Waiting for Justice
According to Wikipedia, the population of New York as of 2006 was 19,306,183. New York is a total of 54,475 square miles (141,089 km²) in area, making it the third most populous city in the USA.
According to Wikipedia, the population of Trinidad and Tobago as of 2005 was 1.3 million. Trinidad and Tobago is a total of 1,979 square miles (5,128 km²) in area, making it a fraction of the size of New York.
According to the BBC, the murder rate in New York for the year was 428 as of November 18.
According to the Express, Guardian, Newsday, Bomb, Punch, Tanty, Granny and everybody else, the murder rate so far in Trinidad and Tobago is 338.
So could someone explain to me how the hell a country that is the size of a pimple on the face of New York could have a murder rate that almost as high as that of New York? Even more disturbing is the fact that while New York's murder rate is going down and is presently at the lowest it has been in 40 years, in T&T ours seems to be going up.
According to the BBC,
The soaring murder rate of the late 1980s and early 1990s was largely a result of turf wars between gangs running the crack cocaine trade. The turnaround in violence from the early 1990s was attributed to the city's zero tolerance policy, which saw police crack down on minor offences and drug dealing.Gang warfare? That sounds familiar. But zero tolerance policy? Even on minor offences? Eh eh. Not in sweet T&T where anything goes, and our national motto is "Free Up Yourself".
In addition to the attitude of citizens, a big part of the problem is the ridiculous justice system where cases are tied up in courts for years and years. The Bible as a book of wisdom explains T&T's position quite simply but accurately in Ecclesiasties 8:11. It says:
When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong.Plain and simple, there is the root cause of our problem. Everybody could do anything and get off scot free, so everybody does what they want.
Even in the schools, students rule because they can't be disciplined or expelled for bad behaviour, so they do what they want.
Murder, crime, violence, road deaths; all are tied in to the lack of accountability in T&T. Anything goes in this sweet land of ours.
To the authorities... Bring back accountability. Please fix our justice system or lack thereof. It's killing T&T.
P.S. If you want to have media briefings from the police, please find someone who can speak clearly and fluently and who will not pause after every three words to think of what to say next. It's annoying to have to listen to that sort of nonsense and it makes those who run the system appear even more incompetent.
