Who we are

I have been asked over and over what are we; this group? What are we trying to be? I thought our stance specifically on the issue of murder and violent crime would have been obvious. I have been attacked in the past months by obvious PNM supporters for the perceived threat to their status quo, government’s policies, and the sometimes unbelievable utterings and doings of their leader. Are we a political party? Are we a lobby group? Or are we just a grouping of random sexy people with no agenda? (I threw the last one in there because, as of this writing, we really are a good looking bunch...: )

I want to say that we are neither one nor the other, not yet fully formed, still a coming together of hearts and minds in the way that has always changed the world and written history. That we are a growing force of concerned people who rallied around the cry ‘Nah Man T&T, We Could Do Better Than That’ when in one rapid succession of craziness we encountered killing after killing, underscored by the tragic death of little Tecia Henry in Laventille and the ignominious release of the international report that named Trinidad the most dangerous places in the world to live.
That we are a growing wave of people who were shocked to learn that England and Canada boasted murder rates as low as two per hundred thousand per capita per year, while we were clocking fifty five and rising.

At this moment, we are all about keeping the issue of violent crime front and center on the national agenda, and we need to keep pushing against the ingrained will that change cannot happen ‘just so’, That Trinidadians tribal, and Manning have the black vote and right now the Indian vote split and all that rubbish. We cannot be conned into believing those who are dying are different from us, that they somehow deserve this. They bleed red blood. For whatever the reason that their choices are leading them down this path is still a function of leadership, a function of Government. We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted. We must hold our elected officials to the highest possible standards where the lowest and least among us is concerned, because anybody could do the popular thing, it takes people of strong character to do the right thing.

It is clear that we are in a terrible state in Trinidad; the minority PNM government has no one to fear as they run rampant over the citizenry pushing their selfish and greedy agenda while the opposition writhes in throes of full meltdown, feeding on itself and crying out for ethnic cleansing over doctors contracts while homes are being invaded and words like carjacking and human trafficking eased themselves into the common dialogue.

What madness is this? Are the inmates really running the asylum here?

It is the hope that this group could become a refuge for free people, something we could rally around, to find togetherness and draw strength as we demand change and cry out for a better standard of living where equality and personal security are concerned. There is an isolation and aloneness that encloses and stifles the light when one is an unfortunate victim of crime. We feel out of step with society, abandoned from the herd for a while. This feeling is the result of careful planning by selfish people who rely on division to rule. I tell you that you are not alone, that there are people like you who will commiserate with you in your time of need, and rally around you for justice. We want you to know that the color of your skin, the texture of your hair and the amount of money in your pocket doesn’t matter, that you are with friends and family.

We Trinidadians boast a lot of crap to keep some level of sanity even while big business and the media are exploiting our young girls for profit. We have seen a relaxing a morals, a loosening of standards, because no one is minding the store. Rampant crime and violence are symptoms of a deeper ailment that needs attending to, because when one of us hurts we should all feel it.
There are things that made us whole before, made us blessed, and gave us a feeling of belonging, of safety, of home. We were cocky, even in the face of Mother Nature, so sure of our place in the divine order.
Now it feels like a dark cloud has come to rest over our beloved land, and the specter exists just outside the periphery of our vision, even as we hear more bad news and silently thank God we were spared, that it happened to someone else.
This has to stop. We need to say No More!!! We need to push the forces of evil back into their hole and unseat the demon king from his throne.
That is what this group is at this point; People who have decided to band together to take Trinidad back from these hoodlums and thugs, to enforce law and punish criminals, to protect our old, infirm and weak. To create a land where people are once again safe in their homes and our children can play in the streets; to unite our voices in one call that we really can do better than that, and if the government and opposition cannot do the job, we will fire them and do it ourselves.