One more child has been found dead and one more family is in mourning and in anguish. Daniel Guerra, a smiling seven-year-old left his home to go to a parlour no more than 50 feet away while his grandmother, in their gallery, awaited his return. After 20 minutes, quick action is taken and the country inhales with hope that the little boy would be reunited with his family. But that hope was soon dashed as his little body was found in a decomposing state miles away from his home. It is one more child...the country will, at this time, remember many more...sometimes we wish to forget, and hope, with the passing of time, to erase the memories. But the faces of these innocents and the anguish that they went through continue to linger.
Some of these innocents were:
Six-year-old Sean Luke. On March 28, 2006 Sean was found dead in a cane field near his home. He had gone missing on March 26, 2006. The autopsy revealed that Sean had been sodomised with a cane stalk and had bled to death. Two teenagers aged 14 and 16 were arrested and charged.
Amy Emily Annamunthudo was only four years old and to many was still a baby. On May 15, 2006 Amy was raped, buggered, beaten and suffocated at her home in Marabella. Her 19-year-old mother was charged with negligence while her step father was charged with her murder. Investigations revealed the girl had been subjected to repeated physical and sexual abuse during her short life and been hospitalised several times.
Pamanand Persad-13 years old. On October 29, 2006, Parmanand, a student of the Chaguanas Junior Secondary School, was beaten, buggered, tortured and murdered at Crown Trace, Enterprise. A neighbour was arrested for the crime.
On February 1, Dane Andrews, 12, of New Grant, Princes Town, was fished out of a pond close to his home. Andrews is believed to have gone swimming with friends at the same pond when he was sexually assaulted. Police investigators believe the person who assaulted Andrews, killed him by drowning him in the pond. To date no arrest has been made.
On April 23, 2006 Radha "Pixie" Lakhan, 16, of Siparia was found dead in a shallow grave near her home. She had been missing for a month. A suspect was later held.
On June 18, Lily Seepersad, seven, of Sangre Grande died of gramoxone poisoning. She was forced to drink the deadly weedicide by her father.
The other young people murdered during the year 2006 were Mastaq Benoit, 16, Lisa Sammy, 17, Zakiyah Mitchell 14 months, Dion Barclay, 16, Shernelle Codrington, 16, Ricardo McKenzie, 16, Jashouna Hypolite, 15, Neil Clement, 17, Mikhaeil Alleyne, 13, Dario Mc Coy, 16, Jevon La Monte, 17, Simeon King, 16, Kimo Richards, 15, Kyle Grant, 17, Akel Gafoor, 17, Ronald Palakdhari, 16, Shahida Phillip, 16, Dominic Thomas, 16, and Michael Forde, 14. ( Taken from an article-Slaughter of the Innocents by Nalini Seebalack)
• Twelve hours after Akiel Chambers went missing, his school friend Carrie James was bathing in the swimming pool at her Haleland Park, Maraval, home with two other friends. Carrie said the pool was clear and there was no body in it. At the inquest into Akiel's death, Carrie said she got out of the pool, had breakfast and went to the front of her house to play. Ninety minutes later, police arrived at her house and one of the policemen looked into the pool and shouted, "Look, look, it right there." When Carrie looked, she saw Akiel's body in a crouched position floating in the deep end of the pool. She started to cry and her mother called her inside the house. Carrie was certain that when she was in the pool 90 minutes earlier, the body was not there. Carrie, 16, a student in Canada, flew into Trinidad to testify at the inquest into the death of 11-year-old Akiel Chambers who was found floating in the pool on May 24, 1998.
• June 17, 2009, the body of missing ten-year-old Tecia Henry was found. The child's decomposing body was discovered under a house at Block 8 in Laventille. The St Roses RC school pupil was missing hours after she left her John John, Laventille, home to purchase items at a nearby shop.
• On April 8, 2010, Rawtee Linda Boodoo, 31, murdered her children Ashwaria, five, and 15-month-old Kristina by hanging them with ropes before taking her own life, also by hanging, at their home at Wilson Road, Clarke Road, Penal. The three were found hanging from a rafter in an empty bedroom during the early morning hours by Rawtee's common-law husband of seven years, doubles vendor Rennie Samaroo. A police report revealed that at about 2 am, Boodoo awoke from sleep and realised his wife and daughters were not in their beds. He checked another room and made the gruesome discovery of his wife and two daughters hanging.
In many of the cases, there is one common thread. The murderer is usually someone with whom the children were acquainted and in a number of cases were actually relatives of the victims. The question then, even the layman would ask is, what legislation there is in place to prevent innocent children from being abused and murdered in their home and perhaps within their community? In the case of Trinidad and Tobago, one piece of legislation that exists and that has gone through a number of amendments is the Children's Act 2000, amended in 2008 and currently under review.
It is important to examine some of the sections of the various Acts in detail.
