By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 25, 2023
And so the monstrous, mindless, criminal madness continued on Wednesday with the “execution-style killings of three children and a 19-year-old in the crime hotspot of Heights of Guanapo”. This massacre also left five people wounded, two of whom are children. Yet the Government keeps calling for talks with the Opposition as if there were some magical elixir in that encounter.
Continue reading The Blood of Our Children
By Raffique Shah
November 21, 2022
Acting Commissioner of Police McDonald Jacob has been in the Service for too many years, and served at the executive level for far too long to fall for the trick of announcing yet another anti-crime initiative in a bid to halt the near hysteria emanating from the population over the five-to-ten murders a day. He is experienced enough to know that nothing short of a significant drop in the murder rate will ease the burden of his minister breathing down his neck, the opposition politicians lampooning him and deep frustration among his subordinate officers making his life very uncomfortable.
Continue reading A Radical Thought on Crime
By Jensen La Vende Newsday
Two suspected bandits and a woman are dead after a shootout at a home in Westmoorings on Thursday morning.
Continue reading Woman, 2 suspected bandits killed in Westmoorings shootout
By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
November 29, 2021
On March 17-18, 2011, I was invited to deliver two lectures at Albany State University in southwest Georgia on the topics “Caribbean Intellectual Thought” and ARF Webber, a Tobagonian who spent most of his life (from about the age of 19) in Georgetown, Guyana.
During a luncheon on one of those days, my host informed me about the violence that was ever present for black people who live in Georgia. He related an incident that he had seen with his own eyes. A black man and a white man had an argument/altercation. The white man did not agree with what the black said, and did not accept the outcome of their interaction.
Continue reading But for a video…
By Ryan Hamilton
October 16, 2021 – newsday.co.tt
THE Police Complaints Authority (PCA) says its investigation into the arrests of the suspects in the Andrea Bharatt murder, and the subsequent deaths of two while in police custody, revealed that the suspects were tortured.
On its Facebook page on Friday, the PCA published a summary of its criminal referrals to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Continue reading PCA: Suspects in Andrea Bharatt murder were tortured
By Selwyn R. Cudjoe
April 19, 2021
This week we will know the fate of Derek Chauvin, the police officer who placed his knee on George Floyd’s neck, an act that led to his death. It was a crime that inflamed the sensibilities of many people around the world, especially those people who have fought for racial justice for most of their lives. Chauvin invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify for fear that he might incriminate himself. That may have been a smart move.
Continue reading The Gaslighting of America
By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
March 15, 2021
From politician to the ordinary farmer, Hutus united to get rid of the ‘cockroaches,’ working together to exterminate their Tutsi friends, neighbors, co-workers and family members.
—Kennedy Ndahiro, “Dehumanization: How the Tutsis were reduced to cockroaches, snakes to be killed.”
I use to think that the motto of the Trinidad and Tobago Constabulary was “to protect and serve.” Unfortunately, it seems that its present mission is “to belittle and berate.” Listening to Gary Griffith, the Commissioner of Police, one would think he is at war with the society or anyone who criticize his opinions or performance.
Continue reading The Dangers of Narcissism
By Aileen Alexis
February 11, 2021
The kidnapping and murder of a young court clerk, Andrea Bharratt has evoked strong emotions from a wide cross-section of the Trinibagonian population. Protests, vigils and calls for legislation regarding the use of non-lethal weapons such as pepper spray and tasers, and the resumption of hangings have all become some of the manifestations of these emotions.
Continue reading Candles, tears and selected outrage
By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
May 20, 2019
“I bear a grudge that we in Trinidad do not pay enough attention to our heroes. They are the people that will give Trinidad life.”
—Beryl McBurnie quoted in Judy Raymond, Beryl McBurnie
There has been much coverage about the horrible murder of the prime minister’s boyhood friend John Miles and his wife Eulyn at the hands of a monstrously deranged person. This dastardly act led the PM to bemoan: “What have we become? What are we producing as ‘the next generation’? John and I grew up together in poverty, with pride, but violence and criminality were never part of our life” (Express, May 4).
Continue reading Cultural & Environmental Violence
By Danielle Frederick
May 22, 2018
One would have hoped that a nation such as ours, created from genocide and enslavement, one which has felt the destructive, manipulative forces of colonialism would want to raise its voice clearly against war, oppression, exploitation of human beings and anything that threatens humanity. Alas not. The Trinidad and Tobago government has failed to issue any statement, whether in support or condemnation with regards to the actions of Israel against Palestinians. Being the descendants and continuing victims of white, male, Christian dominance and violence, it is hoped that we would come to our senses and stand for truth and justice, the foundation blocks upon which tyranny cannot stand.
Continue reading As Israel murder Palestinians, where are we?