PM: No interference by PP Govt

We are in so much trouble here in Trinidad.  



PM: No interference PM: No interference by PP Govtby PP Govt

Capital Punishment - For or Against?

This post is not pretty.

I am tired, so tired of the crime in this country. 

Less than a week of the Sate of Emergency being lifted, I learned from the tv news this evening that the husband of a friend of mine was murdered in his own home yesterday in broad daylight. The rest of the family were tied up and beaten. I'm not an advocate of capital punishment but I am seriously beginning to wonder if I have the right attitude. Add to that another couple I know well who live in the same area, being attacked by intruders whilst sleeping at 2am even though the downstairs of their home is burglar proofed. I have attended too many funerals of people I know who have lost their lives brutally and some I couldn't attend because it was too overwhelming.

God help this country where life has become so cheap, where we allow criminals to rule and literally get away with murder, where school children carry knives, where innocent people are losing their lives, where people believe the world owes them a living so take instead of earn, where corruption is rife, where we live behind barbed wire, burglar bars and gated communities with guards at the gates, where rapes are every day occurrences, where one doesn't feel safe in an open car park and where people who care and those who are affected are crying for justice and getting no answers.

Bee's Blog: Part of my Job

Bee's Blog: Part of my Job: EVANGELIZATION FIRST ‘A NEW WAY AHEAD’ On the 10 September 2011. 88 volunteers of the Evangelization Commission gathered under a...

Repost of Simone Leid - The WomenSpeak Project

October 27th, 2011 at 12:21AM

OUTRAGED! Rape of a Child is NOT Entertainment!

On 25th October, 2011, the local television program “Crime Watch” which airs on TV6 at 6pm in Trinidad and Tobago, aired video footage of a 13 year old girl being beaten and raped. The host of Crime Watch, also had the child’s mother on set and asked her questions about how she felt on hearing the cries of her daughter as she is being raped by several men on the video.
I cannot sit idly by and merely shake my head at this abomination. That the rape of a child is aired on a television show that is notorious for sensationalizing, and packaging criminal activity and trauma of victims as entertainment, signals that we have reached an all new level of barbarianism.
In a country where the cries of a child being raped can be aired at prime time, and then again at night, and again the next day, and again the next night - is it any wonder that we are a country whose rates of murder of women by domestic partners and rape are amongst the highest in the world?
For if we can reduce someone to a sound-bite, a headline, a statistic, then it becomes easier for us to forget they are human beings. They become ‘the other’, ‘a number’, ‘not one of us’. And when we are fed violence as entertainment, we become desensitized to the chopping, the burning, the raping. Suddenly a woman who is ‘just’ battered is no big deal.
WomenSpeak was created to give these ‘statistics’ a human face. To give women the opportunity to tell their stories of abuse, harassment, discrimination, in their own words. To encourage every man and woman in the region to take responsibility for sharing the message that discrimination against women is a disease that is rotting us from the inside out. That we stand as Caribbean men and women, boys and girls who believe in the dignity of all human beings. And we DEMAND higher standards of decency, empathy and justice for women and girls.
We each have a voice. Let us use it. If we are fed up of the exploitation, denigration and dehumanization of our women, men  and children, please exercise your conscience and let the Telecommunication Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, Crime Watch and TV6 and its affiliates know what you think of it’s degrading ratings ploys; of this violence perpetrated by the local media upon it’s citizens.
CALL.WRITE.SPEAK OUT.REPOST.RETWEET.
For my part, I want Crime Watch OFF THE AIR. PERIOD.
Below are contact numbers and links

Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago  (click link for complaint form)
#5 Eighth Avenue Extension, Off Twelfth Street, Barataria, Trinidad and Tobago.
Phone : 1-868-675-8288
TV6  
35 Independence Square , Port of Spain, Trinidad, WI
Telephone 1-868-627-8806
Trinidad Express Newspapers 
35-37 Independence Square, Port of Spain, Trinidad, WI
1-868-623-1711/8
Hott 93 Office
#5 Rosalino Street, Woodbrook
Port Of Spain, Trinidad, W.I.
Phone: (868).625.8426, (868).623.7605
Fax: (868).624.3234

 Simone Leid - The WomenSpeak Project


Learn more about the WomenSpeak Project’s Mission and Objectives here http://womenspeak.tumblr.com/tagged/Mission
and here http://womenspeak.tumblr.com/tagged/objectives

State of Emergency Update Trinidad & Tobago

State of Emergency in Trinidad & Tobago Update

OPERATIONAL UPDATE - 2011.09.01.

