By Johnny Coomansingh
In the year 2010, I published the book titled: Sweet and Sour Trinidad and Tobago. The book was published for the obvious reason that Trinidad and Tobago is touted as a wonderful and exciting rainbow country. In terms of its ‘sweetness,’ beauty, talent, creativity and inventiveness, this multiracial, multi-religious, polyrhythmic society is like no other in the world. Nevertheless, there is a nasty, horrible and sour aspect resident in the environment that seems to mask and defeat the sweeter qualities that we would like to boast of and promote.
It is not my intention to write a review of the book but down to the end of the book, the chapter: Metamorphosis…doh tell mih dat! comes into view. I want the reader to keep in mind that this was written in 2010.
Below is a clip of the chapter:
Trinidad and Tobago has metamorphosed into something that I cannot now understand. We stole the cake from Jamaica who originally stole it from Colombia. With the way things are today in the blessed land of my birth, it is quite possible that right now we have the highest murder rate in the whole wide world. Just take ah lil peek at the headlines around di world concerning Trinidad and Tobago. International news media and the dailies carry headlines such as:“$12,000 fine for robbing tourist,” “Tourism woes worsen: stakeholders worried after attack on British couple,” “Death stalks Trinidad and Tobago again,” “Trinidad and Tobago tourist beware, caution required on beaches,” “Swedish couple hacked to death on Tobago,” “Trinidad declared danger zone by Britain: Tobago even worse,” Trinidad and Tobago now murder capital of the Caribbean.” What impact would such news have on tourists who may want to visit Trinidad and Tobago? Isn’t such news frightening?
We are now almost at the end of 2024. I wrote this 14 years ago. Let’s see whether the metamorphosis got better or became worse. Here are the bytes I took from the three major dailies in Trinidad and Tobago:
In the article titled: Reverend fears T&T becoming ‘horror house of Caribbean,’ news reporter Radhica De Silva writing in the Trinidad Guardian published on December 26, 2024, stated:
Former independent senator Reverend Daniel Teelucksingh fears that Trinidad and Tobago is becoming the “horror house of the Caribbean,” as he referenced the spate of murders and violence in the country. He said so as he delivered his Christmas morning sermon at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church in Claxton Bay. Reflecting on the nation’s crime situation, Reverend Teelucksingh called on citizens to stop blaming the media for highlighting the violence.
“Look at the screaming headlines. Fear, terror, anger, bloodshed, gun violence, and criminality dominate the news. Some like to blame the media, but they are simply trying to show us the truth. There is no doubt that families across this country cannot have a merry Christmas,” he said. Teelucksingh lamented the persistent crime, referencing home invasions, kidnappings, and murders. “Last weekend, I saw the headline announcing 600 murders. By the time it got old, it was 602. Now it is 608. We are listed as one of the world’s most dangerous countries,” he added.
How are we doing so far with our metamorphosis. Do you think we would reach the stage of a precious beautiful butterfly and fly away into the arms of happiness? Would we remain as a voracious caterpillar that savagely eats everything in its path? Gruesome and violent crimes have now overrun Trinidad and Tobago! Look at the mess in which we have found ourselves. There was a tally of 485 murders in 2010. Today is December 30, 2024 and the score is 635 murders to date; another report says it’s more like 641. The Express Newspaper reported on September 6, 2024, the headline: “All of T&T now a crime hotspot.” Here’s a call for the minister of national security to demit office:
Trinidad and Tobago is one of the “most vicious and cruel places on earth,” with a rate of almost 50 homicides per 100,000 citizens, says Opposition MP Dr Roodal Moonilal. He yesterday renewed the call for national security minister Fitzgerald Hinds to go, saying innocent people continue to be slaughtered under Hinds’ tenure.
“At almost 50 homicides per 100,000 citizens, Trinidad and Tobago is one of the most vicious and cruel places on earth, and Hinds’ response is issuing dim-witted statements and dodging his responsibilities,” said Moonilal.
In a media release, Moonilal criticized Hinds, saying he “continues to inflict his lethal cocktail of incompetence and arrogance on a besieged nation. The time has come for him to go.” Moonilal, who is the UNC (United National Congress) shadow national security minister, took issue over a media release issued by Hinds. Hinds has again resorted to “banal clichés and empty promises” while more innocent people are being slaughtered and the homicide rate is racing to another shameful record, Moonilal said.
Many of the headlines that we are now seeing, echo with violence and death! Allister Macmillan in his poetry alluded to the idea that, “…those who eat the cascadura will the native legend says, wheresoever they may wander, end in Trinidad their days.” I am positive, however, that many of the people who were murdered this year and the years before never ate the fish or even know what the aestivacious, bony-plated, catfish looks like. Between Monday 22 December to Monday, December 29 there were 25 murders.
