My hero and my man of the year

This Christmas is going to be a very different one for me. It will be my first Christmas away from Trinidad. This year I will be spending the Christmas holidays in a hospital visiting my son.

If you ask me what I want for Christmas, I have no clue what to tell you. The only real thing that matters is that we are together as a family and that he continues to recover. You can’t buy that but it costs a lot.

In the last six months since his unfortunate accident at Pigeon Point, my son has faced and cheated death. He has been bed-ridden, unable to walk, totally dependent on others to do simple things that we all take for granted. A simple thing like turning over in bed requires a helping hand. He needs constant attention and assistance.

In spite of all this, he has not lost his spirit. He has baffled the medical community by surviving his accident and again by retaining all his mental faculties. He astounds them when, after being bed-ridden for six months, he can still respond to their daily question of “How are you doing today?” with answers like “Great!” or “Excellent!”

His doctors and therapists love him for this. He is always pleasant and mannerly, never complaining, bright and positive, and eager to do whatever he can, knowing in his heart that he will eventually overcome all obstacles in his way.

If ever there was someone that I could look up to and admire, it is this young man. Who (figuratively) stands solid as a rock, refuses to give up or give in to self-pity. He remains focused and determined, in good spirits, cheerful and bright.

Tell me, how many of us think that we can be that way had we been through what he is forced to deal with at the tender age of 17. In my eyes, Yanik Quesnel is the man of the year for 2007, my hero.

Bernard Quesnel

Via e-mail

Rush job on fire station

As a resident of Sangre Grande, I must admit that I was very embarrassed to see that the “finally constructed” fire station, hailed as the “pride of the Fire Services,” cannot accommodate the fire engines, the instruments that would save many a life and home.

But what the public may not be aware of is that building was soon becoming a “white elephant” since being completed several years after its slated completion date. What’s more is that this project only seemed to take off in the last two months before the general election.

Conclusion: it seems like once you rush something it’s never any good. The rush to finish the fire station is evidence of the “short-cut mentality” of Trinidadians and, more so, of politicians who try to make it look like they are doing something when in fact all they do is to ensure that a contract has been filled.

If this is any indication of the “love” our Prime Minister has for us as citizens, then it is a love we can certainly do without.

R Ramoutar

Via e-mail

n PR system can save the country

Lord help us! What has happened to our paradise island? T&T has gone into a state of absolute madness. We the youths are the future of this country and if our voices are not heard then hopelessness will reign.

It is high time we the youths set the examples for our incompetent and useless politicians. I am fed up with the ridiculous ole talk that our politicians engage in. Instead of uniting to fight the astounding crime situation, they continue to accuse each other of corruption and other preposterous and nonsensical charges.

As a concerned youth I have often stated that we need to change the Constitution to unite our melting-pot society.

Instead of a first-past-the-post system, where the political party with the most amount of seats in a general election forms the government and the party with the second highest amount of seats forms the opposition, why not change to proportional representation.

With PR each candidate who wins his/her seat in a general election will be part of the government of the country. This will assist in our daunting quest for unity because people from different political parties will form the government and hence every sector of society will be represented because supporters of each political party will have a representative in the government.

Life is all about change whether we like it or not and the time for change is now. How much longer do we have to endure the atrocious acts of criminals in this society? Together we stand, divided we fall. This country has fallen. We need the support of each other to rise again.

Sarona Samaroo

Via e-mail

No Christian love in that message

I can well understand the desire of Assumption Church parishioners not to be shot. But the statement from the Parish Communications Committee (“Parish must now take firm stand,” Guardian, December 15) simply adds to the outrage of chasing an undesirable human being out of a church compound.

The parish statement makes it very clear that the interests of the church take precedence over the interests of any individual, however distressed, terrified or disempowered that individual might be.

The message is: hey brother, you’re going to get killed, but kindly go and get killed somewhere else—we can’t put any of our decent parishioners at risk on your account.

The tone of the statement is wholly defensive and self-justifying, without a trace of Christian love. You would not think it was talking about a human being with a name; he is simply “the man” or “the said individual.”

What does it say about the effectiveness of the parish’s charitable work that he has been “around the church compound for over 20 years seeking financial assistance?” That’s something to brag about? But he has apparently declined to join the Parish Men’s Group or any other parish organisation, and is not regarded as a “parishioner,” so apparently it’s okay to “refrain from giving him charity on the church compound” and tell him to “stay out of sight.”

That says it all. If you are poor, indigent, jobless, homeless, disturbed, do not expect sanctuary or protection from the church. If you witness a violent crime and live in terror of execution, expect to be driven away lest comfortable parishioners should feel disturbed.

Do not, of course, expect the State to do anything whatever to protect you, even in the hope of using your evidence in court while you are still alive.

Oddly, this is just the sort of person Jesus took a particular interest in. According to the Christian gospels, he focused relentlessly on the sick, the poor, the helpless, the “sinful,” the people who are driven away from the doors of the comfortable. But I expect this was a mistake on Jesus’s part. No doubt the church knows better.

Jeremy Taylor

Maraval

Compelled to be a vigilante

I write this with the knowledge that people may think that I am taking matters into my hands and disregarding the police. Fine. But if the police do not exist, what should I do? Die? If I cannot get food at home, should I not seek food elsewhere? Or die?

The police in T&T are lazy. They are either too fat or cannot run, or feeble, or geriatric. Granny Luces will beat them in a race with her eyes closed.

But with crime engulfing the nation, with the inaction of the Government and the-lack of resources for the police, I feel compelled to be a vigilante.

Citizens, protect your babies, wives, daughters, children. Do not wait. Procrastination is the thief of time. Do not wait to die.

I have come from logical stock and my religion says if the Government fails, something else is inevitable. As a Hindu, I say PM Manning, Martin Joseph and Hazel Manning must go. They have failed the people.

I am not going to sit back and allow these PNM MPs to neglect my people and allow them to be killed. I am going to defend my community. They cannot be paid thousands to “parang, parang,” while people are drowning, have drowned and need submarines—economically speaking.

Jenny Hamid-Singh

Via e-mail

Only Panday could say that

Only Basdeo Panday could make a call for a “good Hindu woman” to be in the Senate. Were Patrick Manning to have made such a statement, what do you assume the outcome would have been?

Imagine Manning asking for a strong Catholic woman or Muslim woman? Panday would have been the most vocal in attacking him.

Religion has no place in politics, yet Panday constantly interjects religion in his politics and the media remain silent. Trinidad has many problems that need resolving. Panday should go gently into that good night.

Don Stewart

New York

Extend safety to 365 days a year

So everyone can rest assured, given the statement of Assistant Commission of Police Gilbert Reyes on Sunday.

“You all are going to be very, very safe tomorrow (yesterday),” Reyes said.

What about trying to extend that to 365 days a year?

If they can keep citizens safe one day a year, why can’t that be extended to year-round? If not, why not?

G Andrew

Via e-mail

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