Port of Spain. Over the last 24 hours, a total of one hundred and sixty seven persons [167] were arrested. Of the total arrests within the 24 hour period, twenty seven [27] were gang related, one [1] homicide, thirty five [35] drug related, two [2] persons were arrested for firearm related charges, fifty nine [59] persons were arrested for outstanding warrants, five [5] were arrested for breach of curfew, twenty two [22] were arrested for traffic offences, with ninety six [96] tickets issued and thirteen [13] persons were arrested for other serious offences. Three [3] others were arrested for other offences. One firearm and fifteen rounds of ammunition were also seized.

To date, a total of one thousand, one hundred and forty three [1143] persons have been arrested, with three hundred and sixty six [366] arrests related to gangs, two hundred and sixteen [216] related to drug offences, two hundred and twenty eight [228] related to outstanding warrants, one hundred and eighty one [181] related to other serious offences, eighty two [82] related to breach of curfew, and thirty [30] related to homicide.

Additionally, the Coast Guard acting on intelligence seized a vessel with two (2) male Trinidadians along with two (2) male Jamaicans and confiscated a quantity of cocaine with a street value of $3.2 million dollars on board the vessel.

Issued by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Communications
State of Emergency [SOE] Communications

Of course there's much more going on as well and we will know later today whether or not the curfew times have been changed.

This came about not just because of a much needed  major crackdown on  crime and the drug shipments coming into and through this country but because a plan to assassinate the Prime Minister and the Attorney General was uncovered.

State of Emergency in Trinidad & Tobago. Day 3

I just cannot share my feelings on this at the moment as there are so many unanswered questions.  

These are some of the rules and regulations during a State of Emergency:

• The State of Emergency grants special powers to the police and military:
• Search and seizure powers will not require a search warrant;
• Military to have power to arrest and detain before transfer to the police;
• Police can arrest and detain for up to 24 hours after which a magistrate, or assistant superintendent (or higher), will be able to add an extra 7 days;
• No bail for those arrested during the State of Emergency;
• Courts no longer will have the power to grant bail.

It is strongly advised you to respect the curfew in the affected areas and to comply with directives issued by the Government of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, military and police units.. Travel times might be affected by these measures, so ensure you have sufficient time to reach your destination before curfew

This is the advisory from the British High Commission.

On 21 August 2011, a Limited State of Emergency was called into effect by the Prime Minister. There is a curfew in place for designated "hotspots" in Trinidad from 21:00 to 05:00 local time. Although the State of Emergency extends to Tobago, the island has no designated "hotspots" and is not affected by the curfew. We strongly advise you to respect the curfew in the affected areas and to comply with directives issued by the Government of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, military and police units.  

You should be aware that there are high levels of violent crime, especially shootings and  kidnappings. British nationals have been victims of violent attacks, particularly in Tobago where law enforcement is weak.

38 British nationals required consular assistance in Trinidad and Tobago in the period April 2010 - March 2011.

Believe me, living in the tropics, is not all it's cracked up to be!

State of Emergency

A limited State of Emergency has been put into place in this twin island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. I don't have time to write about it now but this is how CNN reported it.  They say a 'partial state of emergency' when in effect, the whole island is being shut down..

Authorities impose curfews on Trinidad and Tobago

By the CNN Wire Staff

August 22, 2011 -- Updated 1630 GMT (0030 HKT)

Port Of Spain, Trinidad (CNN) -- A partial state of emergency was imposed Monday on crime hotspots across Trinidad and Tobago, and the government said it will enforce curfews in certain areas to curb the spiraling rate of drug-related murders in the Caribbean islands.

This weekend alone, 11 people were fatally shot, bringing the total for the year so far to 264, authorities said.

Speaking to the media, Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar, who took office 16 months ago said her national security advisers believe the discovery and seizure of large amounts of cocaine this past week may be responsible for the untenable situation.

She said, "We will search them out and bring them to swift justice," noting that her government will not allow a handful of thugs to hold ransom the majority of law abiding citizens of Trinidad and Tobago which celebrates its 49th year of independence on August 31

Journalist Gideon Hanoomansingh contributed to this