We dun Reach

I should really put this post on Bee's Up Front and Serious but that page of mine has fewer readers. On the other hand there are those I'm sure who will not want to know about this. I am posting it because even with the amount of crime there is in this twin island Republic which Desmond Tuto once dubbed 'a rainbow country', we are all in shock.

The perpetrators have no fear. There has been a complete breakdown as a result of which we are living in a totally lawless society. What is happening in this beautiful nation has to be stopped now. The problem starts at the top and until we get that sorted out, it will get worse.

My heart bleeds for this beautiful little country where we are all affected in some way or other by the disturbing events that are allowed to continue.

The article below is taken form this morning's Trinidad Express.


AMBUSH
Murder accused gunned down in front court while escorted by cops
Richard Charan and Nikita Braxton South Bureau

Tuesday, October 20th 2009


Peter Garcia was in handcuffs, police officers at his side, on the compound of a court, with dozens of officers nearby, when he was shot dead by men mocking the State's ability to protect.

Garcia had no chance to defend himself, and no one to defend him.

The police constables escorting him to the police station next door released their prisoner and ran after the first gunshot.

The policemen who responded to the shooting came long after the suspects were gone.

Acting Police Commissioner James Philbert said the police response to the killing would "show criminals that we are in charge. Today we have lost some ground in the sense that criminals can be so boldface to do that. I want to promise the nation that we will find these men and bring them to justice in the quickest time".

The suspects were free last night. The killing happened at 10.30 a.m. moments after Magistrate JoAnne Connor made a favourable ruling in Garcia's case.

Garcia, who five months ago was regarded as Trinidad's most wanted, was in court charged with wounding with intent to commit murder, and with the murder of Rio Claro businessman Simboonath Kumar.

On the murder charge, the State was told it had one last chance to come prepared, November 4, to begin the preliminary enquiry.

Garcia had already been discharged on two kidnapping charges.

When the gunshots sounded outside the door Magistrate Connor asked, "Is that gunshots?"

A police officer ran in to announce the shooting. People began screaming and ran towards the Magistrates' Chamber.

Magistrate Connor fled first. Those standing outside the courtroom-witnesses to the killing-ran into the courthouse.

No Court and Process officer was armed, the Express was told, because the Police Standing Orders do not allow for officers in contact with prisoners to carry firearms.

The killers used Uzi submachine guns. They fired on the police station before leaving. And despite a response that involved multiple search teams, tracker dogs, road blocks, and a helicopter hunt, the suspects vanished.

The killers had no problem getting onto the compound. The entrance to the courthouse is not guarded. Only at the courtroom door is a person searched.

Garcia's attorney Jason Jackson, who heard the shots that killed his client, said, "Government should consider more security of high risk prisoners and judicial officers. It is unfortunate that the country has gotten to this stage where there is no respect for law enforcement."

The courthouse is being renovated, with a guard booth being constructed at the entrance with an extension to the main building for administrative staff.

The killers used the construction site as their guise. They dressed in steel tipped boots, hard hats and coveralls that hid their guns. No construction took place yesterday but no one appeared to have questioned the men who stood within the unfinished walls of the building and waited for almost two hours.

During Garcia's initial court appearances, he was defended by heavily-armed officers who surrounded the courthouse.

Police said yesterday the two "construction workers" approached Garcia as he was being escorted from the court by two police officers and one of them pulled a gun and shot Garcia at point blank range.

The officers ran, and as Garcia fell, the second man stood over him and fired at least five times into his head and chest.

The men climbed a chain-linked fence on the south side of the court compound, ran through the grounds of the Rio Claro Anglican Church, and left the area in a silver coloured Nissan Almera car. A bank nearby closed its doors as people ran from the courthouse.

A crowd of hundreds returned later to ridicule the police. Among them was Garcia's father, Harvey Huggins, who asked, "How could my son get shoot in police hands. Don't they supposed to protect him?"

Huggins said more people would die as a result of his son's killing. Garcia's handcuffs were removed before his body was taken away yesterday afternoon.

"We dun reach" as they say here.