The headlines are plastered with banditry, violence, home invasions, kidnappings, drug running, gun running, rape, fraud, human trafficking, robberies and murder! Even some of the Venezuelans who came across the Gulf of Paria seeking refuge in Trinidad have entered the fray. Trinidad and Tobago is a frightful place; a place where almost everyone is living in fear. I could not resist mentioning some of the headlines that I came across in Newsday, the Trinidad Express Trinidad Guardian, and Loop News:
- Suspect killed in attempted robbery at South Park mall;
- Police seize $2.6m in ganja, 16 guns, ammunition;
- Murders in Sea Lots, Mausica, and Oropune Gardens;
- $1.5m bail for men charged with money laundering, importing antibiotics;
- Sea Lots man killed in drive-by shooting;
- Woman,90, man, 60, tied up, robbed at Borde Narve home;
- Venezuelan charged with human trafficking, gang offences;
- Central Division cops seize 7 guns in 5 days;
- Five gunned down in Laventille;
- Trinidadian, Tobago teens reported missing;
- One killed, one injured in Tobago;
- Woman robbed, raped, thrown out car;
- 6 months jail for purse thief;
- Woman shot during robbery attempt after church;
- Man shot outside police station;
- No mercy: Mother and son ambushed in San Fernando;
- Police investigating Christmas Day murders;
- Man stabbed in Curepe;
- 22-year-old after robbing 77-year-old retiree.
In the Newsday paper, published a few days ago the headline read: “CoP disappointed as murders hit 607.” Newsday reporter, Enrique Rupert informed, “…the all-time murder record that was set in 2022 (605 murders) has been broken.” He added that Erla Harewood-Christopher, the Commissioner of Police (CoP) “has been left disappointed that the ‘significantly large’ amount of work the police have done has not yielded the desired results.” According to Rupert, the murder rate in Trinidad seems to be on an all-time high. Here’s a sample of the real facts:
On December 23 going into December 24, a wave of murders helped the toll reach new heights. Rafael Gobin…was gunned down around 5.10 pm while liming with a 26-year-old friend, who was also wounded in the incident. Tobago recorded the 26th murder for the year when Zachary Lindow, 21…was gunned down around 6.30 pm while working at a Bacolet convenience store on December 23. While they were in the store, two gunmen entered and announced a hold-up. Police said the men were told to lie on the floor. They were robbed and the gunmen then shot them. Lindow died on the spot. His coworker was shot in the abdomen. Kester Phillip, 49, was shot and killed in the road in Carapichaima around 9.20 pm on December 23.
Salesman Keanu Chandler, 33, died on the road shortly after 6 am. The father of three lived at Penal Rock Road, Aquart Village. Police said Chandler was playing the card game wappie earlier with a group of people. Adana John, also known as “Sixx Boss” was stabbed to death on December 24. A nearby business owner said around 8 am on December 24 she heard a commotion, then went outside and saw John lying on the ground. Police said John and a man were arguing near the corner of Saddle Road and Second Street, San Juan. Moments later the man was seen running away, and John was found with a stab wound to her abdomen.
Calypsonian Kelvin Pope (deceased) better known as The Mighty Duke, sang about apartheid in South Africa in his 1986 calypso ‘How many more must die.’ The big question is: ‘How many more must die in Trinidad and Tobago?” In a recent report from C – News, there were five murders in a mere 17 hours! One of them was a man who was murdered while preaching the gospel.
Is there ‘something in the water’ that people are drinking; a weird stimulant that contributes to the need to kill? Ian Alleyne, the presenter of the televised Crime Watch programme provided information that showed murders (18 murders in one weekend) have occurred in all sectors, East, West, North, Central, and the South of Trinidad including the towns of Sangre Grande, Arima, Freeport, Cunupia, Ste. Madeleine, Port of Spain, Biche, San Fernando, Penal, Belmont, Morvant, Cocorite, and Laventille.
Is Trinidad and Tobago the ‘Killing Fields’ of the Caribbean region? In an answer given on the Internet (WWW) to the question: ‘Does Trinidad have the highest crime rate?’ We found that Trinidad and Tobago with a homicide rate of 26 per 100,000 people, the twin-island state not only exceeds last year’s rates in Colombia and Mexico, but is on pace to surpass the record 605 murders reported in 2022, with projections that homicides could hit a new high.
Many of the murders and other heinous crimes go unsolved. The average number of solved murders stands around 12.5 percent. In terms of national security, porous borders, non-working CCTV cameras, unchecked cargo containers, gang warfare, illegal gun-toting, corrupt police officers, and the lack of proper equipment for police and fire services, Trinidad and Tobago will continue on a downward slide to becoming the most violent state in the world. The landscape shows that 99.99 percent of houses, buildings and business places are burglar-proofed and wired with sophisticated alarm systems.
With the way things are going, we must not sweep the truth about the security of this country under the carpet. I will write nothing but the truth. From 1994 to 2024 there were 11,109 murders! We have a crisis, and crisis situations require crisis solutions. Should Trinidad and Tobago consider the Singaporean Model of governance? I conclude with greetings from my friend Tony Deyal: “Friends, let’s hope that the New Year will be better than the one we are going through now. If so, just laugh and bear it.”
