Contrasts of Trinidad and Tobago Crime

Trinidad and Tobago is a relatively small island. A shutdown for two days resulted in the arrest of Inshan Ishmael because he didn't put his name on the fliers.

Same khaki pants. There would have been some reason to arrest him, Ishmael was just kind enough to provide it.

But then, you read something like 'Horror lurks in the shadows'¹:

... Ransom negotiations were not going well and people had become frustrated. Hands tied behind her back, with duct tape plastered over her mouth and a pair of headphones over her ears, her daughter was raped by the three men who stood guard over her during captivity.

The music was so loud in her ears that it helped distract her from the pain of the assault. She screamed in her head because she couldn’t open her mouth.

She tried to concentrate on the music instead of focusing on the violation of her body but her powers of concentration were no match for the brutality.

The duct tape was yanked off and she was forced to submit herself to every form of sexual abuse by her three kidnappers. It was degrading and humiliating, but the worse was yet to come.

Her parents were trying to be tough with the kidnappers, refusing to pay a ransom on the advice of the police and a private negotiator her father had hired.

The kidnappers were playing for time, knowing that the family would come around.

The father was also playing for time, thinking that once they eventually realised that he was not going to pay up, their resolve would weaken and his precious daughter would be freed. She would pay the price for this principled stance.

As the negotiations intensified, she was allowed to speak to an uncle through an old school friend who the kidnappers had got her to contact in order to reach her relatives without the police being any the wiser.

Her uncle asked her if she was all right. More concerned about her family and how they were coping, she put up a brave front and said yes, her captors were treating her fine.

The following day, she was dragged out of the room she was in and into the kitchen of what seemed like a run-down dirty apartment. It was the first time she had left the room.

No headphones, this time. The men were cursing, saying her father “set dem up” and “took dem for (expletive) fools.”

“All yuh Indian feel all yuh too smart!” one man said.

Her father was supposed to have dropped off the money one day, but then, apparently, changed his mind.

The kidnappers were saying that they had another kidnapping job to do and were behind schedule and someone (the boss) was not too happy.

It sounded as if they were working with a list. They blamed her for all of this. She was supposed to cry and beg her parents to pay the damn ransom...

To press home the Manicou Report's perspective, isn't it a good thing that 4 car loads of policemen showed up because Ishmael didn't put his name on a flier - whereas no police have been effective when it comes to kidnapping? And it isn't just kidnapping, it's assault, rape and kidnapping.

That's one story.

Good to know where the priorities are: Silence those who would speak out and peacefully demonstrate, and turn the other cheek when violent crime occurs. Dana Seetahal writes¹,

... The actions of the police and those in authority have thus conspired to lend credibility to Ishmael...

In an interview with the Trinidad Express, Ishmael presses the point home:

Q: So you are a suspected terrorist?

A: [With wide grin] I have been informed I'm terrorising people with flyers that do not have names and addresses. I promise to stop immediately. I told my friends [on Wednesday], "Before the end of today, they're going to arrest me". Because I know what this government is capable of and under the terrorism act, you can lock me up for 72 hours without any questions.

So now the Trinidad and Tobago Anti-Terrorism Act is in the spotlight. The subjectivity with which it can be used seems strangely familiar. Who's next?²

Kidnap victim wants face-to-face with PM, CoP, Minister¹ covers Debbie Ali's request to discuss the crime situation with the Chief of Police (Trevor Paul), the Prime Minister (Patrick Manning) and National Security Minister Martin Joseph. Will she be arrested?

Perhaps the kidnappers would fall under the Anti-Terrorism Act? Or maybe the people who allow such crime to continue... maybe those people should fall under the Anti-Terrorism Act?

Very confusing. If you peacefully protest a smelter, you get arrested. If you attempt to incite a protest regarding crime, you get arrested. If, however, you kidnap, assault and rape someone... you don't get arrested. Fixing Broken Windows? It would seem that the people sent to repair the windows don't know what one looks like.

¹ The Trinidad Guardian has yet to set up their website such that they don't break links. The actual story by Anand Ramlogan was published on Sunday 28th January , 2007 in the Trinidad Guardian - in case you have to look through their archives - where you might find it here.

²Maybe a blogger.