As the state of emergency debate in Parliament was in progress yesterday, shoppers swarmed stores in San Fernando hustling to do last minute back to school shopping. High Street, St James Street and Mucurapo Street were also choked with vehicular traffic, mirroring the chaos on the sidewalks as street vendors also tried to cash in on the last minute rush. Holding her daughter's hand with one hand and a shopping bag in the other, Candice Paul said she was quite aware that the Government would be extending the state of emergency and altering the curfew hours, but she wanted to complete her school shopping.
"I really came down the road today so I could finish up everything. I do not want to do this tomorrow (Saturday) because the place would be busier than now." Another woman, who gave her name as Shelly, said if the Government wanted to extend the curfew they would, because they had the majority in Parliament. "So I can't really do anything about that, but I have to organise my children for school. So this is what I am doing," she said.
Yesterday, an official from Mohammed's Book Store said this week had been very busy. "There were a lot of people this week. Today it real busy." Another official at RIK Book Store said: "We busy like a bee. We so busy I almost did not take your call," she chuckled. She said the curfew would not affect their sales since they opened from 9 am to 5 pm. Equally as busy were the shoe stores where several young people were seen trying on various pairs of black and white sneakers.