the failure of the …
Read More »Police under fire: Raffique blazes local officers for unsolved murders
With crime, especially murder, being the number one issue on the national agenda for more than two decades, the police cannot escape being targeted as the most blameworthy for the barrels of blood in which the nation is swirling. In the most recent sensational case, the Tobago double-murder, the police …
Read More »Sick of violence? Solomon seeks cure for T&T’s epidemic
Violence in Trinidad and Tobago is endemic. It pervades the pages of daily newspapers; it generates local content and attracts advertising income. We routinely talk about it, laugh about it and even contemplate it. It is hard to determine when or why, but we have allowed brutality to become our …
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