For instance, the Act of 2000 states:
Every person under the age of 18, born in Trinidad and Tobago, or born to, or adopted by, parents who are citizens of Trinidad and Tobago is a child and is subject to care and protection under the law including but not limited to:
• the right to live, survive and grow;
• the right to be registered at birth or upon adoption, and to be a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago;
• the right not to be discriminated against under the law on the basis of age, race, origin, colour, religion or sex;
• the right not to be discriminated against or punished because of the beliefs or actions of one's family members;
• the right to know and, as far as possible, to be cared for by one's parents;
• the right not to be separated from one's parents against one's will, other than by a court of law;
• the right to privacy in one's own family, home, and in respect of one's correspondence;
• the right to hold ideas of one's own, including religious beliefs and to express those views freely in matters affecting themselves;
• the right to associate with other people for a peaceful purposes.
• the right not to be treated with violence by family member, a teacher, a public officer or by any other person;
• the right to free education up to the age of 12;
• the right not to have to work at anything that is dangerous or that will interfere with education;
• where the child has broken the law and is in custody, the right not to be subjected to, inhumane or degrading punishment. A child under the age of 11 giving evidence in a court matter shall not be subject to the laws governing perjury and shall have the option of giving evidence by electronic means;
• the right not to be subject to capital punishment, nor to life imprisonment without the possibility of release;
• the right of a child offender not to be placed in custody with adult prisoners.
No 68 Children (Amendment) 2000 SECOND SCHEDULE Part D
Every person under the age of 18 in Trinidad and Tobago, having the special protection under the law granted to a child, has responsibilities under the law which shall be observed subject to their age and understanding including but not limited to:
• respect and to obey the law;
• not to take or to harm the property of other people without that person's permission;
• to learn about human rights and to respect the rights of others;
• to respect the guidance of parents, except where the law says otherwise;
• to attend school until the age of twelve;
• to learn about and respect one's culture, language and country;
• to express one's views about matters which affect oneself;
• to respect the environment;
• to respect one's own religious beliefs and the religious beliefs of others.
Passed in the House of Representatives this 27th day of September, 2000.
In the Act of 2008 a number of additional revisions were introduced namely:
25D. (1) A Child Assessment Order made under section 25(d) shall be for the purpose of assessing:
(a) the state of a child's health;
(b) the child's development; or
(c) the manner in which the child has been treated.
(2) The Court may make a Child Assessment Order where it is satisfied that:
(a) the applicant has reasonable cause to suspect that the child is suffering or is likely to suffer physical, emotional, mental or psychological harm;
(b) such an assessment is required to enable the applicant to determine whether or not the child is suffering or is likely to suffer harm; and
(c) it will be unlikely that an assessment will be made or be satisfactory in the absence of the order.
(3) A Child Assessment Order:
(a) shall specify the period of assessment and the date on which the assessment is to begin; and
(b) may require the medical, psychiatric and psychological examination of the child.
(4) Where a Child Assessment Order states that a child shall be kept away from his home, it shall specify the conditions under which the child may be so kept, including the degree of contact with other persons that he may be allowed during that period.
(5) Where the Court makes a Child Assessment Order, the person who is in de facto control of the child or who is in a position to produce the child, shall comply with any direction in the Order and produce the child to the person named in the Order.
The two pieces of legislation the Children's Act of 2000 and its amendment of 2008 were important in that both pieces of legislation set out the following:
(a) defined the rights of children (Act, 2000)
(b) In 2008 established an Authority with distinct functions
More recently in October of 2010, A Task Force (on Child Protection) was established. This task force comprises a range of experts from the social sector to address the safety of children and educate and sensitise them on issues of family violence. Apart from a number of sensitisation programmes, the Ministry of the People is also in the process of establishing a Child's Hotline, the establishment of a child abuse registry within the Ministry and resources within the local corporations.
It is evident from an examination of the relevant of the legislation and now the proposals from the Ministry of the People that while the definitions were clearly articulated and while an authority has been established to intervene where necessary, what it is critical in the fight against child violence is the intervention of a 'whistle –blower.'
No country in the world has the resources whether human or otherwise to gather data from every household. What is expected is that people within the community come forward with the necessary information. While at the same time, it should be noted that 'whistle-blowers' are sometimes considered mischievous, in a large number of cases, their suspicions may be well-founded. For instance, in a number of cases, witnesses alerted the authority when children were missing from their familiar routines. Another important actor, without doubt, is the teacher.
In many instances, teachers are privy to the confidences of their charges and also may notice possible bruises or other kind of violence. The problem, though, is how the whistle-blower is to be treated?
Relevant questions emerge. For instance, will the whistle-blower be offered protection under the law? Will the whistle-blower be expected to face the accused? Will be whistle-blower be subject to litigation if the case is unfounded?
While some suggest that 'it takes a community to raise a child' that can only take place if the community is empowered to do this. While legislation and institutions may be important, then, what may be necessary is to also examine what may be termed the bottom-up approach in solving crimes. In using this approach what is critical will be a consideration of the role and protection of the 'whistle-blower'. It is evident, though, that legislation by itself will not stop the slaughter of the innocents. What is necessary is a comprehensive approach in terms of policing, the justice system and the interaction with the community as well.
Ann Marie Bissessar
(Professor, Public Management)
Annmarie.bissessar@sta.uwi.edu