As we begin this new year I wish the people in authority and the general public would realise that they need to stop lamenting and pleading with criminals to stop crime and instead insist that the police enforce the laws and actually do the job for which they are being paid.
We have descended into this dismal abyss because the criminal elements are thriving in this environment of lawlessness. The first thing shown in foreign news is closed circuit television footage of various crimes and the perpetrator's face. Why aren't we using this resource? Will citizens here feel confident that they can trust the police to identify the person without putting their own life at risk?
Drivers break traffic lights and drive recklessly on the roads because they are allowed to. You can drive from Arima to San Fernando and not see one patrol car; at least not monitoring the traffic.
Law abiding citizens are being denied basic rights to liberty, security and enjoyment of property. Many average citizens have been victims of crime or have a relative or friend with a similar experience.
Quite frankly, even at 40 I have made peace with my creator because the lives of good, hard-working citizens have no value. It is illegal for me to carry a pepper spray in my bag but children can play and pose with high-powered guns.
The threat is omnipresent. My fear is being killed in a home invasion, robbery while out during the day, kidnapping, reckless driving on the road or in a fire at my house because the burglar proof makes it a virtual jail and a challenge to get out in an emergency.
Even if none of these eventualities occur, the fear and constant stress we are always subjected to take a physical toll on the body and increases the likelihood of some illnesses. We cannot even sleep in peace at night.
People who still say Trinidad is a paradise must be comparing us to Syria or Iran and must not have not been to a country where there is law and order. Our paradise days are long gone; some people have turned it into hell. If we want a paradise we have to visit Tobago.
This is not living and enjoying life, this is existing and constantly trying to just stay alive. If people are still in doubt they should read the travel advisories from the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. In the Gazette's review for 2016 we are ranked No.7 of countries with the highest crime rates in the world.
We are paying and training an army to defend us in the event of an international threat but the reality is we are under siege domestically and not utilising these personnel effectively. The irony is the armed forces will actually come up with and execute a plan for masqueraders to wine and fete safely on Carnival Monday and Tuesday but what about the other 363 days in the year?
To conclude, I acknowledge the futility of this letter: this topic has been and will continue to be exhausted. The time for talk has long gone. Change will only come when the laws are enforced. Criminals cannot roam free while we live in fear. They must be detained, prosecuted and punished.
E Maharaj