Something Affecting My Spirit

Something Affecting My Spirit

Last week was a very strange week for me. It was more than just feeling ‘off’. My spirit was greatly disturbed. One could say that it was because a couple I know lost their daughter who was living in Switzerland, to an undiagnosed disease or that my boss’s cousin’s son was murdered last week. A young woman from the same area as the twenty four year who was shot in his back, was killed in a car accident on Friday night. In a twelve hour period between last Friday and Saturday, there were seven murders.
By last Saturday evening, seventy seven murders for the year. There is an opinion out there that there is a ‘hit squad’ comprising of security services personnel which is ‘popping off’ gang leaders and known ‘bad boys’. I don’t know about that but I do know that innocent people are being gunned down at an alarming rate.
Last Saturday my department held a Day of Prayer and Fasting for the Nation. We do this annually, two Saturdays before Carnival weekend. Some people may think that given the crime rate and the inability of the government to curb it, prayers are a waste of time as they obviously aren’t being answered. But on the whole this is a praying nation and well all else fails. Perhaps if the nation had prayed a bit harder in the first place we wouldn't be in this damn mess!!!!
So there I was, putting last week’s unexplained feelings of doom down to the fact that what was going on in Trinidad together with some of the things going on in my life, were affecting my spirit.
Then I read a friend's blog on another site. It was about a vision she had seen and she was questioning whether or not she had really seen it, dreamed it and or had hallucinated. I read it three times before I commented and even then, felt that I hadn’t hit the nail on the head and hadn’t been able for some reason, to say what I really wanted to. The words would not come. A friend and I had a discussion about it and although we didn’t have time to finish the conversation, we did agree that something was going on because there is ‘something in the air’ so to speak. The writer of the blog said she had a ‘nagging feeling’. I know that feeling – I get it when my spirit is disturbed. Some may call it their aura. I call it my spirit.
On Saturday when I came in I had a discussion with my daughter. I have been somewhat pissed off with my ‘angel’ of late (last week) as felt, unusually for her, that she had been distant and unapproachable. The result of her behaviour was that I switched off. During our discussion she opened up. The talk was good and one thing I learned was that she too was feeling the same disturbance I was feeling. Hers was so bad that she cut off from everyone, refused to go anywhere except to work and the Law Institute and had not returned friends’ phone calls and texts. My sociable, life and soul of the party daughter? My immediate reaction was that she was depressed/ overwhelmed with work and study. Depression? Please no. I had to stop myself from going into panic mode because I didn’t think that I could deal with that. One member of the family on ‘happy pills’ is quite enough thank you! I found myself telling her about the disturbing blog, my comment and my discussion with my friend. Her reaction to the blog story was immediate.
“You are wrong! She did not see a ghost. She saw a spirit. There is a difference”.
Okay!

My daughter then proceeded to tell me what had happened to her last Monday. It was her day off, she was home alone and sleeping. She was awakened by a feeling of pressure bearing down on her. She could move nothing but her eyes and she heard voices ‘whispering to each other’. The only word she could make out being said was “Baptism”. She said she prayed and prayed as she normally does when this happens and eventually after what seemed an age,the voices stopped and she was able to move. She was not ‘freaked out’ as one might imagine because as she said, ‘she’s used to it’. A few weeks ago she woke in the night to see a figure sitting on a shelf in her bedroom. She feels that whatever it is, follows her from place to place and is more prevalent when she is involved in something religious/spiritual i.e. a bible study.
My daughter knew it wasn’t my mother visiting as she is normally gentle and comes wafting perfume! The day I received the news that a friend of old had died, I asked my daughter if she remembered me remarking a couple of days earlier (the day he left) that I could smell Chanel No 5 in my bedroom. I wasn’t using it. I was using Coco but he used to give me bottles of No 5 which is my preferred perfume.

My friend talked about the month of February and I wondered if I was feeling like this because my mother’s anniversary is in February. My daughter says I am always like this in February. I am not so sure. Why am I not like this in the month of December which is the month my father died? Or January when my paternal grandfather and maternal grandmother died? I was very, very close to my grandfather.

This is not meant to be morbid but more a questioning as to what is going on that is affecting some of us? It is not as though we live within miles of each other. My two friends live thousands of miles away from me. Is it that those of us who are are particularly sensitive are more aware and affected by the unseen? I am a mere lay person and no expert but being one that dreams disasters, I am of the belief that everyone has the gift of ‘seeing’. It depends on how one chooses to use that gift. My daughter chooses to suppress it. I don’t seem to have a choice. But what I do believe is that at different times we can be on different spiritual levels. When I am taking my spirituality seriously (I know that there are times when I am spiritually dry, when I cannot pray, when my faith doesn’t sustain me, when I doubt – even Mother Theresa doubted!), I am on a different spiritual level; a higher level and as I always say, “spiritually tuned in”. It is during those times that the dreams come. My mother used to call it my sixth sense but when it became really strong, she freaked out and told me to keep my dreams to myself. My daughter however and my husband take it in their stride. My son doesn’t want to know!! He like his grandmother, freaks out!!!
So again, I ask, what is going on that affects some of us at the moment?
I am sure there are some people out there who are also of the Catholic persuasion who would like me to have my head examined but this has nothing to do with my religion. It has to do with my spirituality. After all, I know some Catholic priests who have amazing gifts for which they would have been hung, drawn and quartered not so very long ago!!!

So, how's your spirit?