"We are ashamed of her. She let us down!" That's how the women protesters forcibly removed by police in Debe now feel about Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. The women said they were hurt and disappointed and had lost trust and confidence in her. "It is the responsibility and the duty of the Prime Minister to listen to the people about their concerns and she completely ignored us," Shereen Boodhai said. "We talking about a group of praying women. We were not doing anything threatening. There was no reason why she could not have talked to us," she added. Boodhai, a healthcare professional, was one of the female members of the Highway Re-Route Movement who sat in the pouring rain for hours chanting Hindu religious songs at the entrance of Parvati Girls' Hindu College, where Persad-Bissessar was attending Indian Arrival Day celebrations.
The women were eventually removed physically by female police officers after they refused to move to allow the PM to leave the venue. "The police told us she was coming out to speak to us but she walked straight past us. She did not acknowledge us. "If I remember correctly there was a smile on her face. There were women crying, elderly women, mothers and young women," Boodhai said. She said the women simply wanted a meeting with her. Boodhai said the Prime Minister could have defused the tense and chaotic situation by giving them a few seconds of her time. "She chose to let it escalate because she did not come to the people. It shows she really does not care," said Boodhai. Describing Wednesday's incident as a sad day for the country, she said: "This country needs to understand this is more than just rerouting a highway. It is about standing up for what is right." Despite the latest development, however, she said, they would continue to fight against the Point Fortin highway passing through Debe and Mon Desir. She still hoped Persad-Bissessar would speak with them.
